Just Back May 27 Observations

[dundee10]

Just finished a week at USO/IOA. Good weather week. Looks like this Memorial Day weekend and into next week will have some rain. It was nice to be ahead of the summer crowds, although attendance was definitely up, and we were seeing some school trips groups.

We just finished a year of AP trips to Disney. US is lots of fun, but definitely doesn't have the Disney magic. Not really complaining though; we got annual passes for US and will let it be our 2005 focus.

The only complaint I would offer is that the estimated wait times are way off. While it always seemed at the Disney parks that estimated wait times were overstated (perhaps so one would feel positive when the actual wait time was less?), at Universal wait times were always UNDERstated. 10 minutes waits were actually 20, a 15 minute wait was 25. The worst was a 30 minute wait that ended up being an hour. Not a good way to win friends and influence people.

 

[tricky1]

we were there last week also, I agree that sometimes the wait times are
incorrect, but there are ways to avoid wating in line, express passes, staying
onsite ...getting there early with a plan , we stayed onsite and did
both parks in one day with ease and even some rerides,we did no kiddie rides
....flying unicorn, nothing in suess landing and that spinning cup thing by the hulk and at uso we skipped bttf , getting there early is a must.

 

[johnvree]

Just finished a week at USO/IOA. Good weather week. Looks like this Memorial Day weekend and into next week will have some rain. It was nice to be ahead of the summer crowds, although attendance was definitely up, and we were seeing some school trips groups.

We just finished a year of AP trips to Disney. US is lots of fun, but definitely doesn't have the Disney magic. Not really complaining though; we got annual passes for US and will let it be our 2005 focus.

The only complaint I would offer is that the estimated wait times are way off. While it always seemed at the Disney parks that estimated wait times were overstated (perhaps so one would feel positive when the actual wait time was less?), at Universal wait times were always UNDERstated. 10 minutes waits were actually 20, a 15 minute wait was 25. The worst was a 30 minute wait that ended up being an hour. Not a good way to win friends and influence people.

We were always a Disney family. Usually we skipped UO; at most, it was a one-day excursion. Last year we stayed on site and we were hooked. If fact, forgive me for saying this o'great Mouse One, but I'll take US over MGM any day.

I know what you mean about the missing magic. Universal is definitely a different feel than Disney. Disney has much more of that warm fuzzy feel with all the characters and character meals, and it certainly scores big in the nostalgia department. But Universal has more of a thrill feel to it. That's why we alternate year-to-year.