Just back from WDW and Universal... any questions?

[scrappystamper1]

Our last trip included 5 days Disney, 2 days universal.
We saved the last 2 days for Universal, My husband and oldest son are roller coaster hounds so they were in heaven. I totally agree about the rude teenagers at Universal, they push, cuss, BUTT in lines etc. As far as Disney goes, You have to deal with rude parents. (with kids in tow, training to one day be a rude teen at Universal...lol). My other problem with Universal Crowd control. There is not a person where to FOTL pass holder meets the person who waited (forever in most cases) then there was a push, match to see who goes next. AND why would I pay money for a FOTL pass after paying admission?
That seems silly. So my choice is to stay at a VERY OVERPRICED hotel so I can have the FOTL pass for "FREE". no thanks.
As for park maintainence, these guys could take a serious look at Disney, chipped paint, graffitti (complete with racial slang, cuss words and "for a good time call" instructions...) can be removed. Universal is a movie company all about the details of making things look realistic. So why have they dropped the ball at the parks. Yes, more thrill rides, but is it any better than a glorified Six Flaggs?

Janet P.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I've never been to any of the Universal Parks but have been wanting to go for some time. What is it that they do better than WDW?

The things that UO does better than WDW

1) Getting people from parking lot/deck to park entrance (moving sidewalks are da bomb!)

2) Water fountains in queue lines (small amenity, but a nice touch nonetheless)

3) If comparing Buzz and MIB, MIB wins by a mile. I have always enjoyed Buzz, but I thought MIB was a far superior ride. The "personalized" part of it was great. The theming was well detailed. We rode it multiple times and got a kick out of the "Doofus and Do Right" cartoon. I must give credit where credit is due on this one

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

In my opinion the following:
car parking is much better, multi-storey and undercover from the heat, Disneys are old and out-dated.

Shrek is by far the best 4D ride going and superior to any Disney 3d ride.

US/IOA are right next door to each other so you can easily walk from one to the other.

Citywalk shopping and restaurant complex are right at the entrance to the parks and provide a good contrast to the attractions, Disney's main area is at DD so not actually at the parks itself.

Other than at MK there is nothing really for young children, at US you have indoor playground with slides etc, Curious George indoor and outdoor play areas, all aimed at young children.

I think people can be 'disney obsessed', we just love Disney and US, I think if people try US and do not like it then fair enough, but it definitely is worth a visit, we have APs.

Parking: The decks are nice (especially in summer I would guess), but its a non-factor for me since I usually take the bus when staying at WDW

Shrek 4-D: Yeah, it's nice. But I wouldn't swap you Philharmagic for it (JMO)

IOA/US proximity: I can't argue with that one

Citywalk location: It just doesn't matter to me. I'm not ever eating at either Emeril's or Wolfgang Puck's, so Citywalk was pretty much just scenery on the way to the parks. I can see where its location would appeal to others, though.

Children: My kids have always LOVED all four WDW parks. They got bored quick at both IOA and US. Barney is for only the youngest demographic. Curious George playground is probably a hoot if you put it in a water park. UO should develop more attractions like ET that appeal to whole family.

To summarize: We went to UO and were underwhelmed. I was personally ready to love it, thinking that I might actually be ready to "move on" from Disney. The staff at both UO parks all generally behaved like bored teenagers.
The appearance of the parks was shabbier than I had hoped. For example, I thought the colors in Seussland would be brilliant, but they were very faded (from the Florida sun, I assume). Even worse, there were spots where paint was chipping off key landmarks. I know WDW is not perfect on this count, but it is far better IMO. There were places where guests could easily see "backstage" (for example, in queue for "One Fish, Two Fish" ride). This severely detracted from the illusion of being in another realm. Before I sound too grumpy about appearance, I really liked the look of the Lost Continent area. Poseidon's Temple was a beauty, even if the ride inside was a bit of a bore.
Bottom line: I now know wothout a doubt that I like my theme parks with a large dollop of magic and personality---things that one just does not readily find at UO.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I do have a question...about Universal. Since you did not stay onsite, you did not have FOTL passes. Did you notice those that did have them getting onto rides much faster? We are planning on 2-3 days in Universal on our next trip down, and decided to stay onsite to get the FOTL passes. I am just wondering if they really made a great difference? Thanks!

FOTL passes were never needed because the crowds were non-existant. We walked on everything. I am sure it would make a difference during crowded times. FWIW, our trip would have cost us more than twice as much if we had stayed on site.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Zippa ~~ Did you check out the new Fear Factor show? We're going in March and my neice (7) can't wait to see that!!! I think she's more excited about Fear Factor and the Mummy than she is about going to Disney !!! Did you get to check out the Mardi Gras parade on Sat. night? We went last year and it was unbelievable!!! So we scheduled our trip this year so we can go again.

We are not big Fear Factor fans so we wound up skipping that show. Just didn't fit in the schedule. Mummy was a cool ride. I walked right on and two minutes later it was done. Kinda short, so it left me feeling... unsatisfied. We were there during the week so did not see any Mardi Gras stuff.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Can you tell how the weather and crowds were when you went? I mean to the OP

Thanks,
Deb

Crowds at UO parks were tiny. I was surprised they would open with so few people around. The only wait we had was about 15 minutes for Pteradon Flyers (slow loader). Crowds at MK were larger than I would have expected for mid-January. I am sure this was due to EMH and Spectromagic. Still, it was not unbearably bad. Standby lines for the mountains were usually about 20 minutes. HM, Pirates, IASW were walk-ons all day.

Weather was great, but a bit on the cool side. First day high was 78 (best temps of the trip). Second day high was 63 We wore fleeces all day. Third day high was 73. We all got cool waiting for Spectro that night. We had no backpack, but wished we had brought one with some fleeces.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

hi,
how were the crowds in wdw????????

Larger than expected, but not bad. It was an EMH morning and a Spectro night

 

[dairyou]

Crowds at UO parks were tiny. I was surprised they would open with so few people around. The only wait we had was about 15 minutes for Pteradon Flyers (slow loader). Crowds at MK were larger than I would have expected for mid-January. I am sure this was due to EMH and Spectromagic. Still, it was not unbearably bad. Standby lines for the mountains were usually about 20 minutes. HM, Pirates, IASW were walk-ons all day.

Weather was great, but a bit on the cool side. First day high was 78 (best temps of the trip). Second day high was 63 We wore fleeces all day. Third day high was 73. We all got cool waiting for Spectro that night. We had no backpack, but wished we had brought one with some fleeces.

Thanks! We're taking the red eye out tomorrow night I packed a little of everything, so hope we'll be okay!

Deb

 

[afc104]

Returning to WDW for first time in 7 years after doing Universal 3 times in last 4 years. We stayed onsite and to us the FOTL perk is the best. Also you can walk or take a boat to everything which makes it nice. Looking forward to going back to WDW. The one thing I am afraid off is we are so used to the FOTL line perk that we will be comparing any wait to that. We are going next week so I am hoping it is slow and waits are minimal. When we return I will post my observations.

 

[rie'smom]

US IOA experience

Gosh, I've never had a problem with teenagers or line cutting.
FOTL is a great treat. I look at it as a freebie because I think the hotels are decently priced.
I've always found that there is great crowd control.
Parents and kids have been well behaved.
My DD would be happy to skip WDW but since we're in Orlando, I insist.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Parking: The decks are nice (especially in summer I would guess), but its a non-factor for me since I usually take the bus when staying at WDW

Shrek 4-D: Yeah, it's nice. But I wouldn't swap you Philharmagic for it (JMO)

IOA/US proximity: I can't argue with that one

Citywalk location: It just doesn't matter to me. I'm not ever eating at either Emeril's or Wolfgang Puck's, so Citywalk was pretty much just scenery on the way to the parks. I can see where its location would appeal to others, though.

Children: My kids have always LOVED all four WDW parks. They got bored quick at both IOA and US. Barney is for only the youngest demographic. Curious George playground is probably a hoot if you put it in a water park. UO should develop more attractions like ET that appeal to whole family.

To summarize: We went to UO and were underwhelmed. I was personally ready to love it, thinking that I might actually be ready to "move on" from Disney. The staff at both UO parks all generally behaved like bored teenagers.
The appearance of the parks was shabbier than I had hoped. For example, I thought the colors in Seussland would be brilliant, but they were very faded (from the Florida sun, I assume). Even worse, there were spots where paint was chipping off key landmarks. I know WDW is not perfect on this count, but it is far better IMO. There were places where guests could easily see "backstage" (for example, in queue for "One Fish, Two Fish" ride). This severely detracted from the illusion of being in another realm. Before I sound too grumpy about appearance, I really liked the look of the Lost Continent area. Poseidon's Temple was a beauty, even if the ride inside was a bit of a bore.
Bottom line: I now know wothout a doubt that I like my theme parks with a large dollop of magic and personality---things that one just does not readily find at UO.

Fair comments. At least you have given US/IOA a try - we are very much driven by our sons needs (he is autistic) and he loves Woody/ET/Jaws/Barney/Curious George...of the Disney parks only MK have attractions that he likes, MGM & EPCOT do not really appeal to him.

So if he likes US then so do we.

 

[hockeygirl]

I went to IOA and US for the first time in December, and I loved it. I have been to Disney many times but just never got over to Universal. We were able to do both parks in one day because it was so empty. I LOVED both parks. I feel that the universal parks are geared more towards adults than Disney. I love Disney, but now I won't skip Universal when I head down to Florida.

If you like roller coasters, then don't miss IOA as there are some great ones.

If you haven't been to the Universal parks before, I would say you have to try them once for yourself to see what you think.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Fair comments. At least you have given US/IOA a try - we are very much driven by our sons needs (he is autistic) and he loves Woody/ET/Jaws/Barney/Curious George...of the Disney parks only MK have attractions that he likes, MGM & EPCOT do not really appeal to him.

So if he likes US then so do we.

JohnnySharp, I admire you for making your son's needs a priority. If my kids liked Gatorland and Old Town best, that's probably where we'd wind up.

 

[LovintheLodge]

Last August my family went to WDW for the week and spent two days at IOA and US. We stayed on-site WDW, but since we went at the end of the month and it wasn't busy, not having FOTL access at IOA/US was okay. We had a great vacation and thoroughly enjoyed all the Disney and Universal parks! The longest we waited for rides at IOA and US was about 30 minutes one time for the Mummy ride. Our highlights were Spiderman, Hulk, MIB (my entire family just loved that one!), and Mummy. We love thrill rides and I do think the IOA and US parks cater to this type more.

What I am a bit surprised to read on this thread is that many feel IOA/US provide better parking. We thought Disney's parking, with tram access, was better and faster. It was a loooooooong walk from the parking deck to each of the park entrances, even with the moving walkways and escalators. Also, to get to the park entrances, you must walk through CityWalk.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

JohnnySharp, I admire you for making your son's needs a priority. If my kids liked Gatorland and Old Town best, that's probably where we'd wind up.

Thanks - it basically comes down to a if he is happy so are we scenario.

What I am a bit surprised to read on this thread is that many feel IOA/US provide better parking. We thought Disney's parking, with tram access, was better and faster. It was a loooooooong walk from the parking deck to each of the park entrances, even with the moving walkways and escalators. Also, to get to the park entrances, you must walk through CityWalk.

I am not sure about the speed of access, my main point was that I felt a multi-storey car park like at Universal was the way forward.
Not necessarily because your car is spared the Orlando heat, although that's not a bad reason but just that it seemed to me some of the Disney car parks were looking a bit shabby..we have a disabled badge so it's not so much a problem.

 

[jennymouse]

The next time I take my DD & DGDs, I'm thinking of doing a couple days at US IOA. Would you advise starting or ending your trip with Universal?

 

[JohnnySharp2]

The next time I take my DD & DGDs, I'm thinking of doing a couple days at US IOA. Would you advise starting or ending your trip with Universal?

I don't think it really matters Jenny, we have APs for Universal and it's generally the first park we visit, mainly because our son Joshua likes it there so much, not particularly IOA but certainly US.

Maybe it would be a good idea to try it first, you can easily walk from one park to the other which is a great thing to be able to do.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

The next time I take my DD & DGDs, I'm thinking of doing a couple days at US IOA. Would you advise starting or ending your trip with Universal?

It worked well for us to visit US/IOA first. I think it would be a bit deflating to do it the other way around.