Ok guys, this is spiraling to a basic all around Disney vs. Universal argument and it's not going to end with us agreeing on anything. Point blank: Disney is bigger in FL and more profitable and unless they do something monumentally stupid, they always will be. Universal has had to pay butt-loads of money to acquire the land that they currently own and will be paying on that land for quite some time. I don't know what the arrangement is with their hotels (if they own them and have the other companies manage them or if they lease the land to the other companies which own the hotels themselves) but in any event, everything Universal does in FL is going to cost them more because they deal with many more independent contractors than Disney does and they pay more for their land. Regardless of how fragmented they try to build their resort, any land that they try to buy in the Orlando area, they are going to pay through the nose for and they will always deal with the same problems that Disneyland does - being in the middle of everything. They will never enjoy the luxury of land and buffer zones that WDW has and unless Disney starts to sell off their non-fragmented land, they will have room to grow for quite some time before they have to look at buying anything. That's just how it is and I don't think anyone can argue any of that...
I think it's also reasonable to say that unless Disney screws up really, really big either with their public image or with accounting (we're talking Enron or Worldcom type of screwups) they will always have a bigger global draw than Universal because the Disney brand is much, much stronger. Lots of fans of Disney own single investments in stock just so they can say they own a piece. There are tons of WDW fan sites out there. How many can you find for Universal Florida? How many can you find for Universal Florida that are any good and have been updated in the last six months? The simple fact that we are having this discussion in a token Universal section of a WDW message board where some people seem to have an obvious favor of Universal says something, doesn't it? There are a good number of those what write in these forums. How many of the Universal fans that we have in this category own stock in Universal's Parent company? How many would even want to? Almost all of what Universal has in their parks is licensed from other companies. So they will always be trying to sell someone else's product to get you in the door. There is nothing wrong with that but it is not as desirable as having your own brand. Just about the only place Universal has to cross promote their parks is on the videos they distribute and I haven't seen a lot of that as of late. Disney can centergize like nobody else can and that will be a major advantage that they will have for a long time to come. People love their core characters, people love the company itself. Universal doesn't have this draw. That's why their merchandise sells for less. That's why their outlet store is still trying to sell limited edition lithographs from the opening of IOA at 75% off four years after the park opened. Disney has a following generations old that trusts it. It's parks are part of a bigger scope... That's just how it is. Most people vacation at Disney BECAUSE it's Disney. If that brand weren't an issue, many could have just as good a time in Vegas without loosing a dime in a slot machine. Disney doesn't even have to be the best. As long as they stay reasonably competitive they will hold the value of being the same company that brought you Lio & Stich as well as Snow White that kind of thing matters a lot. It carries special memories for adults and current likes for children.
It would not only be bad for Disney but just about all of central Florida if Universal ever actually managed to equal Disney's size. Currently Disney employs roughly 50,000 people in the area and that number will continue to grow as they expand. Most of those are low wage positions which there is an overabundance of all over the Orlando area. The hotels all need maids and the gift shops all need clerks and all of the parks need ride operators and ticket takers... Universal would have a hard time getting off the ground just filling the positions for work and over time if they were able to, Universal, Disney, and the rest of the local industry would suffer. There is already some trouble with this now.
For all the Disney fans, you have nothing to worry about. The cards are stacked so high against Universal in so many ways that it's highly unlikely that they will ever grow larger or more profitable than Disney in the Orlando area. Universal may be able to steel some business from Disney but they'll have a hell of a time trying to overtake them and in the end, it's more profitable for Universal to continue stealing that business away, anyway.
For all the fans of Universal, understand that they are a parasite development. This isn't exactly a bad thing. They followed the crowds to an area that someone else developed. That's what the rest of central florida has done as well. They aren't any 'worse' than Seaworld for that. Enjoy the fact that they are small. Be glad that neither of the two parks has attendance like the Magic Kingdom. That's what keeps the lines reasonably short and keeps the USE and front of the line systems working.
For the fans of both, competition is good. We really don't want either one to get so far ahead of the other with their attractions that they both become content to stop looking for/building innovative attractions.
I am a Disney fan, Personally, while I think the Universal theme parks are OK, I think they've dropped the ball a lot with US, it seems like it was a much nicer place back in it's earlier days when everything it had (most of what it still has) was considered innovative but that's my opinion. I was able to go for free quite a bit in the earlier years and was very disappointed two or so years ago when I went back for the first time to see that very little had been updated.. I don't think they've done as good a job of keeping up with the times on that park as they could have... I don't particularly care for IOA because roller coasters aren't that big of a deal for me. Bush Gardens is closer to me and carries a level of theme that isn't all that far behind and in some unique cases, exceeds IOA's as well as coasters that on average, rate higher than IOA's on the top 20 list. If it makes others happy, I'm glad it's there but I still think they could have done a better job with it. Steel coaster are cheap attractions in Orlando - Fact is fact. Hopefully we'll all see more of what we want in our respectively favorite parks...
On another note, I'm guessing that Universal's motives in keeping out of the economy resort market have less to do with their status as a resort and more to do with economics. If they are paying through the nose for their land and development, why would the fill it with economy priced resorts? They are trying to get the most money for what they have and if they can fill them, the deluxe resorts are the way to go. Personally, I think their sights are a little high at the moment with resorts like Portofeno (sp?) Bay which seem to be a little pricey for Universals main demographic audiences but once they come along with alternative forms of recreation beyond the parks who knows?.
This thread is getting worse.