Why give Universal bad marks and not Disney?

[minniejack]

Why? Why? Why?

Read a few trippies this morning. Bad marks/comments are made to Universal for waiting in transportation lines, but go to Disney and wait for hours and well....that seems to be okay.

Get FOTL with no wait time and not even try all of the rides and you are bored. Go to Disney and they run out of fast passes and yet.....oh, well you will see it next year.......

I just don't get the constant negativity and the halo around Disney.....


I know......a few weeks ago I said I wasn't going to type when I see the negativity, but it's sooooooo hard to keep quiet.

 

[czycropper]

Which one is it? I would love to put in there having to wait 42 minutes (yep, I was keeping track) to catch the bus to our resort from Magic Kingdom after my DDs danced or the fact that Magic Express lost half of our groups luggage (my family wasn't involved).

 

[cruisin'Mike]

We are a hugely loyal Disney family. We just did the 15 night Panama Canal DCL repo cruise from CA to FL. We spent 5 days at Disneyland before the cruise. We gave the kids the option of 2 nights at Universal or 2 nights at WDW after the cruise.

Guess which one they picked...

That's right! We did Universal for the second time as a family (last time was 2 summers ago) and we absolutely loved it. It's hard to not compare the parks to Disney, but they really are their own separate things. There are obviously some things that we like better about Disney, but there are a lot of things that we love about US/IOA too! And there are a lot of things that Disney can do better. We just try to stay focused on the positive of the place that we're at.

We stayed at RPH again, and loved it again. We just think that it's a beautiful hotel. And the tropical theme and great pool help us relax after a day in the park. Front of the line passes don't hurt either!

We had an absolute blast in the parks, and hung out for a while each night at City Walk. We had great dinners at Margaritaville and Bubba Gumps. We did a little shopping, met friends who live in FL, and just walked around having a good time.

I don't understand why some people think you can't like both resorts. We do our best to stick up for Universal when we can.

We're hashing out our plans for next summer's vacation. We're not sure if we'll be back to FL or not, but if we are, you can bet we'll be spending a few days at US/IOA again!

 

[crashbb]

I'm guessing that it is because this is a Disney focused site. I've noticed many threads where someone brings up a legitimate complaint about something that occurred during their WDW stay and other posters are down on them defending Disney, no matter what.

 

[Cinderella822]

I used to be a die-hard Disney fan. Wouldn't even consider Universal a few years back. At DH's suggestion, we tried USO and, to my surprise, had the best vacation we've had in years. Did it again the next summer. Okay, the Disney in me needed to get back there this summer. So that's where we went, back to Disney. Don't get me wrong, I still love the rides, the characters, etc., but I just kept saying, too bad we're not at Universal. The waits for the busses were sooo long. One day, it took us over an hour to get from the MK to POFQ. We were hot, tired, and just miserable by the time we got to the hotel. The waits were horrible for the rides and the fast passes either ran out or did not have return times until much, much later in the day. We really didn't get to do all we wanted on this trip. Funny thing is, I posted this on the Disney board when we got back, and others who where there at the same time, said I was wrong. They had a wonderful experience with no waits! I just found that so hard to believe.

So, I've already made my ressie for PBH for next summer. It is a totally separate park and very different from Disney, but as along as we're going in the summer (which is necessary at this point), we'll be going to USO.

 

[SandrainNC]

Where was that at? I see complaints all of the time here on the DIS about Disney transportation. Which is why we use our car. I have never understood why people can't like both. I love Disney and am an addict. But I enjoy Universal too. We were at Disney last November and went to IOA one day (the week after Thanksgiving). I was wishing the Disney lines had been like the ones at IOA. There weren't any (except that thing up in the air that is for older kids or something - the area where no strollers are allowed - sorry can't remember because we skipped it). Oh well.

Sandra

 

[ChrisFL]

I think there's a few reasons for this and it could be different for everyone.

Reason 1: Possibly they were justifying the cost of their WDW vacation by trying to let the problems they encountered slide.

Reason 2: People have been going to Disney their whole lives and remember when it was a cleaner, less crowded place and perhaps they're hoping the problems they saw were just bad luck or temporary, but they go to US/IOA for the first time ever, see a few small problems, and think that's the way it must always be like.

Reason 3: People who can't be satisfied with the parks unless there's hidden mickeys everywhere, or other Disney references.

 

[shafke]

We will be going to Universal for the 1st time as a family in Feb. First non Disney trip to FL.

The last time I was at Universal IAO was still being built. We had an enjoyable day.

Since we will not be visiting the mouse this time there will be less comparison to go by. The last time we were at Disney for a few days before hitting Universal and could not help but compare the two.

I am sure there will be some comparison going on while we are there but the differences will not be as pronounced as we are only visiting the one resort.

 

[inkkognito]

Because Disney has some sort of mythical, pixie dust laden cult status that it achieves in many people's minds as a result of being raised on The Wonderful World of Disney (for us oldies) or the Disney Channel and cutting their teeth on Disney movies and being hauled on annual indoctrination sessions known as "vacations." Mind you, I say this as someone who has taken 63 Disney cruises and who lives in Celebration, right next door to the Mouse, so I know what I speak of! The indoctrination sort of reminds me of the scene in Wall-E with the babies ("A is for the Axiom, B is for Buy N Large, your best friend). And if Disney is All That Is Good, then anything in competition must be The Root Of All Evil.

I'm just glad that although I'm a Disney fanatic, it's not to the exclusion of other things. I love love love Universal, and with my Premier pass I probably go there more often than WDW now. I hate to say it, but if I do a ride by ride comparison then USF/IOA pretty much kicks Disney's butt in my mind.

It's sad when people think it has to be one or the other and that they have to bash the competition rather than just acknowledging that both have positives and negatives (Gasp! I know...Disney has NO negatives and Universal has NO positives...sigh).

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Because Disney has some sort of mythical, pixie dust laden cult status that it achieves in many people's minds as a result of being raised on The Wonderful World of Disney (for us oldies) or the Disney Channel and cutting their teeth on Disney movies and being hauled on annual indoctrination sessions known as "vacations." Mind you, I say this as someone who has taken 63 Disney cruises and who lives in Celebration, right next door to the Mouse, so I know what I speak of! The indoctrination sort of reminds me of the scene in Wall-E with the babies ("A is for the Axiom, B is for Buy N Large, your best friend). And if Disney is All That Is Good, then anything in competition must be The Root Of All Evil.

I'm just glad that although I'm a Disney fanatic, it's not to the exclusion of other things. I love love love Universal, and with my Premier pass I probably go there more often than WDW now. I hate to say it, but if I do a ride by ride comparison then USF/IOA pretty much kicks Disney's butt in my mind.

It's sad when people think it has to be one or the other and that they have to bash the competition rather than just acknowledging that both have positives and negatives (Gasp! I know...Disney has NO negatives and Universal has NO positives...sigh).

Well said!!!

 

[hack2112]

Because Disney has some sort of mythical, pixie dust laden cult status that it achieves in many people's minds as a result of being raised on The Wonderful World of Disney (for us oldies) or the Disney Channel and cutting their teeth on Disney movies and being hauled on annual indoctrination sessions known as "vacations." Mind you, I say this as someone who has taken 63 Disney cruises and who lives in Celebration, right next door to the Mouse, so I know what I speak of! The indoctrination sort of reminds me of the scene in Wall-E with the babies ("A is for the Axiom, B is for Buy N Large, your best friend). And if Disney is All That Is Good, then anything in competition must be The Root Of All Evil.

I'm just glad that although I'm a Disney fanatic, it's not to the exclusion of other things. I love love love Universal, and with my Premier pass I probably go there more often than WDW now. I hate to say it, but if I do a ride by ride comparison then USF/IOA pretty much kicks Disney's butt in my mind.

It's sad when people think it has to be one or the other and that they have to bash the competition rather than just acknowledging that both have positives and negatives (Gasp! I know...Disney has NO negatives and Universal has NO positives...sigh).

Of course, UO doesn't have Stella, the best Disney Artist known to man.

 

[balto]

To me, the question is not which park is 'better', but which park is more suited to each individual. We go down to Orlando way more than we should and usually visit both parks. That being said, we prefer Universal strictly for
personal reasons that apply to the desires of my family---i.e FOTL, ease of getting around from all their on site Hotels, more adult rides, and the ability to divorce ourselves from the theme park atmosphere when we go back to our Hotel at night. We still would not miss Epcot (and the wine expo), love visiting the different countries, and do enjoy visiting Boardwalk as a base to reach most places we want to reach. That said, we are AP's of Universal because of the experience WE desire. Still think Disneys fantastic with many, many positives, we just find Universal more suited for the bulk of our Vacation time. This is not a 'which park is better post', just one reason why someone may prefer one park over the other. Not which one is better.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

I never really got the whole 'Disney is Perfect and Universal Sucks' comments either...my family and I love both Universal and Disney. We go down at least twice a year, but we overal prefer Universal over Disney.

Why Universal? The rides are more teen/adult friendly, the FOTL pass (which makes the 'efficent' 'Fast Pass' pale in comparison), and the fact that when you stay on Universal property, you're not bombarded by a Universal motif when you get to your room, but rather it feels like you're not even AT the parks. We do love Disney, especially Epcot (we find Epcot to be the most adult of all the Disney Parks) for the culture, the shopping, and Food and Wine Festival and the Boardwalk.

Disney's a fun place to go, don't get me wrong, I've been going down to both parks since I was four, but Universal fits out personality and vacation style better. One's not better than the other - they both have their pros and cons - and it's only natural that people prefer one park over the other. But why people make these comments I have absolutely no clue. I just find it amusing that the die hard Disney fans come on the Universal boards to pretty much glorify Disney and insult Universal...to Universal fans (the logic in this astounds me). I just laugh at their 'comments' (example: one said Disney was better because people who work at Universal had facial hair...no joke), and I just move on.

 

[bubba's mom]

Why? Why? Why?

Read a few trippies this morning. Bad marks/comments are made to Universal for waiting in transportation lines, but go to Disney and wait for hours and well....that seems to be okay.

Get FOTL with no wait time and not even try all of the rides and you are bored. Go to Disney and they run out of fast passes and yet.....oh, well you will see it next year.......

I just don't get the constant negativity and the halo around Disney.....


I know......a few weeks ago I said I wasn't going to type when I see the negativity, but it's sooooooo hard to keep quiet.

You forgot this point:

I was reading a friend's TR on the Disney side. I saw a tr that caught my eye with a title referring to a bad trip to see the mouse. I could not believe what I was reading. The OP was describing a less than magical vacation and decided maybe they would try to vacation somewhere else...like they had their 'fill' of the mouse for a while.

I could not believe other posters agreed! They were like: "oh, well...sometimes that happens. you need to go elsewhere to recapture the magic...it happens" WHAT? No flames for putting Disney down and saying it's time to try someplace else? Yet...when a Universal lover does it, it's flame city?

 

[chobie]

It seems like most of the negative Universal reports come from people who didn't want to go there in the first place -- either their spouse made them go or they couldn't afford WDW so they did Universal instead. Then they go in with mindset its not going to be WDW, and surprise, surprise, it's not WDW!

We do both and I slightly prefer WDW, but my kids like US better and the year passes are much more affordable.

 

[Metro West]

It seems like most of the negative Universal reports come from people who didn't want to go there in the first place -- either their spouse made them go or they couldn't afford WDW so they did Universal instead. Then they go in with mindset its not going to be WDW, and surprise, surprise, it's not WDW!

We do both and I slightly prefer WDW, but my kids like US better and the year passes are much more affordable.

 

[minniejack]

thanks for all of these great replies and whichever park you choose to visit just remember to enjoy it

And I remember my 1st indoctrination: We stayed in a hotel down the road...back during opening years surrounded by swamp and alligators (or crocs....maybe that is why the shoes crocs are so popular nowadays....people would look funny wearing Mickey ears around town so they are subconciously wearing crocs as a substitute for Mickey--do you follow the logic?) Aahh the good ol' days when you didn't have to have Animal Kingdom to provide you with a glimpse of nature....terrified to go into the pool because you were afraid of big, shiny teeth....

Also,I discovered that the rest of the U.S. must have skipped geography. I had been standing in line for that new ride called Space Mountain I was about 10 and the people from NY that I was standing by wanted to know if I lived close to Roanoke. Ride broke down.....return few hours later and am standing in line again close to another family from NY and same exact question.....

 

[willis37862]

Because Disney has some sort of mythical, pixie dust laden cult status that it achieves in many people's minds as a result of being raised on The Wonderful World of Disney (for us oldies) or the Disney Channel and cutting their teeth on Disney movies and being hauled on annual indoctrination sessions known as "vacations." Mind you, I say this as someone who has taken 63 Disney cruises and who lives in Celebration, right next door to the Mouse, so I know what I speak of! The indoctrination sort of reminds me of the scene in Wall-E with the babies ("A is for the Axiom, B is for Buy N Large, your best friend). And if Disney is All That Is Good, then anything in competition must be The Root Of All Evil.

I'm just glad that although I'm a Disney fanatic, it's not to the exclusion of other things. I love love love Universal, and with my Premier pass I probably go there more often than WDW now. I hate to say it, but if I do a ride by ride comparison then USF/IOA pretty much kicks Disney's butt in my mind.

It's sad when people think it has to be one or the other and that they have to bash the competition rather than just acknowledging that both have positives and negatives (Gasp! I know...Disney has NO negatives and Universal has NO positives...sigh).

Couldn't agree more with your post!

 

[Purseval]

Personally I hope they keep trashing Universal, let WDW have the long lines and ripoff prices while we enjoy our day at the park. My 2-year PAP cost me less than 2 single day WDW tickets, when people trash it I just smile and pat my wallet.

 

[Metro West]

Personally I hope they keep trashing Universal, let WDW have the long lines and ripoff prices while we enjoy our day at the park. My 2-year PAP cost me less than 2 single day WDW tickets, when people trash it I just smile and pat my wallet.