Islands of Adventure vs Magic Kingdom

[Smugpugmug]

These parks are very different and they both have pros/cons but I guess I would say IOA. MK has more variety but it is a worse version of Disneyland and has the inferior versions of many rides that are better at Disneyland and the international parks. MK is also a pain in the butt to get to if you're driving. With IOA, the theming in Hogsmeade is better than anything at MK but Toon Lagoon and Lost Continent are lacking and could really be rethemed. I don't care about many of the IPs but I still enjoy the rides, especially Hagrid's and Velocicoaster.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Agreed. Last time I was at SeaWorld I enjoyed the short lines for all the coasters. I still think it's a shame so many don't give these other parks a chance

I'm inclined to say Sea World is in a slightly different category, due to the PR problems they have faced over keeping killer whales in captivity.

 

[Jrb1979]

I'm inclined to say Sea World is in a slightly different category, due to the PR problems they have faced over keeping killer whales in captivity.

They are doing a lot to change that. The new world-class coasters are doing that.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

They are doing a lot to change that. The new world-class coasters are doing that.

Nevertheless, it is factually correct to say they had a PR challenge.

Though to be fair, the dolphin tank in the Living Seas is also pretty small; some have argued it is too small. In the wild, Dolphins roam up to 80 miles per day at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour.

Huh. the Dolphins in Depth Tour is returning in a few weeks.

Orcas supposedly average about 40 miles of travel per day. I don't see a top speed listed. Someone recently captured footage of orcas killing Great White sharks!

If someone opposes marine animals in captivity, that would be a reason to choose Universal. I think the only animals they have are the animal actors, as far as I recall those are all or mostly all domesticated animals like dogs. I have only seen the show a few times.

I have not seen the Fear Factor show, but that one had an eel tank and insects. The show is now closed for good.

 

[Thepuma]

For us it always came down to time, it had nothing to do fandom, etc… we average one trip to Orlando every year and our vacation is generally a week long (including travel days) so there just isn’t enough time to do everything in Orlando.

This was the brillance of old Disney, they’d get us on site and then financially incentivize us never to leave by making it cheaper (per day) the longer we stayed. New Disney doesn’t incentivize us to spend so much time at the parks so we’ll be spending 1 day at each WDW park and then moving over to Uni rather than repeating parks.

The one thing I’ll say as a first time visitor to Uni FL is I’ve always heard how cheap they are compared to Disney but that hasn’t been my experience, hotels are comparably priced and tickets were even more expensive than Disney, I was shocked by what we paid because I was expecting to save a bundle by switching parks for a few days.

Not sure if the prices are different to US visitors but for us UK visitors a 2 week unlimited park to park Universal Ticket is £350, for Disney it's £450. Although it must be remembered that there are 4 Disney parks and 2 Disney waterparks.