Whats Wrong with Disney?

[ks13]

And I really don't get the, "I didn't like the Avatar movie so the 'land' will blow crowd", either.

I haven't read any of the HP books, nor do I plan to do so. I saw the first movie, and rented the second but turned it off about 30 mins in. That's it.

Yet I'd like to experience the park just because I think I can appreciate and enjoy the effects.

Back to Avatar...

Once I got over the 3D effects I was done. That lasted about 30 mins. The movie was all downhill from there. And I have never bothered watching it on free cable, even.

But if Disney can create a wonderful experience I will be there, regardless of my views on the movie.

Man, I am there to be entertained and I don't always need a movie connection to accomplish my mission!

My issue with avatar is I just don't get why, HP at least there is a huge following. No one I know is like oh my god I can't wait for the squeal of avatar, most are like what is the point of a squeal. I am not saying the land won't be awesome, but again I do not get the logic. Plus after 3 years and no progress it is time to s*it or get off the pot for lack of a better expression.

 

[sethschroeder]

What's funny? Hatter is right. Comparing Universal to Six Flags is insane.

That's what I think about comparing WDW to Universal, so ya.....

Six Flags has some very extreme rides but Universal has a better overall experience and some very nice theming

Universal has some great new things going on and Harry Potter but Walt Disney World has an aura around it

 

[Suvadoo]

. Plus after 3 years and no progress it is time to s*it or get off the pot for lack of a better expression.

This is exactly how I feel. This project was announced in 2011 and then they had a ground breaking ceremony at least 1 year ago. This new land is projected to open in 2017. Why does Disney take so long? There's really no excuse. If it's because they announce projects earlier in the development than Universal, they need to stop it.

I wonder what Universal will accomplish in the same time frame?

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

I can't count how many times I've been to Disney in my lifetime, but it's been a lot. I was raised on Disney movies and I absolutely love visiting the parks as a (childless) adult. I had never visited Universal until last December. We vacationed with my mother in law who loves Universal and therefore had to go. I have also never read Harry Potter nor seen the movies. I did enjoy Harry Potter Land and some aspects of Universal. The rides seemed more "advanced" technologically than Disney's. But after half a day of riding their thrill rides, I developed a bit of motion sickness. I also couldn't relate to some of their themes (Marvel comics, Despicable Me...) and I found their rides to be monotonous.
Don't get me started on their food, either. The best meal we had was at The Hard Rock. I live in a city where we are blessed with some of the finest cuisine so Universal food was barely edible to me! I know, I'm being snobbish here.
I really have no desire to visit Universal again because I found it to be a completely different experience than Disney. It felt like a theme park or a fair. It felt too closed in and confined. I suppose Disney's "corporate branding" has worked on me. When I enter a Disney park, I'm reflecting on the experiences that I had as a child with my family and it feels like I'm at home again.
I'm looking forward to Avatar Land. I saw the movie and enjoyed it. I feel that Disney can certainly make it it's own. And every Dis podcast I listen to refers to it as the new night time attraction. That has me intrigued as to what our imagineers have in store for the attractions offered within this land.
I also think that the Star Wars expansion will be great for HS. It should offer rides that might compete with US attractions.
I found some positives in visiting Universal. I liked how the parks were within walking distance of each other. That being said, it creates limits in their future expansions. Also, they are far less expensive to visit than Disney.
I will always be a Disney gal, though

Mythos restaurant in IOA is rated one of the top theme park restaurants and rightly so because it is great!! And I guess you didn't try Emerils or Pats O'Briens in the Universal city walk area...Emeril also has another restaurant in that area in one of the hotels. We just returned from a week trip to Orlando starting at Universal and ending at Disney. We enjoyed the food at both Universal and Disney. The Universal City Walk has some great restaurants with more to be opening soon. I just don't understand people who say the food is awful....did you only eat the counter service stuff? At Disney we dined at Jiko, Boma, The Brown Derby, BOG and CRT and at Universal we dined at Mythos, Emeril's, Hard Rock, Margaritiville and Pat O'Briens ( DH is from NO we had to try that one) After this trip I do give the slight edge to Universal because it seems that the Disney Dining Plan has really brought down some of the restaurants in Disney...just not as good as they use to be and they seem to try to rush you for a high turnover almost every where we went at WDW except Jiko....the service there was painfully slow.....

We love both WDW and Universal but after this last trip to WDW I'd say that Universal has the slight edge. The kids have even said that after this last trip they prefer Universal and Disneyland over WDW because those are both so much easier to enjoy. They love to be able to walk from park to park and to City Walk and Downtown Disney at DL and back to your hotel We'll give WDW another shot but for this past trip it just lost some of it's magic for us. Not to mention that Universals HP Forbidden Journey was hands down the best theme park ride we have ever experienced!! Just hope that Disney can match it then it would be a win win for those that love both parks!!

 

[sethschroeder]

This is exactly how I feel. This project was announced in 2011 and then they had a ground breaking ceremony at least 1 year ago. This new land is projected to open in 2017. Why does Disney take so long? There's really no excuse. If it's because they announce projects earlier in the development than Universal, they need to stop it.

I wonder what Universal will accomplish in the same time frame?

Why do they need to stop announcing projects so early? If its a go its a go... Its likely done on their side because of the business side of things wanting stockholders to see where some of the investment in the theme parks is going.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Mythos restaurant in IOA is rated one of the top theme park restaurants and rightly so because it is great!!

Mythos seriously ticked me off the last time I was there. Haven't been back, haven't much desire to go back. If you do go, then don't bother ordering the parmesan fries for extra $$$.

 

[FLchick415]

My issue with avatar is I just don't get why, HP at least there is a huge following. No one I know is like oh my god I can't wait for the squeal of avatar, most are like what is the point of a squeal. I am not saying the land won't be awesome, but again I do not get the logic. Plus after 3 years and no progress it is time to s*it or get off the pot for lack of a better expression.

Why does there need to be a "following" for Disney to build something? Was Song of the South required to have one before they built Splash Mountain? Most kids today probably don't even know what the ride is based off of, but love it anyway. Look at Haunted Mansion, POTC and BTMRR. It goes back to what a PP said...if it's themed well, does it matter if it was based on a movie or not?

 

[Reddog1134]

This is exactly how I feel. This project was announced in 2011 and then they had a ground breaking ceremony at least 1 year ago. This new land is projected to open in 2017. Why does Disney take so long? There's really no excuse. If it's because they announce projects earlier in the development than Universal, they need to stop it.

I wonder what Universal will accomplish in the same time frame?

The groundbreaking was January of this year, but I'm not saying you're wrong about Disney taking a long time.

I think they did announce Avatar WAY early (before they had any solid ideas or concept art), but I think it was because they didn't want it spoiled. The New Fantasyland plans had been leaked not too long before that and Disney wanted to get in front of this announcement before it was leaked too.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Mythos seriously ticked me off the last time I was there. Haven't been back, haven't much desire to go back. If you do go, then don't bother ordering the parmesan fries for extra $$$.

Sorry to hear that...we enjoyed our meal there .... For us this trip Jiko was our bad meal....... very slow service, extremely expensive and the food was mediocre at best...not sure if we will try it again but it could be better next time... so we will see. I might be willing to give them another shot.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I may go back to Mythos but I won't be fooled by the parmesan fries again...

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

I may go back to Mythos but I won't be fooled by the parmesan fries again...

I'll remember not to order those if we go back too

 

[DisUniversal]

That's what I think about comparing WDW to Universal, so ya.....

Six Flags has some very extreme rides but Universal has a better overall experience and some very nice theming

Universal has some great new things going on and Harry Potter but Walt Disney World has an aura around it

WDW and Universal Orlando are FAR more alike than Universal and any Six Flags park. Would be more accurate to compare Animal Kingdom to a zoo.

Anyway, I guess people have a tough decision...."great new things going on and Harry Potter" or "an aura". Hmmm.....

 

[clsteve]

I may go back to Mythos but I won't be fooled by the parmesan fries again...

Get the Mediterranean Flatbread instead. Really excellent. That will be my meal next time, it's that good....

The groundbreaking was January of this year, but I'm not saying you're wrong about Disney taking a long time.

I think they did announce Avatar WAY early (before they had any solid ideas or concept art), but I think it was because they didn't want it spoiled. The New Fantasyland plans had been leaked not too long before that and Disney wanted to get in front of this announcement before it was leaked too.

Why do they need to stop announcing projects so early? If its a go its a go... Its likely done on their side because of the business side of things wanting stockholders to see where some of the investment in the theme parks is going.

It seems the early announcements are a specific strategy - it gives us fans hope and anticipation in that "coming soon...!" kind of way. You see it at work on these boards. Instead of saying "why aren't they doing anything, fans can say "but Avatar is coming...!" even if it's years out. It gives Disney a lot of breathing room externally, and gives them some control of the conversation away from how long they take since they can now say we take so long because we're getting every last detail right. You can tell it's a planned strategy by how they're controlling it with such early releases of the Avatar concept art.

 

[MichiganDVC]

Anyway, I guess people have a tough decision...."great new things going on and Harry Potter" or "an aura". Hmmm.....

And yet the aura of Magic Kingdom gets more visitors than USO and IoA combined. Still. Even after Simpsons! Even after Transformers! Even after WWoHP!! (And I'm counting IoA and USO as separate, assuming that they have original visitors and not the same visitor, even though they most certainly are the same guest visiting both parks. I've also left out WDW's other three parks because with those included, the comparison wouldn't even be fair or close.)

But wait, Diagon Alley will be a game-changer! It will single-handedly cause MK's attendance to drop by 10% while both Uni parks will see a 20% increase!

OR, more realistically..... Disney has an aura. I've said this before and I'll say it again: No one says, "I can't wait to take little Susie to Universal and see her face when she sees the.... Hogsmeade? for the first time." But seriously, the second question people ask new parents, just after "is it a boy or a girl" is "when are you taking them to DisneyWorld!?'

And even if those same kids as teens prefer the thrills of Universal, when they grow up and have kids they will take them right back to the Mouse. Honestly, what does "Comcast" mean to anyone? It's essentially the Walmart of cable. It doesn't induce the warm fuzzies.

Disney is a mega brand. There are videos, there are parks, there are movies, there are TV networks, and all the related merch. Universal has none of that. No one associates anything with Universal, no matter how awesome a ride is or a land. People go to Disney for the brand that has been cultivated through clever marketing.

Every time I wear any Disney shirt, I always have babies and little kids pointing at the Mickey on my shirt and smiling. It always takes me a few minutes to figure out why the kid is staring at me, but they are always looking at the Mickey! And when those same kids get to DisneyWorld, what are they looking for? Mickey. Universal doesn't have a Mickey. It has Harry Potter, which will resonate with some but not all 10 year olds. It has some very well-themed rides and lands. Fine. It doesn't have the Disney brand...the aura, if you will, that will draw people in regardless.

 

[flicx]

Seems Disney only announces new projects super early. Extra magic hours that's a different story! Come on Disney get your act together!

 

[mom2rtk]

Seems Disney only announces new projects super early. Extra magic hours that's a different story! Come on Disney get your act together!

That is a rather interesting dichotomy, don't you think?

 

[flicx]

That is a rather interesting dichotomy, don't you think?

You know every week it seems Disney does something to make people just shake their heads and ask why? I simply don't understand what some of these high paid people are thinking. I guess they figure they can peeve off as many guests as they want and not worry. I guess they view it as an endless stream of money. I am at a loss.

 

[MichiganDVC]

You know every week it seems Disney does something to make people just shake their heads and ask why? I simply don't understand what some of these high paid people are thinking. I guess they figure they can peeve off as many guests as they want and not worry. I guess they view it as an endless stream of money. I am at a loss.

Or they (correctly) assume that 90% of their guests are NOT glued to Disney-related discussion boards second-guessing every date, ride, bracelet, app, nook, dragon, yeti, etc...


I would like to mention that I rode Expedition Everest for the first (and last) time a few years ago. The Yeti was not working and I didn't even realize it! It didn't ruin my ride because at that time I wasn't glued to the DIS reading about all the things wrong with Disney. So, unfortunately, I only hated EE for one reason, that it gave me noodle-legs for the rest of the day, when I COULD have hated it for two reasons! And then my vacation could have been ruined properly and I could have started a thread here about how terrible Disney is because of the broken Yeti. But alas, it wasn't meant to be...

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Star Wars has the same long term appeal HP does yet they picked Avatar Land? I'm sure it will be beautiful but as far as wanting to immerse yourself in a story Star Wars would have been a better choice.

Star Wars weekends started small and only grew with zero new attractions. Just the story draws people. Jedi Academy is one of the most popular things in all of WDW.

I enjoyed the old Star Wars attraction but the new one is so much better. Would have ridden it over and over had the DD's let me.

 

[FLchick415]

Star Wars has the same long term appeal HP does yet they picked Avatar Land? I'm sure it will be beautiful but as far as wanting to immerse yourself in a story Star Wars would have been a better choice.

Star Wars weekends started small and only grew with zero new attractions. Just the story draws people. Jedi Academy is one of the most popular things in all of WDW.

I enjoyed the old Star Wars attraction but the new one is so much better. Would have ridden it over and over had the DD's let me.

The Avatar expansion was announced before Disney acquired Lucasfilm.