Pixie Dust turned to Cement

[goofy!]

Was it just me or is Universal just a lot of walking on cement, loud noises and water?

I understand what you are saying because WDW is a cement free zone except for the Castle, Space Mtn., Splash Mtn., Big Thunder, the Tree of Life,.......this thread really isn't worth commenting on.

I do have to admit that when I am at Universal, I miss walking on those pathways paved with gold and magical pixie dust that are the norm at Disney. You know - walking down the cement free Main Street - now that is magical. I just don't understand why Universal has to use plain, old common cement on their walkways. It is just so ghetto. That NEVER happens at Disney.

 

[bg4]

I do have to admit that when I am at Universal, I miss walking on those pathways paved with gold and magical pixie dust that are the norm at Disney. You know - walking down the cement free Main Street - now that is magical. I just don't understand why Universal has to use plain, old common cement on their walkways. It is just so ghetto. That NEVER happens at Disney.

1) Went to Home Depot (and Lowes) but couldn't find gold and pixie dust to pave my driveway? very strange. Guess the big-box stores have no magic.

<portions EDITED for your future enjoyment>

Disney-ites have been suckered into believing this whole magic thing is actually true. Hate to tell you but magic is subjective. If you feel it all power to you - I do not (at least at disney).

Disney is not Universal and Universal is not Disney and that is good.

final aside- During Nascar telecasts there is a commercial where a driver tells another that he lost his helmet and it magically reappeared after keying his direct-connect phone. Other driver says "no this is magic" and pulls a rabbit out of his helmet. First driver says no, that is sleight of hand- keys his phone and says "get the bunny". Crew member taked bunny out of first driver's hand and gives it to second driver. Second driver says "Now that was magic".

What you think is magic might very well be sleight of hand. You never know. def of magic references sleight of hand in #3

def of magic (m-w.com)
1 a : the use of means (as charms or spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces b : magic rites or incantations
2 a : an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source b : something that seems to cast a spell : ENCHANTMENT
3 : the art of producing illusions by sleight of hand

 

[amshowers]

Ok, I'm a huge Walt Disney fan. I have evey disney movie ever made, and really enjoy WDW. I also have every marvel/dreamworks movie, too.That being said we are spending 1 day wdw 2 days waterparks and 4 days onsite at Universal. This is our first time onsite at Universal and we went for the first time last year as a family(I went to US before IOA opened) and fell in love with Universal. I just don't understand why people feel like the need to chose. I have 2 boys 5,6 who love spiderman,but still really really like the chacacters a wdw. The parks are so different you can't really compare them, and I love them both. No need to pick and chose you can have it all in Orlando.

 

[mom2my3kids]

We love them both. We have not been to universal for some years now, but summer 2008 is just a beach vacation (2 weeks) so we plan on going to universal for a day..

 

[goofy!]

Was it just me or is Universal just a lot of walking on cement, loud noises and water? Just got back from Orlando with most of my 7 day Universal pass still unused. Maybe it was just seeing it thru the eyes of a 2.5 year old who was terrified of all the rides and noises. Maybe it was that I kept waiting in the parking lot for my donald or goofy tram to pick me up and take me to the front gate and I finally had to walk and walk. And people going in with happy expectant faces came back out looking beat and mad. Universal Studios was just not appealing to me or my family. I would trade my 7-day pass to Universal for a one-day to the Magic Kingdom.

Wow. I did not mean to cause so much controversy. And defending US sure seems to bring out the evil in people. I can't believe so many nasty comments. I just said that Universal did not work for us. I reseached on this site and others and it sounded great. Although I read the thread several weeks ago with another person being unhappy, we gave it a try. We tried Barney, Animal Actors and George and the small tot parks which were fun. But ET and Seuss were terrifying for a 2 year old along with other parts of the park. It just did not meet our expectations. But then, that is why they make Chevrolets and Fords and we have red and blue. Choices are good.

Op - It is a shame that your Universal experience did not live up to your expectations. However, as you said, choices are good. Not everything is for everyone.

However, stating that you did not mean to cause controversy is a bit disingenuous, is it not?

You find your way to a Universal board and make generalized statements of how Universal is not comparable to Disney. Especially the questionable statement of people going in with happy faces and leaving looking beat and mad. This was everybody? Everybody was mad leaving Universal?

If you had just come here and said that, for your family, it was not the right experience, then everybody would have accepted that and if you ever decided to return, would bend over backwards to help you maximize your enjoyment upon your return.

But to make superficial statements that it is all concrete, water and noise, that all you do is walk, that it is noisy, that all people were leaving mad - these can be viewed as controversial statements intended to invoke a rise out of Universal fans.

It can be viewed as purposely contrived to cause conflict because the same "conditions" can be easily found at Disney. For instance, World Showcase - that is a quite a walk, and last I walked it, I believe I was walking on cement, AND unless it was a mirage, I do believe there was a rather large body of water we had to walk around, and standing next to Test Track, I do believe the sound of the cars racing around the track was quite loud. There was no concrete comparison of the two walks, bodies of water, noise levels etc. Your initial post did not name any rides you rode that scared your toddler as compared to rides that he enjoys at WDW. You did not say when you arrived so that the readers could guage crowd levels on your enjoyment. You did not mention how long you stayed. No, it was just a slam on Universal with no substance to back it up. That does make for a controversial post.

Hope your next experience is better.

 

[dpayne1969]

Hello,
Ok I have to say I think it was the age of the OP'S child.I do agree that Universal is geared toward the "older" age kids.Mine are 14 & 11,I LOVE DISNEY more than they do.But they LOVE UNIVERSAL more than me,so to satisfy us all we do both!! Universal makes us feel like we are actually on vacation because we are not walking all day or waiting in line all day because we always stay on site!!Universal is great if you want to enjoy the rides & chill at your hotel in the pool or enjoying the scenery at the hotels!I say give it a few years maybe when your child turns 8 or 9 then go back & see what you think.My son loves loves loves Universal.Also I hate to say this but my hubby will not step foot in Disney but he too loves Universal & actually enjoys himself.....

 

[Lynne1875]

Op - It is a shame that your Universal experience did not live up to your expectations. However, as you said, choices are good. Not everything is for everyone.

However, stating that you did not mean to cause controversy is a bit disingenuous, is it not?

You find your way to a Universal board and make generalized statements of how Universal is not comparable to Disney. Especially the questionable statement of people going in with happy faces and leaving looking beat and mad. This was everybody? Everybody was mad leaving Universal?

If you had just come here and said that, for your family, it was not the right experience, then everybody would have accepted that and if you ever decided to return, would bend over backwards to help you maximize your enjoyment upon your return.

But to make superficial statements that it is all concrete, water and noise, that all you do is walk, that it is noisy, that all people were leaving mad - these can be viewed as controversial statements intended to invoke a rise out of Universal fans.

It can be viewed as purposely contrived to cause conflict because the same "conditions" can be easily found at Disney. For instance, World Showcase - that is a quite a walk, and last I walked it, I believe I was walking on cement, AND unless it was a mirage, I do believe there was a rather large body of water we had to walk around, and standing next to Test Track, I do believe the sound of the cars racing around the track was quite loud. There was no concrete comparison of the two walks, bodies of water, noise levels etc. Your initial post did not name any rides you rode that scared your toddler as compared to rides that he enjoys at WDW. You did not say when you arrived so that the readers could guage crowd levels on your enjoyment. You did not mention how long you stayed. No, it was just a slam on Universal with no substance to back it up. That does make for a controversial post.

Hope your next experience is better.

Great post, mate.

If you want Disney, then go to Disney.

 

[jaysue]

I went to IOA and USF by myself as a type of reconissance mission to see what I thought and would it work for the kids. I stayed at HRH and really really enjoyed my stay there. Having said that, I determined that I should wait for the kids to hit the ages of around 9 and 6 respectively (they are currently 7 and 4) before we all go as a family. At that age they would be eligible for all the rides from a height perspective and be able to make their own choices as to which attractions to attend. It is likely going to be the same trip that we also go to Discovery Cove as well.

It is unfortunate that your trip did not work out - I hope you have better fortune next time

Cheers
Jason - half of jaysue

 

[ksdave]

Just got back from 5 wonderful days at UO and PBH. To tell you the truth, I am very glad there are thousands of people like the OP who only have eyes for the Mouse. It makes our UO trips so much better!! Last Thursday, the crowds were quite light, Friday and Saturday were manageable even with all the school trips, and Sunday and Monday were just awesome. Every attraction was open (no rehabs) and our favorite show, Horror Make-Up, was a gas every time!! The only sad or mad faces people saw on us were around 2:00 PM on Monday when we had to leave.
As you can see in my sig, I was once hypnotized by the Mouse as well. But, since my DD turned 11 and DS 9, we have not been back to the Mouse House since. My $99 per year PAP makes UO the best entertainment bargain we know of, and the huge discounts we got on our Deluxe Room at PBH in the Villa wing (room 2375 ) paid for my pass renewal for the next 8+ years!!
Long live the Mouse.....so I can continue to have great trips to UO .

 

[Jon99]

Some people just need to relax on the Universal bashing, we just returned from 15 days, 14 days at Disney and 1 day at Universal. While my wife and I don't care to go, our daughter has a few rides she likes to go on and it is nice to see something different.. Though to us its nothing more than a 1 day place.

I am confused by the comments about too much walking at WDW. After 14 days at either the parks or water parks, I can't say my feet bothered me at all, probably the most walking we did was at Universal. We stay on property and use Disney transportation, so we don't see the trams.

 

[Sabre2th]

We haven't been to US/IOA yet but I'm really looking forward to it this fall. We still plan to spend more time at the "World" because of its size, but now that our kids are a little older, 10 and 6 by the time we go, I'm sure they will get a huge kick out of the more intensive rides there at US/IOA.
One thing I think I will enjoy is that apparently the attractions are closer to one another and therefore maybe NOT as much walking around as at WDW.

 

[F-L-A]

I love when people come here expecting to get cyber high fives for their blatant Universal hating. Seeing them get the exact opposite reaction gives me the warm fuzzies.

And apparently were evil now. Who knew?

 

[macraven]

 

[livie1205]

I LOVE DISNEY....my dd 2 is a princess...lol BUT we love universal too...we like to go when we go to disney...my kids all love it, we stay at universal hotel, dont wait in line and the rides are great...but we go to wdw for more days because with the fotl pass from the hotel we can do both parks in one day...even my dd 13 months at the time liked it! if you look you will see plenty to do with small kids and we just took turns with the boys 9 and 10 for the big rides...we had a blast..BUT we love the disney dining plan it is good for our budget and i do not like the meal deal at universal (we dont eat alot at the parks during the day and the lines are very long) the only good thing i had to eat was at the bakery, got a turkey sandwhich and potato salad with fruit....yummy.I would not do universal without staying at one of their resorts.

 

[Sabre2th]

Yeah, I thought it was awkward to see such a negitive posting about US/IOA on the very listing that's meant for it's supporters. No accounting for manners I guess. But I can say in a vague sense I understand what the original poster was trying to say, they just didn't need to knock US/IOA in the process.
Disney as simpler rides but they put a lot love in parks gardens and grounds so it makes some people feel like they've left this cold, cruel concrete world behind. Which as far as I can tell, means MORE walking, but it does make for good eye candy.
US/IOA looks to be (I haven't been yet so I can't say I know this for a fact) an amusement park that's not afraid to let people know, "Hey, we're an amusement park." More concrete, bigger badder rides, and no mouse ears. As far as I'm concerned I'm glad US/IOA decided NOT to become a Disney wannabe.

 

[tlinus]

Yeah, I thought it was awkward to see such a negitive posting about US/IOA on the very listing that's meant for it's supporters. No accounting for manners I guess. But I can say in a vague sense I understand what the original poster was trying to say, they just didn't need to knock US/IOA in the process.
Disney as simpler rides but they put a lot love in parks gardens and grounds so it makes some people feel like they've left this cold, cruel concrete world behind. Which as far as I can tell, means MORE walking, but it does make for good eye candy.
US/IOA looks to be (I haven't been yet so I can't say I know this for a fact) an amusement park that's not afraid to let people know, "Hey, we're an amusement park." More concrete, bigger badder rides, and no mouse ears. As far as I'm concerned I'm glad US/IOA decided NOT to become a Disney wannabe.

I can understand what you are getting at but all one needs to do is to check out the IOA/US Picture of the day thread and see the theming throughout the parks and see that hereto it is made to feel like an escape. KWIM?

 

[ChrisFL]

US/IOA looks to be (I haven't been yet so I can't say I know this for a fact) an amusement park that's not afraid to let people know, "Hey, we're an amusement park." More concrete, bigger badder rides, and no mouse ears. As far as I'm concerned I'm glad US/IOA decided NOT to become a Disney wannabe.

US/IOA are NOT a regular amusement parks, and both are themed as well, if not better than their Disney counterparts in many ways.

US compares favorably to MGM and IOA in many ways compares well to MK in theming

 

[F-L-A]

Yeah, I thought it was awkward to see such a negitive posting about US/IOA on the very listing that's meant for it's supporters. No accounting for manners I guess.

They do it here because that's how things work on other Disney boards. You bash Universal and get a prize. Then they come here not expecting to see support for Universal and opposition to their bashing.

Uh-oh!

This is why all the Universal bashing on this site is done in the Disney sections. They still do it, but they know not to do it here. As for Universal being an amusement park, it's no less a theme park than Disney.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

They do it here because that's how things work on other Disney boards. You bash Universal and get a prize. Then they come here not expecting to see support for Universal and opposition to their bashing.

Uh-oh!

This is why all the Universal bashing on this site is done in the Disney sections. They still do it, but they know not to do it here. As for Universal being an amusement park, it's no less a theme park than Disney.

Exactly.

 

[macraven]

i think universal is waaaaay kewl