Mine Train vs. Transformers

[ChrisnKim913]

Yea the fact that they had to build an all new building and to me, Transformers is a heck of a lot more complex of a ride system.

 

[Dznefreek]

Seven Dwarves Mine Train is breaking new ground and therefore can be naturally expected to take longer.

I love WDW as much as anybody but making a traditional roller coaster swing is hardly ground breaking . . . and after watching the CGI video of the ride I am more under whelmed . Just my .02

 

[mesaboy2]

Yea the fact that they had to build an all new building and to me, Transformers is a heck of a lot more complex of a ride system.

Transformers is at least the third or fourth copy of an existing ride technology. The complexity isn't at issue, the effort that goes into non-recurring engineering is.

I love WDW as much as anybody but making a traditional roller coaster swing is hardly ground breaking . . . and after watching the CGI video of the ride I am more under whelmed . Just my .02

No rollercoaster has used technology like this before. Whether it looks impressive or not to any one person is beside the point.

I guess I need to go find that old Disney-apologist pin for me to wear again.

 

[monkyby87]

Disney works slow and overhypes their projects,do I still love them,sure but Universal is trouncing them right now.Let's look at the projects Universal will be building or are in rumor mode for the next three years.

1.Transformers for 2013,sure it's a clone of the ride in Hollywood and very similar to Spider Man,but it's still a new ride and will bring in the crowds.

2.London themed area for Harry Potter expansion with an indoor Gringots bank coaster and a Hogwarts express train that will connect both Potter areas in both parks

3.Simpsons land,they already had a Simpsons ride but are now creating an entire land with Simpsons themed restaurants and other attractions

The first three are under construction but there are rumors galore of other projects that could be fast tracked after Transformers and possibly even open before the Potter expansion

4.Poseidon's Fury being replaced with a Grinch or Lorax themed dark ride or coaster

5.And the last one which appears more solid than the Grinch one and just came about a couple of days ago is a major expansion of the Jurrassic Park section at Islands of Adventure to include a mine train family coaster into the mines where they discover the amber with insects with the dinosaur blood to create the dinosaurs.If that's not enough a new dark ride boarding at the JP Discovery center.

It's obvious you have Universal going all out with construction all over even a new resort also in construction and Disney taking 10 years to build an underwhelming new Fantasyland.Like I said I still love Disney and for me it's a win win because they will have to answer what Universal is doing.

It looks like Universal is doing a lot, but do all of these really interest people? I mean, honestly, I couldn't care less about Simpsons stuff, and a Transformers ride would be cool, but nothing new and exciting like the Mine Train. Jurrasic Park isn't as fresh anymore. Really Harry Potter is the only thing that interests me there. I'm not trying to be a Disney-apologist but I just don't know if Universal's new things are all that interesting compared to what Disney is doing with Fantasyland.

 

[FigNewton]

Meeeh Bayformers suck anyway. ^^

 

[DOOM1001]

It looks like Universal is doing a lot, but do all of these really interest people? I mean, honestly, I couldn't care less about Simpsons stuff, and a Transformers ride would be cool, but nothing new and exciting like the Mine Train. Jurrasic Park isn't as fresh anymore. Really Harry Potter is the only thing that interests me there. I'm not trying to be a Disney-apologist but I just don't know if Universal's new things are all that interesting compared to what Disney is doing with Fantasyland.

Simpson's is only one of the most popular shows in history,because you don't like it has nothing to do with how popular it is,not just in the USA but worldwide.What I'm hearing of the Simpsons area is that they plan to go crazy introducing unique food and drinks like butterbeer is to Potter for the Simpsons land,Krusty Burger,Moe's Tavern as well as uniquely themed shopping in the area.As far as Jurrassic Park goes,Jurrassic Park 4 in 3-D directed by Spielberg is coming out in 2014,that's a blockbuster bringing in renewed popularity to the area with it's own mine train coaster to counter the Disney seven dwarves ride,on top of that the plan is for two rides in the area,the second a dark ride possibly in a jeep which sounds a bit like Dinosaur at AK.Transformers to tell you the truth is what I'm least interested in as I'm not a fan of the movies and even though I've seen a video of the ride and it does look good,to me it's too similar to Spider Man.The Potter Expansion is what Disney really needs to be careful of as this is the one that will not just get Disney visitors to skip a day at Disney to go do Universal this expansion along with all the other projects will likely create Universal only trips with families skipping Disney altogether.People in the industry know this expansion is that significant and will put a serious dent in Disney's pockets.Realize that now they're forcing guests to go to both parks with the Hogwarts train connecting the parks.That's two days minimum at Universal instead of one to see Potter,have Universal do a good 3-4 day ticket deal,let's see how many days are left for Disney.I might sound like I'm all about Universal and hate Disney which is totally the furthest from the truth,I love all the parks Disney,Universal,Sea World,Busch,etc..I'm just hoping this will force Disney to actually do more significant projects in the future instead of just minor renovations like they've been doing for several years now,and maybe,just maybe a 5th park.

 

[cbsnyber1]

People still go to Universal?

Yes we do.

 

[MelissathePooh]

Yes we do.

Exactly! I'm a DVC member and love Disney, but I can say in all honesty that my guest experience at Universal Orlando has handsdown beaten the pants off Disney over the last 2 years.

I don't think its competition exactly - although I'm sure Universal would love to put a dent in Disney's market share, but really their focus seems to be more concerned with what guests want rather than outdoing or competing with anyone else. Disney will always be bigger and have more guests overall, but I think Universal does a better job of being guest centered. Disney just seems to be focused on lowest common denominator.

Ultimately everyone wins though when the parks make improvements and additions. I am excited to try out Transformers when it opens and excited to see what 7 Dwarves will turn out to be. I get the Disboards and the anti-Universal attitude - I used to have it. I couldn't imagine what UF could possible have that would interest me or my kids. When we ventured over for a Scooby Doo character dinner one night during a Disney trip...the difference was astounding. We booked a few nights mixed into our next Disney trip and look forward to visiting as often as we can. I have never been so happy to be wrong about something! We're actually heading down tomorrow for the weekend - UF only.

So yes people do still go to Universal.

 

[bcrook]

Exactly! I'm a DVC member and love Disney, but I can say in all honesty that my guest experience at Universal Orlando has handsdown beaten the pants off Disney over the last 2 years.

I don't think its competition exactly - although I'm sure Universal would love to put a dent in Disney's market share, but really their focus seems to be more concerned with what guests want rather than outdoing or competing with anyone else. Disney will always be bigger and have more guests overall, but I think Universal does a better job of being guest centered. Disney just seems to be focused on lowest common denominator.

Ultimately everyone wins though when the parks make improvements and additions. I am excited to try out Transformers when it opens and excited to see what 7 Dwarves will turn out to be. I get the Disboards and the anti-Universal attitude - I used to have it. I couldn't imagine what UF could possible have that would interest me or my kids. When we ventured over for a Scooby Doo character dinner one night during a Disney trip...the difference was astounding. We booked a few nights mixed into our next Disney trip and look forward to visiting as often as we can. I have never been so happy to be wrong about something! We're actually heading down tomorrow for the weekend - UF only.

So yes people do still go to Universal.

I know this is a silly little example and ridiculously small sample size. But the last three families I coached to help prepare their trips to Disney, all three came back and said they loved Islands of Adventure, Universal, and the City Walk. [that means either I am a terrible Disney coach or those other parks are pretty exciting] Most students at my middle school when I discuss my frequent trips to Disney ask me about WWoHP! I had to check it out for myself last May, and now I am considering only buying tickets for US/IoA for my next trip. DOOM1001 paints a thrilling picture. All the Jurassic Park additions sound super cool!

 

[MelissathePooh]

I know this is a silly little example and ridiculously small sample size. But the last three families I coached to help prepare their trips to Disney, all three came back and said they loved Islands of Adventure, Universal, and the City Walk. [that means either I am a terrible Disney coach or those other parks are pretty exciting] Most students at my middle school when I discuss my frequent trips to Disney ask me about WWoHP! I had to check it out for myself last May, and now I am considering only buying tickets for US/IoA for my next trip. DOOM1001 paints a thrilling picture. All the Jurassic Park additions sound super cool!

No its not you. We used to be able to work the parks like crazy. Didn't need freakin line apps or planners or crowd level indicators... We didn't have to plan out every second of the trip for dining and parks 6 months in advance. It's Disney - they've turned into a monster - a Beast! Everything is just about pushing the masses through as fast as possible and more more more. I understand business and profit, but I think Disney has reached a point where it is just too big to give the "personal" experience that some of us are used to. That doesn't mean that it can't be a great trip, just different from the place they were 10 years or so ago. I don't blame them for anything, but I also don't necessarily like what has happened either.

Universal can do things Disney can't because they are smaller. Even if you aren't staying at one the their resorts they make things available to everyone else to purchase. I love me DVC homes, but good grief the UF resorts are outstanding!

 

[RMulieri]

I know this is a silly little example and ridiculously small sample size. But the last three families I coached to help prepare their trips to Disney, all three came back and said they loved Islands of Adventure, Universal, and the City Walk. [that means either I am a terrible Disney coach or those other parks are pretty exciting] Most students at my middle school when I discuss my frequent trips to Disney ask me about WWoHP! I had to check it out for myself last May, and now I am considering only buying tickets for US/IoA for my next trip. DOOM1001 paints a thrilling picture. All the Jurassic Park additions sound super cool!

Its not just you...I was the same way..Die hard disney all the way..Until I made my first onsite Universal only trip last Jan..My family was hooked and are going back again in August..We discussed driving over to Disney for a day or 2 , but decided against it.We will probably go back to Disney once The Mine train is done.

 

[kaligal]

When the boys were home for Christmas, we talked about trips we'd taken when they were younger. None of them have kids yet, but I asked them if they thought they might want to take their own kids to Orlando. I got two Yes votes and one Yes, but not to Disney vote.

Hearing that Uni has done something better, faster, cheaper and before Disney did is never a surprise to me. The only thing I remember Disney doing quicker was DS. And it wasn't their idea; they copied it (like so many things!) from Uni. Uni built the better park, though.

 

[aubriee]

deleted

 

[aubriee]

I used to always stay onsite and had absolutely no interest in going over to Universal. Then Universal made the announcement that Harry Potter World would be open in the spring and I decided to check it out during my regular May WDW trip. Unfortunately HP didn't open until June of that year, but I had already purchased those 7 days for $99.00 tickets that Universal offered earlier that year, so decided to go anyway. I was floored with their great theming and fantastic customer service. I loved not have to make ADRs, yet still being able to walk in any restaurant with a very minimal wait. In short, I fell in love with Universal and wondered what took me so long to get over there. I loved it so much, that I upgraded that 7 day $99.00 ticket to an AP and have renewed it every single year since then. I made a special trip back down there just two months later in August to check out the Harry Potter World amd spent the entire week onsite at Universal, never even entering a Disney park and not wanting to. Even without HP, I still would have gone back. In May I'll be at Bonnet Creek (refuse to continue to pay Disney's high prices, when I can get a one bedroom condo for less than $100.00/night at a deluxe that's still technically on property). However, I'll be spending 2-3 days of my trip over at Universal. AP holders get free parking, meals are cheaper, we love their theming, and their rides. I agree with a previous poster that Universal is blowing Disney out of the water right now with all their plans for the next couple of years. We can't wait for the expanded Potter section, Transformers, upgraded Simpson and Jurassic Park areas, plus there is a rumer they are in talks with the Tolkien heirs about opening a Lord of the Rings area.

The only thing Disney is fighting back with is a Seven Dwarfs ride, an Ariel ride, and that stupid FastPass Plus crap, that as an AP holder (who goes multiple times a year and stays offsite) I am really dreading. 20 FP+ per quarter which is what the rumer is AP holder's will get is just stupid. There are alot of times I make more than one trip per quarter, but WDW is only going to allow me enough FPs for five days total (when I'll be down there twenty two days). I love Disney, but am not happy with them at the moment and feel they are not keeping up with Univeral.

 

[ChrisnKim913]

My intention wasn't really to turn the convo this way when i started this thread but I can see how it did. I know Disney is the go to Park for families traveling to Orlando for vacation. My main gripe is how Uni has put such urgency in opening up Transformers from start to finish in under a year and it is going to take 3 years for Seven Dwarfs? I understand its "new" technology, but I also understand this is Disney. They can get it done if they want to. I am a loyal Disney fan. I am an AP holder and only go to Uni once a year for Halloween Horror Nights. I am considering getting Uni passes though bc Transformers, Harry Potter, the Simpsons... That's all exciting to me. CityWalk is a great place to go at night and you can actually do something there. What happened to "Hyperion Wharf"? Is it really necessary to keep building DVC Resorts? It seems Uni is more in touch with what the public wants. I'm sure my mentality will change once more info on Avatarland comes out or some type of announcement for HS. I will always love Disney but I also agree, who wants to plan out their whole vacation from start to finish, day by day, hour by hour?

 

[Planogirl]

Universal is trying hard to be recognized as a good themepark resort and seems on a track to get as much done as possible. New owners took over a few years ago and they seem to be very motivated to pour money into the parks.

Disney seems to be a little more complacent but of course they have a lot of money to spend on what is already there. I imagine that FL will be quite nice once it's finished.

I think that both companies are doing great things. I wish that Disney would do a little more but two great resorts being in one area like that is just wonderful IMO. Plus there's Seaworld too of course - I don't want to forget them.

 

[seadd67]

I am not diss-pointed at all that Disney Is taking its time with the train. I want Disney to do what It feels it takes to make it right and if that means slower that's ok, US is what It Is, i do not try to compare the two, but enjoy them separately and for what they are. What makes Disney so special Is the fact there slow to change, we can enjoy the same rides our Children ride as we did as kids. US Is 100% theme park 101. Disney Is a theme park second and experience/detestation/happiness 1st.

 

[guynhawaii]

Aloha,

My family and I visited UH last Fall and truly loved the Transformers ride. It was really awesome. And the Simpsons ride was truly magnificent.

I am a Disney Lover and I too wish Disney would have the same passion and energy to expand and improve like UO.

Somebody please correct me, but if my memory is correct, at one point in time Disney fired several Imagineers as Disney downsized. UO then hired the fired WDW Imagineers and UO hired a new CEO who wants to beat the pants off of WDW.

 

[Kristine316]

Its not just you...I was the same way..Die hard disney all the way..Until I made my first onsite Universal only trip last Jan..My family was hooked and are going back again in August..We discussed driving over to Disney for a day or 2 , but decided against it.We will probably go back to Disney once The Mine train is done.

We have been to Disney three times but, decided on our last trip in September to spend a few days at Universal for the first time.

I love Disney... but, I also found myself very impressed with Universal. Uni's rides seemed to be more technologically advanced.. I mean Disney cannot compare to what Universal can do with ride simulations. Disney's Star Wars ride didn't compare to Universal's simulators, IMO..

Now I get that this is a Disney board and people are very protective of Disney and for the most part I agree with that... I adore Disney and would never go to Orlando without going to Disney but, my family and I decided now that we won't go back to Orlando without going to Universal too.

I think the new things planned at Universal sound pretty exciting.

 

[Sam81]

We always viewed Universal as the gradual progression as our kids got older. By the time my boys were 9 they were done with Mickey/Princess/Dumbo. The HP area at Universal is awesome. The themeing is better than any land WDW currently has.

I'm also perplexed on why it is taking years to construct a single ride. I am also saddened to read in the annual report that the majority of capital spend will be going overseas to fund those projects.

For us, we will be doing 2 days at Disney and 5 at Universal.