Disney vs. Universal

[YozhikRoth]

Being a 15 time Disney vet, twice with my children, in 2008 and 2010, I took them to Universal last summer. Partly because they are both massive HP fangirls, partly because I could do the trip relatively cheap. For that reason, the Universal resorts were out of the question, the cheapest (Cabana Bay) was way more than anything at WDW. I ended up with a hotel in the Convention center at $45/night via Priceline.

Universal's pros are

• They are willing to make an annual investment in new attractions. I would put all three HP rides, Transformers, Spider-Man and Minions up with Splash Mountain, Soarin and TOT for sheer spectacle.
• Nearly all lines are indoors
• I like free ride lockers

However, as a Disney vet, the cons add up.

• The mile+ mile walk from the parking garages to the park entrances are bad in the morning, and are absolutely intolerable going home.
• HP areas notwithstanding, Universal's themeing of the parks are close to Six Flags than Disney. While the HP areas are spectacularly themed (and ruthlessly efficient at extracting money) the other areas, especially IOA feel very homogenized.
• Universal's rides just do not move crowds as efficiently as Disney rides. Thankfully my kids are of the age that we were able to use single's lines, as the Universal version of Fastpass is a ripoff. Granted, Escape from Gringotts had just opened, but it was posting 5 hour waits by 11am.
• Due to the limited footprint Universal has, nearly all the original attractions have been replaced, which really limits the nostalgia factor
• When I told the dining reservations I made, they went nuts. When we ate at the Leaky Cauldron at Diagon Alley, it was simply English-ish fare in an English-ish location. No effects, no music even.

 

[wm49rs]

Ongoing discussion here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/universal-vs-disney.901644/

 

[jloucks]

Being a 15 time Disney vet, twice with my children, in 2008 and 2010, I took them to Universal last summer. Partly because they are both massive HP fangirls, partly because I could do the trip relatively cheap. For that reason, the Universal resorts were out of the question, the cheapest (Cabana Bay) was way more than anything at WDW. I ended up with a hotel in the Convention center at $45/night via Priceline.

Universal's pros are

• They are willing to make an annual investment in new attractions. I would put all three HP rides, Transformers, Spider-Man and Minions up with Splash Mountain, Soarin and TOT for sheer spectacle.
• Nearly all lines are indoors
• I like free ride lockers

However, as a Disney vet, the cons add up.

• The mile+ mile walk from the parking garages to the park entrances are bad in the morning, and are absolutely intolerable going home.
• HP areas notwithstanding, Universal's themeing of the parks are close to Six Flags than Disney. While the HP areas are spectacularly themed (and ruthlessly efficient at extracting money) the other areas, especially IOA feel very homogenized.
• Universal's rides just do not move crowds as efficiently as Disney rides. Thankfully my kids are of the age that we were able to use single's lines, as the Universal version of Fastpass is a ripoff. Granted, Escape from Gringotts had just opened, but it was posting 5 hour waits by 11am.
• Due to the limited footprint Universal has, nearly all the original attractions have been replaced, which really limits the nostalgia factor
• When I told the dining reservations I made, they went nuts. When we ate at the Leaky Cauldron at Diagon Alley, it was simply English-ish fare in an English-ish location. No effects, no music even.

1) The walk from the Hotels however is awesome. Great massive huge improvement over WDW.

2) Theming like Six Flags? Six Flags (of which I am a SP holder) isn't even close to the HP, Cinema, and Simpsons content.

3) Most of the rides are theater rides. They are way faster and move people quick. ...exception being people mover rides.

4) Don't know much about this.

5) Did WDW have music and stuff. Gosh, I don't recall any of that. But I will concede WDW has better food and restaurants.

More detailed analysis...
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...i-cancelled-our-wdw-trip.899456/#post-6695307

 

[Animaniac93-98]

the cheapest (Cabana Bay) was way more than anything at WDW.

More than any Deluxe Resort or Deluxe Villa? I find that hard to believe.

 

[marni1971]

Please don't. It's a topic discussed a thousand times. Not least in the thread linked above.

@The Mom .... can we point in the right direction?

 

[jloucks]

Please don't. It's a topic discussed a thousand times. Not least in the thread linked above.

@The Mom .... can we point in the right direction?

You have 24,000+ posts, there is likely nothing you haven't seen before. It is a big catch 22 for posters, either necro a thread or post a fresh one. Fresh is better than necro anyday.... if new discussion is the whole point.

 

[jloucks]

Ongoing discussion here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/universal-vs-disney.901644/

If you want to necro a 6 week old thread, sure. Let's keep things fresh. Repeats will happen.

You folks with 10,000 posts have seen everything multiple times. Keep that in mind it is not fair or reasonable to expect the same thing of others.

Now, if there was an alternate active thread, then sure, a polite redirect would be in order. That dusty thing you linked to will get you arrested in 8 states.

 

[Evolution]

If you want to necro a 6 week old thread, sure. Let's keep things fresh. Repeats will happen.

You folks with 10,000 posts have seen everything multiple times. Keep that in mind it is not fair or reasonable to expect the same thing of others.

Now, if there was an alternate active thread, then sure, a polite redirect would be in order. That dusty thing you linked to will get you arrested in 8 states.

Not to mention it's in the Universal forum, which is not nearly as populated as this one.

 

[Evolution]

Being a 15 time Disney vet, twice with my children, in 2008 and 2010, I took them to Universal last summer. Partly because they are both massive HP fangirls, partly because I could do the trip relatively cheap. For that reason, the Universal resorts were out of the question, the cheapest (Cabana Bay) was way more than anything at WDW. I ended up with a hotel in the Convention center at $45/night via Priceline.

Universal's pros are

• They are willing to make an annual investment in new attractions. I would put all three HP rides, Transformers, Spider-Man and Minions up with Splash Mountain, Soarin and TOT for sheer spectacle.
• Nearly all lines are indoors
• I like free ride lockers

However, as a Disney vet, the cons add up.

• The mile+ mile walk from the parking garages to the park entrances are bad in the morning, and are absolutely intolerable going home.
• HP areas notwithstanding, Universal's themeing of the parks are close to Six Flags than Disney. While the HP areas are spectacularly themed (and ruthlessly efficient at extracting money) the other areas, especially IOA feel very homogenized.
• Universal's rides just do not move crowds as efficiently as Disney rides. Thankfully my kids are of the age that we were able to use single's lines, as the Universal version of Fastpass is a ripoff. Granted, Escape from Gringotts had just opened, but it was posting 5 hour waits by 11am.
• Due to the limited footprint Universal has, nearly all the original attractions have been replaced, which really limits the nostalgia factor
• When I told the dining reservations I made, they went nuts. When we ate at the Leaky Cauldron at Diagon Alley, it was simply English-ish fare in an English-ish location. No effects, no music even.

• Hmm... I think walk from Magic Kingdom is much longer. Maybe it's because all of their parks have shuttles at the exits.
• Six Flags' best theming isn't even close to Universal's worst. They're worlds apart honestly. I think IOA is better though, since each island is in a completely different world. Most of USF is modeled after urban cities.
• Gringotts got huge lines when it first opened and the park was super crowded. It's not really fair to compare it to a normal day at Disney. Star Wars will probably be just as bad.
• It does suck that so many of the classics are gone, but only a few were worth keeping (BTTF, Kong, and Jaws). Kong is already coming back, and I think the other two might return eventually.
• The Leaky Cauldron is based off of an actual location in the Harry Potter universe. I've never seen the movie so I may be wrong, but was there music playing in the restaurant during the music?

 

[wm49rs]

If you want to necro a 6 week old thread, sure. Let's keep things fresh. Repeats will happen.

You folks with 10,000 posts have seen everything multiple times. Keep that in mind it is not fair or reasonable to expect the same thing of others.

Now, if there was an alternate active thread, then sure, a polite redirect would be in order. That dusty thing you linked to will get you arrested in 8 states.

I'll live with the ignominy....

 

[FigmentForver96]

Oh God....again?

 

[LAKid53]

More than any Deluxe Resort or Deluxe Villa? I find that hard to believe.

It's not. Stayed there over 4th of July and price was on par with moderate. Obviously OP has never stayed at a Deluxe if he thought Cabaña Bay was in the same price range. Because it's a nicer value but you're not paying $500 - $600/night like you would at a Disney deluxe. We had a family suite and I think I paid around $190 per night.

 

[DfromATX]

Please don't. It's a topic discussed a thousand times. Not least in the thread linked above.

@The Mom .... can we point in the right direction?

No offense, but why does it bother you for others to discuss something that's been discussed before (or even a thousand times)? Perhaps it's new to the OP and besides, no one is forcing you to read it. And calling on the mod is a bit like tattling, don't ya think?

 

[marni1971]

You have 24,000+ posts, there is likely nothing you haven't seen before. It is a big catch 22 for posters, either necro a thread or post a fresh one. Fresh is better than necro anyday.... if new discussion is the whole point.

It's a contentious topic that often brings the thread down. Many other similar threads have been cleaned, locked or deleted. Hence there is an effort to keep it in one place. I hope that explains.

 

[marni1971]

And calling on the mod is a bit like tattling, don't ya think?

The mods have made an active effort of trying to clean things up time after time. I hope that explains.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Most Universal attractions have a higher hourly capacity than the Disney rides. Spider-man, Forbidden Journey, Transformers, Gringott's, Hogwarts Express, Men in Black, Dragon Challenge, The Mummy, E.T., The Hulk and The Simpson's have huge hourly capacity. The only attractions with miserable capacity are Minion Mayhem and Seuss High In The Sky Trolly.Unfortunately, MM has TSMM Syndrome (low capacity, one of few attractions in the park that caters to the Stroller crowd).

I have found most of the food at Universal to be on par with what Disney is serving up. I would put Mythos, Finnagan's and Lombard's up against most in-park restaurants at WDW. And I think that Universal's Signature Restaurants (BiCE, Palm, Emeril's Tchoup Chop, and Emeril's Orlando) are some on the best in town.

As far as theming, the New York, Hollywood, Springfield, and San Fransisco areas of USF are well done. And Port of Call (entrance plaza), Seuss Landing, Lost Continent, and Jurassic Park over in IOA are top notch.

 

[stargrl33]

Hoping to get to Universal next year since I haven't been since I was 6 (1991). Can't wait to see the difference between Uni and WDW. Seems a lot more affordable, even with staying at Cabana.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

To put it simply...
Disney > Universal

 

[DfromATX]

Hoping to get to Universal next year since I haven't been since I was 6 (1991). Can't wait to see the difference between Uni and WDW. Seems a lot more affordable, even with staying at Cabana.

We did a combo trip a couple of years ago (Disney and Universal/IOA). It was our first time for Uni/IOA. I have to say we were all pretty impressed. HP was probably the coolest ride I've ever been on. I'd love to go to Uni again, but not do a combo trip. It was just too much. We were all exhausted. I have lots of good things to say about Universal, but in all honesty, Disney still has my heart. All my kids love Disney as well and one day I plan to take my grand children.

 

[cjack300zx]

The universal flex ticket is a pretty sweet deal. We always spend time at both parks but Disney gets the most love