Universal came conquered and will wait another 15 years to go back!!!

BryceM

BryceM

Well-Known Member
Magenta Panther said:
Okay...now I love WDW, I'm heading there again this fall...BUT...

When I'm at Universal, and I cross under the bridge carved with the words "The Adventure Begins" at Port of Entry...I truly walk into another world. The first time I entered there, I was blown away. That place looks exotic, eerie, magical, a world apart. The theming is incredible. The background music is sublime. And I have to admit that I very seldom feel anything like the same feeling at WDW. Perhaps only at the Haunted Mansion, and the Tower of Terror, do I feel like I'm experiencing something extraordinary. Maybe also at Norway in World Showcase. Overall, Universal's Islands of Adventure kicks WDW's butt when it comes to ambience. Heck, Seuss Landing alone blows most of Fantasyland out of the water when it comes to theming. It's not a theme I'm crazy about (not a fan of Seuss' drawing style) but it sure as heck looks like you've stepped right into one of Seuss' books. The detail and care and authenticity are staggering.
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I agree with this whole, especially with the "The Adventure Begins" in Port of Entry. Port of Entry is truly enchanting, everything about it immerses you into a whole different world. Then when you leave and you see "The Adventure Lives On"...

:cry:

And yes, Seuss Landing and Fantasyland are in completely different leagues, Seuss Landing being the better of the two. The amount of detail in that land is just astonishing.
 
Sped2424

Sped2424

Well-Known Member
luv said:
My experiences have obviously been different than yours.

But I'm not making it up, i swear. I think I'm going to start videoing the Disney staff on occasion and popping it up on You Tube so that people can witness what I see.
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Oh I don't doubt your experiences! Like I said bad eggs are everywhere! I just noitce they tend to do much better over at Disney then at uni with that for me at least. The guy at spider man was yelling you ROW 1 and I said me? because he pointed in between me and the guy next to me (lines were weird it was single rider and they put us in clumps) to which he responded ARE YOU SERIOUS MOVE IT or else IM GIVING UP YOUR SPOT and he did this little dance thing while mouthing off.Then he proceeded to yell at my little brother the same thing, To which my older brother responded whats your problem and he said sir I can escort you off right now, I was this close to asking for a manager something I have never done in my life, but I wanted to ride spider man so I bite my tongue and let that mouth off and smirk when we both just walked on the ride. I have never been disrespected for no legitimate reason in my life until then.
 
Soarin2u

Soarin2u

Well-Known Member
I have been to Japan's UNI, for a very short amount of time, 3-4 hours or so. So my opinion is weak and I know that.
I want to get one thing straight, Disney is about Magic, it is about following your dreams, being a child at heart, and being optimistic for the future. Yes, UNI is pumping out more and more new stuff while Disney is, "a little bit of this and a very little bit of that!" And, honestly, I could care less about which one is coming out with more new projects. Both locations have Nostalgia and both have their wonderful classic movies. They are both great parks to me when in comparison! But Disney holds one thing over UNI, and that is Children. There are YouTube videos everywhere about kids getting a surprise trip to Disney and their reaction. So many have jumped with joy and/or began to cry. WDW is a land magic to children and is something that nearly every child dreams of. Plus adults there can play and be silly with there kids because that was exactly what Walt Disney World was designed to do. UNI lacks that child's desire and that family focus. Universal was built to be well, a theme park. When I was there, I felt like they just wanted my money but that may just be me. I didn't get a butterfly in my stomach and I didn't feel constantly happy, I just felt there. For me Walt Disney World will always remain top because it is the only park that has a distinct goal other than money and guests with there attractions.
 
Tonka's Skipper

Tonka's Skipper

Well-Known Member
RandomPrincess said:
Disney could not have done Harry better. Disney lost its bid to have Harry in their parks for a reason.
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Yes they did because the writer wanted it small and for her to have final approval.

Disney would not give that power away.

Lets be honest here, Potter was popular enough that any park could have made it a success, ever 6 flags.

AKK
 
Tonka's Skipper

Tonka's Skipper

Well-Known Member
Soarin2u said:
I have been to Japan's UNI, for a very short amount of time, 3-4 hours or so. So my opinion is weak and I know that.
I want to get one thing straight, Disney is about Magic, it is about following your dreams, being a child at heart, and being optimistic for the future. Yes, UNI is pumping out more and more new stuff while Disney is, "a little bit of this and a very little bit of that!" And, honestly, I could care less about which one is coming out with more new projects. Both locations have Nostalgia and both have their wonderful classic movies. They are both great parks to me when in comparison! But Disney holds one thing over UNI, and that is Children. There are YouTube videos everywhere about kids getting a surprise trip to Disney and their reaction. So many have jumped with joy and/or began to cry. WDW is a land magic to children and is something that nearly every child dreams of. Plus adults there can play and be silly with there kids because that was exactly what Walt Disney World was designed to do. UNI lacks that child's desire and that family focus. Universal was built to be well, a theme park. When I was there, I felt like they just wanted my money but that may just be me. I didn't get a butterfly in my stomach and I didn't feel constantly happy, I just felt there. For me Walt Disney World will always remain top because it is the only park that has a distinct goal other than money and guests with there attractions.
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I agree totally. But lets be honest, both Disney and UNI are out to make money, Uni goes for the thrill ride guest, coaster and scary motion rides. Some of their theming is well done, especially Potter. However they market to teens and trill guests, young couplets.

Disney is still providing the magic and pixie dust that bring the kid out in all of us. Can you really see a kid reacting and hugging a mummy? or transformer? or the crude rude Simpson family?........I wont even let me kids near the Simpsons.

The U tube videos say it all over and over again.


One thing a lot of people seem to not realize is WDW and Uni bring more people to Orlando together. Disney can easily do great without UNI, but Uni could not survive with Disney overflow.

AKK
 
disney4life2008

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
mickeysbrother said:
Harry potter ride. Wicked ride concept really freaking cool. But IMO Disney could have done much better.
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This has to be a joke right? Harry Potter and the entire land is absolutely brilliant. What I appreciate about HP is that you are actually transported to the movie and feels as if you are there. There is no cross contamination of other Universal characters in the area it is all HP. It is spectacular!!!

You say disney could have done it better? Lets see - we would be stuck with a Monsters meet HP ride; a boring show and potentially a dark ride that boarders the Little Mermaid. There is not a chance in hockey sticks that disney could have outdid Universal on this one -s orry.
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
mickeysbrother said:
I don't mind a good debate and take nothing personally so please do tell.
This is my list of a great attraction at uni.
Simpsons ride I really enjoyed. Loved the fact that they incorporated doc in some places

Transformers ok but loved watching the scenes more then anything but 2 rides same concept wasn't too up for that

Harry potter ride. Wicked ride concept really freaking cool. But IMO Disney could have done much better.

Other then that the other rides are just other rides,

Yes Disney has blah rides also but they have more better ones then uni.

How about your list?
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I personally don't think Disney of today would have taken a chance on such an innovative ride system, we would probably have ended up with a much simpler dark ride of some sort.
 
mickeysbrother

mickeysbrother

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
danlb_2000 said:
I personally don't think Disney of today would have taken a chance on such an innovative ride system, we would probably have ended up with a much simpler dark ride of some sort.
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Don't know for sure but would those 2 robots in Epcots innovation pavilion be like the Harry potter ride just attached to a moving skid?
 
GLaDOS

GLaDOS

Well-Known Member
Universal has nothing on Disney?

I guess 3 of the best attractions in the world, the best shooting-game attraction in the world, the best themed land in Florida, new and fresh entertainment, 3 (soon to be 4) world class hotels, and an actual dining/nightlife district counts as nothing then.
 
kap91

kap91

Well-Known Member
I think I see what op is saying in that Disney could have done better and it boils down to 2 things about the way Universal does things that irk me to no end

1. An utter disregard for thematic continuity -aka sight lines. Sure when walking through the middle of Hogsmeade you're utterly immersed and the only thing Disney could have done better would be crowd control. However from nearly anywhere else you see an absolutely fantastic looking castle jutting out of huge, obvious, ugly show building that nearly dwarfs the castle. Not to mention that the outdoor queue, part of the show building, and castle completely destroy any sense of thematic integrity in nearby Jurassic Park. The same complaint applies to The Simpsons (which is an extremely poorly disguised back to the future building that looks nothing like anything in the Simpsons or anything like krustyland for that matter - and up until recently was just stuck in the middle of nowhere with no thematic context whatsoever) same goes for transformers. Why is Nest headquarters among a bunch of sound stages? Contrast this with FLE where sight lines and transitions have had stupid attention paid to them. The only show building visible is a quick glimpse near the Pinochio bathrooms and you have to be looking for it to see it. Even now Disney is addressing the only other sight line issue (which was on the train approaching Fantasyland station) Universal frankly just does not care about these kinds of things. They figure their guests know they're in a theme park and they instead spend their resources on the interior of attractions. Which brings me to point 2.

2. Disney is better at telling coherent stories. Universal cares more about the "wow" factor. While the little mermaid ride is a bit abbreviated towards the end - its story flaws pale in comparison to nearly all of Universal's rides-especially this new generation.

I'll be the first to say FJ's queue as well as transformers to a lesser degree are superb. But once you get on the ride I have issues. On these two, as well as Simpsons, Universal is so preoccupied throwing amazing technological feats, vehicle motion, and special effects at you that they forgot to tell a story that makes any sense. Their formula seems to be "let's throw as many recognizable characters and places and action at the guests as we can in 4.5 minutes in some sort of epic chase that really doesn't make any sense".

I enjoy FJ but it took me nearly 15 or more rides to even try to figure out how I got from the quidditch pith to the forbidden forest - how I got back, why dementors were suddenly there, how on earth they transported us to the chamber of secrets etc. Why is Hermione in the forbidden forest with us when she should be at the quidditch game or in the room of requirement? The list goes on and on. The ride is fun and full of action but the story is incredibly thin once the ride starts and doesn't make much sense at all. The Simpsons and transformers both suffer from this as well. Transformers doesn't even try to tell a story after the queue-it's just "How many gunshots and explosions can we pack in?" -there's barely any sense of who's fighting who, where we are, how we got there, etc. contrast this to Disney's closest alternative-Dinosaur and Indy both of which not only have followable stories but complete narrative arcs as well.

Universals rides lately have completly blown the socks off of Disney from a ride technology and even innovation standpoint (although Disney's advances in animatronics in the last few years make anything Universal does on that end nearly embarrassing), but great technology and big "wow's" does not always make a great end product. Just look at the box office - lots of explosions, special effects, name actors, and such but not much substance. Pirates and the Haunted Mansion continue to be the best rides ever made not because of the effects or crazy motion the vehicles make but because they use the tech to tell an engaging and immersive story - something I think the new Universal sorely lacks. Please don't mistake me - the rides are good, the lands are good, and the queues (well not the Simpsons) are incredible. But the rides still kind of give the vibe of being a loud romp in a warehouse rather than an immersive experience -trying to dazzle with sensory overload rather than substance.

Of course the big issue at the moment seems to be that Universal actually is building new big-ticket rides and experiences-with Disney stuck largely in perpetual planning. Being better at certain things doesn't really matter if you're not actually doing it.
 
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