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

[Darcy03231]

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.

Great post

We spent 16 days last summer in the Orlando area and spent about 7 of them between US/IOA. Conversely we only spent one evening at WDW for Pirates & Princesses Party. Other days were filled with Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Wet n' Wild and Ripley's. There were nine of us, ages 3 (DN) to 71 (my mom). All of us agreed that US/IOA had a lot to offer for all ages. While we love WDW and have been multiple times, we also had a blast at US/IOA and will definitely go back.

 

[mefordis]

I completely agree. Also better rides IMO (Mummy, Jurassic Park, Simpsons blows Toy Story out of the water, too). Better hotels. Disney is great for my 4 1/2 year old, though. She loves the characters.

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....

 

[tinknsnow]

Apples and oranges...

When we visit WDW we don't leave. We choose to have all-Disney.

We took a trip to Universal one year (did Sea World, too). We stayed at the Portofino Bay Hotel. It was pretty... but I could fill this box with complaints about the service there. OMG. Ranging from the non-helpful desk staff, to the laundry service losing part of my child's car seat, to housekeeping that didn't happen until we called to complain 2-3 times, the experience was less than luxurious. We found the parks to be just "meh"-- my DH enjoyed the rides (at the time, my kids were too young to ride the thrill rides) but the restrooms were dirty and the food was BAD. That goes for the City Walk restaurants, too... it was like everything was Rainforest Cafe quality. I am sure we will go back in a few years but only because the Harry Potter stuff will open.

When we heard about the Harry Potter development, DH and I both lamented that it would happen at Universal. I wish Disney had the rights to it!

The 'front of the line' perk was nice, but very few people at the park seem to be staying onsite at Universal. As has been pointed out, that wouldn't be feasible at WDW with so many onsite guests. Anyone noticed how crowded the EMH are? Oy.

 

[sbell111]

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.

I completely agree, but PLEASE don't tell TPTB because I'd just as soon not pay for a deluxe, even if it means that I don't get FOTL but if FOTL was offered, I'd pay for it. Maybe not every time, but definitely furing the busiest times.

(Wow. That's one ugly sentence.)

 

[figmentedpixie]

I have to agree with those who says US can't come close to Disney.

Last summer I went to US for the first time. My sister and I were in Disney and my Aunt came to visit with our two young cousins and wanted to know if we wanted to go to US. We hadn't been before so we said sure.

Now my sister is a rollercoaster junkie. To her, the RnR is the best thing EVER. (She thought Everest was just okay -- it's a constant source of argument). And she was not impressed by US at all. Neither was the 10 year old.

Maybe we're just spoiled by Disney, but we expected so much more out the Mummy Ride. Basically we expected DL's Indy ride but with Brenden Fraiser. What we got was a dark coaster with some heat tricks.

It just...it did nothing for us and it was empty...in the middle of August...while Disney was wall to wall.

 

[sbell111]

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

My understanding is that it is to be a 'land' within IOA.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

My understanding is that it is to be a 'land' within IOA.

You are correct. It will include re-theming a couple of rides. In fact, if you check their website, it indicates that The Flying Unicorn is currently closed during the work on HP. I also understand that Dueling Dragons may be re-themed although it is currently open.

 

[ExBellhop]

Universal is keeping things fresh and exciting. Is Disney doing the same??

Here's my problem (more a frustration, really) with Universal. They don't KEEP things fresh. Harry Potter - looks awesome, can't wait. Rip Rockit Whatever Coaster - great concept, nice looking layout, love the soundtrack, etc.

But what happens after the first couple years?

I was lucky enough to visit Islands of Adventure multiple times during it's first year of operation. Beautiful park. Great "Cast Members". All the theming is pristine. Everyone is playing along with the story.

Then I visited about 2 years ago, and it's all (well, much of it has) gone to crap. Can I say crap here? Anyway...

Smoke effects on Spiderman - gone/broken. Jurassic Park - dino's just chillin' in the water. Poseidon... big disappointment. Dueling Dragons queue was a mess of gum, garbage, and stink. Cast Members - screaming at guests on the Dragons platform. Plus, I saw multiple times, including our ride, where the darn things didn't even duel. What do you call them then? Dragons Flying Near Each Other?!

Studios has similar problems. Men In Black lost smoke FX, Jaws has FX troubles everytime I visit.

I realize that Disney has similar ride upkeep troubles, but they have twice (or more) the ride roster that Universal does.

To me, it just seems like Universal doesn't care about it's parks as much. And for me, that lessens my enjoyment and my desire to return.

Just my thoughts,
ExBellhop

 

[rutgers1]

All I know is that the summer of 2009 will be my first trip to US, and the main reason that this Disney nut is going is because my family's perception is that there is more change and innovation going on over there - and we don't want to miss it. As a teacher, I have watched kids come back from DW and US for years, and it seems like US is definitely starting to get the edge in the "cool" department, as much as it pains me to say that. I realize that Disney went through some major growing pains a few years back, but it seems like they should get back on the horse and start drumming up some excitement with new rides. If there were a few more rides and a few other new things to keep our attention, we wouldn't be leaving our Disney trip mid-trip to stay in a US hotel. I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who have done likewise.

 

[KirstenB]

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.

We visited US/IOA for the first time this May with our 10 yr old dd and 2 yr old dd. We absolutely loved these parks!!! We're DVC'rs, so we obviously enjoy WDW, but wow, Universal was so much better than we expected. Believe it or not, we found tons of rides the 2 yr old could go on too. She went on Disaster, Jaws, Shrek, Terminator, all the Woody Woodpecker stuff, ET, saw the Beetlejuice show, saw the Horror special effects show, enjoyed Seussland, and Jurassic Park. I know I'm forgetting some stuff...

For us, these parks will only get better as our youngest dd gets old enough to do coasters, etc. I actually thought the CS food was a notch above WDW's too.

At the end of the day, it was nice to return to a car that hadn't been sitting in the sun all day, too.

 

[exwdwcm]

i think it is almost an apples to oranges comparison. i think of them very differently. i think it is nice US is there to offer folks something different, especially the teen market and thrill seekers. My family isn't huge into the thrill rides and DH gets motion sickness, so disney works for us.

I've done Universal, but not IOA yet. I've checked out citywalk too. they are all nice, but jsut not disney to me. In fact, we have planned many times to build in a US day on our trips, but we always end up decided not to. when HP land is opened, we probably will then, since our family is very into HP. But that would be our main reason for going over there.

i think the competition is healthy and Disney has a lot more limitations with opening new attractions due to its size, complexity and probably more red tape internally, not to mention the high standards it holds itself to.

 

[luke]

Cast Members - screaming at guests on the Dragons platform.

Yep, happened to me last year, my first ever IOA trip, i was shouted at for daring to ask if i could leave my Crocs on the side while i rode it, and told in a horrible tone of voice that i'd have to hold them.

Not got a problem with this being a rule, but the way i was told, was bang out of order

 

[seadd67]

Nothing tops WDW, universal could not add enough Rides to top the Mouse the mouse. Universal Is good for the extreme riders but for the Disney fans It could never compete

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

While I agree that it's comparing apples to oranges, I don't agree that Universal is more "new" or "fresh" than WDW. I was an AP holder at US/IOA for years before we started going to WDW, and most of the things that were there when I was in HIGH SCHOOL almost 20 years ago are still there!!! The Horror Makeup Show, Beetle Juice (my God, how long must we endure that one?), Terminator, basically everything. The only things "new" and "fresh" that have come out within the last 10 yrs. or so have been The Mummy and Simpsons (not a big Simpsons fan, so I haven't gone over to see it). I also agree with the PP who said that they don't seem to care as much about their parks. Last time I went was for a travel conference a couple of years ago. I got FREE tickets, and went in, took a look around, rode 2 rides, and left. The employees were complaining to each other at the rides, some of them with their pants halfway down to their knees (a particular pet peeve of mine). The whole park just seemed to be a shadow of it's former self. I loved it back when it was new and innovative, but they seem to have lost so much of that. I hope Harry Potter helps bring it back, I would love to see it brought back to the condition it was in before, I would actually consider revisiting it if that happens.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I love both US and WDW, but we leave WDW and stay onsite at US in the middle of our vacation. US has to be last, because I can't stand waiting in line at WDW after I've sailed through US. US is the more relaxing part of our vacation. But that's just us.

For me WDW is not relaxing. It is a great, fun vacation, but I am not totally relaxed. US does that for us. We feel more pampered in the hotels, we don't feel like we have to sprint from ride to ride because we are just going to stroll on, we actually get some peace at the pools.

If I felt like I could enjoy that relaxed pace at WDW (and yes, I'm fully aware that it's self-inflicted), we would consider that as a wind-down for our vacation. As it is, WDW is the happy, we're here! Let's go have fun! part, and we also enjoy that very much.

I like the variety offered by both complexes, it feels like we get two vacations in one!

 

[Goofy'slady]

I tend to agree with those who prefer WDW and all it's glory to US and all it's medora racy. My family and I have been going to US since I was in my early teen's and even in it's younger years US seemed to have more "out of order" attractions than functioning ones and it's seem to never really bounce back. Later when US/IOA opened we loved Spiderman, Duelling(sp) Dragons, and the Hulk but pretty much that was it. The food at both parks is gross & has the nerve to be EXPENSIVE...like the taste merits the price, the employee's(I dare not call them CM's) seemed as though they'd much rather be anywhere but there and since they already had an attitude they weren't much help if you had any questions. The show's are a joke, so much so I really can't remember any.

Our last visit was to US/IOA back in 2003 when my husband who lived all of his life in Holland until 2002 when we where married and we went on our first vacation as husband and wife to WDW with a side trip to US/IOA. I should add it was his first visit to WDW too. I had such high hopes that he would love Disney with the same kind of zeal as my family & I do and he did. He loved the details, the fact that Disney tells a story from begining to end with everything they do, the wonderful CM's and the resorts that offer sooo much more than just fancy rooms to sleep in. He however disliked US/IOA for some of the same reasons we had grown to dislike it over the years. Since that year we've been to WDW 3 additional times with our family vaca for next May in the works and even with the promise of new rollercoasters and Harry Potter-land it's just not enough pull to lull us away from our beloved Disney. Then again we've never been HP fans anyway, even with 2 kids; I just can't seem to stay awake to get thru the first movie.

I'm sure for a while HP-land and whatever else US has up it's sleeves, will pump new life into their lifeless parks but after a while things will make a turn for the worst just like it did in the past. It's called history repeating itself.

T.

 

[DisFlan]

The competition is good for WDW. If it weren't for US and Sea World, WDW probably wouldn't have the 4 parks we have now.

DisFlan

 

[florep1]

I agree. WDW should institute some form of FOTL pass like universal strictly for deluxe and DVC guests. I like Universal but I can finish both parks in 2 days without FOTL. With FOTL, I'm ready to move on after one day. And please don't tell me that WDW giving FOTL pass to deluxe guests will be discriminating against the other resorts and offsite guests. FOTL guests at Universal pay deluxe rates. Life's not fair. We've all learned to live with it.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

It's strange to me the way some people view the liking of another park/attraction as a complete betrayal of Disney. I've been a Disney fan since before the park had attractions (yes, just a gift shop and a mock up of MK) and I bought into DVC because of it. Does my love of Disney mean that I can't enjoy something different along w/ Disney. We go to Disney, Sea World, Medieval Times, Busch Gardens, Wet & Wild, US & IOA. We sometimes encorporate Cape Canaveral and who knows what else. These attractions in my mind don't compete w/ Disney, they have an appeal all their own. It's amazes me when I read poster who say "they come to do Disney and nothing else". Disney's done a great job but they are no longer the only kid on the block and maybe now, they'll work on DHS, I've always thought of it as a dud!

 

[Shir Kahn]

Some of us don't look at the Simpsons ride as being an improvement. I was seriously disappointed when they took out Back to the Future.

There are some fantastic rides at US, but it will always be a sidetrip type of place for us.