WDW and Universal. Who wins?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

You’ve seen CMs literally yell at guests? I hope you reported them. Honestly. I have never reported an employee anywhere, but would do it in that case.

We actually had a CM yell at my husband last year at security entrance to get into MK. We did report her because it was just unprofessional and we really don't report people (we're not really fussy people). At the tapstiles when you put in your fingerprint I walked up to an open one and a girl cut in front of my husband, a CM told my husband to go to this other open one so he did but then that CM yelled at my husband for doing so and got very up in his face and mean. He was only following instruction.

But my CM friend can tell stories and countless other posters can as well. Poor employee behavior knows no loyalty to just one park. So I absolutely believe you that you witnessed what you did, but my point is it's not a "Universal" thing. It happens all over.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I also think VQ is annoying, but I think it’s more annoying to have no way of avoiding a 2 hour line.

How would you feel if you didn't get the VQ for Guardians and couldn't afford to pay for it? That's the point of the comment. That the process exists is the point of the comment.

 

[mercuryvenus]

How would you feel if you didn't get the VQ for Guardians and couldn't afford to pay for it? That's the point of the comment. That the process exists is the point of the comment.

If you want to start talking about inconsiderate pricing practices, there’s plenty to say about both places. The reality is that VQ for Guardians is not hard to get right now.

 

[Skywalker3]

I think it's taken us about 15 years to find some good food at Universal, and often ,it's on Citywalk. In Universal, I enjoy the Today Cafe, and I FINALLY got to try a crepe from the crepe stand this June. Usually line is insane. It was delicioius, but still a pain to wait for, in the sun...Leaky Cauldron is fun for experience, but food is meh. Florians has the best ice cream at Disney or Universal (except maybe salt/Straw in DS.) haven't tried the taco truck, but hear it's good. seems pricey though.
I would actually go to Universal just for frozen butter beer, Florians, and hanging out in Diagon Alley.
Universal had great food at their Mardi Gras stands last year. really fun, and more adventurous, but pricier than Epcot festival food. and Epcot festivals win that round.

IoA has some BAD food for sure. but I enjoy the beer at the Hogshead, frozen butter beer, tots from Green Eggs/Ham, and DH has had several really good meals at Thunder Falls. The gyro stand was ok.

But to me, better to to go City Walk, and just get a sandwich from Bread Box, and Voodoo Donuts
DH has enjoyed the Bao place, but service is slow.

Now DIsney.....
MK-no QS is really good there. We stopped even trying years ago, Columbia HH used to be good, but now will either do skipper Canteen, which is tolerable, or leave and eat at a resort , or just go to Epcot, if we can hold out until 2:00 (for the love of ...get rid of that restriction to wait until 2 to park hop.)
AK-Satuli Canteen wins for best QS in any Orlando theme park, so WDW wins there. I haven't eaten anywhere else at AK since 2017
Epcot-Festival booths, or Japanese Katsura Grill. Other QS is meh
HS-Ronto Wraps, all day. HS wins for that. Docking Bay 7 also very good. Rest of the QS in HS, bleh.

Ah, good to know about the 2 bathrooms. The only DVC 1 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms are at Kidani and BLT, and we do love that. I SOOOO wish Boardwalk would have 2 bathrooms in their 1 bedroom. That would make BWV just perfect! We'd rather just do 2 bedrooms at BWV, but too hard to book, due to the lock off situation. But good to know how the 1 bedrooms compare at Universal. Doubt well ever do that, unless it's at Endless Summer

I'm also good with Hagrids not having express. I wish VC didn't have it. Used to be able to quickly ride it w/no wait early, and know that the line would keep moving, but not now. Express has made the line awful now. I was also ok, when Smuggler's Run didn't take fastpass. Wish a few more rides were like that, where you just stand in line. but you know the line will keep moving.
we've had success every time trying for GotG, and Tron, but dang, having BG 1 from Tron makes for some CRAZY mornings Will be happy if it and GotG went to standby also.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If you want to start talking about inconsiderate pricing practices, there’s plenty to say about both places. The reality is that VQ for Guardians is not hard to get right now.

There's things to gripe about both but from where I'm standing you're not giving much consideration to what's going on at Disney, if someone gives you a counterpoint you ignore it or slide on over to another thing.

It's totally valid that you feel it's "lame" you can't skip the line but why not be able to say "yeah it's equally lame that the only way to ride a ride is to pay or have a mad dash on your phone" and please keep in mind that's with people actually knowing about Virtual Queue and what it entails and when the drops are at. And key point in your comment is "right now". I asked how you would feel, put yourself in someone else's shoe there for a minute and imagine how that might feel for them. Yeah waiting in line stinks no matter how long or short, the point was for someone wanting to ride Hagrid's they can choose to enter the line. If someone wants to ride Guardians that is not possible. They have to either join a VQ (and know about it) or pay for it. For someone who can't get either I'm willing to bet they would have liked the option of choosing to ride standby even if the wait was too long for them to do so it was at least an option.

 

[mercuryvenus]

I think it's taken us about 15 years to find some good food at Universal, and often ,it's on Citywalk. In Universal, I enjoy the Today Cafe, and I FINALLY got to try a crepe from the crepe stand this June. Usually line is insane. It was delicioius, but still a pain to wait for, in the sun...Leaky Cauldron is fun for experience, but food is meh. Florians has the best ice cream at Disney or Universal (except maybe salt/Straw in DS.) haven't tried the taco truck, but hear it's good. seems pricey though.
I would actually go to Universal just for frozen butter beer, Florians, and hanging out in Diagon Alley.
Universal had great food at their Mardi Gras stands last year. really fun, and more adventurous, but pricier than Epcot festival food. and Epcot festivals win that round.

IoA has some BAD food for sure. but I enjoy the beer at the Hogshead, frozen butter beer, tots from Green Eggs/Ham, and DH has had several really good meals at Thunder Falls. The gyro stand was ok.

But to me, better to to go City Walk, and just get a sandwich from Bread Box, and Voodoo Donuts
DH has enjoyed the Bao place, but service is slow.

Now DIsney.....
MK-no QS is really good there. We stopped even trying years ago, Columbia HH used to be good, but now will either do skipper Canteen, which is tolerable, or leave and eat at a resort , or just go to Epcot, if we can hold out until 2:00 (for the love of ...get rid of that restriction to wait until 2 to park hop.)
AK-Satuli Canteen wins for best QS in any Orlando theme park, so WDW wins there. I haven't eaten anywhere else at AK since 2017
Epcot-Festival booths, or Japanese Katsura Grill. Other QS is meh
HS-Ronto Wraps, all day. HS wins for that. Docking Bay 7 also very good. Rest of the QS in HS, bleh.

Ah, good to know about the 2 bathrooms. The only DVC 1 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms are at Kidani and BLT, and we do love that. I SOOOO wish Boardwalk would have 2 bathrooms in their 1 bedroom. That would make BWV just perfect! We'd rather just do 2 bedrooms at BWV, but too hard to book, due to the lock off situation. But good to know how the 1 bedrooms compare at Universal. Doubt well ever do that, unless it's at Endless Summer

I'm also good with Hagrids not having express. I wish VC didn't have it. Used to be able to quickly ride it w/no wait early, and know that the line would keep moving, but not now. Express has made the line awful now. I was also ok, when Smuggler's Run didn't take fastpass. Wish a few more rides were like that, where you just stand in line. but you know the line will keep moving.
we've had success every time trying for GotG, and Tron, but dang, having BG 1 from Tron makes for some CRAZY mornings Will be happy if it and GotG went to standby also.

The 2 bathrooms allow us to really put our daughter to bed in the living room and not have to bother her.

Even in the 1 bedroom suites at Disney that have 1 bathroom, there’s accessibility from the living room and bedrooms, so we don’t have to cut through the living room, nor does she have to cut through our room.

The lack of a full kitchen at Universal was really awful, especially in the heat of the last couple weeks in FL. We used the freezer in our BLT 1 bedroom to freeze our cooling towels. We were able to refrigerate milk and use our travel Nespresso to make lattes, thereby saving time and money.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm also good with Hagrids not having express. I wish VC didn't have it. Used to be able to quickly ride it w/no wait early, and know that the line would keep moving, but not now. Express has made the line awful now. I was also ok, when Smuggler's Run didn't take fastpass.

I agree with you. It was known the SB line would increase with EP but none the less yeah. I'm not thinking we'll make it back to Universal for a few years so it's possible the SB line will have decreased enough to where it's not the biggest issue. Did you ever do Single Rider line? Wondering what effect happened there.

We rode Smuggler's Run for the first time at Disneyland and would also agree with you there. It did not have MP and was just SB. The line really didn't stop, you still had time to take in the ambience and the queue it's just you didn't have start/stop, start/stop, etc. It was also just opened for a few weeks. I'm so glad we got to ride it there versus trying to compete with a VQ for it over at WDW had we gone there in the earlier days.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

In Universal, I enjoy the Today Cafe, and I FINALLY got to try a crepe from the crepe stand this June. Usually line is insane. It was delicioius, but still a pain to wait for, in the sun...Leaky Cauldron is fun for experience, but food is meh.

Today Cafe was our joint when we were there last year. I agree with you about Leaky Cauldron but would add Three Broomsticks. We did Three Broomsticks in both 2011 and 2017 and Leaky Cauldron in 2017 and found the ambience to be amazing but the food so-so. We chose to eat elsewhere in 2022. But butterbeer is so yummy. And I like getting beer at Hog's Head.

Universal hasn't really chosen to focus on food in the parks, not really their thing. But I'll give them credit for having CityWalk right there as it's relatively easy to go there and go back into the parks just in distance and walking ability. We often would walk along the path where Toothsome is to get between the parks.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Today Cafe was our joint when we were there last year. I agree with you about Leaky Cauldron but would add Three Broomsticks. We did Three Broomsticks in both 2011 and 2017 and Leaky Cauldron in 2017 and found the ambience to be amazing but the food so-so. We chose to eat elsewhere in 2022. But butterbeer is so yummy. And I like getting beer at Hog's Head.

Universal hasn't really chosen to focus on food in the parks, not really their thing. But I'll give them credit for having CityWalk right there as it's relatively easy to go there and go back into the parks just in distance and walking ability. We often would walk along the path where Toothsome is to get between the parks.

We tried to find lunch at CityWalk and so many of the restaurants opened at 3. We managed to find one, but it was weird that so many were closed.

 

[Leigh L]

I agree with you. It was known the SB line would increase with EP but none the less yeah. I'm not thinking we'll make it back to Universal for a few years so it's possible the SB line will have decreased enough to where it's not the biggest issue. Did you ever do Single Rider line? Wondering what effect happened there.

We rode Smuggler's Run for the first time at Disneyland and would also agree with you there. It did not have MP and was just SB. The line really didn't stop, you still had time to take in the ambience and the queue it's just you didn't have start/stop, start/stop, etc. It was also just opened for a few weeks. I'm so glad we got to ride it there versus trying to compete with a VQ for it over at WDW had we gone there in the earlier days.

Single Rider line at UO is amazing! If you don't mind splitting up, it's a game-changer. DD is a teen and is fine not being on rides with me, so as of last year that's how we roll when it's the two of us. Esp for Gringotts, Mummy, and MIB, we usually end up in the same car anyway or close to it. I'm taking her in Dec when down in FL for a college visit so since we still have days left on our tickets, we're going to stop by UO for a few days and not even looking at express passes or hotels with it.

Except Hagrids. I don't know if it was bad luck or what, but holy cow. In June the standby line went wayyy faster to the point that one guy in the last holding area jumped into standby. His friends did not. Not that I advocate jumping lines, but that guy got off way before any of us lol. DD and I agreed to no more single rider for Hagrids. I think we waited 2+ hours when the standby originally posted was less.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Single Rider line at UO is amazing! If you don't mind splitting up, it's a game-changer. DD is a teen and is fine not being on rides with me, so as of last year that's how we roll when it's the two of us. Esp for Gringotts, Mummy, and MIB, we usually end up in the same car anyway or close to it. I'm taking her in Dec when down in FL for a college visit so since we still have days left on our tickets, we're going to stop by UO for a few days and not even looking at express passes or hotels with it.

Except Hagrids. I don't know if it was bad luck or what, but holy cow. In June the standby line went wayyy faster to the point that one guy in the last holding area jumped into standby. His friends did not. Not that I advocate jumping lines, but that guy got off way before any of us lol. DD and I agreed to no more single rider for Hagrids. I think we waited 2+ hours when the standby originally posted was less.

You can single rider at several rides at Disney too. We’ve done it on smuggler’s run.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Single Rider line at UO is amazing! If you don't mind splitting up, it's a game-changer. DD is a teen and is fine not being on rides with me, so as of last year that's how we roll when it's the two of us. Esp for Gringotts, Mummy, and MIB, we usually end up in the same car anyway or close to it. I'm taking her in Dec when down in FL for a college visit so since we still have days left on our tickets, we're going to stop by UO for a few days and not even looking at express passes or hotels with it.

Except Hagrids. I don't know if it was bad luck or what, but holy cow. In June the standby line went wayyy faster to the point that one guy in the last holding area jumped into standby. His friends did not. Not that I advocate jumping lines, but that guy got off way before any of us lol. DD and I agreed to no more single rider for Hagrids. I think we waited 2+ hours when the standby originally posted was less.

My husband rides Single Rider and loves it. When we had EP he would ask the TM which was faster and sometimes Single Rider was so he'd do that. I agree it can really help with the lines.

I think I need to retry Mummy. I've ridden it several times before but then decided my motion sickness was too much. Sadly it was under refurb last year.

Hagrid's may then be like RnRC where the Single Rider line may actually get longer than the Standby.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We tried to find lunch at CityWalk and so many of the restaurants opened at 3. We managed to find one, but it was weird that so many were closed.

 

[Leigh L]

You can single rider at several rides at Disney too. We’ve done it on smuggler’s run.

We'll do it there too!

I think we are able to utilize it better at UO, but it might just be the types of rides we focus on. I won't do RnR, I gave up trying, lol. We've done it at Smuggler's Run, but I'm not a huge fan of that ride so take it or leave it. I do use it at Everest a lot. There aren't too many rides that have it though, am I missing any?

 

[Smugpugmug]

We'll do it there too!

I think we are able to utilize it better at UO, but it might just be the types of rides we focus on. I won't do RnR, I gave up trying, lol. We've done it at Smuggler's Run, but I'm not a huge fan of that ride so take it or leave it. I do use it at Everest a lot. There aren't too many rides that have it though, am I missing any?

Test Track has single rider too and it's almost always a walk on.

Rockin Roller Coaster's single rider line is awful. You always wait longer than standby because of how slow it is.

 

[mercuryvenus]

We'll do it there too!

I think we are able to utilize it better at UO, but it might just be the types of rides we focus on. I won't do RnR, I gave up trying, lol. We've done it at Smuggler's Run, but I'm not a huge fan of that ride so take it or leave it. I do use it at Everest a lot. There aren't too many rides that have it though, am I missing any?

There’s just 4. The ones you mentioned and Test Track.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Single Rider line at UO is amazing! If you don't mind splitting up, it's a game-changer. DD is a teen and is fine not being on rides with me, so as of last year that's how we roll when it's the two of us. Esp for Gringotts, Mummy, and MIB, we usually end up in the same car anyway or close to it. I'm taking her in Dec when down in FL for a college visit so since we still have days left on our tickets, we're going to stop by UO for a few days and not even looking at express passes or hotels with it.

Except Hagrids. I don't know if it was bad luck or what, but holy cow. In June the standby line went wayyy faster to the point that one guy in the last holding area jumped into standby. His friends did not. Not that I advocate jumping lines, but that guy got off way before any of us lol. DD and I agreed to no more single rider for Hagrids. I think we waited 2+ hours when the standby originally posted was less.

Sorry to double quote you here but totally agree that Hagrid's single rider is awful. I often ride Hagrid's alone and I always do standby. The line doesn't move that slowly unless there's a delay.

Also in single rider you don't get to pick which seat you're in and I always want motorbike. One time I got paired with a single rider who asked for the bike and I was like, uh, no....

 

[Leigh L]

My husband rides Single Rider and loves it. When we had EP he would ask the TM which was faster and sometimes Single Rider was so he'd do that. I agree it can really help with the lines.

I think I need to retry Mummy. I've ridden it several times before but then decided my motion sickness was too much. Sadly it was under refurb last year.

Hagrid's may then be like RnRC where the Single Rider line may actually get longer than the Standby.

I think it is longer based on how slow the loading/capacity is compared to other coasters. Honestly, I think they're doing it as best as they can. I'm not sure if they still drop VQs on Hagrids...we were never able to get one.

Mummy is probably one of our favorite rides, but I can see motion sickness being an issue for some. That one doesn't go backward or upside down so I'm ok on it.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Sorry to double quote you here but totally agree that Hagrid's single rider is awful. I often ride Hagrid's alone and I always do standby. The line doesn't move that slowly unless there's a delay.

Also in single rider you don't get to pick which seat you're in and I always want motorbike. One time I got paired with a single rider who asked for the bike and I was like, uh, no....

I waited standby and then asked the single rider if she had a preference. She was nice and said I could pick bc I waited for so long. So I was able to get bike.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I waited standby and then asked the single rider if she had a preference. She was nice and said I could pick bc I waited for so long. So I was able to get bike.

With single rider, I always assume I'll be placed wherever they can fit me. If I want a specific seat/row, I would do standby. It's why I never do Smuggler's Run single rider as I don't want to be the engineer.