Defending Universal

[Cinderella822]

I've always been a die-hard Disney fan and still am, however, I've only visited US one day and that was 9 years ago. I'm going for a whole week this summer and staying on-site. I'm hoping that this Disney fan will find that US is every bit as much fun. I still love Disney, but having gone a lot in the recent past, I think its time for a change. It does feel "comfortable" and I do get that thrill walking down Main Street and seeing the castle for the first time each trip. Just all the little Disney magic touches that will always get to me. However, now that my daughter is a teenager, I'm hoping that US will prove every bit as fun and exciting. And hopefully, we'll even get a little relaxation in on this trip, something we don't tend to get at Disney. I don't think there should be a debate though, to each his own.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

I've always been a die-hard Disney fan and still am, however, I've only visited US one day and that was 9 years ago. I'm going for a whole week this summer and staying on-site. I'm hoping that this Disney fan will find that US is every bit as much fun. I still love Disney, but having gone a lot in the recent past, I think its time for a change. It does feel "comfortable" and I do get that thrill walking down Main Street and seeing the castle for the first time each trip. Just all the little Disney magic touches that will always get to me. However, now that my daughter is a teenager, I'm hoping that US will prove every bit as fun and exciting. And hopefully, we'll even get a little relaxation in on this trip, something we don't tend to get at Disney. I don't think there should be a debate though, to each his own.

I can be at the MK in 45 minutes and walking down Main St. still makes me smile. it always will. if you're doing Portofino for a week, you're going to have a VERY relaxing vacation. have fun.

 

[ozarkmom]

ahhh, marriott's great america. ahhh, old chicago, indiana beach, six flags st. louis, (now) six flags great america, six flags kentucky kingdom. I grew up in Illinois and visited all of these parks extensively. people who've never been to UO compare it to a 'glorified six flags'. so far from the truth.

Your right Six Flags and UO/IOA are nothing alike!

 

[ChrisFL]

and of all of the things someone can say about UO, comparing it to six flags irks me to no end. The ONLY thing the two have in common is outdoor rollercoasters...and everything else is different. Disney has outdoor rollercoasters also, like at California Adventure, so I guess Disney is just like Six Flags as well

Really I believe whoever says that has never stepped foot in UO. They may have driven by it, but you really don't get the full picture at all when you do that. You see the top of the Hulk and Dueling Dragons, that's all

 

[Sylvester McBean]

Really I believe whoever says that has never stepped foot in UO. They may have driven by it, but you really don't get the full picture at all when you do that. You see the top of the Hulk and Dueling Dragons, that's all

the only time they may have driven by is if they missed an exit on I-4.

 

[ChrisFL]

the only time they may have driven by is if they missed an exit on I-4.

or to get to the Holy Land experience

 

[WillCAD]

I haven't read this whole thing but I'm going to jump in anyway!

First off, I have never been to Universal since frankly I always think of it as similar to Six Flags that I live an hour away from that my kids have never been to either. It has never been anything to do with Disney (our first trip was only this summer), it has was their advertising that made me think this way.

I only remember seeing the big rides and frankly nothing that would appeal to anyone who was not a certain height. Plus they all looked like they were more on the "scary" side to me (I remember the Frankenstein ad & I think isn't there Jaws there too?).

My 11 year old is just now at the height I think of for *maybe* taking her to Six Flags - even though they supposedly now have a kiddie section (It's ingrained in my brain from when I went as a teen that it basically was for the taller/thrill ride crowd - and back in the day it was Marriott's so it wasn't even a Six Flags then. LOL!). I hated the thought of paying $50 so my kid could ride 1 or 2 rides.

Just wanted to give a perception of a non-crazed Disney person that my perception was totally based on what I saw on the few ads we get for Florida parks (although I did really like our vacation but DH doesn't do *any* coasters or too rough rides, so I can't even imagine him agreeing to Universal - he begrudingly did Disney!). This was way before I even read anything on any website or did any researching on any vacation.

Then again, after our Disney experience it will probably be a very long time before we make it to Universal as my DD *hated* TOT - loved RNR and my 8 at the time guy freaked out on Stitch so bad that he refused to go on any ride that he couldn't see *what* it was from the outside and didn't do any coasters whatsoever - the CM had to convince him to go on Spaceship Earth; he freaked before going on Figment so DH had to exit with him before going on the ride, etc... (It will be a long time before we make it back to Disney too). We didn't do Space mountain.

I came over here though to see if maybe we would want to check it out when we are in Florida since it will probably be about 3 years. This post caught my eye.

You make a lot of very good points - Uni needs to work on their advertizing a bit, because it is cetainly not giving the average person a real clear picture of what the Uni experience is like.

Uni certainly does play more to the teen and up crowds, and has more thrill rides and coasters than Disney, while at the same time having fewer kiddie rides. But not to the same extent as Six Flags or Cedar Point or the various other roller-coaster parks around the country, and their advertizing unfortunately doesn't make that point well enough to those who are unfamiliar with the place.

Uni may not cater to the youngest kids as much as Disney, but it's certainly not kid-unfriendly. ET, Jimmy Neutron, Animal Planet and Dr. Suess would all argue that point, with Scooby and Shaggy and Dora right on their heels.

Jinkies! In Spanish we say, "Universal es mui bueno!" One park, two park; old park, new park. Zoinks!

 

[ChrisFL]

Yes, Universal is in a tight spot with the ways they can advertise.

They could advertise it the way it has fantasy elements and is good for all ages, but then people would say it's trying to be Disney and why go away from Disney

Or they could advertise to the teen/thrillseeker market and be unfortunately compared to six flags, or other amusement parks.

In reality it's neither of those things and both of those things at the same time.

They could also advertise it as a totally unique experience, and they tried that as well with their "vacation away from the ordinary" campaign...and that didn't work.

Im no advertising genius, but Im sure I could find a lot of ways to advertise to get crowds in, and Universal wouldn't have to add a thing. It's all about creating a sense of curiosity, show them marvel island, the talking fountain, JP discovery center, make them wonder what else may be there. Start with commercials about some of the ride themes, like showing Doc Ock and the sinister syndicate stealing the statue of liberty, then say you have to come to IOA to help Spiderman save the city.

Stuff like that would work on me.

People who have heard of Universal, or been there 10 years ago, or been to Hollywood have preconceived notions of what's at UO, but it's nearly all different.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

or to get to the Holy Land experience

this may be the sweetest post I have ever seen. I wonder how many people post they're going there just to look good on this board.

 

[damo]

Is Holy Land still open?

 

[Becky2005]

Is Holy Land still open?

It was at least in July 2005 according to their website anyway. We were considering it but I couldn't find any reviews and the only one I did get was from someone who heard 2nd hand that their friend/relative (don't remember) went with their church group, decided they didn't like it and ended up at the outlet malls.

That pretty much clenched my decision not to attempt it at least on this trip (especially traveling with a 1 year old). I looked lots of places trying to find *any* reviews, good/bad/indifferent and either I just couldn't find them or they don't exist.

I thought it was a neat idea and thought it would make a fun side trip but alas, we didn't do any side trips and for our first trip it worked out for the best.

 

[MrShiny]

Admittedly, I haven't been to USF/IOA nearly as much as Disney. For one, I'm pretty much a thrill ride wimp, so that puts a damper on it.

However, I did visit USF in '96, and USF/IOA in '01 and then again in '05.

I did like USF a lot in '96 and '01, but not as mucfh in '05. The movie making exhibits I really liked were mostly gone. In '05 especially, the crowd (it was a weekend) seemed much more like a the crowd at a Six Flags than before, when it was very similar to Disney.

IOA I thought was themed very well, but I noticed (at least when not very crowded) that it is very loud there. The background music seems uncomfortably loud, at least to me.

Spiderman is one of my favorite rides (about my thrill limit!).

While USF seemed changed for the worse, IOA seemed dramatically unchanged. There were no new attractions from '01 to '05, in fact the Triceratops Encounter (a big marketing point when IOA opened) was gone.

Motley Fool had a good article about USF/IOA and how they had falling attendance in a year when everyone else grew (they blamed it on the weather - must be nicer at the other end of I-4 where Disney had very decent growth).

There is little that makes me want to go back to USF. The only major new things at USF were The Mummy (a bit too wild for me), Shrek (good, but I had already seen it on DVD) and Jimmy Neutron (skipped that). Even the Nickelodeon Studio Tour was shuttered.

I hope NBC spends some money to keep the place interesting. Right now it seems they just don't know what to do with it.

There is room for sort of an "Anti-Disney" or alternative park. It is fun to break out of the Disney mode (just like Shrek was fun). But back it up. USF was ahead of Disney in ride design, but I think they have fallen behind right now.

 

[sha_lyn]

Uni certainly does play more to the teen and up crowds, and has more thrill rides and coasters than Disney, while at the same time having fewer kiddie rides.

US/IOA is 2 parks, WDW is 4 parks. Of course WDW has more "kiddie" rides, it has 2x as many parks.
As far as coasters/thrill rides US/IOA has ROTM, DD, Hulk and DDFF
WDW has MS,TOT,RnR,TT,BTMRR,SM
I count 4 at US/IOA and 6 at WDW.

 

[mainewmn]

Sorry but comparing US/IOA and Disney is like comparing apples and oranges. They are two very different environments and the only thing they have in common is the fact that they are both theme parks.

 

[damo]

.


Shrek (good, but I had already seen it on DVD) and Jimmy Neutron (skipped that).

Not quite sure what you mean here. Aren't many of the rides at Disney based on movies and many are actual re-enactments of parts of the movies? The Shrek ride isn't simply a repetition of the movies but has it's own new storyline.

 

[Becky2005]

Sorry but comparing US/IOA and Disney is like comparing apples and oranges. They are two very different environments and the only thing they have in common is the fact that they are both theme parks.

Actually - I think this is where my biased comes - not being a theme park person just based on advertising, etc... we have 2 parks here. One is Santa's Village and one is Great America.

Santa's Village is geared toward the younger set with Coney Island area being for the bigger kids but they only have 1 big coaster.

Great America has lots of big coasters and very little for the little kids (at least a long time ago - apparently they have a section now geared toward the under "certain height" set that I can't remember) but it's still geared more toward the teen/young adult market.

So to me they are both parks but cater to different level groups. Neither is better than the other, they just have different environments.

So, the only thing I have comparison for and the ads I see here in Illinois I equate Disney with Santa's Village and Universal with Great America. Before even knowing these boards existed that is how I as an "average person" just only using what the companies put out there equate it as. I never thought they were identical to those but similar for comparison sakes as to where to take my kids for their ages, etc...

Going to Universal for our first trip was never even a blip on my radar screen having the ages of kids I did. Now, however, next time we go they will be older and probably have more experience with thrill rides so it's a possibility if I can figure out how to get larger family on-site without 2 rooms.

I didn't actually see Universal's recent commercial but it was on and DD went "Hey Mom Let's go to Universal - Kids Stay and Eat free" - she heard the FREE part - unfortunately I had to tell her I didn't think she counted as a kid in their minds. (I only heard the tail end of it, so I missed what all the talk was about). So the word FREE worked for good advertising for them!!!

 

[WillCAD]

Not quite sure what you mean here. Aren't many of the rides at Disney based on movies and many are actual re-enactments of parts of the movies? The Shrek ride isn't simply a repetition of the movies but has it's own new storyline.

The on-screen portion of Shrek 4D was released on DVD last year in a 2-pack with the first Shrek movie. I have it; it's cool, but it's WAY better at USF, with all the effects.

 

[Akdar]

Your right Six Flags and UO/IOA are nothing alike!

I will agree with that. I go to Six Flags Great Adventure a few times a year (2 hours away) and it is nothing like USO, or IOA. I like SFGA a lot, but it's not the total experience that USO and IOA are, in my opinion!

 

[Minniespal]

We like them all Disney/Universal and Seaworld. You can't deny that they are all different in their own ways and all have different things to offer.

 

[Beth76]

Haven't had a chance to read the whole thread, but I still wanted to chime in. I haven't been to WDW yet. OK, actually I was there when I was 6 back in 1982 and I don't remember it. And there was only the MK at that time. I was planning a trip for this past October (because "everyone has to go to WDW") and I was totally stressing over it. So, I ended up cancelling it.

Granted I haven't been there, but I totally don't get the "magic". My kids don't like characters and I don't really have any desire to wait in line to get "autographs". I can't see my older son liking most of the rides at the MK. And he's really more into super heroes than Disney characters.

I'm totally scrapping WDW in favor of Universal now. I love that you can stay on site and get FOTL. I love that the beautiful hotels are way cheaper than Disney (deluxe anyway). And I love that there are only 2 parks to deal with. I can probably see it all in 3 days.

Even though I haven't been to either I just have a feeling that my family is a better fit at Universal. So thanks everyone for all the positive comments!