Disney and Universal: Two very different paths

[ford91exploder]

Bottom line: Disney now has even greater competition in Orlando. Not exactly new news. What we are seeing right now is the Harry Potter effect. Rowling's demands were considered unreasonable, so Disney walked away. That was a sad day, but perhaps inevitable. Disney will not let the tail of Rowling wag the dog of Disney. Maybe they should have; maybe not. But now, years later, we're seeing Disney type guests spending a day or two at Universal, which without Harry Potter, they never would have.

The NFL season just started, so let's analogize: Harry Potter is like a pro bowl quarterback. IF you don't have that great QB, there's not much you can do other than tout your other players, the coaching, etc . . . Landing Harry Potter would have been like drafting a perennial pro bowl quarterback. Disney didn't go along with that, so they're touting their current offerings, their history, etc . . ., just like a team with a mediocre new QB touts their coaches, their defense, and their running game. But it's not as if Disney is glorifying the new spigot on the Gatorade container.

Disney has great stuff, but HP is hard to match in many ways as far as new buzz is concerned. Disney's new stuff is very good, but HP is the big new thing of the last decade. Will Disney create some great new buzz of its own? I sure hope so. Will marvel super heroes invade the parks? I sure hope so. Will they ever match HP as far as buzz and excitement are concerned? Some day, but right now, the new buzz is primarily HP. That will fade eventually, but Disney cannot be lame in it's attempts to fight back.

So here's the question as I see it: Is Disney extolling the virtues of their Gatorade spigots while the competition's star quarterback is throwing touchdown passes, or are they strengthening the organization in order to ink a star quarterback for next year?

My vote is for the Gatorade spigots, They are after all so much more MAGICAL and they need a FP- to use

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Way to take what I'm saying out of context. I'm not saying stop praising Universal..period. Which is what you're trying to make it out to be. You'd make a fantastic journalist.
I'm saying stop praising them for what they're doing right now. It's foolish. It's like praising a student for doing their make-up work after missing school for a week.
I'm not saying YOU think Disney is going to die out due to Universal's new additions, I'm responding to this site in general. Lots of people are going overboard on this subject which is why there's a 20+ page thread on this subject.
I'm just trying to get everyone to stop acting like one is better than the other. It's obnoxious. I'm sounding more pro-Disney right now because I feel like they need the defense, but I'm not pro or anti either company. They're both fantastic, I just don't see why everyone is against what Disney is doing right now.
If you don't like MyMagic+, My Disney Experience App and Magic Bands...don't use it? It's simple, at least I think so.
You don't like where the company is spending their money? Tough. You still have four fun parks, go have a good time. Enjoy what they've created. I think Future World at EPCOT needs a refurb, but why focus on that? It's not my job. I'll enjoy what you give me and try to understand it and run with it then get frustrated over an executives decision.

I am not all that bothered by Disney not building attractions OR dumping a $2.5+ Bazillion into a data mining program. I don't go to WDW anymore. I go to Universal a LOT though. And I don't really about what Disney is doing anymore. Disney has flat out lost me as a customer. And Universal now has a loyal regular family visiting their parks several times a month.
I'm done caring/talking about it. If I think about it it just makes me angry and depressed.

 

[Ralphlaw]

I don't think WDW is going to do anything. They would have done it by now. OH I forgot they bought back stocks and did counter with FLE and My Magic +. That cannot compete with HP. I don't know even if SW expansion can compete with HP. Unless WDW really opens up the wallet and does it right. I think if Marvel super heros was going to be the answer that too would have been started. And Avatar, I also really doubt now.
I was just at the grocery and talking to a couple about WDW who has not been to WDW for awhile. They said they wanted to go to UNI to see HP......I think it's two differrnt kind of parks catering to different age groups and tastes.
Unfortunately my favorite park Epcot is going to hell. I can stomach HS and AK as is but Epcot...........

I think Disney is doing things, but I wonder if too much bureaucracy and himming/hawing is getting in the way. The Fantasyland expansion is beautiful, but so far it's not exactly a brand new reason to shoot down to Orlando. Harry Potter, for many people, is.

We also must not forget that new ideas indeed take time. When you say, "They would have done it by now", I think that's not completely being realistic. Great ideas and expansions take time. A big time Star Wars expansion won't open 12 months after buying the rights from George Lucas. Current Marvel contracts won't allow Disney to start putting Avengers in the parks in any big way right now, but hopefully they will soon.

HP is a once in a generation phenomenon, and Universal got it, and they bet everything on it. HP is already starting to fade a bit, but it will nevertheless be very popular for a long time to come. Disney didn't take that risk, and it was completely predictable that people would be disappointed for a while thereafter. Let's see, long term, how Disney responds.

 

[WDWDad13]

I am not all that bothered by Disney not building attractions OR dumping a $2.5+ Bazillion into a data mining program. I don't go to WDW anymore. I go to Universal a LOT though. And I don't really about what Disney is doing anymore. Disney has flat out lost me as a customer. And Universal now has a loyal regular family visiting their parks several times a month.
I'm done caring/talking about it. If I think about it it just makes me angry and depressed.

yet you're still on the Disney message boards???

it's a love hate kinda relationship with some now.... bash and trash online yet still a part of nostalgia and memories keep us all in the loop with a feeling for Disney that Uni will likely never have

 

[Disneyhead'71]

yet you're still on the Disney message boards???

it's a love hate kinda relationship with some now.... bash and trash online yet still a part of nostalgia and memories keep us all in the loop with a feeling for Disney that Uni will likely never have

Unfortunately, there are not that many Universal websites, and this site does have a pretty good Universal section. And being someone that has been going to WDW since 1971 I do drop into the news and rumors section to see if there is any action.
Also with my job, I actually get paid to go to WDW occasionally. But on those occasions, I am too busy to hit the rides, but it is always fun to get paid to hit the media buffet. Those Maple Bacon Breakfast Cupcakes to die for. And every once in a while I get in for free. Which I did on Fri. 13th. It was my youngest 13th Birthday on Fri. 13th, 2013. And it just so happened to be media night at MNSSHP. We had a lot of fun.

 

[nor'easter]

yet you're still on the Disney message boards???

it's a love hate kinda relationship with some now.... bash and trash online yet still a part of nostalgia and memories keep us all in the loop with a feeling for Disney that Uni will likely never have

Could say the same thing about you. You promised you were leaving because everyone was too negative. Yet, here you are.

Yes, it's a love-hate relationship for some. Love the concept and excellence of the parks in their halcyon days. Hate what current management has done to them.

When you're not addicted to pixie dust, you are able to make such distinctions.

 

[WDWDad13]

Could say the same thing about you. You promised you were leaving because everyone was too negative. Yet, here you are.
When you're not addicted to pixie dust, you are able to make such distinctions.

well played... so classy around the forums these days

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

yet you're still on the Disney message boards???

it's a love hate kinda relationship with some now.... bash and trash online yet still a part of nostalgia and memories keep us all in the loop with a feeling for Disney that Uni will likely never have

Your need to embrace Disney as some form of emotional crutch may not apply to others. And some may be like me, with exposure to Universal & WDW a hand in hand event.

What I personally enjoy is fishing.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

well played... so classy around the forums these days

What can I say, I do bring a touch of gravitas.

 

[willtravel]

I think Disney is doing things, but I wonder if too much bureaucracy and himming/hawing is getting in the way. The Fantasyland expansion is beautiful, but so far it's not exactly a brand new reason to shoot down to Orlando. Harry Potter, for many people, is.

We also must not forget that new ideas indeed take time. When you say, "They would have done it by now", I think that's not completely being realistic. Great ideas and expansions take time. A big time Star Wars expansion won't open 12 months after buying the rights from George Lucas. Current Marvel contracts won't allow Disney to start putting Avengers in the parks in any big way right now, but hopefully they will soon.

HP is a once in a generation phenomenon, and Universal got it, and they bet everything on it. HP is already starting to fade a bit, but it will nevertheless be very popular for a long time to come. Disney didn't take that risk, and it was completely predictable that people would be disappointed for a while thereafter. Let's see, long term, how Disney responds.

But it doesn't take WDW long to whip up ideas for a DVC and build.

 

[BryceM]

yet you're still on the Disney message boards???

Like someone else already mentioned, that's quite hypocritical of you. Every other post of your's is calling everyone doom & gloomers and how much you hate it here.

 

[ford91exploder]

Your need to embrace Disney as some form of emotional crutch may not apply to others. And some may be like me, with exposure to Universal & WDW a hand in hand event.

What I personally enjoy is fishing.

The beer or catching fish?

 

[TubaGeek]

We also must not forget that new ideas indeed take time. When you say, "They would have done it by now", I think that's not completely being realistic. Great ideas and expansions take time. A big time Star Wars expansion won't open 12 months after buying the rights from George Lucas. Current Marvel contracts won't allow Disney to start putting Avengers in the parks in any big way right now, but hopefully they will soon.

HP is a once in a generation phenomenon, and Universal got it, and they bet everything on it. HP is already starting to fade a bit, but it will nevertheless be very popular for a long time to come. Disney didn't take that risk, and it was completely predictable that people would be disappointed for a while thereafter. Let's see, long term, how Disney responds.

A year or two ago I would have agreed with you, but it's been MORE than THREE YEARS since WWoHP opened and FJ blew everything else out of the water. The fact that we don't even have a new E-ticket ANNOUNCED is mildly alarming.
Also, I'm really hoping Uni holds onto the Marvel area for awhile. I feel that Spidey is the second-best attraction in the world.

 

[Ralphlaw]

But it doesn't take WDW long to whip up ideas for a DVC and build.

True. As a company Disney has done tons of things of late, including 2 ships worth a billion dollars each, and Carsland, and a new Shanghai park (soon), and great updates on Star Tours, and Fantasyland, and Aulani, and, well, a bunch of stuff short of a new e-ticket in each park. In that same time we've lost a moving yeti, a few attractions started showing their age, and Harry Potter invaded Orlando.

If you look at the history of Disney parks, I don't think new e-tickets were arriving with tremendous frequency. Years went by in between, for the most part.

Yes, DVC is slapping up buildings like there's no tomorrow. They're a cash cow, and they also guarantee that people will be showing up every year. Instead of saying, "Gee, let's go to Disney this year", people are saying, "We've got points, where should we stay at Disney this year?" New resorts are easy to build, man and maintain. Attractions, with moving parts, bling, safety issues, Wow factors, and workability, are much harder.

But let's think this through. MK is getting a new Fanatasyland. EPCOT relatively recently got Soarin', a remodeled Spaceship Earth, and a revised Test Track. Studios got a remodeled Star Tours and a new Toy Story Mania. And Animal Kingdom is presumably getting Avatarland. I'm seeing new stuff in each park in the past five or so years (and into the near future), and I think you'd be hard pressed to find another five (or so) year period in the history of Disney in which more went to any park except in the first few years that they were open. Remember, Disney MGM Studios had only three attractions when it opened, and even Disneyland was pretty sparse on that hot day in 1955. Quick growth was absolutely necessary back then.

Perhaps we've been spoiled by the constant expectation of absolutely incredible new things. Of course, none of Disney's efforts right now reaches the new excitement level of Harry Potter, but I doubt that anything could have. Universal bet the company on HP, and of course it's going to be the exciting new thing for awhile. Disney has to rise to the competition, but I think the jury is still out on the question of whether or not they have.

 

[Clyde]

Everest would be a decent addition if it didn't have its main show element (and one of the only ones) broken for the vast majority of its life (perhaps never to be fixed). And most sane people agree that Test Track and Mission Space are massive slaps in the face to what they replaced, leaving EPCOT as a bitter shell of its former self. The same could be said for Nemo or even Soarin (which I enjoy to an extent but doesn't warrant its ridiculous lines) when considering it replaced Food Rocks. The rest are really nothing special either, lots of non substance.

I staunchly disagree. The rides mentioned are wonderful and fun. Most people that do not like them are simply poopy pants who are holding on to the nostalgic feelings held toward certain attractions whether they were improved upon or not. ( I do the same thing for 20,000 leagues under the sea).

To say that mission space, test track ( the fastest ride in the whole kingdom) Philharmagic, Soarin and RnR are non substance, is almost as bad as the conversation being had in another thread where people are doing the same nostalgic thing concerning the removal of the turnstiles. LOL
POOPY PANTS!!! EVERY ONE OF EM!
PS. Everest is one of the finest roller coasters on the planet. The Moving Yeti that is literally 1.4 seconds of the experience, while great and all, is barely missed by 99% of the entire world. It's an awesome ride.

 

[willtravel]

I staunchly disagree. The rides mentioned are wonderful and fun. Most people that do not like them are simply poopy pants who are holding on to the nostalgic feelings held toward certain attractions whether they were improved upon or not. ( I do the same thing for 20,000 leagues under the sea).

To say that mission space, test track ( the fastest ride in the whole kingdom) Philharmagic, Soarin and RnR are non substance, is almost as bad as the conversation being had in another thread where people are doing the same nostalgic thing concerning the removal of the turnstiles. LOL
POOPY PANTS!!! EVERY ONE OF EM!
PS. Everest is one of the finest roller coasters on the planet. The Moving Yeti that is literally 1.4 seconds of the experience, while great and all, is barely missed by 99% of the entire world. It's an awesome ride.

POOPY PANTS???? I haven't heard that phrase in a while.

 

[Clyde]

POOPY PANTS???? I haven't heard that phrase in a while.

lol Right? I've been using it again for a little while now. It has secret powers.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

POOPY PANTS???? I haven't heard that phrase in a while.

Indeed. Even when that phrase WAS used though, I only heard it from particularly immature toddlers.

To compare Test Track and Mission Space with the likes of World of Motion or Horizons is pretty ridiculous to me. None of the rides have been superior or even nearly as good as what they replaced. Test Track feels like little more than a normal car ride on the highway, and doesn't have the scenery to supplement the lack of thrills like other rides with similar ride systems have (such as Radiator Springs Racers), World of Motion was better due to all the incredible sets and massive animatronic population. Mission Space compares much the same to Horizons, the thrills aren't enough to make up for the insulting loss of a ride with infinitely superior show elements.

Everest speaks for itself- Fun ride or not (I think it's fun), it's not anywhere near as good with it's main show element that the ride builds up so much completely non-functional. And Big Thunder may not be as thrilling (which honestly isn't a big deal as neither coasters are thrilling enough to bother arguing over which is more exciting), it's easily by far the superior ride from a show perspective (even if the Yeti wasn't broken). It's slightly greater thrill factor doesn't make up for a distracting lack of theming in places (especially the backwards tunnel which is completely naked and you can easily see the steel structure with tons of light leaking through)

Philharmagic I have a major soft spot for. I only ever say the Lion King show before at the location it's in (and there's a better Lion King show at Animal Kingdom now IMO), but i'd say it's a fine attraction. Though they need to perform some MAJOR TLC on the projector because the image was horribly fuzzy every time I visited it from 2010-2012. But that's mostly management related and not original imagineering.

I like Soarin. Again not enough to command the stupid long lines it has and not as impressive as Food Rocks either, but it's fun and I'm not adverse to it existing or think it's a complete insult to what it replaced (like Mission Space and Test Track or even Nemo in ways).

But even though I like Soarin and Philharmagic, I don't consider them major attractions (simulators and 3D movies are nice sideshows but they are third tier rides compared to the likes of Spaceship Earth or Splash Mountain, and i'd also put them below the Fantasyland dark rides). On the "ticket scale", they're immensely below E Ticket status.

 

[wdisney9000]

well played... so classy around the forums these days

No more classy than you calling out @Disneyhead'71. Does it taste bitter? Seriously though, isnt a difference of opinions and view points what make a discussion more interesting. Let that man say whatever he wants without being questioned as to why he is here. If this message board was full of folks strictly praising Disney it would be extremely boring. And you know you like to debate it with people. You and I have debated a few things (pleasantly) so stop the cyber hypocrisy. Your better than that.

 

[Clyde]

Indeed. Even when that phrase WAS used though, I only heard it from particularly immature toddlers.


To compare Test Track and Mission Space with the likes of World of Motion or Horizons is pretty ridiculous to me. None of the rides have been superior or even nearly as good as what they replaced. Test Track feels like little more than a normal car ride on the highway, and doesn't have the scenery to supplement the lack of thrills like other rides with similar ride systems have (such as Radiator Springs Racers), World of Motion was better due to all the incredible sets and massive animatronic population. Mission Space compares much the same to Horizons, the thrills aren't enough to make up for the insulting loss of a ride with infinitely superior show elements.

Everest speaks for itself- Fun ride or not (I think it's fun), it's not anywhere near as good with it's main show element that the ride builds up so much completely non-functional. And Big Thunder may not be as thrilling (which honestly isn't a big deal as neither coasters are thrilling enough to bother arguing over which is more exciting), it's easily by far the superior ride from a show perspective (even if the Yeti wasn't broken). It's slightly greater thrill factor doesn't make up for a distracting lack of theming in places (especially the backwards tunnel which is completely naked and you can easily see the steel structure with tons of light leaking through)

Philharmagic I have a major soft spot for. I only ever say the Lion King show before at the location it's in (and there's a better Lion King show at Animal Kingdom now IMO), but i'd say it's a fine attraction. Though they need to perform some MAJOR TLC on the projector because the image was horribly fuzzy every time I visited it from 2010-2012. But that's mostly management related and not original imagineering.

I like Soarin. Again not enough to command the stupid long lines it has and not as impressive as Food Rocks either, but it's fun and I'm not adverse to it existing or think it's a complete insult to what it replaced (like Mission Space and Test Track or even Nemo in ways).

But even though I like Soarin and Philharmagic, I don't consider them major attractions (simulators and 3D movies are nice sideshows but they are third tier rides compared to the likes of Spaceship Earth or Splash Mountain, and i'd also put them below the Fantasyland dark rides). On the "ticket scale", they're immensely below E Ticket status.

If there ever was a place for poopy pants to be utilized again, I would strongly consider a message board where adults bicker about which rides are better at Disney World. LOL

Your opinions are valid of course. I just disagree. The ride system from Radiator Springs only exists because of the positive experience and feedback created by test track ( the originator of the very unique ride system). They just improved the whole idea over at DCA.
World of motion to me was cool, but slow and boring as a kid and I remember not loving it. Seeing my son ask to go back on Test Track after we just got off of it is significantly different than what my father saw from me after world of motion. It's all good. I just feel differently.

My wife cried the first time on Philharmagic. That's enough about that.

And how many roller coasters can you think of that go, forwards, backwards in the dark, see a short film, then go forwards again, in the dark again and then see a strobe light flashing on a broken monster? Not one other coaster in the world you big poopy pants. lol