disney4life2008
Well-Known Member
I will agree
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Do you get the feeling universal is one step ahead of Disney
- Thread starter POLY LOVER
- Start date
I will agree
raven
Well-Known Member
I dunno though. You see all the stuff they were able to add at Disneyland even before the Star Wars addition.
mergatroid
Well-Known Member
Oh Uni can improve no doubt (just as Disney World can) even with their limited space. However from my personal perspective the feeling I get within 'the world' is something extra special due to it's size and separation of its parks. Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach feel completely isolated as do the major parks and even driving between parks feels special due to the size of the property and the impressive scope of everything within.
As I'm always reminding Mrs Merg though, size isn't everything and others are perfectly entitled to feel differently from myself. Certainly I'll admit that when I'm riding The Incredible Hulk I'm too busy enjoying myself to worry about the fact I can see backstage areas and public roads etc too much. And when I'm enjoying Halloween Horror Nights I'm definitely not worrying that the surrounding property doesn't cover 47 square miles or not!
However for me the layout of Disney World does have it's bonuses. The joy and pleasure of travelling on the monorail through a hotel must be mind blowing for first timers etc, as is seeing the castle or Spaceship Earth for the first time. Just travelling from your Disney hotel to a park likewise must be an incredible feeling for most, completely immersed in the magic with no outside distractions to interrupt your vacation. Universal is great and is always getting better, some may enjoy it more than Disney and that's fine. The reality is also that if Universal became the same size as Disney, with as much to see and do that both parks could possibly struggle financially as there probably wouldn't be enough visitors to finance each destinations running costs?
So all things considered, for me Disney is ahead of Universal in it's overall offerings. However there's things both parks can learn from each other and there's no need to have to side with one excluding the other, just enjoy what they both have to offer.
Smiley/OCD
Well-Known Member
I know I'm probably going to get pounded with this, but in a way it's like comparing apples and oranges...YES, they are both fruit in the same way that Uni and the WDW are entertainment venues, (notice I didn't say theme or amusement parks), but aside from the fact that they are both filled with rides and attractions, they ARE different. I don't think (outside of HP), a person can immerse themselves in the total ambiance of Uni the way one can immerse themselves in all things Disney...it's just not the same...
When DL was built in the 50's, when you thought of thrill rides, the number one coaster was the Cyclone at Coney Island...I'm sure Walt checked it out (and maybe even rode it a time or two) when the worlds fair was going on less than 10 miles away in Flushing, but that wasn't what he was looking for. He could have built a coaster like that in either of his parks, but decided not to because, I'll venture to guess, that he wanted his rides to appeal to a large group of people, children and their parents alike.
.
I TOTALLY understand that Disney won't appeal to everyone and some will outgrow it, (come on, we ALL have friends that think we're nuts always talking about the world) hell, my name, OCD is obsessive, compulsive Disney, but as much as Uni tries, I don't think they will EVER get the immersive atmosphere that WDW has. I'm not really sure that's their goal. To me, and what does my opinion matter, I think Uni is really a hybrid of WDW and theme parks like Cedar Point and Six Flags...
So, to summarize my ramblings, If you're looking for adrenaline pumping thrill rides and attractions, Uni will always have WDW beat...that's Uni's business plan, their mission statement, and it's TOTALLY acceptable...so will Cedar Point and Six Flags, but if you want to immerse yourself in not just a land, but the WHOLE resort/park(s), Universal will, IMO, will NEVER, EVER come close to the Disney experience. I now return you to your regular programming...LOL
21stamps
Well-Known Member
You said it perfectly. I feel the exact same way.
The comparisons always shock me a little, because I love both, for different reasons..I also love Cedar Fair parks, for different reasons.
I don't know of any other major park in this country where not only is 100% immersive, but also a family can enjoy every single ride together by the time a (most) child turns 6 years old.
raven
Well-Known Member
I think Disney's edge AND fallback is that they are trying to keep most everything family oriented and making experiences that the entire family can enjoy together. That's a blessing and a curse at the same time, especially when there are other companies outside their doorstep pulling attention by creating attractions with a higher thrill factor for guests that crave them. So it is no comparison in that aspect. But I do enjoy how they keep trying to "one up" each other because it keeps everyone thinking and creating fresh ideas.
Smiley/OCD
Well-Known Member
It's not a curse IMO, because there are theme parks with giant coasters throughout the country (I'm less than 30 mins. away from Kingda Ka @ Six Flags Great Adventure), but there is only ONE Disney, whether in Cali or Orlando....nothing will ever be built taller than 199' ft. because the red beacon will destroy the illusion. Disney was never, or will ever be a thrill ride park...if that MO ever changes, Disney parks will just be like every other theme park and in that case, we can all spend our money locally.
raven
Well-Known Member
I agree, but guests flying into Orlando ARE going to Universal, Sea World and Busch Gardens too. So obviously they have something good enough to attract tourists away from Disney. I'm not saying Disney isn't lacking guest flow by any means. But they are just having to deal with the fact that they aren't the only property guests are visiting and they have to keep offering new experiences in order to keep on top of things.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Not totally that. If I go to Paris I don't just go to the Eiffel Tower. I might go to the Louvre, Disneyland Paris, Notre-Dame, the West Bank and many, many other places.
People like myself have been going to those, including Sea World, Universal, Cyprus Gardens (now Legoland), Silver Springs, Kennedy Space Center, Gatorland and multitude of other places for years and years. This idea of being sequestered on Disney property is actually a fairly recent phinominom. Before the Magic People Confinement Express happened most everyone had a rental car and stayed offsite. It is amazing how many things that there are to see in Central Florida and the surrounding areas. However, Disney was the primary target, and still is for the most part because of the Magic Express. I don't know who came up with that idea, but, they were either brilliant or used to be prison wardens.
UpAllNight
Well-Known Member
I feel the opposite actually.
I'm coming from a position where I spent my last trip to Orlando in 2015 thinking Universal was fresh and Disney were in decline to coming to a complete turnaround.
Uni have killed their competitive advantage for me by building so many of the same rides, often at the express of practical experiences. I say that as someone who loves each ride individually, but dreads the prospect of spending a full day going on them back to back. The studios park is a disaster at the moment...Shrek, Fallon, Minions, Transformers at the entrance, Gringotts, Simpsons & t2 around the park. individually great, as a line up it's uninspiring, somehow. I've started to think in some cases it's lazy on their behalf.
It also bugs me that they're sitting on rights to Marvel and JPark yet the areas are dated at IOA.
I'm coming from a position where I spent my last trip to Orlando in 2015 thinking Universal was fresh and Disney were in decline to coming to a complete turnaround.
Uni have killed their competitive advantage for me by building so many of the same rides, often at the express of practical experiences. I say that as someone who loves each ride individually, but dreads the prospect of spending a full day going on them back to back. The studios park is a disaster at the moment...Shrek, Fallon, Minions, Transformers at the entrance, Gringotts, Simpsons & t2 around the park. individually great, as a line up it's uninspiring, somehow. I've started to think in some cases it's lazy on their behalf.
It also bugs me that they're sitting on rights to Marvel and JPark yet the areas are dated at IOA.
Incomudro
Well-Known Member
This is exactly what hit me (us as a family) when we went to Uni for the first time last year. This very week as a matter of fact.
My sons were 14 at the time, and I fully expected Uni would win them over Disney.
I thought it was newer, and fresher. "Ride the movies." Plus, it's got Marvel. My son's, well one more than the other - love Marvel.
But, as I've posted here before, they grew tired of the 3D screen rides quickly - didn't even want to go in Men in Black; "Is this going to be another one of those (3D) rides?"
They liked Spider Man, but not like I thought they would.
Their Marvel excitement wore off, as it's more of the comic book Marvel - and not the movie Marvel they know.
They get Disney.
They get that it's not all about the thrill. Never was, never will be.
It's not about being cool or current either.
Never was.
Sure, WDW has always been into utilizing and showing off technology where fitting. Especially when Epcot was in stride.
But it's also always been about classic charm, beauty, attention to detail, taking a visitor away to a simpler time.
There's also a cohesion that Disney has that Uni can never have.
Uni will always be a jumble of rides.
But Disney has the common thread of Disney.
It runs through all the lands.
It's why WDW can have Wishes or Fantasmic that tie the whole thing together.
No other entity has got that.
docandsix
Active Member
So true. As far as effects and animatronics go, The Matterhorn is now by far the best "Yeti" ride Disney has to offer. That is a crying shame and a serious indictment of the maintenance and guest experience priorities of TDO.
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
Well said. Individually, those attractions are generally very good. After a full day of them back to back, its exhausting and it all starts to blur together. It doesn't help that in addition to heavy screen use and often similar ride systems, they also stick with the same theme park tropes and sequences. You're always getting attacked by enemies. Always a simulated fall, flying through the air, sitting there watching action between other characters unfold, a splash of water, etc. Never any subtlety, always big, bombastic, in your face. The only ride that is comparable to this at Disney IMO is Star Tours, and I could write paragraphs about how much better executed Star Tours 2 is than Universal's recent offerings.
One area that Universal exceeds Disney, other than thrills, imo, is attraction effects upkeep. Generally all the effects in attractions are working or not down for extended periods and the audio is well adjusted. But that said, the overall look of the parks is nowhere near as pristine as Disney, even if WDW falls a bit behind DLR.
You sir win the internet award of the day
They have grand plans for both. They're maddingly taking their sweet time with one, the other could be understandable in the long run.
I love both parks and have spent far more time at Disney in the last two years than Universal. I understand the repetitiveness of the screen rides at Universal, but that doesn't bother me. I can ride Spiderman and Transformers 50 times back to back and enjoy every single ride due to the type of ride where as I ride Little Mermaid, Pooh, Pan, HM, Pirates at MK and really find myself bored. I think that's the difference for me while I enjoy both parks, I like the rides more at Universal.
RustySpork
Oscar Mayer Memer
There are a lot of screens in Pandora.
And FOP and is getting great reviews. I thinks it's just the ride vehicles and types I prefer. Slow omnimover isn't my thing. I don't need screens to be happy as TOT, Everest, and dinosaur are probably in my top 5-10 of rides in Orlando.
RustySpork
Oscar Mayer Memer
Sure, I rode it myself and I give FoP an 11 out of 10. Just pointing out to all of the people who are complaining about all the screen rides at Uni, Avatar is filled with them. You're even immersed in screens while you float down the river. Sure there are other props too, and even a single animatronic but otherwise screens screens screens.
Ahhh gotcha. Pretty sure Star Wars is supposed to do the same.