I Just Couldn't Do It...

[GalDisney]

Yesterday morning when I woke up, i thought I would do something different and go to Universal Studios. I have not visited Unoversal Studios Orlando since I have been in Fl. I had a coupon for an AP that would make it good for two yrs for the price of one. Plus being the parrothead that I am I wanted to go to CityWalk and have lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe. So I arrived, ponied up the 10 bucks to park and proceeded on my way into City Walk. Wandered in to Jimmy's place and had a yummy lunch. Then I proceeded to the theme park to buy the AP. Found a place in the ticket line, waited for a few mins and decided I just could not do it..Besides the fact that i really didn't have $200.00 for an AP for Universal, figuring I would not visit that often, i just felt disloyal to my main guy, the Mouse. Yes, I have no problem spending twice that much for an AP for WDW. So, I left the line, high tailed it back to the parking structure , got in my truck and headed West on I-4 to see Mickey!!! Ended up having a nice time at the MK, even thought it poured rain for about an hour just as I was arriving. So, in the end, my loyalty and emotional attachement to Disney wins every time.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

Yesterday morning when I woke up, i thought I would do something different and go to Universal Studios. I have not visited Unoversal Studios Orlando since I have been in Fl. I had a coupon for an AP that would make it good for two yrs for the price of one. Plus being the parrothead that I am I wanted to go to CityWalk and have lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe. So I arrived, ponied up the 10 bucks to park and proceeded on my way into City Walk. Wandered in to Jimmy's place and had a yummy lunch. Then I proceeded to the theme park to buy the AP. Found a place in the ticket line, waited for a few mins and decided I just could not do it..Besides the fact that i really didn't have $200.00 for an AP for Universal, figuring I would not visit that often, i just felt disloyal to my main guy, the Mouse. Yes, I have no problem spending twice that much for an AP for WDW. So, I left the line, high tailed it back to the parking structure , got in my truck and headed West on I-4 to see Mickey!!! Ended up having a nice time at the MK, even thought it poured rain for about an hour just as I was arriving. So, in the end, my loyalty and emotional attachement to Disney wins every time.

LOL

I love Margaritaville! Yummy and fun!

You should just be happy you saved yourself 200 dollars. Take a day trip to Universal sometime if you feel a yen. I like Disney much better, too. I hope you enjoyed your day at MK.

 

[minniemee]

I agree with LULU, Universal and Disney cannot be compared! Be glad you saved your money!

 

[Mom2Casey]

I am a devotee to the Mouse as well but I have and usually do go when I am in Florida to Universal and IOA. I must admit that I do like Universal as it is more laid back than IOA. It is a difference from Disney and although Disney can't be beat, it is a nice day to visit the "movies". I have grown to love MGM but for a while I did enjoy Universal better than MGM as it was interesting to learn how movies are made. I do think that if you do visit that you would enjoy yourself without feeling tooooo guilty to the Mouse. I myself never ate in Citywalk but I haven't heard a bad thing about it. I do recommend just giving it a shot at least once.

 

[GalDisney]

I grew up in CA and I have visited Universal Hollywood a few times. Im sure one of these days I will visit Universal here,maybe if i ever have out of state vistors or maybe in the Fall when the tourists are gone

 

[Mom2Casey]

Well Gal, I am coming down in October and plan a day in Universal, you can come meet up with me..... ha ha. I am an out of stater but not so much a tourist since I've been there many many times.

 

[GalDisney]

Well Gal, I am coming down in October and plan a day in Universal, you can come meet up with me..... ha ha. I am an out of stater but not so much a tourist since I've been there many many times.

ok..lol

 

[MartDM]

Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure are terrific parks. You should give them a try sometime!

 

[WickedWench]

The last time I was in Orlando I visited Universal and IOA for the first time. We took two days, one for each park. I only enjoyed a couple of the rides, and found the atmosphere much less enchanting than Disney. In the end, I felt I had wasted two days that would have been better spent at the mouse's house. Next time my only non-Disney stop will be Sea World. I didn't want to go to Universal in California either, but my Dad really wanted to go, so I caved. The bad news was that he preferred Universal to Disney (he likes shows more than rides), so I hope I'm not dragged there again.

 

[georgina]

Oh gee. another anti-Universal thread. it's been so long since I've seen one of those. I'll be there Friday and Saturday before our cruise. I won't miss any of you not being there, I'll be having a ball!

 

[ChrisFL]

Ahh yes, the insanity continues. Yeah, you'd better never go to Universal/IOA, you might actually like it, and that would be a bad thing, they'd take away your membership and you'd never be allowed back in Disney.

 

[tiggergirlinMI]

You really should try, we have been enough to IOA and US to do both parks in a day, hitting the attractions we enjoy the most. Yes it is different then Disney but I think it's worth going to, Never felt like we wasted our money. Different yes, but very enjoyable on many levels, give it a try.

 

[SnwflkCts]

My DH says when we go back to WDW in 2007 for my birthday we will have to go to Universal. ARG -- can I make myself leave the MOUSE for one day ... I will have to try for his sake. DH does not have the OBSESSION that I have! I can relate to your second thoughts GalDisney!!!

 

[EeyoreFan1]

You SOO went with the better choice!!

 

[Poohbear123]

You SOO went with the better choice!!

Yes, you did! Been there, done that, DON'T plan on going back!

 

[ChrisFL]

Yes, you did! Been there, done that, DON'T plan on going back!

Its funny how many people rave about Universal after visitng it, just because you didn't like doesn't mean the OP won't either. Everyone has different tastes, but overall I would say that most people actually ENJOY themselves at Universal/IOA.

I can't say whether she will like it or not, but as much as I love the amount of time, effort and money that went into it recently (much more effort than Disney has put into their parks recently IMO) I don't see how people try to bash it all the time. The quality of the parks are on-par with Disney parks in many, many ways.

If you absolutely TRY to have a bad time then it probably will happen, and it seems like a lot of Disney fans go there expecting to hate it, and don't enjoy themselves because of that. Why spend the money if you try to hate something?

BTW, here's a thread about theming at IOA that I started (and need to finish!):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1140797

that is a very, very small sampling of the types of things you can see there

 

[BoopOopADoop]

I would never think of going to Orlando without visiting both disney and universal. In my opinion they compliment each other. I believe that both of these parks being in Orlando brings more people to the city, giving more business to both of them.

 

[Lorelai]

I haven't been to Universal since 1997. We enjoyed it, but my three year-old was so little that we couldn't do many of the "big people" rides. Now that he's 12 maybe we should give it a try. For those who go to Universal, do you spend just one day, or more than one? Thanks.

 

[Sleepy]

Being a Buffett fan, what would you think of a person if you knew them really well and said "OH, you absolutely have to listen to this." and then your friend said "No thanks, never heard that band. I will stick with my music. Listening to something else would make me feel disloyal." Wouldn't you tell them they should at least give it a quick listen because if they did, they might like it? What if YOU were that friend instead and had refused to ever listen to Buffett? You would be missing out because you never tried something else. I think you should view Universal the same way. Try it, you just might like it.

 

[The Sweetness]

I agree with LULU, Universal and Disney cannot be compared!

Well I agree there. You can't compare them. They are both theme park resorts with characters, and there, the similarities end, IMO. They are 2 completely different types of entertainment. And IMO, both do a great job pleasing their guests. There's ample choices, and tourists, for e/1