boxer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,747
What a terrible review!
I'll address it point for point:
Did you form those strong opinions before or after you ever set foot inside Universal?
Well, I certainly feel different. While each place has its strengths and weaknesses, I wouldn't say that either place could blow the other out of the water.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong again.
Complaining about the lack of Disney Magic at Uni is like looking for Coke at a Pepsi plant, then complaining that there's nothing to drink - while you're surrounded by thousands of litres of Pepsi!
There is abundant magic at Universal - Movie Magic. If you know how to look for it, and open your heart to it, it flows as strongly as Disney Magic. But it's a different flavor. Just because you don't like the taste doesn't means it's not there; you just didn't try a sip.
Did you go to the same Universal that I've been going to for the last 18 years? I see plenty of attention to detail, from the stars on the street to the old Hollywood style street lamps to the Blues Brothers live performance (daily) to the replicas of Doc Brown's train and Delorean... it goes on.
Did you speak to any TMs while you were there? Because I have not had a bad experience with a Uni TM, in either park, in years. I find the TMs at Uni to be not only just as good at Disney CMs, but happier and more enthusiastic in their jobs. Their smiles aren't forced, and they truly enjoy working for Uni.
Again, I think you must have been at a different Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Florida than I have been visiting for the last 18 years, because I have not encountered any significant difference in "sloppiness" between CMs and TMs. And I have never, ever seen a character at either place step out of character, nor have I seen duplicate characters. I'm sure they do happen; nobody is perfect, and with as many Tiggers and Scoobies as there are, once in a while there must be more than one on the street. On the other hand, AFAIK, Uni only has one Mystery Machine van, which drives Scooby and Shaggy out to their meeting places, so I'm not sure how you could have seen more than one Scoob and Shag at the same time in the same park. Maybe it was the same Scoob and Shag - they move around a lot, and might have repositioned by van while you were walking.
I disagree completely on quality - I think generally, WDW and Uni are about equal, with a few exceptions. And I've never gotten a turkey leg from either place that was more than mediocre.
But on options, I agree that Uni falls behind. Uni has made the mistake of putting their best restaurants in CityWalk and the resorts, not in the parks. I guess they wanted the additional opening time (since resort restaurants are not tied to park hours) and the additional exposure (since you don't need a park pass to eat at either CityWalk or the resorts), but it tends to leave the parks short on good dining. Still, if you want some great food, it's a lot easier to walk out of either park to CityWalk than it is to walk out of a WDW park and go to Downtown Disney. Uni's 3 resorts are as close as the Epcot resorts are to Epcot and DHS, as well.
Okay, so I guess you missed the Speak and Spell and the man with the keys on ET, and you missed the Wakita signs and Meg's wind chimes in Twister, and you missed the bloody hand print on the Orca's window in Jaws, and the overwhelming details in T2:3D, and maybe you missed the Disney nametag on the shirt that the compys are fighting over on the Jurassic Park River adventure - but you couldn't have missed the sounds of the compys moving through the grass all around JP or the way that the park's theme music comes from speakers disguised as Jurassic Park motion trackers!
Lack of details? Boring? I think NOT! At least, not if you pay attention and are even passingly familiar with the source materials (movies, TV, cartoons, and comics) of the various USF and IOA areas and attractions.
What sort of problems? And what, exactly, do you mean by "undemocratic?"
Ditto, though I was a fan of the Hundred Acre Wood gang as a kid, so the first time I ever saw Winnie the Pooh in the parks I went from 21 to 9 in a half second, practically jumped off a moving bus, and ran up to get a pic with him.
Uni has always tried to attract an older demographic than WDW. If you go there looking for nothing by kiddie rides, you'll be disappointed. You're dead if you aim only for kids, anyway.
That hasn't been my experience at Uni. I won't say anything more than that.
Uni's target demographic is families with teens. It's a teen-friendly place, with lots of teen-oriented and teen-appropriate areas and attractions. As a "young 37" (FYI - I'm an OLD 38, myself), naturally you might not fully appreciate or even understand all of the humor, the intensity, or the sights and sounds.
Boy, I can't even begin to address this one. Amity, the various New York streets, the Embarcadero... all of these areas are themed as well as anything WDW has, and all of the IOA islands blow WDW away on atmosphere and architecture. I don't recall Disney ever putting stuff in the grass to rustle it as though there were dinosaurs walking through it, coupled with sound effects of the dinos calls and footsteps - and that's not even a queue, it's just the walkways! The only parts of WDW that are as totally immersive on theming as IOA are the World Showcase pavilions and perhaps Main Street USA.
I disagree - ALL of that stuff is important, specifically because it all adds up.
If you found T2:3D boring, I would guess that you're not a fan of the Terminator franchise, and thus would not be terribly impressed with the attraction no matter what.
I don't ride the water rides, so I can't address your comments except to say that Toon Lagoon and its attractions are supposed to be "McDonalds Playland-ish" because it's a cartoon-themed land. It's supposed to look like a cartoon - bright, garish, loud, and fake. Cartoonish.
Magic doesn't come from theme parks. It doesn't come from rides, or shows, or restaurants or resorts. Magic, whether Disney or any other variety, comes from us, from our own hearts. You can't experience Disney Magic unless you have some within you to begin with - WDW just lets it out and lets it breathe.
The same holds true for Universal. The Uni parks are designed to celebrate movies, TV shows, cartoons, and comic books. They have a more limited appeal, because not everyone likes movies - just like not everyone likes Disney. But for those of us who do love the Terminator movies, E.T., Jaws, the Simpsons, Shrek, the Nickelodeon characters, the Blues Brothers, the Marx Brothers, Scooby and Shaggy, or Lucy and Ricky, Universal lets that magic out every time.
Not hardly (movie fans - name that quote!)
Which one did you stay in? What sort of things did they "nickel and dime" you on? Did you feel anything else was wrong with them? Was service lacking? Was your room not clean? Did you get a bad view?
The Uni resorts all seem comparable to WDW Deluxes to me - at similar or lower prices - and the theming, dining options, and service all seem as good or better than most Disney resorts.
Personally, I can't believe anyone would spend $240 on one night in any hotel, but that's just me; I'm a Value guy and love the All-Stars, and when I stay in the Uni area I stay at an off-site hotel on I-drive and get a good value for my money.
Pound for pound, I'd say this comparisson is about as far off as it can get.
Who are you to say this was a 'terrible review'? This is this guys OPINION on the park, and one that alot of us agree with. Personally I don't care if anyone likes, dislikes, attends, or stay away from Universal.
No one really cares if you rated it a 'terrible review', because no one asked you to.
. I think what you were seeing is that "grown up” thing at Universal . Disney and Universal both offer totally different experiences and cater to people with different interests. 
We will go back to WDW in a few years, but I would like to go somewhere else in Orlando too. 
