UnivStu vs. Disney : I know I am going to get flamed for this but...

[ransom]

How do I feel about Universal improving their theme parks?

I feel nothing about it.

 

[skier_pete]

I'm going to take you out of the hot seat to get "Flamed" and probably put myself there by saying this, but it has to be said- Universal is not Disney, but they do have it head and shoulder over Disney with their FOTL passes. Disney should have that perk for onsite guests.

There- I said it....

Here's the problem with this suggestion - Disney has something like 12,000 on-site rooms, averaging around 30,000 to 40,000 on-site guests a day. They already have a FOTL line for that group of people - it's called the stand-by line. Seriously, the # of guests are too great to give favor to them without seriously affecting the off-site crowd, which is still a significant portion of guests. If they did anything it would be a deluxe hotel FOTL pass (staying at certain hotels would give you this priveledge) and I would HATE it if they did that, seeing as I would never be able to afford it.

Getting back to the original topic- competition from Universal is what led to both The Studios and AK parks, as well as the on-site hotels....Disney wanted to keep you there longer and it worked. My opinion are that the Universal parks are great theme parks - but they are geared more towards older kids and young adults, and thus will never have the multi-generational appeal of WDW. The reason they constantly have these "multi-day" discounts is that most people would only spend a day there, and they need to drive people to come for longer times.

Harry Potter-land will help boost attendance for a while, but I think once people realize that HP will be two rides and some shops, and that at most people will be able to spend a few hours there, it won't lead to a significant market share increase.

I think WDW is making the right moves - getting more rides in DHS so that people will want to spend the whole day there is there #1 priority. I personally think they should get 2-3 more rides there and quit pretending there's a backlot there anymore. The rumored Little Mermaid ride in MK would be fantastic...finally something new replacing 20,000 Leagues! Truthfully the average Joe probably knows nothing about any of these things...it's us theme park geeks that care.

SkierPete

 

[everylastbreath]

Well, logistically, I don't think it'd work. Universal has 3 hotels. Disney has what, 20? With over 20,000 rooms on property? I don't know how full Universal's hotels usually are, but Disney doesn't have a problem most of the time filling their rooms with bodies. Also, my recent experience at Universal has shown me FOTL acccess doesn't work well for guests that don't have it. Maybe Universal is just really bad at line management, but on certain attractions especially (*Cough* Hulk *Cough*) were at least an hour almost right from park opening. It was NEVER that bad before FOTL access. Most of that was from FOTL guests filling up entire ride vehicles. It wasn't just on Hulk, either.

Sorry, but I don't think it would be fair for locals or offsite guests to have to deal with hundreds of people getting in front of them in line. Nor do I think it's fair to ask people to spend another $30-$50 on top of their ticket to have the "privilege" of FOTL access if they aren't an onsite guest.

Ok- here I go... Logistically it would work, if it was a perk of Deluxe hotels only, because if I choose to spend probably 4-5x's the price of a value per night for a room, it would be a nice perk. As far as not being "fair"- life is not fair, there are always people who can afford more and to say they should not receive "more" in exchange is not fair either.

I'm gonna stand back, because my computer is probably going to explode...

 

[imthatgirl]

I have to put this out there.

How do you feel about the advancement of Universal Studios? Personally, I give them credit. They seem to have some pretty exciting things going on and 2009 could possibly be a big year for them. With the addition of the new Roller Coaster, the Simpsons Ride and Harry Potter the development seems to on the right track. Disney...where are you? Thus far all we have received is Toy Story Mania, which I understand is a great ride, but US have just added a completely new section of there park with the addition of Harry Potter.

I love WDW. I still think when it comes to overall satisfaction they are the best in the business. However, theme park development seems slow at the moment. So far, with regards to new attractions, there's nothing scheduled for 2009. Pleasure Island is taking a hit and Hollywood studios is still under-developed.

I know WDW is much larger and has twice as much to focus on than US, so maybe there is some justification here. Perhaps one day US will encounter this problem too. However, at the present time, Disney is in the spotlight. There are a lot of guest that visit Disney yearly. I sometimes wonder how they feel. If I was spending that much money to visit Disney every year, I would like to see some changes in the parks. That's where the majority of the time and money is spent. I tend to do Disney every other year, and at times its feels like a haven't be gone very long because nothing has changed.

Just wondering if anyone feels the same. Universal is keeping things fresh and exciting. Is Disney doing the same??

but wait a minute, everytime disney does change something they suffer a huge backlash from online communities like this. look at pleasure island. im excited for the change, but the general consensus, leave it alone. how about when a ride leaves? what happens? people freak out. there are still people talking about mr toads wild ride.
so we want change, but we arent willing to give anything up? sorry, cant have it both ways.
disney went through a huge expansion period. first with MGM, then with Animal Kingdom. now we are seeing universal doing the same, but should we keep expecting DW to keep expanding?
no way. what happens if the parks start to get larger. lets say they add 2 more parks, then what? will you want to go knowing you cant possibly do all of it in your weeks vacation? its already gotten to that point where you have to maximize every minute of your day to fit in most everything you want to do.
so yes i agree they do need to update some things, but in doing so we have to learn to leave it for what it is, the change we desire.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Sure IOA may have some neat attractions, but has anyone been to US lately? The last time I was there (Spring 2007), that park was depressing. It's getting decrepit and it only took us a day to do both parks because I find it lacking.

 

[iluvpluto27]

I'm really happy Universal has some exciting new attractions coming along. Competition is a good thing and I think Harry Potter will be a big pull for uni, so hopefully Disney will create something equally as exciting.

Also, I really love universal and always spend a few days of every trip there, staying on site for FOTL, and I'm looking forward to experiencing the new rides myself.

 

[QueueCT]

I think it's summed up pretty easily. If I want thrill rides I go to IOA. Nothing at Disney can touch what they have. If I want a relaxing day where there's attention to detail and a comfortable environment I go to Disney.

As a young adult it would have been IOA hands down. As an older adult it's mostly Disney but a day at IOA to hit The Hulk and Spiderman (not terrifically thrilling but very innovative) is welcome. Bulk of the time is Disney but there's nothing wrong with a side trip.

 

[Lynn5700]

I can not wait till HP Land opens up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When it opens we will stay on site at Disney and go to universal for the day...we have not been in a couple years. I think it is good to do every now and then.

 

[PixieDust32]

I don't care what US does, we went there once and it was OK but that was it, we go there for Disney regarless how many new attractions they have the service is not like Disney's, the WDW resort alone rocks.

 

[SplashMtnCrew]

Ok- here I go... Logistically it would work, if it was a perk of Deluxe hotels only, because if I choose to spend probably 4-5x's the price of a value per night for a room, it would be a nice perk. As far as not being "fair"- life is not fair, there are always people who can afford more and to say they should not receive "more" in exchange is not fair either.

I'm gonna stand back, because my computer is probably going to explode...

That would be labeled "discrimination" and Disney wouldn't touch that w/a ten foot pole!

We've come to the point in our lives that we don't consider staying anything other than deluxe at WDW, and we wouldn't want to be *first* in line over people who were in mods or values just b/c we choose to stay deluxe. BTW if anybody should be *first* shouldn't that be DVC owners? Ownership has its rewards so it goes

 

[PixieDust32]

but wait a minute, everytime disney does change something they suffer a huge backlash from online communities like this. look at pleasure island. im excited for the change, but the general consensus, leave it alone. how about when a ride leaves? what happens? people freak out. there are still people talking about mr toads wild ride.
so we want change, but we arent willing to give anything up? sorry, cant have it both ways.
disney went through a huge expansion period. first with MGM, then with Animal Kingdom. now we are seeing universal doing the same, but should we keep expecting DW to keep expanding?
no way. what happens if the parks start to get larger. lets say they add 2 more parks, then what? will you want to go knowing you cant possibly do all of it in your weeks vacation? its already gotten to that point where you have to maximize every minute of your day to fit in most everything you want to do.
so yes i agree they do need to update some things, but in doing so we have to learn to leave it for what it is, the change we desire.

Well said! If they do renovations they do too much and if the don't do, well there you have it.

 

[jamie&Greg]

Originally Posted by everylastbreath
Ok- here I go... Logistically it would work, if it was a perk of Deluxe hotels only, because if I choose to spend probably 4-5x's the price of a value per night for a room, it would be a nice perk. As far as not being "fair"- life is not fair, there are always people who can afford more and to say they should not receive "more" in exchange is not fair either.

I'm gonna stand back, because my computer is probably going to explode...
******************************************************

I hope they don't do that, and as an adult I stay at deluxes all the time!! There are many people who can't afford it or choose not to.

 

[fuji]

We have been to WDW three times in the last three years and are going again this year . We love WDW and have never even considered US because our kids are still young, but when HP land opens, we will visit US and I would consider even staying in one of their hotels for a day or two. Nothing against Disney, but my whole house are HUGE Harry Potter fans and can't wait to see what they come up with.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

My turn to get flamed -- if I got the perks at Disney's deluxe hotels that I get at the Loews' US ones, I'd upgrade to deluxe. As it is, my needs are met at a mod. I have stayed deluxe at the BC, and it was very nice but not so much so that I feel I have to do it again. But for FOTL, I would be willing to pay the current deluxe pricing. I'm not sure how willing I would be if the prices jumped $100/nt.

 

[inkkognito]

I've always felt that Universal/IOA is very underrated. You can't compare it directly to Disney because it's a different animal...sort of like the edgy teen sibling. But the quality in theming and the innovation are on a par with Disney's, if not often better. IOA was an innovator with Spiderman, and Terminator 3-D puts any Disney 3-D show to shame, with live actors running in and out of the screen. When they rennovated Disaster, they actually improved it (unlike Alien to Stitch's Great Mistake or...cough...cough...Journey Into Ruination). Think of Disney's most popular current ride, next to TSM. It's Soarin', which I love dearly but which isn't at all innovative...it's just a motion-simiulation Imax with scents and an awesome musical score. TSM is just taking Spiderman one more level up by adding interactivity. The only truly innovative thing I've seen come from Disney in a while is Turtle Talk (Monsters is a red-haired stepchild of Crush).

Granted, Universal has more freedom to aim at teens and thrill seekers. When WDW tried to implement an intense ride with Mission Space, look what happened. To a large part, they are constrained by their tame, wholesome reputation while Universal is freed by its wild, edgy reputation.

USF/IOA do indeed know how to treat their onsite guests (much easier with so few hotel rooms) and their AP holders too. We have Premier Passes which get us free valet parking and FOTL after 4 p.m., so they have siphoned off a lot of our Disney time and entertainment dollars, since we usually eat when we're over there too.

It's okay to (gasp!) love both Universal and Disney and to point out the flaws in both.

 

[jctwizzer]

Went to Universal several years ago. Line jumping was rampant; parks were filthy; posted times were about half the actual....Some of the attractions were good but it wasn't worth it. Haven't been back. You may want to take a look at the freebies Universal has to give away to get people in the parks. People wonder why Disney doesn't have those types of giveaways. It's easy, they don't have to. If and when Disney gets like that, you may have a point. Until then, there's no comparison.

 

[Benducci]

I don't think the parks are competition for each other - they are different, imho - Universal is more rollercoaster rides - Disney is more attractions. They each satisfy.

 

[snykymom]

Universal is just another theme park, like Six Flags or Sesame Place. Disney, however, is DISNEY.

 

[BlondeAlligator]

That would be labeled "discrimination" and Disney wouldn't touch that w/a ten foot pole!

We've come to the point in our lives that we don't consider staying anything other than deluxe at WDW, and we wouldn't want to be *first* in line over people who were in mods or values just b/c we choose to stay deluxe. BTW if anybody should be *first* shouldn't that be DVC owners? Ownership has its rewards so it goes

I don't think it's discrimination...no more so than having better shampoo, robes, turn-down service, more restaurants, better pools, etc. If it's a Deluxe resort, then perks like FOTL passes would not be unreasonable considering what people pay per night.

That said, I still agree that FOTL passes are not as efficient as the FastPass system...refer to the Hulk line disaster of a PP...too many people using FOTL would bring the standby line to a standSTILL! I think Disney knows what they are doing & they obviously do it well or we wouldn't all be here almost everyday chatting about it!

 

[fan of the TTA]

While I see what you are saying, don't you think that many of us "DisneyFreaks" love it because it (for a certain degree) stays the same. That is what many of us thinks makes it so special.

I am somewhat excited about things that US is doing especially the Harry Potter themed land but, in my eyes, it doesn't come close to Disney. In fact, they could put in as many big roller coasters and interactive rides and it wouldn't hold a candle to WDW.

That's just me.

i have a question actually, is the harry potter place gonna be part of US/IOA or a brand new universal theme park.

on the subject of universal and disney, i think they are both equal. okay, disney's more for families (with the exception of a few rides) but hey, universal is for all ages as well!.

disney is still the best, although i really like IOA/ they are really making an effert!