Has Disney Been Out-Valued By Universal?

You mean does a castle belong in a place called the "Magic" Kingdom serving as the gateway to a place called Fantasyland. Uh, Yes, a castle belongs there. Where else would a castle be? And as for sounds when you cross into Adventureland there are tiki statues with drums beating rapidly in the background. Or futuristic laser sounds as you enter Tommorowland. Or how about in MGM Studios where the whole park is a giant theme and Hollywood theme songs are throughout. It is amazing to see the number of so called "Disney" fans oohed and ahhd by converstaion piped through a park rather than the detail put into everything at Disneyworld. Both parks offer alot to families and each one has different value, but come on the magic of Disney is just that. And no sound effects or super hero theme can compare to that.
 
Originally posted by tiggerzpalz
You mean does a castle belong in a place called the "Magic" Kingdom serving as the gateway to a place called Fantasyland. Uh, Yes, a castle belongs there. Where else would a castle be? And as for sounds when you cross into Adventureland there are tiki statues with drums beating rapidly in the background. Or futuristic laser sounds as you enter Tommorowland. Or how about in MGM Studios where the whole park is a giant theme and Hollywood theme songs are throughout. It is amazing to see the number of so called "Disney" fans oohed and ahhd by converstaion piped through a park rather than the detail put into everything at Disneyworld. Both parks offer alot to families and each one has different value, but come on the magic of Disney is just that. And no sound effects or super hero theme can compare to that.

You missed my point, it's not the fact that the area has music, it's how it's presented, and how it gradually builds up into full song, not just on or off, or fade in or out, but it's an entire buildup from one drum, to more, to more instruments, to a full song.

What I fail to see is why you, like others, fail to give credit to anything without Mouse Ears on it. And what's wrong with super heroes? It's not as if the entire park is a super hero theme, geez.
 
I feel like maybe I could post to help explain the difference in the two opinions here. I really do think both WDW and Universal are nicely themed, but I think the WDW people and the Universal people are on different wavelengths here. From what I'm hearing, the people saying IOA is better are basing it on physical attractiveness and physical theming, such as the way things look and what you hear, and see WDW and Universal as being in competition strictly on that- both with characters and rides, just comparing the look and sounds and service of each.
The people who prefer Disney, on the other hand, don't base their decision just on those physical and service characteristics. For them, the Disney characters and icons in the parks, such as Mickey Mouse and the castle, cause a lump in their throat every time they see them, and have a special meaning to them. For them, these things really touch their heart deeply, in a way that's hard to describe. This feeling about Disney and the characters I think is something you either have or you don't have, and it's hard to change. If you feel that a cartoon character is a cartoon character is a cartoon character, Universal may indeed be a greater value to you, as they concentrate on putting characters and movies into great thrill rides with great theming. Disney's "ace in the hole", if you will, however, is that to a lot of people, their characters are very special and mean a lot more to them, as well as the notion of "dreams really do come true" and "pixie dust" etc. In other words, meeting Spiderman or one of the Dr. Seuss characters doesn't have the same meaning to a lot of people as an experience of meeting Mickey Mouse does. And that's something that Universal just will never have, and can't compete with in that way, although they can and do compete as far as theming and technology and luxury. Is this making any sense, or am I just rambling LOL. Anyway, people who don't have that special feeling about Disney may eventually end up feeling that Universal is a better value, but Universal is going to have an awfully hard time convincing people who do have that special feeling about Disney to visit Universal instead.
 
Your post does make sense freediverdude, and I understand what you mean...

The problem is the future (duh!)

A lot of people have asked here, and on other threads, does Mickey Mouse et. al. have the same impact on kids now than they did 20 or 30 years ago? My guess is no, BUT on the same token, I would say that Jurassic Park is going to have an even shorter life-span unless Spielberg can do more with the franchise.

That's the thing, I'm surprised that King Kong has remained popular and recognizable for 80 years. With that in mind, it's no surprise that the USF ride finally closed.

While Disney's appeal has lasted for a long time, besides the fact that Disney's current investments into the parks are dwindling, I don't feel we're going to have another few generations of Disney fans the way they used to.

Whether or not they'll become Universal fans is yet to be seen, but as I've said before, Universal is on an upswing, Disney is on a downswing, and if continues for the next 10 years, then there is going to be much fiercer competition from Universal than there is now.
 


Yes, I am afraid of that possibly happening. The way society keeps getting meaner, and everything aimed at fast money and just thrills, and nothing really meaning anything anymore, it scares me that the specialness of Disney may wear off for future generations, and that the value of a theme park will only be measured on how fast the roller coaster is and how luxurious the hotel is next to it. Not that there isn't a place for those things too, but that all the theme parks will seem alike. I'm not sure what the solution is, other than trying to set an example for our children and showing them all the different things possible.
 
Freediverdude: Excellently stated. You covered it all.

As far as giving US/ISO or anything without Mouse ears credit. Untrue. I did state that it does offer families other things. That many do like them and that both offer different options. I just don't believe you can compare themes or parks. Myself, my siblings (who range from 30-12) and our families love disney. It offers peace of mind away from the real world. You are immersed in a magical place. Something that just doesn't compare to IOA/US.
 
Originally posted by ChrisFL
Ok, how about this...let's take IOA and the Lost Continent for example. As soon as you enter the bridge from Seuss Landing, everything is themed, and I mean EVERYTHING. The fences, the lights, the trash cans, even the AOL kiosk...to the medieval style games, and all the shops which sell some very cool items not found anywhere else. Through all of this is some great themed music throughout...and as you cross the bridge to Jurassic Park, you'll hear the music change, slowly, one instrument goes soft, then the next, then you simply hear a few drums, then just one. Then you begin to hear the JP theme start. It's all done brilliantly.

That's the kind of thing I like to refer to when I speak of perfect theming.
I've noticed the same thing at Magic Kingdom, right down to the music. Am I missing something?
 


Originally posted by HauntedMansionFan
I've noticed the same thing at Magic Kingdom, right down to the music. Am I missing something?

Hmm, I've never noticed that, or had anyone mention it before...

Anyway, if anyone is interested in the expansion I'm referring to,

Screamscape.com has a link to a pic of an aerial view of Univeral's 2,000 acres (minus the acreage sold to the Convention Center)

Here's the pic.

http://www.occc.net/roadway_dev.asp


Looks interesting, and a lot of land seems to be devoted to hotel space.

If I'm looking at it correctly, there are possibly going to be over 12,000 more hotel rooms in addition to whatever resorts Universal builds right beside the property.
 
Hmm, I've never noticed that
That's because it's done seamlessly and has been since the early '70s. Next time you cross the bridge from the hub to Tomorrowland, pay close attention. That's one of the more noticable places. MK was also a very early adopter of digital music tracks; long before most of us had a CD player.
I would suggest the Keys to the Kingdom tour. You might see where some of those USF/IOA ideas came from...
 
Originally posted by ChrisFL
If I'm looking at it correctly, there are possibly going to be over 12,000 more hotel rooms in addition to whatever resorts Universal builds right beside the property.
But it appears that only one of those areas is slated to be used for a Universal hotel. The rest appear to be the chain hotels.

Screamscape.com has a link to a pic of an aerial view of Univeral's 2,000 acres
So if they do build another park in this area, that means you will have to take transportation down I-Drive? Now that IS really an immersive theme park experience. ;)
 
Originally posted by HauntedMansionFan

So if they do build another park in this area, that means you will have to take transportation down I-Drive? Now that IS really an immersive theme park experience. ;)


I would say it was just as "immersive" as going from MGM to AK. ;)
 
A lot of people have asked here, and on other threads, does Mickey Mouse et. al. have the same impact on kids now than they did 20 or 30 years ago?
While I realize that my DD's love for Disney might be slightly influnced by the warm and fuzzies the DW and I have for Disney, based on her utter love for, and enjoyment of, WDW I have to say that Disney IS having the same impact on kids as it did 20 years ago. My DD doesn't know corporations. She doesn't know Universal vs. Disney from a business perspective. She has no reason to be partial to one over another other than her enjoyment of the entertainment provided. She isn't into all the characters and personalities that are feature in the Universal properties. The Disney offerings stike a chord with her - just as they made music for kids her age 20 years ago.
 
>>>But it appears that only one of those areas is slated to be used for a Universal hotel. The rest appear to be the chain hotels.<<<

The angle that photo was taken from makes it look very deceiving. The easiest way to describe it is that the "North Campus" of Universal Orlando (the current section of the resort in the upper left-hand corner) is 840 acres by itself. With that in mind, take a look at the "South Campus" and "Future Hotel Expansion" sections of the map. That land is Universal's, and around FOUR of the current tracts of Universal land can fit in there. You should also keep in mind that a lot of the "dirty" work in resort building has/is being done by the Orlando Convention Center (another integral part of Universal's expansion plans), so the number of resorts that Universal/Loews will build is not as large as it could have been.

Just think, in 10-15 years, all of this could end up being part of "Universal Orlando." The teamwork Universal and the City of Orlando has done so far is marvelous, and the opportunities for synergy are just unreal. Need one of the largest convention centers in the world? Come to Universal. Want to play golf? Come to the Shingle Creek Golf Club. Like shopping? Come to International Drive (providing of course that Universal kicks out the riff-raff, although much of that was flushed out after September 11th), or maybe one of our Citywalk complexes. Coming down for a business trip? How about the Peabody, the Royal Pacific? Does something egyptian catch your fancy? We got that too. Heck, maybe we should just creep down a little further south and annex Sea World into the complex and add another theme park to the multi-day hoppers. Wow, we can have FIVE theme parks now!

What I have been describing are really just the pipe dreams of Universal executives and city leaders hoping for re-election, but the bottom line Universal doesn't need to build everything themselves to become the biggest resort in Florida. A cooperative effort between Universal, Anheseur Busch, the City of Orlando, and all of these little 3rd parties that aren't lacking in the luxuary department could yield a resort with all the amenities that WDW offers, and quite possibly even more.

Having 27,000 acres and a self-contained government is nice, but when the willpower to make something happen with those resources is missing it won't be long before someone else catches up with you.
 
Originally posted by HauntedMansionFan
Your still on Disney property and still not in connection with the "outside" world. ;)


If you say so....

Something about bumper traffic, large buses, campers, gas stations to and from the theme park weather is be on Disney property or not does not scream immersive to me.
 
Originally posted by EUROPA
If you say so....

Something about bumper traffic, large buses, campers, gas stations to and from the theme park weather is be on Disney property or not does not scream immersive to me.
Better then passing by pawn shops, discount hotels, factory outlet stores......
 

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