Disney Playing catch up with Universal... Potter Disney's biggest mistake in 20 years...

[WDWDad13]

Who cares? Seriously? You can't blather on (not you, but I've heard this argument from many fans) about how WDW is so special because it let's you escape from the real world in one breath and then talk about being surgically attached to an iPhone your entire time there. I'm sorry, but those really are mutually exclusive. Playing with apps and trying (and with MM+'s reliability or often lack thereof failing) to make ressies for everything now sounds like the polar opposite of escaping from the real world. It's all about taking you out of the story versus what UNI is now doing, immersing you into the world of Potter.

I'd love to shove an iPad up .... nah ... nope ... just going to think it.

You mean immersing us into a narrow street/walkway with square buildings, a train to take you to the other park to get more money from people on 2 park tickets, and a stationary fire breathing dragon?

 

[wdisney9000]

Where did all the snorters go? this thread has been dominated by open minded people willing to accept that Disney makes mistakes (Uni as well) and the fanbois scattered.

 

[wdisney9000]

You mean immersing us into a narrow street/walkway with square buildings, a train to take you to the other park to get more money from people on 2 park tickets, and a stationary fire breathing dragon?

Even when you downplay it, Still sounds better than a rubber wristband and hard ticket events to eat the same food you can order during the daytime.

 

[Tangled21]

@Todd H you're preaching to the choir. I went to WDW twice in 2012 and once more in 2013. In spring 2015, I'm going to be spending my money at Universal and staying 2 nights at Cabana Bay. Right now, there is not enough incentive for me to visit Disney.

 

[RSoxNo1]

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1262449/000119312507178559/dex1041.htm

Nope... not public knowledge.

 

[EpcoTim]

You flat out would NOT have Pandora coming if pride (The Weatherman's here) wasn't a factor.

Egos are huge in the media/entertainment business.

That was actually going to be my next point. I if it were company pride, something new or from the vast portfolio would have been used. Personal pride, is, what I believe, brought in an entirely unneeded outside IP.

Why would a company that has pride, is run by people with pride in the company; bring in an outside IP when they had zero reason to do so. Why, with such a vast portfolio, with such a backbone of creativity, would a company of such esteem need to source an outside IP?

My answer......lack of company pride. Lack of company vision. Lack of respect for said companies capabilities. Unwarranted ego.

 

[WDWDad13]

@Todd H you're preaching to the choir. I went to WDW twice in 2012 and once more in 2013. In spring 2015, I'm going to be spending my money at Universal and staying 2 nights at Cabana Bay. Right now, there is not enough incentive for me to visit Disney.

If you're only staying 2 nights at cabana bay it doesn't sound like they have much either

 

[TubaGeek]

You mean immersing us into a narrow street/walkway with square buildings, a train to take you to the other park to get more money from people on 2 park tickets, and a stationary fire breathing dragon?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Today's landscape is very different than it was in 2007 when Universal was WDW's floor mat.

Introduced in 2005, the goal of Disney's Magic Express (DME) was to get guests to pool the money spent on offsite hotels & car rentals and, instead, spend that money at WDW.

It worked.

Onsite hotel occupancy at WDW climbed from 77% in 2004 before peaking at 90%.

As long as guests had no reason to visit other Orlando tourist destinations, they spent all their cash at WDW.

WWOHP broke that stranglehold.

Why pay Disney's astronomical hotel prices if you need to rent a car to travel between WDW and Universal, even if you intend to visit Uni for only a couple of days?

Since the opening of WWOHP, WDW's onsite occupancy rate has plunged from 90% in 2007 & 2008 to 79% in 2013. If that doesn't sound like much, with WDW's 27,000 rooms and Per Room Guest Spending (PRGS) at $267, it represents about $280M in lost revenue annually. Because of the way hotel costs are structured, most of that $280M represents profit.

As a result of WDW's lower hotel occupancy rate, Disney is losing more money every year than Universal spent to build the original WWOHP.

The genie (or wizard) is out of the bottle.

Even if they bought the theme park rights to the IP and threw it away, Disney would have been better off.

Letting Harry Potter go to Universal was one of the biggest blunders in theme park history.

This change also came in conjunction with Soarin' and Expedition Everest, the last two E-tickets built in WDW.

 

[Todd H]

@Todd H you're preaching to the choir. I went to WDW twice in 2012 and once more in 2013. In spring 2015, I'm going to be spending my money at Universal and staying 2 nights at Cabana Bay. Right now, there is not enough incentive for me to visit Disney.

Yep, there are more and more of us every day. And as things at WDW continue on the current path, a lot more people will figure out that the emperor has no clothes.

 

[WDWDad13]

View attachment 57082

Stop posting junk

 

[wdisney9000]

If you're only staying 2 nights at cabana bay it doesn't sound like they have much either

Shame you won't let your misguided guard down enough to allow you too see that DA is the most exciting thing that has hit Orlando in awhile. Sometimes quality is better than quantity.

 

[TubaGeek]

Stop posting junk

After you.

 

[wdisney9000]

Stop posting junk

Stop posting

 

[Tangled21]

If you're only staying 2 nights at cabana bay it doesn't sound like they have much either

My trips to WDW have always been short, never staying more than 3 nights as I am a FL resident. This trip to Uni is no different. So whatever argument you were attempting to make is invalid.

 

[seascape]

I forget who it was that said one should be able to do both parks at Universal in a day so the park park ticket is a good idea and we'll worth it. Now I have never been there and my wife and I don't like roller coasters. From what I hear we wondering like the Bank ride because of all the motion. That's too bad. In any case looking at the DVD we have I am still say we would need 2 days to see and enjoy the parks. We don't like to rush. We like to take thinks in and really see what there is. The park to park ticket is the one thing that really bothers me about Universal but if I have to pay the price I will but it will make it harder to do it more than once. The train would have to be the best ride ever to justify the need to buy a park to park ticket when I am already buying a 2 day ticket. But getting back on subject. Don't let anyone here talk you into going or out of going to the park or parks you want. Make up your own mind. Use the advice you get here to help get the most our of your vacation but not to make up your mind.

I will be asking for help I. 2015 when I plan my Universal trip. I am sure I will only get the best advice from the uni fans because they love their park and want to make the best impression.

 

[BigTxEars]

this reminds me of the simulated coaster they have(had?) at disney quest..
a GF and i rode it and bought the ride video after..

i have it on disc and need to upload it sometime..

the look on my face like im gonna hurl is priceless

ETA: i did NOT hurl though

That thing is awesome

 

[BigTxEars]

Congrats to Disney for making it a priority to have reliable wifi in the parks. Unfortunately, I'm part of the rare breed that prefers not to have my face buried in my phone after spending a hundred bucks on a theme park ticket.

Me too, my phone never leaves Texas when I goto WDW

But it is part of the tech interactive thing Disney is going for so I think it does matter.

 

[BigTxEars]

We did a week at Uni in June of 2013 and a week at WDW a few weeks ago. Both were repeat trips to both sets of parks for us. Uni is not a week long resort at this point where WDW is for us. We really like both parks but WDW is much bigger and has much more to do for us. If Uni opens a third gate that may change.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I forget who it was that said one should be able to do both parks at Universal in a day so the park park ticket is a good idea and we'll worth it. Now I have never been there and my wife and I don't like roller coasters. From what I hear we wondering like the Bank ride because of all the motion. That's too bad. In any case looking at the DVD we have I am still say we would need 2 days to see and enjoy the parks. We don't like to rush. We like to take thinks in and really see what there is. The park to park ticket is the one thing that really bothers me about Universal but if I have to pay the price I will but it will make it harder to do it more than once. The train would have to be the best ride ever to justify the need to buy a park to park ticket when I am already buying a 2 day ticket. But getting back on subject. Don't let anyone here talk you into going or out of going to the park or parks you want. Make up your own mind. Use the advice you get here to help get the most our of your vacation but not to make up your mind.

I will be asking for help I. 2015 when I plan my Universal trip. I am sure I will only get the best advice from the uni fans because they love their park and want to make the best impression.

Or you could just skip the Hogwarts Express if you're not that interested...