Night of Joy vs. Rock the Universe - need help from the experienced!

[auger]

OK, so I saw on here that the list of attractions that will be open during Night of Joy is a follows:


•Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
•Space Mountain
•Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
•Splash Mountain
•Pirates of the Caribbean

Is this really all that will be open during the nights of the concert, or is it just a partial listing?
I am trying to figure out if it is worth spending so much money on NoJ if these are the only rides that will be open.
Not that I want to spend the evening on rides, but if that's all that is open, EVERYONE will be on them!!!

I am wondering if Universal might be a better choice over Disney for the concert nights. Or, does Universal do the same thing and only open a few rides during the concerts?

Anyone have some insight as to how these concert nights are run and whether one is a better choice over the other?

 

[dhdozier]

Bumping this since I am planning for my youth group and would appreciate answers to help decide between the two venues. Thanks!

 

[chris31997]

Can't help with the rides. I personally did not go. But my dad went to Night of Joy, for the concerts and them. For me something like that would be better decided based on the preformers.

 

[lulubelle6188]

I can't help much because I have never been to Rock the Universe. I did go to NOJ last year for the first time and loved it. I had read several reviews of bad behavior from teenagers and younger people but we didn't see anything like that. We also didn't ride any rides, only did concerts. I will say it was hard to see everyone. We saw most of the shows but did have to leave a few early to run to another stage. I haven't seen the line up for Rock the Universe but the NOJ lineup looks amazing to me this year! I'd reccomend it!

 

[plummer925]

We went to Rock the Universe 2 years ago - most people were watching the concerts - most rides had hardly any lines.

We are an adult couple - I'm 37 and hubby is 45 - we were BY FAR the oldest people there. I would say 98% of the people were teens (guessing 14-19ish). They were SO well behaved, but it is, of course, a Christian venue and they'd be expected to behave!

I, personally, would not choose which to go to based on rides - rather, I'd choose based on the bands you like. We would have liked Night of Joy MUCH better based on the bands, but we were going to be at Universal that day and the tickets were combo tix that we got at an incredible rate (I am THINKING it was 2 day tix plus Rock the Universe tix for just over the price of a one day tix).

 

[luvmarypoppins]

For those who have been, can anyone comment on wheelchair/handicapped designated viewing areas? Or was everybody just standing??

 

[auger]

Thanks for the responses so far - still open to more opinions!!

We are having a hard time deciding because we saw that you get a great ticket deal for the 2 days of RTU, and we have never been to Universal. Thought it would be a good way to test it out.

We can't make a decision based on the bands, because we love so many of them. THere are a few we don't know, but most are so great, it's almost impossible for us to choose between them.

I am worried about WDW because of how the bands overlap.

Does Universal do it that way too?

 

[staxia]

I saw a few questions... I'll try to answer..

I've been going to Night of Joy since 1989.. and nearly every year since then. I did Rock the Universe a few years, too.. but not nearly as many.

I'll start first to say my biggest complaint at RTU was that the bands only played one time.. but that was in the late 90's early 00's.. and NOJ had been letting everyone play more than one time a night.. now it's a bit different. However, MOST of the bands do play more than once at Night of Joy... it's only the headliners (Those in front of the castle stage) who will just play once.. BUT the good part about that is they get to play a longer set vs two short ones that may be the same songs, might be different.. depending on the acts.

Last year, the handicap area was closest to the stage at the castle stage. There was a section that probably was 3-4 wheelchairs deep, plus walking room between each row. It was the most I had seen ever. And then the standing people were BEHIND them. I can see good and bad for the folks sitting.. but it was better than being shoved off to one side, I think..

There are more than just those few attractions open... Usually the only ones that close are the ones that are lighter in traffic anyways.. (think Country Bears, Hall of Presidents, Philharmagic, Tiki Room and sadly, I think Jungle Cruise (that's more of a safety thing, I think))

For me.. I despise the way Universal is laid out, so getting around to the different concerts always seemed a lot harder than at Disney.

I'll choose Disney almost every time.... I do have to look at the bands playing, but here the last few years, I haven't had to make much of a decision... and for that I'm thankful.

 

[auger]

WOW, great info!
Thanks so much!!
I knew there had to be someone out there on the boards who could help!!

I did not realize that the bands play more than once.
That was part of our issue; would we have time to see the ones we want to see, or wiould we have to choose between this one or that one?

Do they actually have them scheduled like that, or do they do one scheduled time and one unscheduled?
We love most of the bands at both NofJ and RTU, so either would work for us.

I just am not allowed (by my daughter) to go hear the bands that sing any of the songs that make my start crying.
When my father died 2 yrs ago from a massive stroke, I sat in hospice with him for 15 days before he passed. They had satelite tv and I had it on the Christian music channel the entire time (he was a chorus teacher in Florida for 26 years - music was everything to him).

Anyway, there were certain songs that played that still make me cry when I hear them. So my daughter has told me I cannot listen to any of the bands that play those songs!
She's always watching out for me!!

We had pretty much decided not to go to NofJ, but I may rethink it, esp since you say the rides are open.

Thanks again!

 

[BadgerGirl84]

My DH and I went to NOJ last year on our honeymoon.

We had a great time. I had read varying reviews (some loved it, some were annoyed by masses of unsupervised children). I just set my expectations that there would be some rude teens (there were) and to not let it bother me. I know better to think that just because kids are there for a Christian concert, it's not a great indicator they will be well behaved!

More rides were open than what are listed there. We spent most of our time enjoying the music rather than doing rides, but I know for sure we did Peter Pan.

My husband's favorite band is Skillet and even though I am not a huge fan, it was a very cool concert with all the pyrotechnics and fireworks that shot out around the castle.

We are going back this year for our anniversary but are going to try out Rock the Universe, as Skillet is playing there this year.