WDW vs. Universal. My definitive comparison.

[disneyfan67]

I have been reading and trying to catch up with this thread and I'm still sitting back and saying, wow!

I have been to WDW 4 times since 2002 and stayed onsite all 4 times. All of them have been 1 week stays or more and all at Deluxe resorts. I'm telling you because having been to Universal studios last year, I can honestly compare them without any hidden bias.

I stayed at the Portofino Bay Resort last July and I found it not only gorgeous, but one of the nicest places I have ever stayed for the price I paid. I got a room for $239 a night and it was worth every penny. I have never got a room at a Disney Deluxe for that price. The pool was fantastic and food very good at the hotel. I found some of the food at the parks to be so so, but Mythos was about the best meal I had during my stay there. I could see why it got voted the best theme park restaurant 5 years in a row. The people were nice, the parks looked clean, and the 3 onsite hotels looked great. It's like the OP and others were looking to find something wrong. If you have that kind of attitude, most likely you will find the negatives in anything.

Were both of Universals parks the greatest thing ever? No, but they don't deserve the scorn some of you on this thread heaped upon them either. If you're looking for Disney magic and themeing at a US & IOA, then you should go further down the road and go to the real thing. Both of the parks at Universal are nice, IMO and a pleasant addition to any WDW vacation. Some of the rides were very high tech and I found the IOA to well themed in many areas. I kept my mind open and didn't compare them to Disney. It's not like they were the Six Flags in my town and US & IOA should be judged without comparing them to WDW. When I go again to WDW, I plan on staying at Universal Studios for 3 nights in the beginning of the trip and, IMO doing it that way on the last trip, really added to the vacation. My family still talks about. Some you should realise that's there's room for both Universal and WDW in Orlando and you don't have to choose just one as your favorite and ignore the other.

 

[macraven]

WOAH! Just a suggestion but if you really like Universal that much we do have a part of the board you may be happier at! Everyone has a right to voice their opinion without getting attacked. Just remember your on a DISNEY board!

your point is....

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

These are just a couple you can find when you do a "find all posts by OP". I think he just likes to a bit .

It sounds like you are right!

 

[Melanie230]

We took the kids 14, 11, 7 to Universal in June and we had an HORRIBLE trip! We are a family of disney fanatatilcs so I thought we were just being prejudice so Im glad I read your comparison. Service was a joke, CM were rude! Food was cheap, cheap, cheap! Very little variety and it was served either cold, or over cooked! We went to guest services to complain twice, we recieved free meal vouchers which when we tried to use were ignored at one restaurant so we left went to another and they reluctantly seated us then ignored us, food came out not with what the menu said came with it and was nasty. We complained manager offered us more food we just wanted to leave..CityWalk in my opinion is just for party goers not at all a family atmosphere at all. My kids complained that every restaurant we seemed to go to most ppl appeared drunk..They still tell me they would have rather gone to WDW but at that time I couldnt afford to take 5 ppl to WDW I wish I would have just scrounged for more $$ and took them to WDW!

I hate that you had a bad trip there. I must say that we don't enjoy the food inside the parks at Universal OR Disney. IMHO they are both just plain old theme park food. The only difference is, Disney charges a lot more than Universal does. As for CityWalk, I disagree. I have 2 children and we have been to Universal twice and every time eat at CityWalk for dinner. My children LOVE Margaritaville with the guys walking around on stilts making balloon animals. They love the music, and the lava explosion!

Bubba Gumps has to be our favorite. We have so many DISCO light glasses that they still turn on every time they use them. They love the theme and get a kick out of the STOP FORREST STOP signs to get the waitress to bring them something they need.

Hard Rock is always crazy. No matter where you live or what you do. LOUD, and WILD! We love the fact that we can go there and make reservations online a month in advance and get seated within 10 minutes every single time.

We also love the onsite hotels. They really cater to families in a way I have never seen before. My children love the BIG MOVIE screen by the pool at night while DH and I relax in a lounge chair.

It really is all about opinion. Sorry you had a bad experience. Ours has always been very wonderful. That is why we just book another trip to Universal this year last week!

 

[goofy!]

^^ looks like some "thug" is doing a drive-by over at circus mcgirkus, run for your lives

Those Sneetches are such thugs!

 

[jillybeene71]

Those Sneetches are such thugs!

just the star-bellied ones






did i just say that out loud? omg i just totally did

Kidding homies...I love all the star and no star sneeches

 

[patster734]

just the star-bellied ones






did i just say that out loud? omg i just totally did

Kidding homies...I love all the star and no star sneeches

 

[Subi WRX]

Geez guys, relax. You really don't have to act like people are personally attacking you if they prefer one park to another.

My mama always said ... "Watch whose baby you're calling ugly."

 

[Subi WRX]

We took the kids 14, 11, 7 to Universal in June and we had an HORRIBLE trip! We are a family of disney fanatatilcs so I thought we were just being prejudice so Im glad I read your comparison. Service was a joke, CM were rude! Food was cheap, cheap, cheap! Very little variety and it was served either cold, or over cooked! We went to guest services to complain twice, we recieved free meal vouchers which when we tried to use were ignored at one restaurant so we left went to another and they reluctantly seated us then ignored us, food came out not with what the menu said came with it and was nasty. We complained manager offered us more food we just wanted to leave..CityWalk in my opinion is just for party goers not at all a family atmosphere at all. My kids complained that every restaurant we seemed to go to most ppl appeared drunk..They still tell me they would have rather gone to WDW but at that time I couldnt afford to take 5 ppl to WDW I wish I would have just scrounged for more $$ and took them to WDW!

So I guess it's safe to say you won't be visiting for Harry Potter?

 

[Subi WRX]

Got to give the OP credit though.

At least he posts threads about his disappointments about Disney too.


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1423311&page=0&highlight=

And here he complains about ECV users and the increase must be due to laziness (nice)

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18159805#post18159805&highlight=

These are just a couple you can find when you do a "find all posts by OP". I think he just likes to a bit


But back to his original OP in this thread. He complains about the Universal Resorts ($240.00 a night in his OP) and that he had problems with his express pass, yet here he states he has reservations off site.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1878891&page=1&highlight=

He also has several posts asking if the purchased express pass is necessary for his days he is visiting and says it is very expensive. Which leads one to believe that he visited the parks, staying off site and not using a purchased express pass.

How can he make a definitive comparison if he did not stay at the onsite hotel or use Express Pass? Makes his whole original "definitive comparison" pretty suspect.

OMG .. he paid $240 to stay OFF-SITE and then complained about an "undemocratic" express pass?!!!!!!

Thank you. That's all I need to know.

Brings new meaning to the term "definitive" when he didn't even stay on-site. I mean

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.

Would imply that he stayed at either RPR, HRH, or PBH: all of which would have been WELL worth $240 a night at a time he went. Those are the UNIVERSAL RESORTS.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

If you noticed, I said I loved all the parks equally.

It is just that this thread is extremely biased.

All the mudslinging, calling people names (such as thugs, jerry springer types), asking people not to post anything negative about Disney World on this thread, reminding people they are on a DISNEY board - that is all coming from the Disney fanatics.

Almost every person defending Universal has not only mentioned that they loved both sets of parks and visit them equally, but they have just presented examples of their version of magic, presented examples of detailed theming, presented their experiences of what the Disney people say never happens at Disney really does happen at Disney.

Read the thread again. There is only one side slinging mud and calling names. And it is not the people defending Universal.

 

[tlinus]

I have been reading and trying to catch up with this thread and I'm still sitting back and saying, wow!

I have been to WDW 4 times since 2002 and stayed onsite all 4 times. All of them have been 1 week stays or more and all at Deluxe resorts. I'm telling you because having been to Universal studios last year, I can honestly compare them without any hidden bias.

I stayed at the Portofino Bay Resort last July and I found it not only gorgeous, but one of the nicest places I have ever stayed for the price I paid. I got a room for $239 a night and it was worth every penny. I have never got a room at a Disney Deluxe for that price. The pool was fantastic and food very good at the hotel. I found some of the food at the parks to be so so, but Mythos was about the best meal I had during my stay there. I could see why it got voted the best theme park restaurant 5 years in a row. The people were nice, the parks looked clean, and the 3 onsite hotels looked great. It's like the OP and others were looking to find something wrong. If you have that kind of attitude, most likely you will find the negatives in anything.

Were both of Universals parks the greatest thing ever? No, but they don't deserve the scorn some of you on this thread heaped upon them either. If you're looking for Disney magic and themeing at a US & IOA, then you should go further down the road and go to the real thing. Both of the parks at Universal are nice, IMO and a pleasant addition to any WDW vacation. Some of the rides were very high tech and I found the IOA to well themed in many areas. I kept my mind open and didn't compare them to Disney. It's not like they were the Six Flags in my town and US & IOA should be judged without comparing them to WDW. When I go again to WDW, I plan on staying at Universal Studios for 3 nights in the beginning of the trip and, IMO doing it that way on the last trip, really added to the vacation. My family still talks about. Some you should realise that's there's room for both Universal and WDW in Orlando and you don't have to choose just one as your favorite and ignore the other.

both sides have their faults.....but there is not a comparison, they are ALL theme parks....we find the better "bang for the buck" with Universal.

Awww heck - did my thug just escape with that^^^^ statement?

It sounds like you are right!

also no answer to my post about the beating of the woman and the tasering of the peeps at the Magic Kingdom.


thought not.

come on people......this thread is like

 

[d4est]

I think the whole magic bit is totally in the eyes of the beholder. I've been going to Disney for most of my life and to Universal for almost half. I actually prefer Universal and that is where I get my warm and fuzzies. We tend to pick Disney apart because the Universal parks are our favourites and we prefer how they are run and the types of attractions. We laugh at the instructions on how to wash our hands and how they tell us at rope drop to put on our sunscreen. We cringe at waiting for transportation and when the fastpass machines have run out and how I can't eat at a nice restaurant because I didn't make my reservations six months in advance. We cringe at the prices of multi-day passes and deluxe hotels and the lack of benefits for people who stay on-site. I could go on but the faults are there if you want to take the time to state them. There are many threads about people's least favourite Disney rides and usually it turns out that just about every ride is disliked by someone. That doesn't mean that people should not try and judge for themselves. I think that is probably a natural instinct to find fault in what you don't prefer. However, I think everyone should try all the parks and what I see as faults in Disney, other people will not even notice and vice versa. I think it is often a disservice to make a big deal out of things that may in fact keep people away from an experience they may treasure.

Probably the most intelligent thing I have read on this entire thread...

 

[WillCAD]

come on people......this thread is like

Every so often someone on the Disney side of the site feels the need to post a "comparisson" like this one, or some other thread bashing Universal. I remember a couple of years ago someone posted one calling the Universal TV ad campaign "Kinda rude" because it used the slogan, "Fairy tales and pixie dust not for you?" That thread went on for pages, too, with the Disneyphiles bashing every aspect of Universal as being inferior to Disney. There were the same "rude CM," "dirty park," "crappy resorts," "express pass is evil because you have to pay for it," and "low-life Guest" comments - none of which are any truer at Uni than they are at WDW.

Disney has come out of its post-9/11 doldrums since 2004, but with the current economic recession and accompanying travel industry depression, I'm holding my breath to see if Disney again engages in the same lousy cutbacks they did from 2001 thru about 2004, where the bathrooms got steadily dirtier and dirtier throughout the parks, the parks got messier and dingier because needed maintenance like paint and new concrete were not applied (particularly Epcot), and attractions, eateries, and even whole resorts were shuttered to save money in the slump. Things didn't get better until mid-2004, when Disney started shining up the place in preparation for the HCOE.

During those same years, Uni got better and better with each visit - to the point where Uni had a clear upper hand in cleanliness and TM performance during my Dec 2003 trip.

Disney is better now, but still not up to the standard they had in the early to mid 1990s when I had my first few visits. But Uni has improved its standards and kept them up, and for my money, Uni does most things just as well at WDW, and a few things (like Passholder cost vs. bennefits) better than WDW.

Mention of WDW inadequacies always causes a backlash against Uni for being "dirty," while mention of those things that Uni does right brings up the "thug life" and "rude TM" comments, and any mention of how much joy and fun can be had with Uni attactions inevitably brings declarations that "Universal has no magic."

Well, as I've said before - Magic doesn't come from theme parks. It doesn't come from rides, shows, restaurants, or resorts. The Magic comes from our hearts. It comes from the happiness we experience at spending time with our loved ones - no matter the place - and leaving the humdrum routine of regular life behind for a few days. The parks - both Disney and Universal - just provide a place where we can let the Magic out of ourselves to breathe and stretch.

 

[DeblovesPoohbear]

Every so often someone on the Disney side of the site feels the need to post a "comparisson" like this one, or some other thread bashing Universal. I remember a couple of years ago someone posted one calling the Universal TV ad campaign "Kinda rude" because it used the slogan, "Fairy tales and pixie dust not for you?" That thread went on for pages, too, with the Disneyphiles bashing every aspect of Universal as being inferior to Disney. There were the same "rude CM," "dirty park," "crappy resorts," "express pass is evil because you have to pay for it," and "low-life Guest" comments - none of which are any truer at Uni than they are at WDW.

Disney has come out of its post-9/11 doldrums since 2004, but with the current economic recession and accompanying travel industry depression, I'm holding my breath to see if Disney again engages in the same lousy cutbacks they did from 2001 thru about 2004, where the bathrooms got steadily dirtier and dirtier throughout the parks, the parks got messier and dingier because needed maintenance like paint and new concrete were not applied (particularly Epcot), and attractions, eateries, and even whole resorts were shuttered to save money in the slump. Things didn't get better until mid-2004, when Disney started shining up the place in preparation for the HCOE.

During those same years, Uni got better and better with each visit - to the point where Uni had a clear upper hand in cleanliness and TM performance during my Dec 2003 trip.

Disney is better now, but still not up to the standard they had in the early to mid 1990s when I had my first few visits. But Uni has improved its standards and kept them up, and for my money, Uni does most things just as well at WDW, and a few things (like Passholder cost vs. bennefits) better than WDW.

Mention of WDW inadequacies always causes a backlash against Uni for being "dirty," while mention of those things that Uni does right brings up the "thug life" and "rude TM" comments, and any mention of how much joy and fun can be had with Uni attactions inevitably brings declarations that "Universal has no magic."

Well, as I've said before - Magic doesn't come from theme parks. It doesn't come from rides, shows, restaurants, or resorts. The Magic comes from our hearts. It comes from the happiness we experience at spending time with our loved ones - no matter the place - and leaving the humdrum routine of regular life behind for a few days. The parks - both Disney and Universal - just provide a place where we can let the Magic out of ourselves to breathe and stretch.

Can I get an amen!!
It really is just about spending time with the ones you love
Yes, I feel the Disney magic while I am there
But I also feel the magic when I watch my 4 yr old son watch Barney
and his face is all lit up
Or when we fly with ET, I could go on and on

 

[d4est]

I am quoting this, and answering these with my own answers

After



He was complaining that the "Disney Magic" Made WDW tons better than Uni and that the lack of it made Uni bland

I saw no magic at all there

You would have to open your eyes


I saw tons of flaws at Uni that Disney would never have

Never say never


You're right, their smiles aren't forced, they don't smile at all. "Heh, I guess" "*Rolls eyes*" and "Why?" were things I heard all day from TMs. They were extremely unfriendly and seemed like they hated their job. They didn't want to do anything at the CS restaurants. The only nice employees that I found where at the NBA City, and they were not Uni employees.


Hmm, I saw this happen too, maybe you just don't pay attention since you love Uni so much. The characters even seemed that they hated their job, and they weren't "real"

Your own argument can be used against you, since you love Disney so much



You're right about Turkey Legs, but I got a Chicken Sandwich that was $10 and was smaller than a McD's burger, and it didn't come with fries or a drink. It tasted worse than a tofu sandwich too.


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

Just not true

But Disney has better hidden details, such as the Hidden Mickey's. Uni is copying Disney with a lot of things too, FastPass, Pins, etc...


I did not see any details that were worth noting, and I do pay attention to details

Again, one would have to open their eyes

Yes, they are gearing it towards Teens, but I am a Teen and I hate Uni

And you are entitled to, just as others are entitled to actually like or love it



Gosh, have you ever waited in line for any Disney attraction? The windows at Space Mountain, the whole Test Track queue, Expedition Everest with all of the aritifacts, TOY STORY MANIA!

There basically is no theming at all at Uni. Speaking of architecture, have you seen ANY of the buildings at EPCOT? Look at the amazing structures there, then tell me that IOA's blocks blow it away.

Again, unfair assessment. You don't have to like or appreciate UO's theming, but you can't deny that it's there.


Magic DOES come from theme parks. It DOES come from rides, shows, restaurants, and resorts. HAVE YOU EVER VISITED A DISNEY PARK? They are so magical, how they do everything and all.


There is no magic in any of those movies

Seriously? "NO" as in zero? That's just not a fair assessment.

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

VS

or

I'd say that it's as close as you can get to an accurate, unbiased review

And that's because you agree with it.

There is no such thing as an unbiased review when you factor in opinion and feelings. Somebody mentioned slant, if I recall...

 

[hapandpam]

Wow! Over 200 posts on this! I was one of the early ones, and have read all the way though but feel that , "Now it's time, to say goodby...." I love WDW but I do enjoy IoA, US, and Sea World. I actually enjoyed the Universal "Fairy tales and pixie dust not for you?" commercial and appreciate the fact that these parks do not try to be clones of Disney. It wouldn't work for anyone if they did.

Enjoy the debate!

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Somebody mentioned slant, if I recall...

That was me, several pages ago.

 

[goofy!]

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

.
I haven't read the whole thread, so if this was addressed, I apologize.

But I would like to know how the Universal Fast Passes were messing up? You said they had lots of problems and didn't always work. How so? Were the machines not dispensing them correctly? Were the Team Members standing at the Fast Pass line not honoring them?

Thanks in advance!

Yes, I quoted myself.

Still waiting for the OP to explain (with facts) how the Fast Pass system at Universal had lots of problems and didn't always work.

What problems were encountered by the OP with his "Fast Pass?"

Still waiting ............

Op, would you please post specific examples of what problems you experienced with the Fast Pass system and how it did not work for you?

Thanks!

Still waiting OP. I know you have been logged on this morning. Your profile states your last activity was today at 10am.

Please come back and clarify some of your definitive comparisons.

Did you stay on site? Which hotel?
Exactly what fees were you nickeled and dimed with?
Please give us examples of how the fast pass system did not work.

Thanks in advance.

(I know, this is a lost cause and he will never come back and answer, but we can keep asking. Makes one wonder why he won't answer simple questions like this )

 

[Angel Ariel]

Ok--seriously, checking out people's log time? My goodness....this thread started out much more respectfully than it's ended up...