Why do American Disney fans hate Universal?

[GrillMouster]

What makes WDW so great is that everything about it tells a story. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING, including the mundane tiny details, like sidewalks, handrails, landscaping, colors, architecural elements, music and sounds throughout the park. Most guests pay no attention to these details, but they are important nonetheless, because they flesh out the story and create an immersive environment. The fact that these details go unnoticed is a testament to how successful Disney has been at making them natural aids to the story, rather than distractions.

When Universal Studios originally opened in Orlando, was a disorganized hodge podge of themed attractions thrown together with no cohesiveness. For the most part, Universal was a large slab of concrete with scattered unattractve soundstage buildings that look like airplane hangars. With few exceptions, there was nothing of interest to look at or immerse yourself in as you walked around Universal Studios. Even the queues for the attractions were poorly designed, long, and dreadfully boring, with no theming. I remember standing in lines for hours at a time in over 100 degree heat for each ride with nothing to look at but plain concrete, metal bars, and some TVs playing the same clips over and over again in the queue. Universal saved all of their good stuff and theming for the insides of the attractions. That all changed with Islands of Adventure and CityWalk. In fact, Islands of Adventure is one of of my favorite parks. Unfortunately, IoA is heavy on thrill rides, which is fine for me, but many people (like my wife) aren't roller coaster -types, so much is lost on them. I haven't been to IoA in years, because there isn't much non-thrill stuff for my wife or toddler to do or see, as there is at WDW.

 

[princesswendy720]

I'm a fan of both Disney and US, however my feelings for US don't even compare to how I feel about Disney. For me, Disney is nostalgic, magical, and like others have said, you feel like you're in another world.

When i was young, we would almost always go to US and IoA (when it opened) on our trips to Orlando. The last time I was at WDW,we took a day trip to US and IoA. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time on our upcoming trip to visit US (my Dbf is quite upset about it as he is more of a "rides" person and less of an atmosphere person).

IMHO, Disney's atmosphere is much better. a lof of non-Disney fans will argue that WDW and DisneyLand are just corporate and cold, but I've never felt that way.

I'm like a big kid when I walk into Magic Kingdom for the first time on a trip

 

[bubba's mom]

Do you Disney lovers really ever visit Universal Studios & IOA? How can you NOT see the themeing? ...or are you too busy comparing it to Disney and wishing you were there instead?

Like...at the Studios...Hollywood Blvd? It has the Beverly Willshire hotel...the 'stars' in the ground.... If that's not 'themeing', what is?

 

[damo]

I'm Canadian and prefer Universal to WDW for several reasons:

-quality of the rides -- more substance
-less busy
-perks for staying onsite (suite upgrades, unlimited express passes, $100 food vouchers)
-proximity to hotels and entertainment - no need to wait for transportation
-more mature
-more rides with re-ride enjoyment
-theming
-discounts with AAA
-annual passes for under $200
-7 day passes for under $100
-deluxe hotels for moderate prices
-thrill rides
-nobody telling how to wash my hands or to remember to apply sunscreen

I also prefer Disneyland to WDW for many of these same reasons.

 

[jamesmommy]

It has been several years since I have been to US (late 90's then, but it wasn't our first trip there), at that time, neither my husband or myself were very impressed. FWIW, I was a Disney person at that time, but DH was not. On our visit, it was dirty, just as others have stated (I have seen Disney dirty too at times), and there was just not alot for a no thrill ride kind of person like me to do. But with the arrival of Harry Potter, and the new Simpsons ride, we are gonna try it again in 2009 and get APs. We would have done it sooner, but we were holding out until our son was a little older.

I have to say though, from reading these posts, I now have a new concern....fitting into the rides. I am fairly Pooh-sized, and don't have any wish to be embarassed in front of a bunch of folks I don't know.

I guess my whole take is that I view US as a theme park, a nice theme park, but a theme park nonetheless. A fun place to go "ride rides". But WDW is a destination, an experience. Even on a problem day, it is still magical. That's my take on it.

 

[WaltD4Me]

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.

I understand your point, but it's sort of a "big" investment to try US/IOA. You can't take a tiny bite like your granddaughter could. I stay on property, I don't rent a car, so I'd have to figure out and pay for getting back and forth to US/IOA and it would take a day out of our vacation and purchase tickets...why do that just to try US/IOA, when I can research their parks and see that there just isn't much there to appeal to us.

I have a friend who loves Universal and gets SO upset that I won't at least try it. I have no idea why he cares. He's never been to Epcot and I love Epcot, but I could care less if he ever goes there. He wants to go from ride to ride all day, the WS sounds like the most boring thing in the world to him, so it isn't his cup of tea. No skin off my nose.

 

[Goofy'slady]

Cuz it's not Disney "and that's all I have to say about that".-Forest Gump.

T.

 

[Timmy Boy]

I hate when people do this. They'll drive by Universal and see Hulk poking out over the trees and go "ewwww it's Universal! That's all they have are roller coasters!" When in fact they have almost the same amount of coasters as Disney does. Do some research people, sheesh.

 

[bubba's mom]

Cuz it's not Disney "and that's all I have to say about that".-Forest Gump.

T.

Since Bubba Gumps is at CityWalk!

 

[Chip_and_Dales_Girl]

Do you Disney lovers really ever visit Universal Studios & IOA? How can you NOT see the themeing? ...or are you too busy comparing it to Disney and wishing you were there instead?

Like...at the Studios...Hollywood Blvd? It has the Beverly Willshire hotel...the 'stars' in the ground.... If that's not 'themeing', what is?

May I ask why it's so important to you? I never understand these types of threads. My friends are Coke drinkers and I am a Pepsi drinker. I don't quiz them about why they don't like Pepsi more or get agitated when they tell me it tastes metallic or it burns in their throat. I view it as "More Pepsi for me then!".

If someone chooses to not like Universal for whatever their reason, that's just another person not in front of you in line. It goes the same way for Disney to me, just another person not in front of me in line. And even if their reasoning for not liking Universal seems silly to you, it may not be to them.

I've actually seen more people on here just not care for the park than anything, and that's their right. I haven't seen many people downright hate it, but it seems like that's the paintbrush they are labeled with if they do not like the parks. Do we feel the same way that don't care for Animal Kingdom? Or Epcot? Or goodness knows, the Magic Kingdom? And really, if we do shame on us for that too.

 

[bubba's mom]

First...it's not "important" to me...just stating the fact of themeing being present at Universal...which, many posters have said is not there. All anyone has to do is look at Universal's Picture of the Day thread....

Second, I agree. If you don't like Universal, don't come. Shorter lines for us. Then again, we stay onsite, so, we don't usually wait anyway.

I am all for opinions of if you like the park or whatever, but posting facts that aren't true is another story.

For instance, a big one here is Universal is dirty and has litter. Okay, that's a fact. But, what the same person fails to acknowledge is that litter is at WDW too...and because WDW is larger, probably more of it!

Again...another misrepresented fact...IOA (or Universal) is all thrill rides. Not so. As a previous posted pointed out, there is only 1 more coaster at UO than WDW. There is plenty to do...for everyone.

Free to post opinions, but once facts are incorrectly stated, I feel I need to step in...as any of you would who defend WDW.

I like Disney. I love Universal. I just prefer Universal is all....and, lucky for me...it fits my budget extremely well so I am able to go/do other things too

 

[genius118899]

My problem is the many, many WDW fans who refuse to go to US and try it. My DBF has never been to Epcot, but he's excited about TRYING it when we go. Seriously, give it a chance and then make up your own mind.

 

[mousiemom]

we love universal! on our jan. trip we always go 1 day to universal. we do the 2 parks in 1 day. we love all the big coasters and our 8yr dd likes nickelodeon and we like the marvel comics. we can't wait to go back in february. we went to the universal studios in hollywood this past summer and it was great!! i like both of them but ours had more cause we have the islands of adventure park, they didn't. i love their backlot tour!
mousiemom

 

[bubba's mom]

My problem is the many, many WDW fans who refuse to go to US and try it. My DBF has never been to Epcot, but he's excited about TRYING it when we go. Seriously, give it a chance and then make up your own mind.

And, if they choose to not try it, then they cannot speak negative about it.


That's like saying you hate escargot when you've never even tried it

 

[choirchic]

I can only speak from my personal experience...

My husband and I are what you would call "Pooh Sized." We have both been to Disney World several times, and each of those times has been a wonderful experience. We are never made to feel uncomfortable in any way about our size, and we fit on most of the Disney attractions.

That being said...while on our Honeymoon a few years ago, we also decided to give Universal a try. They had several new rides that we really wanted to try...We were very excited about seeing something new, and had bought a 2 day Combo Pass. Much to our disappointment these are some of the things that occurred when we arrived:

• Food service was awful (we waited more then a 1/2 hour in line for a burger while the employees argued over their time shifts)
  
• There were carts outside of most of the big rides so that you can make sure you'll fit before you wait an hour in line - we didn't fit in most cases (especially for the Hulk, Men in Black, and disapointingly, the Mummy)
  
• The people walking around in costumes were frequently breaking character, and if I remember correctly, one was even walking around holding their head!
  
• The lines at the park were expectedly long, however, you FELT how long they were. There is always something in a Disney line to keep you occupied while you're waiting.

I'm not saying we'll never go back, but this will keep us away for a little while.
I'm hearing how things have changed, so maybe after Harry Potter opens we may give them another try.

 

[chipndales]

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.

It's hard to explain. I grew up going to two six flags parks frequently, Great Adventure in NJ and Great Escape in Glens Falls and to me, Universal is exactly like those parks. They're ok, they're not horrible, but for a family vacation I'd chose Disney again and again. Many stands were closed at Universal when we went, there was chewing gum stuck all over the railings and ground, litter. I didn't see any maintenance people. The garbage cans were filthy, and the employees were ridiculous, snapping their gum and chatting with their friends. People were smoking everywhere, blowing smoke in my daughter's face. It's like apples and oranges to me. Like I said, if I was 18 again and hanging out with my friends, Universal would probably be better suited but there is absolutely no comparison with Disney imho. My daughter refuses to go back and she's 11 now. She hated it. Even the characters were poorly portrayed and she's a huge Spongebob/Nick fan. Maybe it was an off day/week for Universal or something. Years ago I went to Universal in California and loved it so it might just have to do with being older now with a kid of my own.

 

[khertz]

DH and I love US/IOA! In fact, since I was young and went to Disney many times with my parents, we never did a Disney-only trip, we always included US and then IOA when it opened. And on the past few trips when the US resort hotels started up, we would stay on-site for our US/IOA days at the beginning of the vacation. I try not to compare US/IOA to Disney because they are like two totally different experiences for me. Our family LOVES thrill rides and rollercoasters, so maybe that is why US and IOA really appeal to us, as well as the magic of Disney.

I have never found the employees of US/IOA to be rude, or for the parks to be dirty. And for everyone who argues that Disney is all about the theming...have you been to IOA?? The theming there is incredible. You can be standing ten feet away from the entrance to Jurassic Park, but you only hear the JP theme music when you cross the threshold into that part of the park. The same with the music and decor in the other islands of that park. No, Universal doesn't have as much division in their areas, but you can still tell the difference between the area that is themed after San Francisco from the other parts of the park.

The only difference in the two that we noticed on our honeymoon last year is that US/IOA does not go out of its way to recognize special occasions for their guests. We wore our Just Married pins for our four Disney days, and had tons of CMs telling us Congratulations, giving us fastpasses, and free snacks, etc. So it was strange to switch over to US/IOA and not have that...it felt weird! But the resorts there are gorgeous, and you can't beat being able to walk to both parks from your resort, not having to take a bus to switch parks midday, and having FOTL access for every attraction.

We are a family of Disney fanatics who LOVE US/IOA!! (And to whoever said that no one gets choked up over a Universal commercial...I totally do!)

 

[Jenvenza]

I am a HUGE WDW fan and I love Universal, too. I would never say I hate Universal just because they are competition for WDW. I am not worried about competition. Disney isnt going anywhere.

And IMO, you cant really compare the two. I would never get the same kind of feeling walking ino Universal as I do WDW. They are completely different.

 

[genius118899]

Oh, I forgot, another thing I like about Universal is never having to worry about those dumb buses! You can walk absolutely everywhere there!

 

[louise1928]

Oh, I forgot, another thing I like about Universal is never having to worry about those dumb buses! You can walk absolutely everywhere there!

You are so right!!!!

I love the way the two parks are designed. You can walk to both, and do citywalk without ever needing a bus!