Holy Diagon Alley Batman!

[Mad Hattered]

My question is this though, why does it matter? Do you have to be a so-called "vacation destination" to be a first class amazing theme park? I honestly don't think so. So what if Disney has this many hotels and this many parks? That does not necessarily make them have the best attractions. Now don't get me wrong, I love Disney and have spent many of vacation days there, but I have been in Diagon Alley and there is nothing in WDW that can compare in theme, ingenuity, design and all around wow factor. Universal is doing something right.

I think people here get too wrapped up in numbers and titles and for some reason think that there no way possible anyone else could do something better than Disney. The facts are that yes Disney is awesome, and yes Disney is the foremost theme park destination vacation but in the end that takes absolutely nothing away from Universal and the magic they just created.

 

[robpa]

My question is this though, why does it matter? Do you have to be a so-called "vacation destination" to be a first class amazing theme park? I honestly don't think so. So what if Disney has this many hotels and this many parks? That does not necessarily make them have the best attractions. Now don't get me wrong, I love Disney and have spent many of vacation days there, but I have been in Diagon Alley and there is nothing in WDW that can compare in theme, ingenuity, design and all around wow factor. Universal is doing something right.

I think people here get too wrapped up in numbers and titles and for some reason think that there no way possible anyone else could do something better than Disney. The facts are that yes Disney is awesome, and yes Disney is the foremost theme park destination vacation but in the end that takes absolutely nothing away from Universal and the magic they just created.

This is a Disney fanboy site for the most part so you are going to get the fanaticism. It comes with the territory. Fans will always use stats to prove their point. However we are talking about vacations and my idea of a vacation isn't necessarily your idea of a vacation.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Why werent they running Escape from Gringotts at full capacity today? Reports have it running at half capacity or less which contributed to the insane line times. Couple that with the downtime it experienced today.

How many break downs did it have today?

Then they turned people away after they had been waiting for several hours in line. Some twitter accounts says they waited 5 hours! Not to mention the time they had to wait just to get to Diagon Alley. How many guest did Universal disappoint today by not running the ride at full capacity and having so many issues?

Amazing how certain people are more forgiving for Universal ride openings. these people would be gleefully proclaiming any issues Disney has with new attraction openings. And if Disney turned guests away from an attraction after people had waited several hours, people would be screaming on here how unacceptable that is.

What was the wait time for 7DMT this morning? None....it was BROKE DOWN! How long has that kiddie coaster been open now?

 

[Planogirl]

I would define it as would you take a trip to Florida to exclusively visit Disney? Many, many people do. Would you do the same to exclusively visit Universal? Most would probably not. Even if you didn't visit Disney, you would probably have to combine Busch Gardens, Seaworld, and various water parks to fill out a trip that included Universal.

That is what I mean by "vacation destination". Exclusivity. Disney has that dialed in. They bring you into the Disney bubble and you don't want to leave.

Maybe that's what I'm missing. We have never gone to only WDW. We have spent most of our time there and have made it our primary focus but we have also explored other sights.

Besides again, simple resorts with just fancy pools and restaurants become destinations in other places. Disney may want to lock you in but that doesn't mean that nowhere else can be considered a destination.

I guess that it depends on how you define it too.

 

[DisUniversal]

Do you really need exact statistics to determine that WDW is more of a destination than Universal? How about you start with raw attendance numbers and the amount of 7 day plus vacation packages purchased at Disney vs. Universal. I am not even sure you can book a 7 day package at Universal.

We weren't talking "more of a destination", rather whether Universal Orlando IS a destination in itself...and it most certainly is.

So, yes, I am saying that if you stay on site at a Universal resort and spend half your time visiting other parks, it makes it less of a destination than WDW

Nobody said spending HALF of their time at other parks. What if someone spends a week at Universal and visits SeaWorld one day and Magic Kingdom on another. Does that make Universal less of a destination?

Universal is a great park and deserves the recognition it gets. Just take your blinders off and keep it in perspective. Disneyworld is still the premier theme park destination in Florida and will be for the foreseeable future.

Who is disputing that? Yes, WDW IS the number one theme park destination in Florida. It is not however the only theme park destination in Florida. Is that too hard to understand?

 

[JoeA]

What was the wait time for 7DMT this morning? None....it was BROKE DOWN! How long has that kiddie coaster been open now?

What a response! I know I'm am but what are you?! I'd say you matched the kiddie coaster with a kiddie response!

 

[robpa]

Maybe that's what I'm missing. We have never gone to only WDW. We have spent most of our time there and have made it our primary focus but we have also explored other sights.

Besides again, simple resorts with just fancy pools and restaurants become destinations in other places. Disney may want to lock you in but that doesn't mean that nowhere else can be considered a destination.

I guess that it depends on how you define it too.

Vacation destination is just a marketing phrase. Any place that wants your vacation dollars considers itself a vacation destination.

 

[DisUniversal]

Why werent they running Escape from Gringotts at full capacity today? Reports have it running at half capacity or less which contributed to the insane line times. Couple that with the downtime it experienced today.

How many break downs did it have today?

Then they turned people away after they had been waiting for several hours in line. Some twitter accounts says they waited 5 hours! Not to mention the time they had to wait just to get to Diagon Alley. How many guest did Universal disappoint today by not running the ride at full capacity and having so many issues?

Amazing how certain people are more forgiving for Universal ride openings. these people would be gleefully proclaiming any issues Disney has with new attraction openings. And if Disney turned guests away from an attraction after people had waited several hours, people would be screaming on here how unacceptable that is.

Have any examples of people "gleefully proclaiming any issues Disney has with new attraction openings"? Seems to work the other way around for the most part. Your post is my example of that.

 

[robpa]

I'm guessing that the best response to all of this is that Orlando is a vacation destination.

 

[PlutoMars]

What was the wait time for 7DMT this morning? None....it was BROKE DOWN! How long has that kiddie coaster been open now?

And how many times was Gringotts BROKE DOWN today?

But I thought the kings of innovation and technology over at Universal could figure out a way to open their feature attraction at Diagon Alley running at full capacity without it breaking down so much today. I thought they would have learned from all the issues they had from the opening of Forbidden Journey.

I also thought the wizards of customer service just wouldnt deny people to ride the attraction after waiting up to 5 hours. Seems like a 5 hour wait + whatever time they had to wait just to get to Diagon Alley would warrant more than just a express pass for the attraction on another day.

Is it acceptable for people today to spend $135 and wait up to 2 hours to get to Diagon Alley and then stand in line for Gringotts for multiple hours only to get turned away without warning?

Shouldnt we expect more from the usurper to Disney?

 

[Planogirl]

Why werent they running Escape from Gringotts at full capacity today? Reports have it running at half capacity or less which contributed to the insane line times. Couple that with the downtime it experienced today.

How many break downs did it have today?

Then they turned people away after they had been waiting for several hours in line. Some twitter accounts says they waited 5 hours! Not to mention the time they had to wait just to get to Diagon Alley. How many guest did Universal disappoint today by not running the ride at full capacity and having so many issues?

Amazing how certain people are more forgiving for Universal ride openings. these people would be gleefully proclaiming any issues Disney has with new attraction openings. And if Disney turned guests away from an attraction after people had waited several hours, people would be screaming on here how unacceptable that is.

Something new and different seems to often have issues when it first opens.

Case in point, the monster Schlitterbahn waterslide Verruckt was delayed quite a bit as they worked out issues and tested and retested.

Not that I'll have to worry about that. I wouldn't ride this thing if my life depended on it. The point is that a complicated, new attraction will have its issues and I think that most parkgoers understand that. Besides people are reporting that Diagon Alley is pretty amazing all on its own, ride or not.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Why werent they running Escape from Gringotts at full capacity today? Reports have it running at half capacity or less which contributed to the insane line times. Couple that with the downtime it experienced today.

How many break downs did it have today?

Then they turned people away after they had been waiting for several hours in line. Some twitter accounts says they waited 5 hours! Not to mention the time they had to wait just to get to Diagon Alley. How many guest did Universal disappoint today by not running the ride at full capacity and having so many issues?

Amazing how certain people are more forgiving for Universal ride openings. these people would be gleefully proclaiming any issues Disney has with new attraction openings. And if Disney turned guests away from an attraction after people had waited several hours, people would be screaming on here how unacceptable that is.

I think you should continue the "only straw" argument you can possibly pull from this opening. If you have been paying any attention whatsoever you will surely see that the "land" isn't reliant on a ride. It's more about the realization of a "world" that a LOT of fans never thought they would walk through. You can pull the "ride" card all you want but it doesn't diminish the fact that thousands and thousands of people could care less whether they rode Gringotts or not. It's called immersion. Something that the terribly forced perspective castle on top of BOG, the double Dumbo or Sam's warehouse-styled Mermaid ride could ever capture. But keep pushing. We would probably take it more serious if you wore Ray Bans and rapped your displeasure.

 

[robpa]

Something new and different seems to often have issues when it first opens.

Case in point, the monster Schlitterbahn waterslide Verruckt was delayed quite a bit as they worked out issues and tested and retested.

Not that I'll have to worry about that. I wouldn't ride this thing if my life depended on it. The point is that a complicated, new attraction will have its issues and I think that most parkgoers understand that. Besides people are reporting that Diagon Alley is pretty amazing all on its own, ride or not.

But Disney doesn't have any problems with rides. I mean Test Track never breaks down and how many years has it been operational?

 

[Planogirl]

I think you should continue the "only straw" argument you can possibly pull from this opening. If you have been paying any attention whatsoever you will surely see that the "land" isn't reliant on a ride. It's more about the realization of a "world" that a LOT of fans never thought they would walk through. You can pull the "ride" card all you want but it doesn't diminish the fact that thousands and thousands of people could care less whether they rode Gringotts or not. It's called immersion. Something that the terribly forced perspective castle on top of BOG, the double Dumbo or Sam's warehouse-styled Mermaid ride could ever capture. But keep pushing. We would probably take it more serious if you wore Ray Bans and rapped your displeasure.

I can list times when Disney's technology had its issues too. Odd that that becomes a point of contention in this discussion.

 

[PlutoMars]

Something new and different seems to often have issues when it first opens.

Case in point, the monster Schlitterbahn waterslide Verruckt was delayed quite a bit as they worked out issues and tested and retested.

Not that I'll have to worry about that. I wouldn't ride this thing if my life depended on it. The point is that a complicated, new attraction will have its issues and I think that most parkgoers understand that. Besides people are reporting that Diagon Alley is pretty amazing all on its own, ride or not.

Your case in point shows that attractions sometimes need to be delayed before opening to general public to work out the issues. Universal had problems with the opening of Forbidden Journey as well.

How understanding are those guests that waited over 3 hours + the time it took just to get to Diagon Alley that they were kicked out of line and then learned that they werent even running the attraction at full capacity today.

Its amazing how glitches at Disney are unacceptable with a new system but somehow Universal gets a pass.

 

[Planogirl]

But Disney doesn't have any problems with rides. I mean Test Track never breaks down and how many years has it been operational?

Not to mention Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain and RnR Coaster. I keep wondering what those rides have against me.

 

[Mad Hattered]

What a response! I know I'm am but what are you?! I'd say you matched the kiddie coaster with a kiddie response!

Welcome to the conversation. The fact is that the ride has been down a lot since it opened. I'm pretty sure it's not even in the same playing field in terms of tech...so yeah. Besides...you only know Pluto as "Pluto".

 

[robpa]

Your case in point shows that attractions sometimes need to be delayed before opening to general public to work out the issues. Universal had problems with the opening of Forbidden Journey as well.

How understanding are those guests that waited over 3 hours + the time it took just to get to Diagon Alley that they were kicked out of line and then learned that they werent even running the attraction at full capacity today.

Its amazing how glitches at Disney are unacceptable with a new system but somehow Universal gets a pass.

I know at least when that happens at EPCOT you get a free fastpass to Captain EO

 

[Mad Hattered]

Your case in point shows that attractions sometimes need to be delayed before opening to general public to work out the issues. Universal had problems with the opening of Forbidden Journey as well.

How understanding are those guests that waited over 3 hours + the time it took just to get to Diagon Alley that they were kicked out of line and then learned that they werent even running the attraction at full capacity today.

Its amazing how glitches at Disney are unacceptable with a new system but somehow Universal gets a pass.

Are you seriously clueless on just how much the kiddie coaster has been shut down since it's "grand opening" or do you just post on Universal threads?

And I haven't said a damn thing about it....until now. Check it out. And nice to see you didn't lose power.

 

[PlutoMars]

I think you should continue the "only straw" argument you can possibly pull from this opening. If you have been paying any attention whatsoever you will surely see that the "land" isn't reliant on a ride. It's more about the realization of a "world" that a LOT of fans never thought they would walk through. You can pull the "ride" card all you want but it doesn't diminish the fact that thousands and thousands of people could care less whether they rode Gringotts or not. It's called immersion. Something that the terribly forced perspective castle on top of BOG, the double Dumbo or Sam's warehouse-styled Mermaid ride could ever capture. But keep pushing. We would probably take it more serious if you wore Ray Bans and rapped your displeasure.

There is no straw man argument here at all. These are REAL issues that happened to paying guests today that somehow are acceptable in your book but not acceptable over at Disney.

No doubt that the immersion experience is incredible but that doesnt excuse the issues in customer service, ride breakdowns, and not running at full capacity on opening day.

And 1000s of guests came into the park today with the expectation of riding Gringotts today and paid good money to do so but were denied because of poor execution by Universal.

I guess Universal fans wear rose colored glasses at times as well...