Some Disappointment in US/IoA

[keishashadow]

BOTH companies have good products IMO. They are just wired differently.

I do see the constant bias from some WDW fans. I have definitely seen criticism of Universal coming from people who have never been to Universal or haven't been in many years. Things change.

It's hard to take comments such as CM's are better than TM's seriously too. I'd want to know more details because the resort styles are different and it could be that the person just prefers the Disney style. I personally love the more edgy, playful style at Universal. I can see that it might not be for everyone though.

I'd hate to see Universal's style become the same as WDW's. The difference (edgy/hip/more exciting) is exactly why we leave WDW during many trips, for something totally different.

OK, let's continue this discussion, because obviously there are plenty of hurt feelings here. Let me help out a little bit.

First of all, Universal Studios will always play second fiddle on this board. That's a given. Why? Because it's a DISNEY BOARD! It's 'Disboards' and it doesn't matter how fair the moderators will try to make it, any other attraction will play second fiddle. My suggestion will be to start a board specifically for US/IOA.

Another thing: Perceived value IS reality. US/IOA may be cleaner. US/IOA may have better customer service. But as long as the customer perceives that Disney has better customer service, US/IOA would have to make measure to change that perception.

For instance, take the FastPass thing. The fastpass have glaring problems in administration, but it gives the perception of fairness of "first come/ first served." The fastpass is a customer service ploy by Disney in which they can market.

Take another issue about the lockers. The lockers are great, but I have yet to see any TM in all the times that I have been at US/IOA sell them adequately. When someone talks about the locker, they should sell it as a customer service asset, that US/IOA is making sure that the customers keeps their belongings from getting lost on the rides. All I have heard is that it's a safety issue.

Watch this: A company keeping you from losing your belongings benefits you. A company keeping you from hurting others benefits the company (from liability.) Once again, perception becomes reality.

But here's what I am really trying to make: The manipulations of these perceptions vs. reality is what makes Disney truly a company that is admired by business students. It's truly a show.

But US/IOA have a strong opportunity to carve out a niche and really do some good stuff these next few quarters. It goes back to this: the rides are better. But with WWHOP, they may extend that to the immersible adventures can be better. But they will have to expand beyond WWHOP, though.

Last thing: If there was anything that I would propose if I was able to enter into a US/IOA boardroom, here would be my pitch:

I would expand WWHOP to the point where it would have it own gate. I would make it into a world. But then, I would REALLY upstage Disney by doing this: I would build a hotel INSIDE WWHOP. I mean, with the vision I would try to create is one where you actually VACATION INSIDE Harry Potter's world!

(OK, I'm not going to do anymore US/IOA imagineering.)

so many here are fans of both and perhaps more experienced amusement park fans (including outside of Orlando) that we're able to recognize potshots and douse them with a huge grain of mummy dust. Nothing wrong with being the underdog, you could argue it gives a certain cache to be willing to admit to enjoying a broader/more adult experience imo.

nobody has built a beloved, sentimental brand better than Disney that benefits from our collective pop culture; indeed, it is all about the show. If any doubts, check out the keys to the kingdom tour and all the prompts the CMs view before they enter what they term "the stage".

jmho, due to economy things have changed greatly @ WDW as to 'The Disney Difference'. I still love it, but lament many of the changes over the past few years.

While WDW has the lion's share of guest attendance in Orlando, it would be interesting to discover which park - %-wise - receives the most complaints from their guests. My money would be on Disney as so many visit without proper planning or unrealistic expectations.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

I'd hate to see Universal's style become the same as WDW's. The difference (edgy/hip/more exciting) is exactly why we leave WDW during many trips, for something totally different.



so many here are fans of both and perhaps more experienced amusement park fans (including outside of Orlando) that we're able to recognize potshots and douse them with a huge grain of mummy dust. Nothing wrong with being the underdog, you could argue it gives a certain cache to be willing to admit to enjoying a broader/more adult experience imo.

nobody has built a beloved, sentimental brand better than Disney that benefits from our collective pop culture; indeed, it is all about the show. If any doubts, check out the keys to the kingdom tour and all the prompts the CMs view before they enter what they term "the stage".

jmho, due to economy things have changed greatly @ WDW as to 'The Disney Difference'. I still love it, but lament many of the changes over the past few years.

While WDW has the lion's share of guest attendance in Orlando, it would be interesting to discover which park - %-wise - receives the most complaints from their guests. My money would be on Disney as so many visit without proper planning or unrealistic expectations.

Here's the consensus:

Universal Studios' Islands of Adventures is rated the Top Theme Park in the world. Disney World's around 5 or 6. Universal Studios have the top ride (HP-FJ) This is according to Theme Park Insider.

US/IOA has been voted "Best Theme Park by the 10Best Editors.

But WDW have the Top 3 Best hotels. Plus, they have the Top 2 best restaurants. And Forbes shows WDW is the 3rd most popular tourist attraction in the world.

I can venture to say that by virtue of those numbers and where they lie, US/IOA gets more complaints. Why do I say this? Because WDW leads in places where customer service IS the experience: Hotels and Restaurants.

 

[Albytaps]

I love WDW and Universal, although I prefer longer and more trips to Disney.

Ask yourself this: "Why is Orlando the #1 vacation destination?" "How did that get started?" "Why Orlando?"

I think you all know the answer. There was a man called Walt.

 

[Magpie]

Actually - from a customer perspective right now - Disney is making me nervous. After getting the umpteenth "We have a special DEAL for the **** Family!" e-mail and seeing them extend free dining out and out and out...

Frankly, Disney's starting to come across a tad desperate. And that doesn't inspire me to visit. It makes me think, "Okay, maybe we'll wait a couple years until after they've finished the Magic Kingdom refurb and visit then."

It's hard to sell me on sentiment as I'm not a sentimental person.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

Actually - from a customer perspective right now - Disney is making me nervous. After getting the umpteenth "We have a special DEAL for the **** Family!" e-mail and seeing them extend free dining out and out and out...

Frankly, Disney's starting to come across a tad desperate. And that doesn't inspire me to visit. It makes me think, "Okay, maybe we'll wait a couple years until after they've finished the Magic Kingdom refurb and visit then."

It's hard to sell me on sentiment as I'm not a sentimental person.

They are desperate: to get you into their hotels. They are getting a lot of traffic through the turnstiles, but WDW is hurting regarding hotel occupancy. These hotels is a really big money-maker, and their marketing efforts are unique.

Here's their marketing pitch, in essence: Go and visit WWHOP. Stay at WDW. That's why the "Free Dining" thing is being sold so hard: because it's tied to hotel occupancy. Every really good perk except fastpasses is tied to hotel stays at WDW. That's because the profit margins are high in hotels.

You REALLY want to see US/IOA compete? Let US/IOA build a value hotel. Or else, let them build a hotel unique to the industry. That will actually cut deep into Disney's profits.

But Disney is excited about WWHOP. They love it because they are making a lot of money off of it. If not, they would have tried harder to have it in-house, but they didn't. Why? Because they knew that they can make a profit off of it with little investment if US/IOA built it.

 

[Magpie]

They are desperate: to get you into their hotels. They are getting a lot of traffic through the turnstiles, but WDW is hurting regarding hotel occupancy. These hotels is a really big money-maker, and their marketing efforts are unique.

Here's their marketing pitch, in essence: Go and visit WWHOP. Stay at WDW. That's why the "Free Dining" thing is being sold so hard: because it's tied to hotel occupancy. Every really good perk except fastpasses is tied to hotel stays at WDW. That's because the profit margins are high in hotels.

You REALLY want to see US/IOA compete? Let US/IOA build a value hotel. Or else, let them build a hotel unique to the industry. That will actually cut deep into Disney's profits.

But Disney is excited about WWHOP. They love it because they are making a lot of money off of it. If not, they would have tried harder to have it in-house, but they didn't. Why? Because they knew that they can make a profit off of it with little investment if US/IOA built it.

See, I love Disney, but I just don't see any advantage to staying in their hotels. Package delivery? Meh. I can stay off site and get a nice room with Queen size beds and a free breakfast for a fraction of the price, and I'm still a 5 minute drive from the parks.

And we really like eating at Perkins. Free cookies!

Now Universal, THEY've actually succeeded in luring me into one of their hotels. FOTL was the deal-maker.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

Oh, and let me say one final thing, then I'm going home:

If and when US/IOA builds more hotels and market them strongly, be prepared for one thing:

Disney making a bid to purchase US/IOA. For more money than I can pronounce.

 

[keishashadow]

Here's the consensus:

Universal Studios' Islands of Adventures is rated the Top Theme Park in the world. Disney World's around 5 or 6. Universal Studios have the top ride (HP-FJ) This is according to Theme Park Insider.

US/IOA has been voted "Best Theme Park by the 10Best Editors.

But WDW have the Top 3 Best hotels. Plus, they have the Top 2 best restaurants. And Forbes shows WDW is the 3rd most popular tourist attraction in the world.

I can venture to say that by virtue of those numbers and where they lie, US/IOA gets more complaints. Why do I say this? Because WDW leads in places where customer service IS the experience: Hotels and Restaurants.

lots of opinions out there re amusement parks, personal & in the trade business. i'm sure not going to quibble which park (or deluxe hotel-although i confess to a weakness for the Contemporary/BLT and Portofino Parlor Suites) is better as it's subjective & akin to divulging which of my spawn is my pesonal fav. I'll give the stock answer that i love them all the same each for their own special charms.

I still think if you compare the overall park attendance between WDW's 4 major parks & Universal's 2 parks (the last i read it was almost 5 X more guests for disney) sheer volume would suggest number of complaints has to be tipped to Disney. Especially when people think they might 'get' a gimmie from corporate relations for reporting their less than stellar experience.

Oh, and let me say one final thing, then I'm going home:

If and when US/IOA builds more hotels and market them strongly, be prepared for one thing:

Disney making a bid to purchase US/IOA. For more money than I can pronounce.

hmm, i don't see the disney stockholders going for it. No need to crush the competition as i'd assume those 1st timer's visiting Orlando specifically to see HP, will also head down the road to cross WDW off their bucket list. Additionally, WDW still has tons of vacant land to develop.

I hope they both bring their A game for years to come!

 

[nancyjane]

To be fair a lot of my problems with the place were a result of my group. By day two most of the family wanted to murder each other.

That's so true. When people aren't getting along, everything else seems worse than it really is. I was debating on whether to invite my sister and her family to join us (because I have two extra weeks banked with Interval). Then I remembered how miserable she can make me, and I came to my senses.

 

[Brandis]

We were there 3 weeks ago. Crowds at IOA were almost non-existant except from WWOHP, Hogsmead was really crowded, it was hard to get through, but when we went on FJ the wait was only 20 min. early in the day. Hogs Head Pub was empty, no wait at all to get drinks. I bough a butter beer and a pumpkin juice for the 4 of us to try. We found the pumpkin juice too sweet and didn't like it at all. However, the butter beer I liked a lot, even though cream soda is not my favorite drink. I thought it tasted less vanilly than cream soda and it was also a bit flat (not so much carbonation), which I prefer. All in all, I drank 3 glasses of butter beer that day.

My friends had been really looking forward to discover all the shops at Hogsmead and were quite disappointed when they discovered that many of the buildings only contained fake store fronts and weren't real stores you could go in and buy things.

The queue for FJ is really nice. As for the ride, I found the "difference" between the filmed and the real scenes a bit too obvious. Somehow, at Spiderman the real and the filmed scenes felt much more "integrated" into each other.

As I only carry on me what fits into my zippered pants pockets I didn't need the lockers at FJ. But when we went on the Jurassic Park ride, I wanted to put my mobile phone in a locker so it doesn't get wet and I was surprised that the locker wasn't free. Same at Bluto's Bilge Barges. I think it was $2 for the first 30 min. which I found rather expensive.

 

[phamton]

The lockers are not free at any ride that allows you to take your bags on. Here's what i do. I stop at one of the stores and ask for a free merchandise plastic bag. I get the smallest bag and put my cellphone in it and then tie a knot in the top of the bag. It works great for keeping my phone dry.

 

[Metro West]

The lockers are not free at any ride that allows you to take your bags on. Here's what i do. I stop at one of the stores and ask for a free merchandise plastic bag. I get the smallest bag and put my cellphone in it and then tie a knot in the top of the bag. It works great for keeping my phone dry.

That's a great idea.

 

[damo]

Many people have reported bringing along a small ziploc bag for that exact reason.

 

[Planogirl]

Oh, and let me say one final thing, then I'm going home:

If and when US/IOA builds more hotels and market them strongly, be prepared for one thing:

Disney making a bid to purchase US/IOA. For more money than I can pronounce.

If that EVER happens I'll be beyond upset. I want the difference and competition. Maybe Disney should just try to compete instead and quit trying to Disney-fy everything.

Or maybe NBC/Universal should buy something themselves and grow too big.

 

[PartofDisney'sWorld]

If that EVER happens I'll be beyond upset. I want the difference and competition. Maybe Disney should just try to compete instead and quit trying to Disney-fy everything.

Or maybe NBC/Universal should buy something themselves and grow too big.

I agree with this. While WDW is ONE of my favorite places to be at, US/IOA is also ONE of my favorite places to be at, and I need that difference that sets them so far apart. It would be boring if Disney bought it and "Disney-fied" it. Plus, I think Disney is preparing itself for competition when it announced their Fantasyland expansion. Granted, even though it won't be ready until 2-3 years after WWOHP opened, HP will still be very popular then.

 

[Rip]

Here's the consensus:

Universal Studios' Islands of Adventures is rated the Top Theme Park in the world. Disney World's around 5 or 6. Universal Studios have the top ride (HP-FJ) This is according to Theme Park Insider.

US/IOA has been voted "Best Theme Park by the 10Best Editors.

But WDW have the Top 3 Best hotels. Plus, they have the Top 2 best restaurants. And Forbes shows WDW is the 3rd most popular tourist attraction in the world.

I can venture to say that by virtue of those numbers and where they lie, US/IOA gets more complaints. Why do I say this? Because WDW leads in places where customer service IS the experience: Hotels and Restaurants.

I'd love to see their criteria for this. The RPR is far nicer than anything on Disney property.

 

[mdb78]

While WDW has the lion's share of guest attendance in Orlando, it would be interesting to discover which park - %-wise - receives the most complaints from their guests. My money would be on Disney as so many visit without proper planning or unrealistic expectations.

My money would be on Disney too.

 

[Planogirl]

I'd love to see their criteria for this. The RPR is far nicer than anything on Disney property.

I tried to find their criteria but I couldn't even find a list showing any Disney or Universal hotels. They have several categories so maybe I overlooked it.

 

[TDC Nala]

I have to say I worry about Disney turning all their parks into kiddie parks. The Fantasyland expansion included coloring with Cinderella at one time, and extensive fairy condos. Heard they've gone back on that.

Epcot's now papered with teddy bears. If they come after Epcot and turn it into a kiddie park I've had it. At least the Universal survey at least asked what adults might be interested in.

 

[EmJ]

Remember that really great attraction (not exactly a ride) in Futureland, where the alien escaped into the audience in total darkness and stomped around and drooled and growled and basically scared the snot out of everyone? On my last trip to Disney I was very disappointed to find it changed into a Lilo and Stitch-themed children's attraction.