Just wondering about other’s thoughts

[luvsJack]

Let me preface this with we LOVE Disney and yes we will go back. I am not downing Disney so no reason for the Disney Mama Bear claws to come out.

Dd and bf are in Orlando this week. They have been to WDW, Universal and Sea World. They did not go to Disney Studios as they didn’t want to deal with the TSL crowds. So MK, Epcot and AK.

They have voiced just a few observations that perhaps Disney needs to up their game soon.

Sea World, we went 3 years ago and weren’t very happy with it. It just seemed chaotic and hard to tour and the employees weren’t very nice. Dd says it is totally different now. They were able to make every show without criss crossing the park. Timing made them able to just hit each show as they walked around the park. The meal plan was well worth what they paid and they came out money ahead by the end of the day. And she said the employees were much more “CM” like than our previous experience.

Universal was great as always. They were given Express Pass for IOA by a nice couple but really didn’t need it. They did use the virtual line in Universal and really liked the concept. Kong blew them away with the technology. And of course HP was as impressive as ever.

Their first two days they spent at WDW and had a great time. Very impressed with Pandora and the rides there. But she said that those attractions and that land really brings out the need for updating in much of the rest of WDW. And if Uni can have Kong, why can’t WDW have a working Yeti? They enjoyed the use of Fast pass but really felt frustrated at the need to keep looking for more after the first three. They preferred the walk up kiosk at Uni. (I guess that would be going backwards for WDW though).

Dining was another point of contention. They had ADRs at Disney that they made awhile back. But then felt locked in to being back in a certain park for a certain meal. They made the one on day one but cancelled on day two. At the other two parks they just decided where they wanted to eat on the fly. She also noted that the difference in quality of food was very apparent.

All three parks were about equal crowd wise this week. And they were honestly lucky as the only thing they waited long for was Flight of Passage (no fast passes)


We are just wondering if Star Wars is going to be amazing-and I am sure it will be, how dated is it going to make the rest of the place look? Add to that the other two places making really positive changes and upping their game left and right, how bad will it look? I don’t even pretend to think WDW will ever go bankrupt or any such nonsense, they will always have crowds. But will the others become a bigger competition and truly start making a dent in that bottom line?

Are there changes they can make to get more in line with the other two’s ease of touring and planning, which it seems for many, is a reason to jump ship. And better quality of food would be a great thing too, can they change that?

 

[Wild4Walt]

I think the next few years we will see great things from Disney in the way of their theme parks. So much is in flux now ( so much construction ) that 2018 and even most of 2019 may not be the optimal times to visit. My DH and I have a trip for September so I've been stalking the MDE app to start planning where we want to use our FPs and I've noticed that wait times are no where near what I was lead to believe they would be in the summer. I also just got a notice from touringplans that our 2 weeks we will be there - the crowd levels have been downgraded ( not sure how they come up with those numbers but they've been pretty accurate for us in the past ).

UNI does have the edge in a few areas, BUT they also have less theme parks overall to manage.

 

[Farro]

Read about all the upcoming new rides, refurbishments and what not coming to Disney the next few years. They are updating and making changes. The only part to me that seems a little outdated is Epcot Future World - that needs some love.
AK and MK outdated? Not to me...

There are so many restaurants to choose from, we never have trouble finding quite a few that we enjoy, especially now with all the options at Disney Springs.

SeaWorld would never be a destination for a vacation for us, and I'm sure it's just an add on to most people's already planned vacations. Universal, the more crowded it gets, the more they will have the issues that Disney has - needing to book ADRs, lines for rides, etc.

(I also think your first sentence in your post about Disney Mama Bear Claws is a baiting people a bit )

 

[luvsJack]

Wasn’t meant to bait anyone, just saying that I wasn’t downing Disney just pointing out observations. My apologies if anyone saw it that way.

I don’t disagree about the restaurants in Disney Springs, but the logistics of going there to eat when you are in MK do not make it that easy and that was the point, not being able to just stop in and get a qualtiy meal. And why can’t they all have that same quality? ( I do realize the fact that Disney Springs if further away is not something that can be changed)

I think what she saw after riding FOP, was that it made other things look outdated. Just the technology of the ride. And I am sure many good changes will be coming.

About the ADRs though, what makes them necessary at 180 days? Did the amount of people wanting them make it necessary or did Disney make it that way? If they did away with them being set that far out what would happen?

Universal has lines, some of their wait times are pretty much on par with Disney. But they also are adding features to help combat that on top of the Express Pass. And the FP+ system certainly does help that but not everyone wants to spend time hunting their 4th and beyond. They said until they just stopped, they felt like they were spending time missing what they love about Disney-the themeing, the atmosphere, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, they had a great time. They are planning to eventually move to Orlando or close and have already checked into the AP or Florida resident pass or whatever is available. So it was nothing to turn them off to Disney.

 

[Liljo22]

Kong is just a head that rotates and opens its mouth. The pirates on POTC are more technologically advanced. It doesn’t even make sense in the ride. It’s like Uni knew they needed an AA so people don’t claim it was all screens.

For ADRs, it doesn’t really make a difference that it’s 180 days. It could be 7 days and people are going to try to grab the highly desireable ones. Even with that, most restaurants are available the night before.

 

[luvsJack]

Kong is just a head that rotates and opens its mouth. The pirates on POTC are more technologically advanced. It doesn’t even make sense in the ride. It’s like Uni knew they needed an AA so people don’t claim it was all screens.

I have no idea, I haven’t seen it but everyone I know that has, loves the ride and mentions how real Kong looks. Not just dd but ds and his family, a friend of both ds and dd that recently moved to Florida and two coworkers that went this year. Not a large number but everyone that I personally know that has seen it.

Pirates is my favorite ride in all of Disney and has been since I first went in the 70’s. So would never really want it to change.

But, she wasn’t comparing as much to Kong as she was to FoP which of course is their own technology.

 

[Liljo22]

I have no idea, I haven’t seen it but everyone I know that has, loves the ride and mentions how real Kong looks. Not just dd but ds and his family, a friend of both ds and dd that recently moved to Florida and two coworkers that went this year. Not a large number but everyone that I personally know that has seen it.

Pirates is my favorite ride in all of Disney and has been since I first went in the 70’s. So would never really want it to change.

But, she wasn’t comparing as much to Kong as she was to FoP which of course is their own technology.

I was more mentioning the Kong AAs technology from you saying if UO can have Kong then why can’t the Yeti work.

 

[Liljo22]

Also, the Yeti is not broken. The AA works fine. It’s the foundation that is cracked and would take a prolonged refurbishment to tear apart the mountain to repair.

 

[KenHutch]

Just an observation. During our recent trip to WDW in June I spent an ung*dly amount of money to send my god daughter and her maternal relatives to Universal for one day with the meal plan. I have been watching the videos they took and the reason for their going (Harry Potter for the 8 year old) was packed. But I noticed a noticed a lot less people in line for other rides outside Potterville as I call it. Disney keeps trying to upgrade it brand while I suspect that Universal will keep adding to their Harry Potter franchise.

 

[luvsJack]

That’s a shame that it’s not fixable. I certainly understand why they don’t/can’t fix it.

I don’t even ride most of this stuff, thrill rides aren’t my thing and I am terrified of heights.

I remember the year we were planning our trip to Universal for dd’s Senior year, people kept telling us that if we were going to Disney to go there first. Some of these people go to Orlando and WDW every year. I asked why we should do it that way and they said because Disney will be disappointing if you don’t. I was so confused about that coming from WDW lovers like us so I finally asked why people kept telling me that. They said between the ease of planning/touring, the CMs, and just the overall parks. We decided against doing both parks in one trip and only did Uni that trip so my closest comparison was a few months difference.

Well, DD did both this trip and said, no she was not "disappointed in Disney" by any means. They truly had a great time. But they did notice these differences.


I just saw your comment about the ADRs. . I don't debate the available ADRs you can get the day of but since that is the case why the need for reservations 180 days out?

 

[luvsJack]

Just an observation. During our recent trip to WDW in June I spent an ung*dly amount of money to send my god daughter and her maternal relatives to Universal for one day with the meal plan. I have been watching the videos they took and the reason for their going (Harry Potter for the 8 year old) was packed. But I noticed a noticed a lot less people in line for other rides outside Potterville as I call it. Disney keeps trying to upgrade it brand while I suspect that Universal will keep adding to their Harry Potter franchise.

Yeah, its more expensive to do either park as an add on to a visit to the other.

Not sure about what they found as the crowds. For our visit and dd's this week, they found the opposite. Diagon Alley is narrow in places so it can seem much more crowded than it is. First thing in the a.m., Gringotts can look like they have a horrendous line but once it starts moving its really not at all. We entered Diagon Alley and saw that line and were like "oh wow, this is going to be awful". We gave it a few while we looked around at other stuff, came out of the joke shop and the line was gone. Couldn't have been more than 15 minutes.

While Universal is adding to the HP areas, they also have plans in the works for other things. And they just added that fabulous water park too. We went as a family 2 years ago and since then there are 4 new attractions, none of which are HP related and a whole new park open (they were building it when we were there).

But with all that said, I don't know that Uni will ever "out do" Disney. But I think there are aspects of Uni that can certainly make it more inviting.

I don't disagree with the poster that said they don't see Sea World as a destination place, just an add on although I have discovered there are people who do go to Orlando just for Sea World and their water park. And the ease of touring that dd experienced, made them really enjoy their day.

Personally, I don't do a lot of rides. I mostly like dark rides like Pirates or Haunted Mansion and I would love to see Uni add more of that but I don't see it happening honestly, their niche is more of the thrill rides and that's ok too.

I guess if someone loves both parks, they just have to take the differences as they are and roll with it! lol

There are just some things I don't understand not making better when they can--like the food quality, the ease of finding a place to eat in the park you are in the day you want to eat there (do they even take walk ups?). And while technology is wonderful, a way to get FP that doesn't require looking at the app to do so.