WDW vs. Universal. My definitive comparison.

[the Dark Marauder]

For me, my preference of Disney over Universal comes down to just one thing- I'm a much bigger fan of the Disney stories and characters than I am of the ones featured at Universal. It's just a personal preference. I certainly like Scooby Doo, the Nickelodeon characters, Dr. Suess characters,and those toons featured at Toon Lagoon, but the Marvel superheros, the Mummy, and Jurassic Park mean little to me. Disney has movies that I love with a passion. Plus, I'm a big kid at heart who is very nostalgic so Disney just suits me better.

I think Universal has some wonderful theming of it's own and lots of fun details. The Lost Continent at IOA is amazing- my favorite area. I also don't get the constant comments about the low service quality. I have been there many times and never had a bad experience with them. I worked there for Halloween Horror Nights one year, and went through their orientation. Having been through Disney orientation as well, I can tell you Universal teaches exactly the same qualities as Disney! (not to mention, *many* people at Universal either used to or currently work at WDW- I met one of the original Dreamfinders when I was working there!)

Funny thing about Shrek 4-D...In the holding area, they have this terrific theme that you are Lord Farquad's prisoners. But the minute you enter the theater, the theming is gone! It's just a theater! And the character's don't acknowledge you at all. You are not part of the story. The movie is a lot of fun, and the 3-d looks great, but it's a more immersive experience at Disney. In Muppet 4-D, you are IN the Muppet Theater. In HISTA, you are actually there at the science awards ceremony, and the characters are talking to you.

I pretty much live at Disney, so once in a while it's a nice to escape to Universal! I love the Spiderman ride.

Now, THIS is a fair comparison!

 

[Subi WRX]

OK, before doing Universal, I had asked many people how it stacked up against Disney. I got many replies, but there didn't seem to be any consensus at all.

I have very strong opinions about it after seeing both and thought I'd share for the benefit of others.

First of all, I don't think it's "Coke vs. Pepsi" at all. They are very different places. I personally thought WDW blew Universal out of the water. Not even close. But I can see that some people might feel differently.

Here's the difference: Disney Magic.

OK, OK hear me out. I'm not your typical "Disney magic" type person. I'm a guy who could care less about "Magic" and pixie dust and garbage. I could care less about the Disney characters. I haven't read most of the classic books, or seen 3/4 of the movies. I don't get teary eyed seeing the castle, Mickey Mouse is just OK, and tinkerbell and the cricket kind of annoy me. In fact, I didn't believe in "disney magic" at all.

Until I went to Universal.

The total lack of magic at universal made me realize that Disney does in fact have something special about it.

But it's not pixie dust. It's attention to detail.

If you care about attention to detail, you'll notice the difference. And if you care about these things, then it all starts adding up and making a big difference. There are a million little ways in which it shows up. For instance:

a. The quality of the help is off the charts different. Universal had typical McDonald's-esque type help. Not terrible, but visibly disinterested in being there. Poorly trained, etc. I can give examples. Disney folks were usually nice and helpful (and without being fakey sappy, for the most part).

b. Sloppiness. At Universal, some things are just sloppy. Sloppy uniforms. Less well tended grounds. Cheesier sets. One great example: I was excited to see Shaggy and Scooby Doo. Then I walked a couple of blocks down and guess what? ANOTHER Shaggy and Scooby! I've never seen that at Disney and can't imagine it happening. Talk about breaking the illusion that these are the "one and only, real" characters. It just seemed sort of dumb and poorly done. I saw characters completely fall out of character in public on numerous occasions. One princess got whinny and started talking to friends.

c. Food. Just fewer options, lower quality. Burgers were fattier, Turkey legs were less tasty. (However their lemon and blueberry slushes were awsome!!)

d. Ride theme-ing. I care about this. I love the intricate details and atmosphere at Disney rides. There is little if any of this at Universal. The quality is just not there. Queing areas are usually very boring. For instance, the actual place Sherk 4D is shown is spartan.

c. Fastpass. Disney's is good, democratic, and works. Universal's had a lot of problems, didn't always work, and was undemocratic.

Other considerations.

1. The characters. I have zero attachment to Mikey Mouse, etc. In fact I like Universals character set better. Shaggy and Scoobie Doo! Cool. Curious George! Cool! Spiderman - come on! Lots of fun characters. For me advantage Universal. Your mileage may vary...

2. Traveling with younger kids. Disney is much better. Universal had some cool stuff for young ones. In fact, I absolutely adored their mini water park at Universal Studios. BUT, most rides not explicitly for kids are inappropriate for them. In Disney most rides are kid friendly, but there are a few rides kids shouldn't do. In Universal it is exactly the opposite.

3. Public. The crowd at Universal, particularly on the weekend was... different. There was a much higher "Jerry Springer Audience" quotient at Universal. I'm not saying that's bad, it's just different. What was bad was there was also a significant "thug" quotient at Universal on the weekend. And I'm not using that as code for any particular ethnic group. There was equal opportunity thugishness going on. Not like it was dangerous or anything. Just a lot more tough characters around.

4. Older kids / thrill riders. Universal is THE place to be if you are between 10 and 25. Everything is louder, faster, etc. I'm a pretty young 37. In fact I was pumped up when I heard the entrance music was the Red Hot Chili Peppers the day I went! Cool! I LOVED the intensity of the drop in the Jurassic ride. Though I can't ride coasters, I can imagine that Hulk and Dragons must be sweet rides. If that's what you're after - if it's all about the rides and intense rides at that - then IoA and Universal will be a great choice. Still, for me, it didn't make up for the lack of quality and (to me) a sort of juvenile sense about things. Every darned ride seemed to try and have some element of scary or "in your faceness". Even Dr. Seuss and ET! It wasn't thoughtful thrills, it was just BAM, in your face. Bigger and Louder. That played well with my 11 year old, but got old with me. Even the sense of humor seemed geared to that age group. Shrek has a fart joke in it. When I saw it I just sighed. I'm not a big fan of fart humor. It just seems dumb to me. My 11 year old, of course, loved it - it's the first thing he mentioned.

Overall, the theming isn't close in most places. Studios is OK, but not great. IoA had my hopes up. The entrance and most of the adventure area is pretty much Disney quality, but it goes downhill quickly as you move around. By the Superhero area, it's just loud, in your face, steel and plastic.

Again, none of this stuff is that important, but it adds up, cumulatively, to give you an impression of things.

What I will give Universal credit for is creativity. I didn't much like Terminator (3D effects were off and on and the movie itself was boring IMHO) the way it was done was different and creative. And Spiderman - wow! Too rough, but wow - really neat effects. Also, watch the video monitors in the Terminator queue. They show pictures of the waiting crowd, but have some interesting things happen.

Bottom Line: Kali River Rapids as compared to the Bluto ride at Universal is a perfect microcosm of the difference between Disney and Universal. Bluto is more intense. It gets you wetter. It moves faster. It's longer. But I prefer Kali 100 times over. Bluto is essentially a garish plastic chute. The quality of the "set" is sort of McDonald's Play landish. It gets you wet, but I noticed that TONS of water sloshes around on the floor and your feet get sopping wet (which seems to me to be sort of a poor design - when you may or may not get really wet, but your shoes are guaranteed to be sopping wet). In comparison Kali is just beautiful to look at and be a part of. From the waiting line on its attractive, jungly, mysterious. Just nice. So for me, I love being on Kali and found Bluto sort of boring and ugly. But my son who is 11 loved Bluto.

So think about what you like, what floats your boat, and what bugs you and you'll have a pretty decent idea of how you'll feel about each location.

For my wife and I, we ended up leaving early both days we were at the Universal parks to go back to Disney. At Universal we tried to get ride to ride to do each thing. At Disney we just liked BEING there. The cumulative effect of all those things just make Disney a nice place to be. And that is the "Magic" as far as I'm concerned.

Do others agree with this assessment?

Side point - what the heck is up with the resorts at Universal. I felt it was way overpriced, and I felt we got nickeled and dimed all the time. Can't believe I spent $240 for one night.

Great review for those of us Universal Phanatics that are dreading all the "matching-shirts-carry-a-clipboard-and- whistle-complete-with-a-touring-plan-and-dining-reservations-made-6-months-in-advance-you-mean-I-have-to-PAY-for-Express-Passes?" pixie-dusted Disneyphiles who will invade Universal solely for Harry Potter.

So, let's keep this thread bumped through 2010/2011.


$240 per night for the hotel included express passes for your entire family. Not a bad deal at all, IMHO.

 

[Shelton123]

I have seen horrible/bored/disinterested help at Disney and have found amazingly well-informed, genuinely friendly people at Universal. You find that EVERYWHERE YOU GO.

I have seen this happen at Disney

Are.you.freaking.kidding.me. There is a ton of attention to detail and theming at Universal. If you actually look, you'll notice how intricate attractions such as Doctor Doom, Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, MIB, Mummy, etc all immerse you in the ride story.

No, it doesn't. Fastpass/express DOES NOT WORK. It makes lines longer.

I have seen the same at Disney.

And what are the buildings made of at Disney? The skulls of crushed faries? Nope. They're made of the same thing everything is--steel, concrete, paint, plastic, etc. If you allow yourself to be immersed in it, you really feel/understand it.

It is what YOU make it and how go look at things. You went in with a "OMZ, Diznee is teh bestest evar!!!!!!!11111" mindset and look what happened--you could not let yourself go and truly enjoy Universal. You opted to nitpick and compare instead of immerse.

Fail.

Jeez, you dont have to knock him! It's funny because, IMHO, the people who are on the Universal side are, with a few exceptions, being very very insulting, while the people on the Disney side are giving fair assessments of both parks, based on what they've seen.

 

[Subi WRX]

Jeez, you dont have to knock him! It's funny because, IMHO, the people who are on the Universal side are, with a few exceptions, being very very insulting, while the people on the Disney side are giving fair assessments of both parks, based on what they've seen.

A Fair assessment?

He equated us with a Jerry Springer crowd.

 

[loribell]

Every darned ride seemed to try and have some element of scary or "in your faceness". Even Dr. Seuss and ET!.

I have ridden these rides many times. Where is the scary factor?

IMHO your assesment was not even close to being fair.

Very Nicely written review!

One addition though...Most rides at Universal are most definitely NOT "pooh sized" friendly!

Not true. I am pooh sized and can ride EVERYTHING at both Universal parks.

It's funny we were given annual pass vouchers back in 2005 that we still haven't activated. We'll probably use them when HP opens in 2010.

The last time we went to USO the TM's (?) were so rude, from the girl at the turnstiles to the boat captain taking us back to the Hard Rock. We decided that was it. I agree about the guests at US/IOA. It's just not our type of place. They do have some pretty good rides though.

Since you don't want to return why don't you just go ahead and give those passes to someone that will enjoy them. I really doubt they will be able to do the HP area right if they haven't been able to do anything right so far. I would be glad to take them off your hands!

From a person who is NOT a Dole Whip swilling, Mickey adoring, DVC owning, Boutique attending guy, I just observed both and that's what I have to say about it.

While I don't like dole whips I do love Mickey &the gang, especially Tink, I own 360 DVC points & plan to buy many more, have taken my dd to the BBB and will be making appointments for her & my dgd for our next trip. I love Universal as much as Disney, as does my entire family. We can not even imagine visiting Orlando and not going to both. My kids are 25, 23, 16, & 9. My 9 year old considers them all to be wonderful.

But there are great restaurants inside of the parks, which Uni does not have

Louies, Finegans, Cafe Le Bamba, The Enchanted Oak, Mythos, Confisco's, ? All of them are amazing! And inside the parks.

There is no magic in any of those movies

There is no magic in ET?????????????????????????

The Uni resorts are blocks, and the WDW Deluxes are not. The architecture and theming do not stack up to WDW.

Have you actually seen these resorts?

Here is a link to some photos from right here on the DIS. http://www.wdwinfo.com/universal/photos/

They are all fabulously themed.

If you hate magic so much, get out of this "DISNEY" board and go to a "Uni" board

Why would you be on this board if you hate disney?

Obviously sarcasm. And that was very rude. We were asked if we agreed. We do not. We have the right to say so.

Jeez, you dont have to knock him! It's funny because, IMHO, the people who are on the Universal side are, with a few exceptions, being very very insulting, while the people on the Disney side are giving fair assessments of both parks, based on what they've seen.

So because we love both parks we are being insulting? I think the thug comment is ridiculous.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Jeez, you dont have to knock him! It's funny because, IMHO, the people who are on the Universal side are, with a few exceptions, being very very insulting, while the people on the Disney side are giving fair assessments of both parks, based on what they've seen.

Ok, that's just not nice. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and just because it's different from yours doesn't make it wrong.

 

[Roxy8491]

1st post...
I love debates so I had to chime in

First off I am not going to bash the OP like some others have done. But I do disagree with many of their points.

Since I live in Orlando I have been in and out of all the parks too many times to count. And I can honestly say I have had just as many bad experiences with Disney employees as Universal. It's not like Disney has genetically bred their employees - they are human, and to suggest that they are somehow less rude or less snappy than others just doesn't make sense. It's not like they are paid more at Disney, and Disney hires the same type of people - mostly teenagers and young adults who live in the area. Disney doesn't treat them better, either. In fact, from what I've heard from people who work at Disney or Universal, Disney is markedly worse. I know a lot of people who left Disney to work at Universal. So, in my opinion, the people who are seeing huge contrasts in service are either biased, or came on an off day.

I do agree that the parks aren't taken care of as well as at Disney. A great example of this is the Jurassic Park ride at IoA. Anyone else who has ridden it within the past two years will know what I'm talking about. I think this has a lot to do with Disney having a generally larger budget for those kind of things than Universal.

I strongly disagree about ride-themeing. I actually agree about the Shrek line being unimaginative, but I also think it is rather unfair to claim Disney does a better job all around when every single fantasy land ride line is just as badly themed, if not worse, than Shrek. There are other examples, such as Kilimanjaro Safaris, which is pretty much identical as far as concept to Shrek. You zigzag endless times with some monitors above your head explaining the story. For some reason you seem to have swept those under the rug and only concentrated on the well themed lines at Disney. Similarly you seem focused on bland lines at Universal, yet ignore the Revenge of the Mummy, Men in Black, ET, Twister, Spider-man, and Dueling Dragons. Look at Jurassic Park and Jaws, who have whole lands built around them. The themed area around Jaws doesn't even have any other rides - they built it solely because Jaws was there. The old King Kong ride had a whole freaking city as it's queue line. You could look into every window and see so many details..you could look in store windows and see each individual product, serving no other purpose than to add to the theme of the ride. The queue area for Dueling Dragons must take up more space than the ride itself. I'd say it is easily the best themed line in Central Florida. The only queues that come close to this level of detail at Disney are Expedition Everest, Tower of Terror, and Space Mountain.

And how can you say IoA doesn't have great themeing? Future World at Epcot, Dinoland at Animal Kingdom, Tomorrowland and Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, and most of Hollywood Studios fall completely flat when compared to most of the themed lands at IoA. The only thing at Disney that compares to Port of Entry, Seuss Landing, and The Lost Continent at IoA is the World Showcase.

I personally don't see what's so great about Kali River Rapids. I have never gotten wet on the ride, which is the whole point of it, in my opinion. As far as the scenery, I saw a few trees, a truck, and smelled burning wood.

I've also noticed the "smells" at particular Disney rides. I think this may have more to do with nostalgia and memory than quality of rides..as I also have the smells of half the Universal rides stored in my brain, particularly ET. When you've been to a park tons of times, you start noticing things like the smell of certain rides. I guarantee if you went to Universal a few more times you would notice the same thing.

 

[TaylorsDad]

You are now the 3rd person that I know that does not like disney

I just don't get how it could be a disappointment

I didn't say I didn't like Disney. I said the first time I went there I was disappointed, I just expected way too much. You totally missed the point of my post. The second time I went with an open mind without being critical I found many things to love. We have been back to both parks each year since the first visit and appreciate each place. I just dont get why people have to dis Universal to show their love of Disney. Both parks are amazing, and if you stick to just one you really are limiting yourself and your vacation experience.

 

[jillybeene71]

hi, my name is Jill everyone Hi, Jill.
I am a Universal addict. (I love it and I dont need help)

 

[ajleone]

At Disney we just liked BEING there.

I have to agree 100% with this statement! When I'm at WDW I don't even need to go on a ride and I still have the best time. There is just something about being at WDW for me that's like coming home.

 

[yankeepenny]

Great review for those of us Universal Phanatics that are dreading all the "matching-shirts-carry-a-clipboard-and- whistle-complete-with-a-touring-plan-and-dining-reservations-made-6-months-in-advance-you-mean-I-have-to-PAY-for-Express-Passes?" pixie-dusted Disneyphiles who will invade Universal solely for Harry Potter.

 

[yankeepenny]

hi, my name is Jill everyone Hi, Jill.
I am a Universal addict. (and I love it)

Hi Jill!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tentaguasu]

A Fair assessment?

He equated us with a Jerry Springer crowd.

Please read what I actually said.

1. I never equated YOU or anyone from this board as "Jerry Springer crowd". I never said everyone at Universal fits that description. That would be "equating" you and other USO lovers with the Jerry Springer crowd. Instead I said, and completely stand by, my observation that a higher percentage of people at USO fit that description. That's what I observed. Should I not say what I saw? Should I lie? You can disagree, but I don't see the value in ignoring a valid observation. It's like saying (which is also true in my experience) that Disney a higher percentage of the infamous "Brazilian touring groups". Does that equate everyone who likes Disney with Brazilian touring groups?! Absolutely not. It just points out (based on my experience) a certain mix of people you're likely to see.

2. I *specifically stated* that there is nothing wrong with being from the Jerry Springer audience. My family consists of people from the highest levels of academic achievement to people who barely made it out of high school. It consists of outlaw bikers, lawyers, truck drivers, nurses, and line workers. Some of them enjoy a rousing show of Jerry Springer, others prefer Nova on PBS. I respect and love them all. But they ARE different. I wouldn't invite my PBS loving aunt to a Jerry Springer show and I wouldn't take my biker bar cousin to an open mike poetry reading. By observing that a higher percentage (again, not everyone) at Universal is a Jerry Springer audience style, I'm telling you what to expect (again, in my experience) not what is good or bad or right or wrong.

I'm amazed at how some pro USO people are just wigging out about my review.

Take a chill pill.

Feel free to disagree, but don't react like I just kicked mud into your baby stroller.

What I wrote is what I observed and felt. I didn't have preconceived notions, I didn't go looking to find problems, I don't hate Universal, I don't think that you have to pick Disney or USO exclusively.

I went with an open mind and found USO to be inferior in many important ways. I thought I'd share for the benefit of others and so see what others thought.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[macraven]

Jeez, you dont have to knock him! It's funny because, IMHO, the people who are on the Universal side are, with a few exceptions, being very very insulting, while the people on the Disney side are giving fair assessments of both parks, based on what they've seen.

for a smart man as you are, that was not a very smart thing to say.
please don't generalize when a poster thinks different than you.

it only helps the thread go south.

the op is asking for others opinions about what he stated.
he did not ask for opinions of what you think of those that are disagreeing with him.

the mod stated earlier to be respectful when you post.

 

[skifast22]

1st post...
I love debates so I had to chime in

First off I am not going to bash the OP like some others have done. But I do disagree with many of their points.

Since I live in Orlando I have been in and out of all the parks too many times to count. And I can honestly say I have had just as many bad experiences with Disney employees as Universal. It's not like Disney has genetically bred their employees - they are human, and to suggest that they are somehow less rude or less snappy than others just doesn't make sense. It's not like they are paid more at Disney, and Disney hires the same type of people - mostly teenagers and young adults who live in the area. Disney doesn't treat them better, either. In fact, from what I've heard from people who work at Disney or Universal, Disney is markedly worse. I know a lot of people who left Disney to work at Universal. So, in my opinion, the people who are seeing huge contrasts in service are either biased, or came on an off day.

I do agree that the parks aren't taken care of as well as at Disney. A great example of this is the Jurassic Park ride at IoA. Anyone else who has ridden it within the past two years will know what I'm talking about. I think this has a lot to do with Disney having a generally larger budget for those kind of things than Universal.

I strongly disagree about ride-themeing. I actually agree about the Shrek line being unimaginative, but I also think it is rather unfair to claim Disney does a better job all around when every single fantasy land ride line is just as badly themed, if not worse, than Shrek. There are other examples, such as Kilimanjaro Safaris, which is pretty much identical as far as concept to Shrek. You zigzag endless times with some monitors above your head explaining the story. For some reason you seem to have swept those under the rug and only concentrated on the well themed lines at Disney. Similarly you seem focused on bland lines at Universal, yet ignore the Revenge of the Mummy, Men in Black, ET, Twister, Spider-man, and Dueling Dragons. Look at Jurassic Park and Jaws, who have whole lands built around them. The themed area around Jaws doesn't even have any other rides - they built it solely because Jaws was there. The old King Kong ride had a whole freaking city as it's queue line. You could look into every window and see so many details..you could look in store windows and see each individual product, serving no other purpose than to add to the theme of the ride. The queue area for Dueling Dragons must take up more space than the ride itself. I'd say it is easily the best themed line in Central Florida. The only queues that come close to this level of detail at Disney are Expedition Everest, Tower of Terror, and Space Mountain.

And how can you say IoA doesn't have great themeing? Future World at Epcot, Dinoland at Animal Kingdom, Tomorrowland and Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, and most of Hollywood Studios fall completely flat when compared to most of the themed lands at IoA. The only thing at Disney that compares to Port of Entry, Seuss Landing, and The Lost Continent at IoA is the World Showcase.

I personally don't see what's so great about Kali River Rapids. I have never gotten wet on the ride, which is the whole point of it, in my opinion. As far as the scenery, I saw a few trees, a truck, and smelled burning wood.

I've also noticed the "smells" at particular Disney rides. I think this may have more to do with nostalgia and memory than quality of rides..as I also have the smells of half the Universal rides stored in my brain, particularly ET. When you've been to a park tons of times, you start noticing things like the smell of certain rides. I guarantee if you went to Universal a few more times you would notice the same thing.

Just wanted to say that was an excellent post for your first! You hit on many of the points I've been feeling while reading this thread the past day.

 

[Subi WRX]

Please read what I actually said.

1. I never equated YOU or anyone from this board as "Jerry Springer crowd". I never said everyone at Universal fits that description. That would be "equating" you and other USO lovers with the Jerry Springer crowd. Instead I said, and completely stand by, my observation that a higher percentage of people at USO fit that description. That's what I observed. Should I not say what I saw? Should I lie? You can disagree, but I don't see the value in ignoring a valid observation. It's like saying (which is also true in my experience) that Disney a higher percentage of the infamous "Brazilian touring groups". Does that equate everyone who likes Disney with Brazilian touring groups?! Absolutely not. It just points out (based on my experience) a certain mix of people you're likely to see.

2. I *specifically stated* that there is nothing wrong with being from the Jerry Springer audience. My family consists of people from the highest levels of academic achievement to people who barely made it out of high school. It consists of outlaw bikers, lawyers, truck drivers, nurses, and line workers. Some of them enjoy a rousing show of Jerry Springer, others prefer Nova on PBS. I respect and love them all. But they ARE different. I wouldn't invite my PBS loving aunt to a Jerry Springer show and I wouldn't take my biker bar cousin to an open mike poetry reading. By observing that a higher percentage (again, not everyone) at Universal is a Jerry Springer audience style, I'm telling you what to expect (again, in my experience) not what is good or bad or right or wrong.

I'm amazed at how some pro USO people are just wigging out about my review.

Take a chill pill.

Feel free to disagree, but don't react like I just kicked mud into your baby stroller.

What I wrote is what I observed and felt. I didn't have preconceived notions, I didn't go looking to find problems, I don't hate Universal, I don't think that you have to pick Disney or USO exclusively.

I went with an open mind and found USO to be inferior in many important ways. I thought I'd share for the benefit of others and so see what others thought.

Your mileage may vary.

Take a chill pill, YMMV, mud in baby strollers .... maybe I just HANG with the Jerry Springer crowd, but I'm not a member?

 

[vcgirl925]

for a smart man as you are, that was not a very smart thing to say.
please don't generalize when a poster thinks different than you.

it only helps the thread go south.

the op is asking for others opinions about what he stated.
he did not ask for opinions of what you think of those that are disagreeing with him.

the mod stated earlier to be respectful when you post.

He asked for opinions about his comparison, he did not ask to be insulted.

 

[cocowum]

Please read what I actually said.

1. I never equated YOU or anyone from this board as "Jerry Springer crowd". I never said everyone at Universal fits that description. That would be "equating" you and other USO lovers with the Jerry Springer crowd. Instead I said, and completely stand by, my observation that a higher percentage of people at USO fit that description. That's what I observed. Should I not say what I saw? Should I lie? You can disagree, but I don't see the value in ignoring a valid observation. It's like saying (which is also true in my experience) that Disney a higher percentage of the infamous "Brazilian touring groups". Does that equate everyone who likes Disney with Brazilian touring groups?! Absolutely not. It just points out (based on my experience) a certain mix of people you're likely to see.

2. I *specifically stated* that there is nothing wrong with being from the Jerry Springer audience. My family consists of people from the highest levels of academic achievement to people who barely made it out of high school. It consists of outlaw bikers, lawyers, truck drivers, nurses, and line workers. Some of them enjoy a rousing show of Jerry Springer, others prefer Nova on PBS. I respect and love them all. But they ARE different. I wouldn't invite my PBS loving aunt to a Jerry Springer show and I wouldn't take my biker bar cousin to an open mike poetry reading. By observing that a higher percentage (again, not everyone) at Universal is a Jerry Springer audience style, I'm telling you what to expect (again, in my experience) not what is good or bad or right or wrong.

I'm amazed at how some pro USO people are just wigging out about my review.

Take a chill pill.

Feel free to disagree, but don't react like I just kicked mud into your baby stroller.

What I wrote is what I observed and felt. I didn't have preconceived notions, I didn't go looking to find problems, I don't hate Universal, I don't think that you have to pick Disney or USO exclusively.

I went with an open mind and found USO to be inferior in many important ways. I thought I'd share for the benefit of others and so see what others thought.

Your mileage may vary.

Again, very well said! Especially your first point.

 

[GoofyWaterCoaster]

He asked for opinions about his comparison, he did not ask to be insulted.

 

[GoofyWaterCoaster]

There is no magic in ET?????????????????????????

Yes, magic, but no, no ride magic.

Basically, it's just a ride through to me

Have you actually seen these resorts?

Here is a link to some photos from right here on the DIS. http://www.wdwinfo.com/universal/photos/

They are all fabulously themed.

To me, they are just blocks, and yes, I have seen them in person

Obviously sarcasm. And that was very rude. We were asked if we agreed. We do not. We have the right to say so.

She said that she didn't like Disney, and she loved Uni. So I asked why you would be on a Disney fansite if you didn't like Disney. Not rude, a simple question of why she would be wasting her time on something completely Disney themed.

So because we love both parks we are being insulting? I think the thug comment is ridiculous.

No, not by disagreeing, but by bashing us for hating Uni. And I don't think that the thug comment is ridiculous, because the amount of people wearing all black, extraordinarily long jean shorts, chains, and bandannas at Uni compared to WDW is phenomenal.