Why do American Disney fans hate Universal?

[luvthemouse71]

Universal has been owned by GE since 2004. Vivendi only owns 20% of the company.

The beginning sentence of my post was a joke...I don't give a rat's patootie who owns it..

I also don't care who likes what park..both have their benefits and drawbacks..I happen to prefer WDW, that's all.

 

[disney111]

I definitely prefer Disney but I also love Universal. I go to both all the time.

 

[stacyp9]

I've never been to US, my kids are young but I'm glad both exist. Competition is good, it encourages the parks to work for their guests and we all benefit from that. Kumbaya.

 

[terbethk]

I love them both...probably pretty close to equally.
We squeezed all six disney/US parks into our last four day trip.
Both of us love them both...I just appreciate the disney magic a tiny bit more.
I'm sure when I have kids I'll lean more towards disney until they get a little older. That and there's definitely way more to do at Disney than US. Our last trip we did both the universal parks on two half days (which worked out well, but I don't think i could spend more than 2-3 days there)

 

[chipndales]

Universal to me is like going to a Six Flags which I can do near my home in NY. It's dirty. There's just no magic there at all. If I was 18 again and going to hang out with my friends, I'd probably pick Universal over Disney, but with my family I'm all about Disney and will never, ever waste the money on Universal ever again. It was so dirty, and the people working there were so incredibly rude. We actually bought those passes where you can go to both parks as much as you want in seven days and refused to go back after the first time! We went back to MK for another day.

 

[Charleyann]

I am Canadian and love Both parks!

They are both unique and only them!

Charleyann

 

[fla4fun]

Something else I'd like to say to all the "thrill" haters out there. Just how do you define Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster, Mission Space, Test Track and The "Mountains" including Everest if they are not thrill rides? Or for that matter, how about the fear of getting stuck between scenes in Carousel of Progress and having to listen to "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" until blood runs out your ears. Don't even get me started on "Small World".

Those of us who don't like thrills (I never have, as a child, as a teen, or as an adult), don't go on those rides much, if at all. I even found the Barnstormer to be too much for me. I'm a Haunted Mansion, POC, SSE kind of person. Fortunately for me, Disney has enough non thrill attractions that I can spend the day there and have a good time and not feel like I'm missing anything. I can't do that at Universal. But it's a personal preference. For a person who likes thrills, Universal and IOA are great parks.

And to the person who compared the seating on MIB to the seating in Buzz, there's no comparison. The seats on MIB have, for lack of a better term, hard plastic pointed curves that delineate the separate seats. If you're a Pooh size person with a particular figure type, you either won't be able to sit all the way back in the seat, or if you can, those will dig into you, causing bruises. It's not the spinning and abrupt movement that was the problem - it was the seat design. My friend was in tears by the time the ride was over from the pain of the seat. We have never returned to that ride, and probably never will. I just feel Disney has done a better job of making sure that as many of their attractions as possible can be enjoyed by people of all sizes. Again, an observation from personal experience. Your experience may differ.

 

[genius118899]

I think Universal is much, much better than any Six Flags. I went to US and IOA in the spring, about a month after knee surgery, so I couldn't go on many rides. DBF and I had gotten a promotion so we got a 2 park 1 day pass for the price of a 1 park 1 day. Despite skipping the roller coasters, we had a blast- Seuss Landing's theming is absolutely amazing and I can't wait to see the Harry Potter section. That being said, we're going to Epcot in 2 weeks. (We live an hour away from Orlando, so we just do day trips to the parks). It's personally my favorite theme park, followed by IOA, MK, US, DHS, and AK (which I spent half a day in once and hated). I find magic in US/IOA too- talking to a CM (or whatever they call them) at a candy store, he found out DBF volunteers for the Red Cross, so the CM gave us a 10% "Good Citizen" discount, lol. I really don't understand why people can't like both or do split stays when they go to Orlando.

Oh, I did go to Grad Nite a few years ago at US, and that was miserable. They were understaffed, and I have never seen such ridiculous line cutting. I got into line 2 minutes after a friend, and got off the ride 45 minutes after her (no, the ride didn't break down, that's just how many people got in front of us). I think it was just the amount of teenagers there, but I don't know if Disney could have handled it differently.

 

[MJ6987]

Let's see what would you rather see...or have your kids see:

Toy Story, Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Beauty and the Beast, Lady and the tramp, Pinnocio, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, etc..

or

Simpsons, Shrek, etc...

Do I like Simpsons and Shrek...yes....are they cartoons built on mocking their competition and society....its up to you to decide. Give me the pure joy of Disney.

Hi, OP here. Thanks for all the replies! Some interesting stuff here. I thought this post actually threw up a potential reason why many UK visitors see Universal on a par with (or better than) Disney, and one I hadn't thought of.

In the UK, kids tend to be more interested in, and relate more to, things like Shrek, Simpsons and Spiderman (and, of course, Harry Potter) than the Disney characters. For example, I had to explain to our kids who Mickey Mouse was - they have no knowledge or recognition of Mickey and friends. In fact, even when I was growing up I and my friends never really watched Mickey, Goofy, etc as in the UK things like Loony Tunes and Hanna Barbera were much more popular.

Interesting...

 

[nicki.momof3]

LOVE THEM BOTH!!!! We alternate our vacations between the two. One year we will go to US for a week and stay on property and the next year we go to Disney and stay on property.

One thing that US has over disney is the front of the line pass - what a great perk for on site guests. DIsney needs to join them in this program.

 

[n2mm]

This is a great thread. I posted early on but it was great to catch up. I was glad to see the comments and debates in such a well thought out manner. Thanks mods for letting it stay open as it was great not to see the thread get ugly as some post do.

I do have to laugh at the post from the folks who have NEVER been to US/IOA. Seriously, how could anyone have an opinion about something they've never tried. Reminds me of our 3 yo granddaughter not liking a certain food before trying it.

As a long time Disney fanatic, a wife of a former Disney CM for 8 years, a DVC member and long time Disney AP holder and US/IOA passholder, I still enjoy visiting US/IOA a couple of times a year. Someone recently posted that they would never stay there which was strange since they didn't know what they were missing. We stay over on the "dark side" a couple of times a year. The professionalize of the folks who run the 3 US/IOA hotels is outstanding. We have only stayed at Portofino and Hard Rock and absolutely love Hard Rock. Nothing beats FOTLA.

While I have to agree that I have run into alot of not so friendly people who work at US/IOA (more than WDW), I have also had outstanding dealings with management. Whether it's the folks in their guest relations office helping us with AP perks or the higher up. Just this summer I missed a 50% promotion where US/IOA/AP holders could buy half price tickets for family and friends. I wrote to Universal AP office and told them it was too bad I missed this promotion when I was there as I would've bought tickets, but it ended. They called me and extended the promotion to any day I wanted and honored the discount price. I showed up in August with my confirmation in hand and picked up my tickets as promised. I have never had service like this as a Disney AP holder. The US AP office made me feel like I was their very best guest! I wish I could get service like this as a Disney AP holder, but that would never happen.

I do have to agree, US/IOA is not for the little ones. We did take the grand kids, both under 3 in August when we dropped off the big kids. The girls liked seeing Shrek and Dora and we zipped over to IOA and they road the Seuss rides, but there really isn't much to do with them there. US/IOA is for the bigger kids. While I have a hard time with motion sickness, I do have to say I can ride almost everything at US/IOA to include my first time on the Mummy this spring and it was the best ride I've every been on (and I didn't get sick). However, I can't do upside down, so I don't really ride much at IOA (only Jurassic Park and Spiderman--a great ride). I like that City Walk is between the two parks as we often do one in the morning, then take a lunch break and go into City Walk (usually Nascar Cafe or Maragritaville, w/an AP discount) and have a nice relaxing sitdown lunch, then head straight over to IOA, where DH does the rollercoasters.

As there are many Disney CMs on these boards helping us with our questions, there are also US/IOA CMs also on these boards helping us too! I appreciate all of the help and insight they all provide to this forum.

 

[dlbbwu]

LOVE THEM BOTH!!!! We alternate our vacations between the two. One year we will go to US for a week and stay on property and the next year we go to Disney and stay on property.

One thing that US has over disney is the front of the line pass - what a great perk for on site guests. DIsney needs to join them in this program.

I have to agree! We have been to both parks as of recent. We usually do one during Spring Break and the other during the summer. The FOTL is the best of Universal, since we stay onsite and you can even purchase a FOTL. With Disney, it is a Fast Pass (which we are not the fondest of), but it does work.
Since we are a "tennis" family, Disney offers the best on tennis, whether it is tennis courts or accessories.
My family agrees on one thing....Disney takes more than 3 days to do and i can get Universal ALL done in 3 days (if we hurry). Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

We're just not fans. We're both bigger people, and even though we've lost weight recently it's just not something either of us want to worry about, the embarrassment just isn't worth it in the end. Also, I'm not a big thrill ride person. I enjoy the rides of Disney because of the theming, but there's still some thrill rides I can't do there... but in the grand scheme of things Disney rides are mostly tame compared to some other roller coasters (Thinking about Cedar Point here!).

I have nothing against the park itself and we don't hate them, it's just not what we're looking for and would much rather spend the day at any of the Disney parks.

 

[Feralpeg]

Universal to me is like going to a Six Flags which I can do near my home in NY. It's dirty. There's just no magic there at all. If I was 18 again and going to hang out with my friends, I'd probably pick Universal over Disney, but with my family I'm all about Disney and will never, ever waste the money on Universal ever again. It was so dirty, and the people working there were so incredibly rude. We actually bought those passes where you can go to both parks as much as you want in seven days and refused to go back after the first time! We went back to MK for another day.

I just don't understand this. There is nothing dirty about Universal. The Universal parks are pristine. They do touchup painting on a nightly basis. I have never been in a dirty Universal bathroom. I can tell you that is not the case for Disney's bathrooms. I go to the Universal parks at least once a month and I just don't see this at all. Perhaps you went during one of the night special events. Things do get wild there during those special events. The parks are so crowded at those times that I can understand their being some litter. It's sort of like right after the parade and fireworks at MK. People just toss their litter anywhere. I don't like to go during the special night time events at Universal because the crowds get crazy and too many people get drunk. During the day, however, I never see any trash. I see very clean bathrooms and very well kept attractions.

Sometimes, I think people let their loyalty to Disney color their perceptions.

 

[rie'smom]

I just don't understand this. There is nothing dirty about Universal. The Universal parks are pristine. They do touchup painting on a nightly basis. I have never been in a dirty Universal bathroom. I can tell you that is not the case for Disney's bathrooms. I go to the Universal parks at least once a month and I just don't see this at all. Perhaps you went during one of the night special events. Things do get wild there during those special events. The parks are so crowded at those times that I can understand their being some litter. It's sort of like right after the parade and fireworks at MK. People just toss their litter anywhere. I don't like to go during the special night time events at Universal because the crowds get crazy and too many people get drunk. During the day, however, I never see any trash. I see very clean bathrooms and very well kept attractions.

Sometimes, I think people let their loyalty to Disney color their perceptions.

I agree with you about Disney loyalty coloring perceptions. When people say Universal parks are dirty I have to wonder if they've really ever been to the parks. We've been at all different times of the year both busy and not busy and we've never ever seen any trash or any dirty bathrooms.
I'm 50 and my age has nothing to do with me loving the Universal parks. In fact, the FOTL access makes it easier because I don't have to stand in line.

 

[Hugpug]

I don't hate US what I don't like is it is geared more for teens not a family. I used to go for a day or 2 when It first opened and I enjoyed it as there was something for everyone but now its 85 percent roller costers or rides so intensed and rough you don't enjoy it at all. Older rides are not being maintained or are removed and replaced with rides geared for teens only. I don't like rollar coasters period. WHat attractions I may enjoy are not worth the price of a days addmission. Disney has a few roller coster rides and I don't ride them either but there are much more other attractions to enjoy to compensate for them. I would preferr to go to Sea World then US as an alternate at least there is more then enought to enjoy for the whole family here.

 

[MichelleVW]

We have limited time when we go and my DH will not go on Roller Coasters so it's not worth the time for us to go.

We went to check out City Walk once and we much preferred the atmosphere at Disney.

My girls went to Universal with their dad a few years ago and they said, "It was fun but it wasn't DISNEY!!"

 

[disneyloveNY]

We love them both. Usually wind up doing a split stay.
Disney is Disney-the magic there is unbeatable
but Universal is special too-we are not big roller coaster people but still find plenty to do ET, MIB, Seuss land

 

[Momto3Girls&Max]

We love them both and a trip to Orlando wouldn't be the same without going to both WDW and US/IOA. Our family has many fond memories of ALL the parks.

I used to try to persuade the US/IOA haters, but I just gave up. Instead, we enjoy the smaller crowds.

 

[MusiqChic99]

I have only been to Universal twice and I intend on taking my DH and DS in a few years since they have never been. However I dont care much for Universal or any other park except Disney. Now that may make me sound like a Disney snob and that's ok I'll take that. But really I just like the "kinds and types" of rides at Disney better. I like the whole dark ride experience...slow but entertaining. I dont like thrill rides. I like the occasional flume ride but can you think of many that top Splash Mountain...considering the detail and story line that goes into it. There is a story to everything at Disney and that's why i am a Disney snob.