Awaiting PotterSwatter...

[luv]

I kind of miss Jaws (and all of Amity) already. But it's gone. Have to look forward.

Uni parks are the only ones my son doesn't put up a stink about. He simply will not go to Sea World, which is my favorite of all. He squawks a lot when we go to Disney, makes fun of it a bit and will really only go when I tell HM he has to ride or see something new. But we won't be there all day. He simply refuses, lol.

But he'll go to Uni.

 

[GoofGoof]

I kind of miss Jaws (and all of Amity) already. But it's gone. Have to look forward.

Uni parks are the only ones my son doesn't put up a stink about. He simply will not go to Sea World, which is my favorite of all. He squawks a lot when we go to Disney, makes fun of it a bit and will really only go when I tell HM he has to ride or see something new. But we won't be there all day. He simply refuses, lol.

But he'll go to Uni.

Antarctica looks like it will be pretty solid, maybe that will get him back. Who doesn't love watching those penguins.

 

[Prock3]

As in, the popularity of the attractions slid over time. People will eventually get bored of Potter much as they got bored of Jurassic Park, Marvel, etc.

I didn't write that meaning that they will be less popular overtime, what I was trying to push across in that post was that Disney and Uni pick their park content very differently. Disney would much rather build on an established franchise that has proven it has a lot of staying power. Universal Is much more willing capitalize on current popularity levels, that doesn't mean that the attractions won't be popular when they are 10 or 15 years old it just means Universal is more willing to take risks with their content than disney is.

Ill use Star Wars as an example. Lets say its 1978, A New Hope had come out the year earlier and is very popular. Both Disney and Universal are looking at building a themed land based on the franchise. Disney would be cautious with it wait to see how well it proves itself over time. Uni would lean towards the side of capitalizing on its popularity now and risk it not being popular 15 years from now. (This is just an example, I know Disney opened star tours 3 years after return of the jedi. This was the first thing that came to my mind so I used it)

 

[Captain Chaos]

I didn't write that meaning that they will be less popular overtime, what I was trying to push across in that post was that Disney and Uni pick their park content very differently. Disney would much rather build on an established franchise that has proven it has a lot of staying power. Universal Is much more willing capitalize on current popularity levels, that doesn't mean that the attractions won't be popular when they are 10 or 15 years old it just means Universal is more willing to take risks with their content than disney is.

Ill use Star Wars as an example. Lets say its 1978, A New Hope had come out the year earlier and is very popular. Both Disney and Universal are looking at building a themed land based on the franchise. Disney would be cautious with it wait to see how well it proves itself over time. Uni would lean towards the side of capitalizing on its popularity now and risk it not being popular 15 years from now. (This is just an example, I know Disney opened star tours 3 years after return of the jedi. This was the first thing that came to my mind so I used it)

Disney = Avatar
Universal = Potter/Marvel

Which one will be more popular in 15 years? Potter and maybe Marvel...

 

[Disneyhead'71]

The problem I have with it is that the rides I rode on when I was a kid are gone forever, I can't share them with my children but I can at Disney, call it nostalgia if you like.

USF is nicely themed but never really felt compelled to revisit more than once in ten years (2001 or 2002 when IoA opened) and was there in September and again to Disney at Christmas, not interested enough to drive the span at all.

For me and my family it is exactly opposite. I have been going to WDW since Dec. 1971. The last time I stayed on Disney property was June 2006 and payed $630/night at the Poly. For that I got urine stained mattresses, moldy wallpaper, and disinterested CMs (I know they did a major refurb in 2007). I moved to Orlando in 2009. I can get free Disney tickets and for the past 2 years I haven't taken any. I was comped in by a CM friend for Cast Previews of the New Fantasyland. My 12 year old and I (I couldn't talk my 17 year old into going with us) arrived at 1pm. We were done with NFL in an hour and by 4 pm my 12 year old was begging to leave. I wanted to stay and see the Celebrate the Magic show, but she REALLY didn't want to hang out at the MK for 4 more hours until the show. So basically we don't go to Disney for free, but I do buy the 3 of us Universal APs every year and 2 weeks ago we stayed for 2 nights at the Portofino Bay Resort ($174/night with AP discount) even though we live 3 miles away. The Portofino Bay Resort is vastly superior to the offerings at WDW. Yes, even The Grand Floridian. We go to UOR roughly 3 times a month (we live very close and have APs so it is an easy choice and the girls usually have friends at the parks to hang with). The last time I gave Disney any significant amount of money was for 2 trips to Disneyland in 2001 and 2002. I LOVE the Grand Californian and am considering a trip back out west to see DCA since they fixed it. But I have very little incentive to drive the 12 miles to WDW for 15 year old entertainment offings and broken AAs in their signature attractions. The state of my beloved WDW is just depressing to me.

All 3 of us have read all the Potter books, own all the Blu rays, and have tons of Potter merchandise. I have tried to get my girls interested in Star Wars, but they hate it. They vastly prefer Spaceballs. I saw Ep. 4 in the theater 27 times in 1977. I have seen all 6 in the theaters even though I have to admit that I only saw each of the prequels once in the theater. There is not one spec of Star Wars merchandise anywhere in our house. Not eve a DVD. I did go down to DHS for the Grand Re-Opening of Star Tours II (neither of my girls would go with me so I went with a CM friend of mine) and was stunned that on Grand Opening day at noon the stand-by line was 35 mins. I rode it 4 times. I do know a lot of Star Wars fans, but I also know a lot of Potter fans.

 

[Prock3]

Disney = Avatar
Universal = Potter/Marvel

Which one will be more popular in 15 years? Potter and maybe Marvel...

As I said in previous posts, when Uni built super hero island it was far from a sure thing if it would be anywhere near its popularity it is today. And both companies are starting to practice some of the others tendencies, Potter is a long term decision by Uni and I do think will always be popular (wasn't disney the first to be in talks for theme park rights to it but JK wasn't willing to give up any ground to disney?). And Avatar was definitely a capitalize on its current popularity move and hope it stays popular.

 

[BryceM]

I've said it before and I'll say it again-went with my wife and two boys to Uni this april and did not see what all the hoopla is about.I will take the atmosphere at WDW any day over Uni .. We were not impressed.

Yes, the atmosphere is quite different. Universal doesn't have loud dance parties every 10 feet with Disney Channel's latest tween stars hollering about lord knows what.

 

[BryceM]

The three broomsticks is the only good CS restaurant at UO. Maybe second place to the one in Seuss Landing, but that's only good because its connected to the employee cafeteria.

Thunder Falls Terrace is good, the new Kebab restaurant in The Lost Continent looks really good, Richter's isn't too bad, and neither is Mel's. But yeah, I usually like dining at one of Universal's fantastic full-service dining restaurants.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Thunder Falls Terrace is good, the new Kebab restaurant in The Lost Continent looks really good, Richter's isn't too bad, and neither is Mel's. But yeah, I usually like dining at one of Universal's fantastic full-service dining restaurants.

Monster Cafe is good too, if only for the props and decor.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I agree that the weakest link at UOR is the counter service restaurants. But Universal is addressing this as we speak. They just changed a Churro/Pretzel place to Kebabs, Greek Salad, and Hummus. The new menu at Cafe La Bamba is really good also. The new food court in Springfield should also be quite nice for a counter service. And as Bryce mentioned Thunder Falls Terrace is also good. But since the prices of the table service are so reasonable we usually eat at Mythos or Finnagan's.

 

[JT3000]

See, here's the problem... People often claim that Universal is too quick to axe older properties for newer ones, and that may be true to some degree, but many of those same people also expect them to do this. It's a lose-lose situation. Disney can fall back on nostalgia, while Universal absolutely has to remain current. That's the popular logic anyway. They received A LOT of flack for opening The Simpsons Ride so far into the show's run.

"It's old news."

"They already missed that boat."

"The show's about to end. Why bother now?"

Meanwhile, Disney opens new Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid attractions, and not a peep was heard. What gives?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

The main reason Uni axed Kongfrontation and Jaws had nothing to do with remaining current. It had to do with the fact that they had aging custom ride systems that were becoming cost prohibitive to continue operating. The fact that it gave Uni a reason to bring in more current IPs is just a plus.

But the people here that and moan about Universal killing classic attractions would also whine about old rides based on has been IPs like they in this very thread with Jurassic Park. Bottom line, a lot of folks here are gonna take shots a Universal regardless. Particularly with Uni rocking on all cylinders and WDW's decade of decline.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I've said it before and I'll say it again-went with my wife and two boys to Uni this april and did not see what all the hoopla is about.I will take the atmosphere at WDW any day over Uni .. We were not impressed.

Good for you. Enjoy your fancy bathrooms, glorified 45 second kiddie coaster, and 2 billion dollar RFID convoluted mess that Disney is offering you for the forseeable future!

 

[Prock3]

The main reason Uni axed Kongfrontation and Jaws had nothing to do with remaining current. It had to do with the fact that they had aging custom ride systems that were becoming cost prohibitive to continue operating. The fact that it gave Uni a reason to bring in more current IPs is just a plus.

But the people here that and moan about Universal killing classic attractions would also whine about old rides based on has been IPs like they in this very thread with Jurassic Park. Bottom line, a lot of folks here are gonna take shots a Universal regardless. Particularly with Uni rocking on all cylinders and WDW's decade of decline.

I think its good Uni can get rid of its classic attractions, it constantly keeps the park changing and keeps people coming back to try new things. My biggest problem with WDW is its attachment to the past, a huge percentage of their merch contains a logo from the 70s or 80s, everything is considered a "classic" and how dare they try and change it. Uni has showed no problem with this, its a good thing to constantly evolve and try and better your product something that TDO needs to take more seriously.

And yes a lot of folks on here are gonna take shots at universal, but just as many are going to take shots at Disney

 

[DManRightHere]

Even if Disney goes all out on Star Wars land, it's still Star Wars...a movie that's 40 years old and a bunch of sequels. It has a fan base, but so does Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'd rather visit Sunnydale than Star Wars land! But a small group of people isn't worth building a whole land for, IMO.

Most people will not be thrilled with a Star Wars land. The ride and the weekends are enough, IMO.

It lacks the popularity of Harry Potter.

But DHS needs something, so that would be fine. If they build that spaceship, I'll go see it. I have to go to DHS at least once a year to remind myself why I don't like it, anyway. And see BatB.

Whhhhaaaaaaaatttt??

Lacks popularity of harry potter? The only way this will happen is if disney destroys the franchise with terrible new movies.

Star wars is more appealing to all ages, and of course we are not 40 years past harry potter but i dont think star wars can be a bad idea. If I had to choose between harry potter land or star wars land (i am a big harry potter fan too, went last year and it was awesome) i would choose star wars.. And think of the attractions..so much more potential..oh i can hardly wait. It WILL happen!!

 

[Tom Morrow]

And yes a lot of folks on here are gonna take shots at universal, but just as many are going to take shots at Disney

Which is actually a vast improvement over how it used to be on here. You would almost never find someone saying Universal did something better than Disney. It of course goes hand in hand with Universal firing on all cylinders and WDW declining in quality/growing stale.

 

[FettFan]

You know...the easiest way to beat Harry Potter would be to simply rebuild 20000 Leagues and Mr. Toad....

 

[Lord_Vader]

See, here's the problem... People often claim that Universal is too quick to axe older properties for newer ones, and that may be true to some degree, but many of those same people also expect them to do this. It's a lose-lose situation. Disney can fall back on nostalgia, while Universal absolutely has to remain current. That's the popular logic anyway. They received A LOT of flack for opening The Simpsons Ride so far into the show's run.

"It's old news."

"They already missed that boat."

"The show's about to end. Why bother now?"

Meanwhile, Disney opens new Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid attractions, and not a peep was heard. What gives?

Targeted Audience, DIsney capitalizes on days gone by while Universal is focusing on the latest and greatest.

 

[AndyS2992]

Can't we just use LF?

Lol When I read MILF on this site the only thing that crosses my mind is Monsters Inc as it is in context. If you think otherwise then you just have a filthy mind

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Yes, the atmosphere is quite different. Universal doesn't have loud dance parties every 10 feet with Disney Channel's latest tween stars hollering about lord knows what.

That's gone, you know.