Hollywood Studios vs Universal Studios Florida

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

The two studio parks in Orlando. Let's say that you have one single day in the Orlando area, and you can only go to one of these two parks. Which would you pick?
Both parks have excellent rides, great themed lands and good immersion.
Which park is superior, has better rides, more fun, etc? Which is the better park? This isn't meant to get people mad because they are completely different types of parks, this is just a civil discussion.

 

[Fsunolekrw]

Both parks are fun but an easy choice for me. I’m a Star Wars over Harry Potter guy.

 

[adimond]

Both kind of meh. The 2nd best UO park vs. the 4th best WDW park. I can take a whole Orlando trip (and have) without doing a studios park and not feel like I missed much.

I go to Disney more, so Uni always feels a bit more novel when I do go. Mummy and a frozen butterbeer sounds good today, and Rise and Oga's are fun, but overall both parks may have been better 20 years ago. Both have a solid collection of thrill rides now but lost the plot on the whole "studios" concept. Basically a tie, but I guess in the end the edge goes to HS, if only because (with the exception of Diagon Alley) it has the nicer ambiance.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

Hollywood Studios

 

[WondersOfLife]

Universal wins for me. Tired of Star Wars. I find mire to do in Harry Potter land. Not a fan of either franchise.

Ill give ROTR an award for best ride of the two tho.

 

[co10064]

USF has to be the worst Disney/Universal park in central Florida, and it's not even close IMO.

USF has a great over-reliance of screen-based and simulator attractions. The Mummy & ET are very good, and Diagon Alley as a land is as well, though Gringotts suffers from not being thrilling enough of a coaster. Rip Ride Rocket is a plain, exposed steel coaster. Even the Dreamworks Land will have cut-out 2D characters and a lack of rides. And don't get me started on the standing Minion's "ride."

Yes, DHS needs more rides, but nothing at USF can compare to the likes of Tower of Terror. Only Star Tours & the Falcon are fully-screen based attractions, but I would argue Star Tours is one of the best simulators on the planet. The Hollywood & Sunset Boulevards at DHS outpace any of the Hollywood theming at USF. And even if one is not familiar with the Toy Story franchise, the concept of being surrounded by toys from childhood makes the land relatable to all.

 

[HMF]

Hollywood Studios was a better park back when it had a consistent theme. Now both DHS and USF are just a collection of rides with nothing to tie them together thematically other than "Ride The Movies"

Disney's Hollywood Studios

The End of an Era

vocal.media

 

[Tom Morrow]

10 years ago I would have said USF, but with DHS beefed up with Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land, it easily gets the edge.

USF is in bad shape. It's the ugliest park in Florida by a wide margin and probably the most run down. It currently doesn't have any single attraction where I would say "this is still a flagship attraction for the theme park industry". The attraction variety is poor, and they've swapped out so many good attractions with a legacy for mid to bad attractions.

 

[marni1971]

Like above, I’d have said Uni. But the loss of physical rides at Uni and the addition of GE at DHS as a themed land - plus Rise - narrows the gap if not eliminates it.

The paid fast pass situation still taints the Disney park though.

 

[Brer Oswald]

USF. I don’t really like any of DHS’s recent additions. Mickey was a disappointment. Toy Story Land is a solar cooker. GE is incredibly drab, and its E Ticket is almost never operating at 70% (let alone 100%). It’s pretty much ToT for me, and the remaining old Hollywood streets for ambience.

USF has had it rough as well, but it still has solid attractions in Mummy, MIB, and what is IMO the best Classic Dark Ride in Florida, ET Adventure. Diagon Alley is still the most impressive (and immersive) single themed land in the country.

 

[Stupido]

If USF still had Jaws, it might be some competition...

 

[SaveDinosaur]

USF has better shows, like Bourne, Animal Actors and Horror Make Up Show, and soon a parade and a drone spectacular, along with rides on the same level as Hollywood Studios, with the exception of Fallon and Fast and Furious, which are terrible. Still, I would go with Universal Studios Florida.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Fallon isn't really that bad, the worst part is Fallon himself. Other than that the biggest issue is just that it debuted in a resort that was already oversaturated with screens and went up against the vastly superior Flight of Passage.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Fallon isn't really that bad, the worst part is Fallon himself. Other than that the biggest issue is just that it debuted in a resort that was already oversaturated with screens and went up against the vastly superior Flight of Passage.

There's a lot to like about the attraction. I would not cry if it went away, but the whole queue/lobby area is super neat, and the ride is one of the better simulator attractions.

 

[Tom Morrow]

There's a lot to like about the attraction. I would not cry if it went away, but the whole queue/lobby area is super neat, and the ride is one of the better simulator attractions.

I prefer it to Simpsons. Image and audio quality are better, doesn't have that distorted screen fisheye effect, and it doesn't aggressively shake you back and forth.

 

[Mark Dunne]

For me, universal have lost what used to be the heart of the park ( ride the movies ) i never understood why BTTF was replaced with Simpsons, i loved and miss Jaws, King Kong, earthquake, Twister, apart from the mummy which is still a great attraction, they also had great shows as well, Terminator 3D was excellent , i don't care for outdoor non themed roller-coasters, I know its in I.O.A, but just because HULK makes roar noises, for me RARC trumps it , Hollywood studios may of started as a half day park, but look at it now, plus the big plus for my wife and i is I.J.S.S, to still see a stunt show is rare thing these days, so hats off to Disney for not replacing it, plus B.A.T.B show we love, frozen singalong ( saw it for the first time this year, how did we not see this !! loved it )T.T.O.T prob one of the best ever attractions created anywhere. and finally Fantasmic, i mean come on, its the best show in all WDW, and to finish your day seeing that, perfect! so ill end with this, 25 years ago it would of been universal, but now ,for us its firmly H.S.

 

[Mark Dunne]

10 years ago I would have said USF, but with DHS beefed up with Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land, it easily gets the edge.

USF is in bad shape. It's the ugliest park in Florida by a wide margin and probably the most run down. It currently doesn't have any single attraction where I would say "this is still a flagship attraction for the theme park industry". The attraction variety is poor, and they've swapped out so many good attractions with a legacy for mid to bad attractions.

You are so right, Universal sold there sole chasing H.P, they closed down some amazing attractions , i never forget going to see Shrek 4D, and hearing the air pressure as the seats moved, B.T.T.F is as loved now as it was in 1985, yet they do nothing to rpl that icon attraction, its a real shame, as it used to be amazing.

 

[JIMINYCR]

DHS. ToT, RnRc, TSM, remain top attractions, while SWL and RotR put DHS back in contention for the win. Before the added land it was falling behind. TSL didnt add much to the park but it is something.