There is a common misconception that Universal is all about thrill rides. They have 3 coasters, and I suppose you could kinda call The Mummy a coaster, but it's certainly much more technological than that. MIB, Shrek 4D, Spiderman, the Simpsons aren't thrill rides under any stretch, and Disney still doesn't have anything close to any of them. The ride portion of HP is absolutely new, so I'm not sure where you're getting your information. As a matter of fact, that is the primary reason for the recent Sum of all Thrills addition to Epcot, though what will be done in HP will be far more complex..
Sorry ... forgot the one new ride. I was talking about the reworked Unicorn ride and the Dueling Dragons rides and the "new" wand dark show. Apologies. (Although, I consideer Spiderman and the Simpsons to be thrill rides, and I include the flumes in my "coaster count". I should have been clear on that.)
I think the perception among guests (and certainly within Universal, if you're to believe their advertising) is that Universal is, indeed, the "Thrill Park" and is "all about coasters." Even on the DIS, people say, "if you want roller coasters, go to Universal; Disney is different." While in reality, they should be saying, "if you want coasters, go to Busch Gardens." Still ... Universal is always saying things like "when you get tired of pixie dust and fairies, come to universal for something different" and then they show pictures of Hulk and RRR and Spiderman and the other thrill elements. So I do think that Universal very much markets itself as a "roller coaster park."
Again, they haven't been making the kind of noticeable cuts (Night before Christmas, Fantasmic, LOW, etc.) that Disney has, but originally you were the one that brought Universal into this discussion. I only pointed out that Universal has been doing a much better job of adding, renovating, and building superior rides over the past decade (Disney has had that long to come up with something to match Spiderman, and they haven't come close).
Or ... Disney didn't WANT to come up with something to match Spiderman, because people would have claimed just that: "Oh ... Disney's copying Universal and putting in a ride just like Spiderman." Universal still wins. Why would Disney purposely do that with a competitor? Instead, in 1999 (when Spiderman opened), Disney gave us a new drop sequence at TOT, Test Track, Kali River Rapids, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. That was how they "matched" Spiderman. But none of those, apparently, count.
As far as Night Before Christmas goes, I would counter that Disney did not "cut" Night Before Christmas. They closed it and replaced it with something else. You may not LIKE the something else it was replaced with, but it's unfair to say it was a cut. Disney put time, money and work into a new show to replace one that went away when it's performing location went away.
Fantasmic! shows were cut, yes, just as Universal is making entertainment cuts. They may not be as visible, but then ... it's different product. They don't have several nightly fireworks shows that they're supporting along with several daily parades and large stage shows. So they don't have as many big-ticket items. They did cut "Fear Factor" comletely, which was a large-capacity show, albiet not as popular as Fant! But still, they had decent audiences all day long. Universal didn't reduce the show schedule or replace it with anything. They cut it. But ... people didn't really love that show, so no one complains when it goes away.
LOW is, indeed, a cut. No argument there.
I'm not sure what you're including in your "etc.", but have noticed that people say things like, "And they cut Fantasmic, LOW, etc.," as if that "etc." includes hundreds of other items too massive to list. But it's pretty squishy logic without knowing what you consider to be "etc."
Disney is only going to be able to cut so much before enough people start spending their dollars elsewhere. After the way they changed the 4/3 deal to slap AP holders like myself in the face, I'll not be renewing mine next year. That is another area where Universal has been outperforming Disney, they treat their AP holders much better than Disney.
Then yes, you SHOULD renew at Universal and not Disney. And when you do that, write Disney a letter and explain to them why. If you just don't renew, Disney won't notice. It'll get written off as normal attrition. You want to get your point across, write them a letter, send them your old AP, and explain to them why you're not renewing. THAT is what gets their attention.
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