WDW and Universal. Who wins?

[jimmymc]

For me 3 days it's perfect for Universal but with Epic Universe will need to add probably 2 additional days depending on how we feel about repeat stuff at the older parks we might be able to do just 4 (2 for the older, 2 for the newer).

However, if you frequent the Universal side of the Boards many of them spend longer times at Universal, 5-7 days being more normal.

During the pandemic it did seem to push people away from Disney to Universal, less split stays but rather abandoning Disney trips in favor of Universal because of the overly complicated and expensive aspect to Disney. That may level out once park reservations are removed next year for date based as at least people don't have to do that/know about that and get disappointed if they are blocked out of their park choice.

Over at Disney we do 5 days, we did 7 this past time but it was technically 6 day park ticket with hopper and 1 day with a CM. However, we were there for a wedding and large chunks of a few days were going to be unavailable so the longer days than usually just helped offset that.

I agree Disney tends to have more days but it's also 4 parks. With Disneyland you don't usually see the norm being 5-7 days but rather 2-3 days with only having 2 parks so that is part of the puzzle.

I should add a note to mine that I usually stay at one of the Express Pass hotels, meaning I can get on the attractions way more than the average visitor. I've done 4 days at Universal before, but by the end of the third I had ridden everything I wanted to including a few rerides, and I left pretty early in the morning for my move over to Disney. I'll be curious to see how much time EU takes, since I just did Nintendo World in Hollywood and did everything the land has to offer in about 4 hours.

 

[Smugpugmug]

We actually went to Disneyland a few weeks after Galaxy's Edge opened up. Smuggler's Run was it for the attraction as Rise had been delayed, you could see where the ride entrance for Rise was going to be but that was it.

It did hurt the impressions of many locals and visitors alike for that reason at least as we were in the parks (which was 3 days). We actually like Smuggler's Run better than Rise once we got to ride Rise several years later but back in 2019 at Disneyland you sorta heard "that's it?" and people weren't finding the rest of the land as impressive. I think the ships they put out in the land for photo ops was great but you still had quite a lot of dead space too.

That's exactly what I mean. I haven't experienced Avenger's Campus for myself and probably won't for years but it seems like it doesn't have a lot of substance. I think lands like Pandora and Cars Land were done significantly better in terms of immersion and attractions.

Meanwhile at Universal they just dropped their revamped Minions land for the front of USF and it's...cute? Not much else to say there. I really think the Minions simulator should be gutted for a dark ride or something though

 

[bryaalre]

Oh we found some people griping at Universal but the sheer amount at Disney was astounding and if you look towards past threads and past comments this is absolutely a trend for Disney primarily. There are many posters who can back up that part. So it's not that people were perfect angels at Universal but that people were the absolute worst at Disney.

See I almost put in a longer comment but opted to remove it, I suppose I shouldn't. It's not non-planners who just casually say Universal is more laid back. In fact all of the Disney veterans I know say the same thing. These are DVC and AP holders, some live local to Disney and Universal now but always said it before they moved. I actually think it's the people who have gone to both places enough who can give that good information. If you don't believe me go over to the Universal side for a while and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I'm not entirely certain why you'd go to the expense of any park to only spend 1 1/2 days there every time. Sure I could see someone checking out Universal and doing a one and done but to always do that? Why go? Can you imagine if you did the same over at Disney? Clearly you are not the same type of Universal visitor as many others who frequent it. Like really you are like a road runner through the parks? I'm not even sure what rides you're doing even with EP to get all done in both parks in 2 hours but you seem to treat Universal like it's a place to get in and out as quickly as possible. No wonder you don't think it's laid back you aren't even experiencing the park when you go! lol

I love Universal parks but in all honesty, the only thing that keeps me returning are the Harry Potter lands. What is there to really look at and enjoy at UO besides HP? The park itself is sorely limited on rides and some of the rides it does have like Jimmy Fallon, transformers, MIB, Fast and Furious are all terrible or outdated and easy skips. Add to that I have no nostalgia for E.T and you get a park that can be seen and done relatively quickly as I can do Minions, Rockit and Mummy in the morning and spend time in Diagon Alley before taking the hogwarts express to IOA.

As for Islands, it has two of the best rides in Florida with Hagrids and Velocicoaster. I spend most of my time in this park but Islands also has a whole land that is barren. Suess land is cute and very detailed but not great for a pair of 30 year olds without kids.

This is nothing against Universal, their parks just need a lot of work. This is no different than AK, HS or Epcot in that there are empty spots that need to be filled, old attractions that either need love and maintenance or re skinned or just in need of additional attractions so it becomes a full day park.

 

[fatmanatee]

A lot of these discussions end up coming down to preference and I don't think anyone is necessarily wrong in theirs. I can easily do both Uni parks in a day, others feel differently about them, it's fine. What happens with EU opening is going to be interesting, I have no idea if that'll be a full day park for me or if it'll require more time, can only speak to what I've experienced with Super Nintendo World in LA (very good).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I should add a note to mine that I usually stay at one of the Express Pass hotels, meaning I can get on the attractions way more than the average visitor. I've done 4 days at Universal before, but by the end of the third I had ridden everything I wanted to including a few rerides, and I left pretty early in the morning for my move over to Disney. I'll be curious to see how much time EU takes, since I just did Nintendo World in Hollywood and did everything the land has to offer in about 4 hours.

The other day we saw a promo for Hollywood's Nintendo and my husband said "meh" I was like "oh no you didn't" lol. I told him not to judge it based on Hollywood's which is small as Orlando's will be larger (the largest of the 3 parks that are planned to have it) plus it will have the donkey kong ride which I think he'd like.

When we had EP last May (having stayed at Royal Pacific for 1 night) we just did our normal repeats just with less waits and then took it easy for other parts of the day, enjoying a cup of coffee and a dessert at Today's Cafe or seeing Bourne twice (once one day, another another day) which I think is a worthy replacement of T2. But Bourne takes a while (20 mins for the show plus the lining up, sitting down, waiting for it to start). Husband rode VelociCoaster multiple times (it did not have EP then).

I don't truly need 5 days to do all that I want for WDW but we always leave room for repeats of the rides we know we can get in and then have hoppers so we can go to a different park for the evening. We get less done at WDW just because of the waits. So maybe I only get one shot at TSMM or Peter Pan (we didn't get to ride it last time due to waits and when it was lower wait it broke down) but can ride HM multiple times. My husband only had 1 shot at ToT last May due to the waits and the refurb closing down one side.

Over at Universal we've always been able to get in all the rides we want in 3 days without EP. My husband rides nearly all the rides so I will say sometimes he's doing single rider but it doesn't mean he isn't waiting for a bit even with that.

I'm quite excited for Epic Universe

 

[BrianL]

That's exactly what I mean. I haven't experienced Avenger's Campus for myself and probably won't for years but it seems like it doesn't have a lot of substance. I think lands like Pandora and Cars Land were done significantly better in terms of immersion and attractions.

Meanwhile at Universal they just dropped their revamped Minions land for the front of USF and it's...cute? Not much else to say there. I really think the Minions simulator should be gutted for a dark ride or something though

It would actually be pretty great if it had that Avengers ride. The issue is that the Collector's Tower is kind of away from the main thoroughfare, making Web Slingers the only thing to see. I will say the character action is pretty strong though, and that Spider-Man stunt animatronic is awesome! It actually has more of that old-shcool feel of "you are seeing all this stuff but you are still in a theme park," which I actually kind of like. It NEEDS that third ride though.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

A lot of these discussions end up coming down to preference and I don't think anyone is necessarily wrong in theirs. I can easily do both Uni parks in a day, others feel differently about them, it's fine. What happens with EU opening is going to be interesting, I have no idea if that'll be a full day park for me or if it'll require more time, can only speak to what I've experienced with Super Nintendo World in LA (very good).

Agree totally. The new park should be interesting. But for us, it's simple. We still plan entire vacations around Disney World. We only plan a day or 2 here and there at Universal while in Florida for our Disney World vacation. We would never make an entire trip for Universal parks, but we do enjoy them (especially IOA). Again, as you've said, a matter of preferences.....

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That's exactly what I mean. I haven't experienced Avenger's Campus for myself and probably won't for years but it seems like it doesn't have a lot of substance. I think lands like Pandora and Cars Land were done significantly better in terms of immersion and attractions.

Meanwhile at Universal they just dropped their revamped Minions land for the front of USF and it's...cute? Not much else to say there. I really think the Minions simulator should be gutted for a dark ride or something though

Gosh Cars land is amazing. I'm not even really into Cars franchise but they did that soooo well. And RSR even if it breaks down like Test Track does is just great on the theming and at night with the lights and the rocks great pic opportunities.

I agree with you about the Minions ride, I haven't look at pictures for refurb for Minions land yet.

 

[HokieRaven5]

The other day we saw a promo for Hollywood's Nintendo and my husband said "meh" I was like "oh no you didn't" lol. I told him not to judge it based on Hollywood's which is small as Orlando's will be larger (the largest of the 3 parks that are planned to have it) plus it will have the donkey kong ride which I think he'd like.

When we had EP last May (having stayed at Royal Pacific for 1 night) we just did our normal repeats just with less waits and then took it easy for other parts of the day, enjoying a cup of coffee and a dessert at Today's Cafe or seeing Bourne twice (once one day, another another day) which I think is a worthy replacement of T2. But Bourne takes a while (20 mins for the show plus the lining up, sitting down, waiting for it to start). Husband rode VelociCoaster multiple times (it did not have EP then).

I don't truly need 5 days to do all that I want for WDW but we always leave room for repeats of the rides we know we can get in and then have hoppers so we can go to a different park for the evening. We get less done at WDW just because of the waits. So maybe I only get one shot at TSMM or Peter Pan (we didn't get to ride it last time due to waits and when it was lower wait it broke down) but can ride HM multiple times. My husband only had 1 shot at ToT last May due to the waits and the refurb closing down one side.

Over at Universal we've always been able to get in all the rides we want in 3 days without EP. My husband rides nearly all the rides so I will say sometimes he's doing single rider but it doesn't mean he isn't waiting for a bit even with that.

I'm quite excited for Epic Universe

Speaks a little to the differing philosophies currently in place by the companies. Universal is trying to have offers to get more people to come and fill up the parks more, where Disney is putting in levers to try and keep some people away.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Gosh Cars land is amazing. I'm not even really into Cars franchise but they did that soooo well. And RSR even if it breaks down like Test Track does is just great on the theming and at night with the lights and the rocks great pic opportunities.

I agree with you about the Minions ride, I haven't look at pictures for refurb for Minions land yet.

I don't think anyone over the age of 8 has Cars as their favorite movie but the land was so well done, I was super impressed. For me I don't need to be a fan of an IP to enjoy a land or ride. If it's good, then that's all that matters to me.

With that said.....if Universal ever made a LOTR land.....

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I love Universal parks but in all honesty, the only thing that keeps me returning are the Harry Potter lands. What is there to really look at and enjoy at UO besides HP? The park itself is sorely limited on rides and some of the rides it does have like Jimmy Fallon, transformers, MIB, Fast and Furious are all terrible or outdated and easy skips. Add to that I have no nostalgia for E.T and you get a park that can be seen and done relatively quickly as I can do Minions, Rockit and Mummy in the morning and spend time in Diagon Alley before taking the hogwarts express to IOA.

As for Islands, it has two of the best rides in Florida with Hagrids and Velocicoaster. I spend most of my time in this park but Islands also has a whole land that is barren. Suess land is cute and very detailed but not great for a pair of 30 year olds without kids.

This is nothing against Universal, their parks just need a lot of work. This is no different than AK, HS or Epcot in that there are empty spots that need to be filled, old attractions that either need love and maintenance or re skinned or just in need of additional attractions so it becomes a full day park.

HP is def. the main draw for Universal right now but I do think they continuously keep going on their parks to try and keep them fresh by that I mean they don't have trouble ripping out attractions, replacing them, adding new, etc. And they do that in relatively quick time (hey looking at Moana walk through at Disney which has taken how many years at this point???) Superhero Island is to my understanding harder to deal with due to contracts but the rest of the parks they adjust over time.

They need to redo Fast and Furious STAT though, what an embarrassment. Fast and Furious isn't outdated (it only opened 5 years ago in Orlando) it just was a bad concept to do that, I think they had been rumored to originally been thinking of a roller coaster and if so they should have stuck with that. I don't think people want MIB updated, while there is MIB: International it doesn't have the staying power at the original movie in theming. MIB isn't an easy skip for me it's a must do and based on the lines it's one of the most popular rides.

Jimmy Fallon isn't a very good ride IMO, concept maybe not bad for "racing" through New York but don't like the execution.

My suspicions were correct then, if you're missing a lot of the rides because they don't interest you of course you could get it done quick, but I was speaking about both parks and all the rides. I do relatively few rides at Universal due to my own limitations but can spend a lot longer than you at the parks because I'm not spending money or vacation time just to rush through 3 rides and move on. There are actually quite a lot of rides that both parks have, they are a full day park. But the interests of someone and how they park tour can change that.

I'll agree with some of your points for sure! But I'll disagree with Suess landing...speaking as a 35 year old without kids High in the Sky is one of my favorite rides (it's akin in many ways to People Mover) and yeah Cat in the Hat so corny but I like it. My husband is less impressed but that's because he loves the thrill rides but yeah don't knock the age nor kid thing. That's like someone saying Runaway Railway, Remy, Frozen, Little Mermaid, etc are all not great for 30 year olds without kids lol, we all know adults who go on those rides sans kids..I'll add Peter Pan in there as well plus many other rides at Disney.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I don't think anyone over the age of 8 has Cars as their favorite movie but the land was so well done, I was super impressed. For me I don't need to be a fan of an IP to enjoy a land or ride. If it's good, then that's all that matters to me.

With that said.....if Universal ever made a LOTR land.....

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To have that instead of HP version 3… lol I get the popularity of HP but come on…

 

[Smugpugmug]

To have that instead of HP version 3… lol I get the popularity of HP but come on…

I would literally be at the front gates of Epic Universe on opening day and ready to push a 10 year out out of the way if Universal decided to put Hobbiton or Rivendell instead of the Paris HP area.

 

[katyjeka]

This winner is what ever park I'm at that day!!!! They both have something to offer and I'd much rather be walking around either one versus a day at work, not that I hate my job.....

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Agree totally. The new park should be interesting. But for us, it's simple. We still plan entire vacations around Disney World. We only plan a day or 2 here and there at Universal while in Florida for our Disney World vacation. We would never make an entire trip for Universal parks, but we do enjoy them (especially IOA). Again, as you've said, a matter of preferences.....

I've always said I couldn't go to Orlando and not do both parks. That goes for when my husband really wanted to do a Food and Wine trip after the 2017 trip too. But we both said after our 2022 trip we could see ourselves going to Orlando and just doing Universal. The pull is strong to me for both but the experience was just so bad last spring it's hard to think about spending $1,200 for two people on just the park tickets (that's how much it was for us for 6 day park hoppers) to feel miserable. You live for the attractions that make you happy but it's hard if the rest isn't/didn't.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I would literally be at the front gates of Epic Universe on opening day and ready to push a 10 year out out of the way if Universal decided to put Hobbiton or Rivendell instead of the Paris HP area.

Just have mountains in the distance with Barad Dur in the backdrop and the eye of Sauron ever watching you…

 

[Smugpugmug]

Just have mountains in the distance with Barad Dur in the backdrop and the eye of Sauron ever watching you…

Screaming and crying because Universal chose to make a land based off of a HP film franchise that flopped hard instead.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I thought the HP land in Epic Universe was to be the Ministry of Magic?

 

[Smugpugmug]

I thought the HP land in Epic Universe was to be the Ministry of Magic?

That is correct but parts of it will be based off of the Fantastic Beasts movies.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That is correct but parts of it will be based off of the Fantastic Beasts movies.

Oooohh okay yeah Fantastic Beasts never captured the stuff from the original. I liked the first one but the rest didn't work for me. I do appreciate them trying to incorporate the newer ones but since they didn't do so well kinda not the best idea either.