WDW and Universal. Who wins?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

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 only rode Hagrid's once (went through the line with my husband still the second time he rode it) and I specifically wanted the sidecar. So at least if we were paired together I would be all for you having the motorbike. I agree though on choice part

It's why I never do Smuggler's Run single rider as I don't want to be the engineer.

I'd be a terrible pilot (I'm assuming that's the role you'd want) probably due to my motion sickness so again you win lol.

I'm cool on that ride being the gunner or engineer...push buttons that flash at me now that I can do

 

[jade1]

Let's face it, most folks have been/are going to US/IOA because of HP. It is literally the reason I recommend folks visit there. And since both parks have an extremely Successful immersive HP land, why wouldn't the 3rd?

Anyway, like the idea or not (and I would wager a very high % want more HP since they do it so well), it is likely going to be a very interesting land to visit-AKA we win.

Simply having Paris to explore should be amazing regardless of the elevator tech.

 

[Brian Noble]

It's perfectly fine if someone thinks that a third HP land in a third park is dumb. But in this case, many guests (and the folks at Universal Creative) disagree.

That's why Baskin-Robins has 31 flavors.

 

[jade1]

And if they are desperate, who cares?

If desperation gets us 5 new coasters and 5 new non coasters, 4 lands, multplie restaurants and shops and 3 new hotels, I'm good with desperation.

Saying they must be desperate because of adding another HP, Land is admitting they do a great job with it.

 

[Jrb1979]

We’re also AP holders and DVC owners. What precisely do you want back, other than free FP?

I want the Disney parks to go back to having their own theme throughout like they used to be. The original Epcot was much better than what it has become, which is an extension of MK.

DHS is a mish mash with no theme anymore

 

[drenalin'junkie]

For all the complaints about food at any of the parks, we've managed to have some of our best dining memories in Orlando.
V&A, Tchuop Chop, Alfredos, Cat Coras, Flying Fish, Mythos, Coral Reef, Sharks, Monsieur Pauls/Bistro de Paris....
The festivals all have their gastronomical charms as well.
The QS in all of them have a few gems and a few duds, but compared to some of the foods at other large entertainment venues around the country we've eaten at, I'd choose park food for the most part.
Comparing the parks to each other can realistically only be done price point to price point.
And leave my Figment alone, we always have time for a ride no matter how corny and dated.

 

[Monykalyn]

The Disney of today isn't the Disney of the past and sometimes people are thinking of the Disney of the past when complaining about Universal.

Nailed it!

Guardians is part of World Discovery. Moana is part of World Nature. It fits perfectly with Epcot’s neighborhoods (World Showcase, World Nature, World Celebration, World Discovery).

And Epcot of old was more cohesive in them without IP at ALL. I worked there in 1991 and THAT EPCOT was glorious

As it happens, I understand healthy criticisms, but there is downright anger towards Disney on these boards. Is this a Disney board or not?

It’s a DIScussion board. Like it or not there’s more than Disney in Orlando

We’re also AP holders and DVC owners. What precisely do you want back, other than free FP?

Ah that’s why the pixie dust glasses. That’s ok. Glad you enjoy Disney in any form! And DVC does spoil one to accommodations for sure. Loved our AKL studio stay!

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.

More room for me at universal then lol!

As to what I’d like back at Disney: no park hopping restrictions, better main entrance cleanliness of rides, more capacity (ie STAFFING) to keep attractions running at full capacity instead of artificially lowering capacity to make $$$$$ from Genie, stop shoehorning IP into literally everything, have a cohesive theme, it’s the little touches that USED to make Disney UNIQUE (ie the hidden Mickey type thing on DHS old maps), streetmosphere, monorails that don’t smell like BO and urinals, expansion not just replacement of rides. And most of all stop saying Disney can do the money grubbing grabbing like other parks because it’s a business! Once upon a time Disney was the LEADER in innovation not lamely following along cuz “everyone else is doing it”. I’ve got my Tradition book from 1991 where it showed how Disney LED the way instead of sinking to lowest common denominator. Universal wasn’t great back then either but it wasn’t pretending to be something it wasn’t

 

[Minnie1222]

And leave my Figment alone, we always have time for a ride no matter how corny and dated.

Love Figment ❤ The disappearing insect and the smell lab get me every time.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

no park hopping restrictions,

I so dislike this. No matter what choice one makes (like when they choose to park hop) they aren't getting the full value of the park hopping add on, like that poster mentioning way back where they'd ride a few rides and explore a bit of HP then hop on over to the other park, that isn't possible right now at Disney.

Even though I didn't expect them to they didn't reduce the price with this restriction.

And they didn't announce the removal of this restriction when they announced that 2024 date-based tickets wouldn't be required to get a park reservation. It was always talked about as being hand in hand. And certain AP holders for most days don't presently require park reservations either.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I so dislike this. No matter what choice one makes (like when they choose to park hop) they aren't getting the full value of the park hopping add on, like that poster mentioning way back where they'd ride a few rides and explore a bit of HP then hop on over to the other park, that isn't possible right now at Disney.

Even though I didn't expect them to they didn't reduce the price with this restriction.

And they didn't announce the removal of this restriction when they announced that 2024 date-based tickets wouldn't be required to get a park reservation. It was always talked about as being hand in hand. And certain AP holders for most days don't presently require park reservations either.

we bought the park hopper for every single trip weve been on since 2008, its not longer in our plans going forward.

like many things at disney, its just no longer what it used to be and no longer holds the value it used to.

 

[jade1]

They could’ve done something to prevent people from seeing Hogwarts from the front of the park.

I suppose, but we like seeing it from afar actually. When you walk into WDW parks you see iconic figures as well. SE, ToL, C Castle, TOT etc.

When structures are that tall, it's kind of hard to hide them.

We actually like seeing them from outside the parks as well. Cowfish had a view, although from there it had HP palms I don't remember ha.

Your last line says it all, IMO. UO was able to do better with HP land because they likely hired Imagineers.

Therefore understanding why some of us Disney fans are seeing the gap closing between these 2 parks.

Like you say, US is doing better because they hired (have actually become) Disney Imagineers. They actually hire many CMs as well.

As it happens, I understand healthy criticisms, but there is downright anger towards Disney on these boards. Is this a Disney board or not?

It is indeed a Disney board, and that's the perfect place to discuss Disney decisions. Disney is announcing nothing at WDW, while US is expanding dramatically-hence this thread.

Many posters also do not like some recent changes at WDW, again this is a great spot to post those opinions.

IMO they are trying/hoping to make WDW better, because one can be sure these opinions are being heard at WDW in many different ways.

We’re also AP holders and DVC owners.

Yep same, and that's why we love seeing the competition down the road.

We often visit US while at a DVC resort, and can't wait for Epic.

Likewise we can't wait for WDW's eventual counter.

 

[Monykalyn]

We actually like seeing them from outside the parks as well. Cowfish had a view, although from there it had HP palms I don't remember ha.

Omg those are some gorgeous pictures!!

 

[Leigh L]

Omg those are some gorgeous pictures!!

You beat me to posting this, totally agree!
All are beautiful but that one with Epcot in the background with the resorts is amazing, I'm not sure I've ever seen this view.

 

[jade1]

You beat me to posting this, totally agree!
All are beautiful but that one with Epcot in the background with the resorts is amazing, I'm not sure I've ever seen this view.

Thanks you guys.

Yea that one is from the new Swan Reserve.

 

[tink2424]

We’re also AP holders and DVC owners. What precisely do you want back, other than free FP?

I want Disney to bring back the value for the vacation. I want Disney to bring back the quality of their theme parks. I disagree with the paying for fast passes in the current iteration because I think it is overly complicated and costs too little. I would rather how other theme parks do it.

I remember in the past Disney was:

• So clean with street cleaners everywhere
• The standby lines went much quicker and when they added Fastpass originally it was only for a few rides. I would rather they go back to that model. (incidently I went to Disney the September of 2020 and really enjoyed not having the Fastpass system. The lines moved a bit faster. The one thing that made the lines worse was the distance between everyone in line meant lines were far past shade barriers and then of course the spacing out in the rides meant that only so many could ride at a time. Finally the cleaning of the rides would lead to a long wait)
• The EMH hours for all hotel guests was a nice perk
• The longer hours at each park for all guests really spread out the crowds
• Park hopping at any time
• Rides operating so that they were running to full capacity to reduce wait times not throttling to reduce staff
• Good quality food at the QS and TS restaurants - quality greatly diminished with the dining plan unfortunately
• Adequate staffing at food service restaurants and the carts around the parks
• A nighttime parade at MK in addition to more fireworks and less projections
• Overall maintenance of the parks from paint to ride maintenance. Disney has given up on this.

So I think this is about way more than just free fastpasses for most. It is about QUALITY & VALUE that Disney has lost. I don't ever remember rides going down regularly while visiting the parks in the past. That is just one indication of why Disney is becoming a lot worse.

They may never be knocked out of the top spot and I agree it can still be a good vacation but it isn't going to be restored to its former glory without a lot of work and effort from Disney management. I also think Universal growing and becoming more immersive will force Disney to have to step up their game and that would only be a good thing. But I don't think Disney has gotten the message yet but I'm pretty sure it will become more evident as the years go by.

 

[Leigh L]

They may never be knocked out of the top spot and I agree it can still be a good vacation but it isn't going to be restored to its former glory without a lot of work and effort from Disney management. I also think Universal growing and becoming more immersive will force Disney to have to step up their game and that would only be a good thing. But I don't think Disney has gotten the message yet but I'm pretty sure it will become more evident as the years go by.

I agree with a lot if not all of your post! Well said.
Disney seems to be banking its success on its brand name/recognition and focusing on short-term gains without looking at the long-term impact. Over time this will probably bite them in the butt.

I agree with a lot of what you said in your post (and I was there in August 2020 and November 2020 and those standby lines, even super long, moved way quicker!! I remember standing almost back to Splash Mountain for Haunted Mansion and I think took 25 minutes give or take).

Additionally, WDW isn't investing what they're probably capable of in the parks and taking the cheaper way out. I'm also not against IP (I'm OK with Moana and they made GoTG work where I think it fits), but if they want to attract the next generation of Disney fans, they're going to need to do SOMETHING different. I brought my nieces to WDW parks in 2021 for their first-time visit - not the ideal time I know for first-timers - but all they were interested in was Splash, Space, Tower of Terror, Big Thunder, and RnR. All original to parks and not connected to movies, etc.

My nieces don't even like Disney movies but could become fans of park innovation. I couldn't understand it but I'm now watching my own teen who prefers Universal and am thinking, who can blame them? Their generation is basically experiencing live-action remakes, nothing like my now adult kids experienced with animated movies from Disney WDW edited for clarity). They have no attachment to the IP. My DD has been to WDW far more than UO, but she prefers UO. She grew up on Harry Potter and loves the Mummy and MIB rides. I could see her choosing UO over WDW with her own kids someday.

With that all being said, WDW is still a great vacation to me, and my DH and older DD also prefer WDW over Universal. However, thinking about it more objectively, it appears Universal is giving WDW a huge run for its money. I am not a big HP fan (I like it ok) but the theming is amazing and I can't stand the Minions, but can appreciate what they've redone in that area of Studios - not to mention at a far faster pace than anything WDW is doing.

The park hopping restriction is ridiculous at this point. Even noon would make more sense, lol. Even better, ditch it completely .

 

[ChipnDale79]

I agree with a lot if not all of your post! Well said.
Disney seems to be banking its success on its brand name/recognition and focusing on short-term gains without looking at the long-term impact. Over time this will probably bite them in the butt.

I agree with a lot of what you said in your post (and I was there in August 2020 and November 2020 and those standby lines, even super long, moved way quicker!! I remember standing almost back to Splash Mountain for Haunted Mansion and I think took 25 minutes give or take).

Additionally, WDW isn't investing what they're probably capable of in the parks and taking the cheaper way out. I'm also not against IP (I'm OK with Moana and they made GoTG work where I think it fits), but if they want to attract the next generation of Disney fans, they're going to need to do SOMETHING different. I brought my nieces to WDW parks in 2021 for their first-time visit - not the ideal time I know for first-timers - but all they were interested in was Splash, Space, Tower of Terror, Big Thunder, and RnR. All original to parks and not connected to movies, etc.

My nieces don't even like Disney movies but could become fans of park innovation. I couldn't understand it but I'm now watching my own teen who prefers Universal and am thinking, who can blame them? Their generation is basically experiencing live-action remakes, nothing like my now adult kids experienced with animated movies from Disney WDW edited for clarity). They have no attachment to the IP. My DD has been to WDW far more than UO, but she prefers UO. She grew up on Harry Potter and loves the Mummy and MIB rides. I could see her choosing UO over WDW with her own kids someday.

With that all being said, WDW is still a great vacation to me, and my DH and older DD also prefer WDW over Universal. However, thinking about it more objectively, it appears Universal is giving WDW a huge run for its money. I am not a big HP fan (I like it ok) but the theming is amazing and I can't stand the Minions, but can appreciate what they've redone in that area of Studios - not to mention at a far faster pace than anything WDW is doing.

The park hopping restriction is ridiculous at this point. Even noon would make more sense, lol. Even better, ditch it completely .

disney gets away with a lot because they are disney. its a bucket list trip for so many people, and then there are so many disney fans, that disney can no wrong with.

A large chunk of the soul of the company was lost when Roy E Disney died

 

[Smugpugmug]

I want Disney to bring back the value for the vacation. I want Disney to bring back the quality of their theme parks. I disagree with the paying for fast passes in the current iteration because I think it is overly complicated and costs too little. I would rather how other theme parks do it.

I remember in the past Disney was:

• So clean with street cleaners everywhere
• The standby lines went much quicker and when they added Fastpass originally it was only for a few rides. I would rather they go back to that model. (incidently I went to Disney the September of 2020 and really enjoyed not having the Fastpass system. The lines moved a bit faster. The one thing that made the lines worse was the distance between everyone in line meant lines were far past shade barriers and then of course the spacing out in the rides meant that only so many could ride at a time. Finally the cleaning of the rides would lead to a long wait)
• The EMH hours for all hotel guests was a nice perk
• The longer hours at each park for all guests really spread out the crowds
• Park hopping at any time
• Rides operating so that they were running to full capacity to reduce wait times not throttling to reduce staff
• Good quality food at the QS and TS restaurants - quality greatly diminished with the dining plan unfortunately
• Adequate staffing at food service restaurants and the carts around the parks
• A nighttime parade at MK in addition to more fireworks and less projections
• Overall maintenance of the parks from paint to ride maintenance. Disney has given up on this.

So I think this is about way more than just free fastpasses for most. It is about QUALITY & VALUE that Disney has lost. I don't ever remember rides going down regularly while visiting the parks in the past. That is just one indication of why Disney is becoming a lot worse.

They may never be knocked out of the top spot and I agree it can still be a good vacation but it isn't going to be restored to its former glory without a lot of work and effort from Disney management. I also think Universal growing and becoming more immersive will force Disney to have to step up their game and that would only be a good thing. But I don't think Disney has gotten the message yet but I'm pretty sure it will become more evident as the years go by.

I agree with a lot of this too. I know this thread is WDW focused but a lot of these issues permeate Disneyland too (specifically ride maitainence) and it's making me pause on going back. I had an entire trip even with a VGC reservation booked in 2020 that was obviously canceled and I find myself holding back on rebooking everything until there are some improvements. Judging by how insanely crowded it has been lately, Disney isn't too upset that I'm not going right now anyway.

Also maybe this is just me but at this point if Disney is not going to invest in park expansion they need to update the rides they already have. So many rides are in desperate need of TLC.

 

[tink2424]

disney gets away with a lot because they are disney. its a bucket list trip for so many people, and then there are so many disney fans, that disney can no wrong with.

A large chunk of the soul of the company was lost when Roy E Disney died

Agree completely! The C suite has lost sight of what their brand is and how they were once the industry leader. You can't assume you are always going to be in that position if you forget how to be the leader.

It is frustrating as you are right they are relying on their reputation right now and unfortunately with the loss of value & quality they are ripping that away too.

I don't think the parks will go away at any point in our lifetimes but Disney is making a mistake in damaging the reputation for short term gains. I don't want to get political but it is a fact that inflation is bad and wages are not keeping pace. I don't see that situation improving in the short term.

What does that mean? Well vacations like Disney are likely to take a hit. They have been very full due to the pandemic and all the built up travel from that. I don't see that staying around for long. Then it will be a problem for Disney as people won't have the money to go or won't see the value in spending that much money for a vacation that doesn't give them value & is very complicated to execute.

There will always be families that go but it might not be enough for Disney in the future.

Who knows? Maybe I am wrong but I suspect I'm not with how many of us are seeing the cracks in the Disney parks right now. Only time will tell...

 

[drenalin'junkie]

Ive been going since the parks opened and remember tickets and food like you'd get at any carnival. As Disney evolved some things got much better, the imersivenes, the thrill factor and the food for sure.
Cleanliness, reality intrusions and crowd mismanagement aren't my happly place. Value is subjective but spending my time on apps to ride half what I used to is clearly not an improvement. The ride time feature on the aps is nice as is the option of ordering food or making last minute rez.
Overall, we're still in but other parks. are doing some things much better now.