The thing that simultaneously impresses/saddens me the most about Universal's new hotel is how classy and well-themed it manages to be, while still being the "value" option. At Disney's value resorts, you detect a very dramatic difference in the quality of "theming" (if you can call it that) and immersiveness between the value and moderate options. You can quite visibly sense the monetary difference in what you saved by opting for the cheaper option, and frustratingly, can also sense that Disney is talking down to its more budget-eering guests with a louder, dare I say tackier theme.
Meanwhile, Universal provides several excellent amenities that would make them desirable hotels regardless of price point, and all wrapped up in a true and genuine theme that is all at once stylish, fun, and even lightly lightly sophisticated. There is nothing at all tacky about Universal's value hotel; I would go as far to say it reinforces Universal's presence as a leader in thematic design. I wish Disney's value resorts were equally capable of both maintaining a sense of classiness and fun, while being (necessarily) more gently themed than their more deluxe counterparts.
