One reason I find this topic so interesting is because I am coming from the opposite side of the spectrum. After visiting Universal 5 times since 2003, this last time I was there I just "didn't feel the magic" as some of you have stated. Well, specifically over at IOA.
Back in 2003 USF was a relic of older movie rides, and IOA felt like a refreshing thrill park with amazing theming. Or maybe that was just because the only place I had ever been to before that was Six Flags Over Texas (which is really just a bunch of rides packed together for an over priced amount of money - no "magic" to speak of).
The first time I walked into IOA I was enamored. As a Seuss fan I loved Seuss Landing and purchased enough souvenirs there alone to fill a suitcase. Lost Continent really felt fantastical and the Dueling Dragons were exhilarating. Walking through the gates to Jurassic Park, the music playing, the torches lit... I'll never forget that. Toon Lagoon didn't excite me as much as the other places, but it was still fun to explore, and then Marvel island had the amazing Hulk coaster and all sorts of cool gift shops and other fun stuff. Hell, even the "Port of Call" gated area was worth gawking over.
The next time I visited I went to USF as well and really enjoyed my time there as well (especially the Simpsons ride that had recently opened at the time), even though I was still more excited to get back to IOA.
The following visit had the first Potter area open, and I still remember standing in Hogsmeade blown away by the area. And while I was trying to gather my marbles, here come the older Weasely twins with a CNN camera guy following them. What luck?! Add some Butterbeer and the technology behind Forbidden Journey to that, and I didn't want to leave.
And then there was this past visit. My wife saw me salivating over Diagon Alley promos and she surprised me with a vacation at Cabana Bay Breach Resort. I spent the proceeding months making touring plans, buying photo connect passes, and all the other things to ensure the vacation was awesome.
And yea, Diagon Alley was a LOT of fun to walk around in. But good luck doing anything. 30 minute wait to buy an ice cream? check. Multiple attempts to ride the new Gringotts ride (including 3 early entry arrivals) and countless ride breakdowns adding up to several hours of wait time across multiple days in order to ride it once (and not be impressed at all)? Check. Shoulder to shoulder people? Check. Hour long waits to take the train to IOA even though the posted time was always 15 minutes? Check.
Bar none, the best thing about Diagon Alley was the shops and the decor. When the best thing about a theme park is it's shops... well... that is disheartening. We had a blast at the Halloween Horror Nights, riding the new Transformers ride, and re-exploring some of our old favorites, but in general - I just didn't leave wishing I could stay. By the last day I was done with the place.
Seuss Landing has lost all it's variety, and now all it does is peddle Thing 1 and Thing 2 merch. Lost Continent has been gutted to make way for Harry Potter and Co, leaving a disjointed area with the amazing Mythos restaurant, and a hokey stunt show (Sinbad) and a hokey show ride (Poseidon). Hogsmeade is still cool, but still just as compact and crowded as ever. Jurassic Park has had one of it's entrance gates pulled down to make way for new construction, the other had the torches off and the music was really quite in order to not penetrate into Hogsmeade, and the dino discovery center was full of broken learning centers. Toon Lagoon went from mildly exciting for me to downright skipable (who in their right mind cares about Marmaduke and Cathy the crying ice cream girl in this day and age?) And Marvel island is locked in a state of non-change now that Disney owns the rights.
The place that once blew my mind was stale. I said in a previous post that the line in the sand for me with Disney would be when the park stopped changing and there was nothing left for me to discover. That seems to have happened to IOA for me. Granted, they are building a new ride that is either based on King Kong (or I'd love to find out it's actually a Jurassic World ride), and they have committed to at least 1 new attraction per year) - but if the rumors hold true and these new attractions are another Harry Potter expansion (Ministry of Magic where the Fear Factor stage currently stands), a water park, and more resorts... well, then that is not real exciting for me. More Harry Potter just means more stores selling the same stuff.
Anyways, I've gone on long enough. I suppose I am saying that currently I am not interested in Universal until they change enough to be worth paying the several hundred dollars it costs to buy tickets and the express passes again (for those of you complaining about Disney prices, Universal is MUCH more expensive to "do it right"). I am considering trying to squeeze in a day there for my kids when I take them to Disney as I would love for them to see Seuss Landing, ride a few rides like Despicable Me, E.T., etc..., but to do this requires the 2-park passes for all of us ($402 for the three of use, son is free), and then another $120 (minimum) if we want express passes so we don't spend all day in line and can actually take our timer and enjoy the park. So a minimum of $522 (more if they either raise prices or consider that time period to be a higher priced season) to go to Universal for one day with 3 paying people and ride some kiddie rides. That is 1/4th the cost of a week long vacation at Disney staying in their cheap resorts and 1/6th the cost of staying at Disney for 7 days in a deluxe resort.
Crap, I just wrote a novel. Excuse me while I go buy some more ink for my computer. It's run out.
