Impressed by Universal

[OG Runner]

I know. Universal resorts are sooo much better than Disney's. That's what you meant, right?

You always make me laugh!

 

[DeletedAccount55555]

If you bring up Disney World to my wife, she will immediately complain about long waits for overcrowded buses. The first time we went to Universal, we stayed at Cabana Bay which does not have water taxis. We were only there one day, but that morning there were several buses lined up to take guests to the parks. Not one but several! And then when we came back to the hotel, once again there was a bus waiting for us at the stop. Both ways we enjoyed a short ride in a half-full shuttle with no wait. The most stressful part of our Disney day was completely stress-free at Universal.

This.

In 2017, I did a split stay between Cabana Bay and All-Star Movies. While not having the water taxis is definitely less convenient -- the extra walk from the park gate back to the bus pick-up adds up after a long day in the parks -- I was amazed at how little time we spent waiting for them. Yes, it's a much shorter distance than many Disney buses, but at Universal, buses didn't wait long to leave and loaded passengers with big strollers, ECVs or wheelchairs much more quickly.

Fast forward to doing ASM a few days later, and we're waiting at least 20 minutes for a bus that will always be packed and it seems to take 5-10 minutes just to load the ECV passengers. That's on top of Cabana Bay having a better food court, a Starbucks, better pool amenities, and much nicer rooms (this was before the ASM remodel).

If Cabana Bay had a pedestrian crossing allowing easy access to Sapphire Falls and its water taxi, it'd be perfect. I know there's the winding pedestrian bridge at one end of the resort, but that's quite a hike for people staying in the newer tower rooms like I was.

 

[JoeCamel]

If Cabana Bay had a pedestrian crossing allowing easy access to Sapphire Falls and its water taxi, it'd be perfect. I know there's the winding pedestrian bridge at one end of the resort, but that's quite a hike for people staying in the newer tower rooms like I was.

If you are on that end of CBBR you can go to VB and go under the road then to Aventura and over to SF. Not bad if you can navigate the acronyms

 

[GoofyCathy]

I felt the same way when we were there on Xmas Day as a result of FJ, Transformers, and Fallon - nauseous and up to my eyeballs with aggressive 3D screen/simulator rides!
Regarding another point made above, I did find Pandora Land to be beautiful at night and enjoyed FOP (probably because it was smooth), but I wouldn't go to AK just to visit that section of the park. On the other hand, I WOULD go to Uni just to visit the HP areas of the park. That said, I enjoyed each of my four days in the four parks at WDW more than my one day at Uni (but that's personal preference, of course, and is likely because I'm not a huge thrill junkie).

So agree with the screen fatigue. Too much reliance on the 3D stuff at Universal. We were very happy to get “home” to WDW after 1 day at Universal, although HP area was excellent and the FP’s on every ride was wonderful.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Universal Orlando is closer in feel to Disneyland in California. Not just because of the two parks connected by citywalk/downtown Disney areas, but the tone. The Florida Disney parks are pretty boring, but Disneyland is alive, vital. There's more of a party atmosphere and people actually having fun as opposed to sweaty, smelly miserable tourists confused that they're supposed to walk through the doors when they open in the Haunted Mansion.

I may be in the minority, but several key attractions at Universal are among my favorites and in my opinion superior to Disney offerings.

E.T. is the closest to a warm and fuzzy classic charming dark ride you'd find at Disney and while not as technically impressive as Pirates, it's on the level of The Haunted Mansion for me.

The Cat in the Hat ride is a zany irreverent Fantasyland style dark ride on steroids and far more satisfying.

Spider-Man is still one of the best "E Ticket" rides and better than Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror or whatever modern rides are considered the best at Disney. The Avatar ride? I liked the Skull Island ride more than that.

 

[OG Runner]

Universal Orlando is closer in feel to Disneyland in California. Not just because of the two parks connected by citywalk/downtown Disney areas, but the tone. The Florida Disney parks are pretty boring, but Disneyland is alive, vital. There's more of a party atmosphere and people actually having fun as opposed to sweaty, smelly miserable tourists confused that they're supposed to walk through the doors when they open in the Haunted Mansion.

I may be in the minority, but several key attractions at Universal are among my favorites and in my opinion superior to Disney offerings.

E.T. is the closest to a warm and fuzzy classic charming dark ride you'd find at Disney and while not as technically impressive as Pirates, it's on the level of The Haunted Mansion for me.

The Cat in the Hat ride is a zany irreverent Fantasyland style dark ride on steroids and far more satisfying.

Spider-Man is still one of the best "E Ticket" rides and better than Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror or whatever modern rides are considered the best at Disney. The Avatar ride? I liked the Skull Island ride more than that.

Which is why there is more than one company with "amusement" parks in Florida. Different people with different likes and dislikes.
Personally I enjoyed E.T. very much. (excellent comparison). The Cat in the Hat, (also a good comparison), was a good ride, and excellent
expression of the book, but Peter Pan kicks its little Cat .... (IMHO) Skull Island, again a great ride, but honestly no where near as
immersive as Flight of Passage. Like I said though, different opinions are why none of the Parks are hurting for customers.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Universal also seems to draw less annoying family crowds than Disney. No offense to anyone. Well...whatever. What I'm getting at is there aren't baby carriages and screaming kiddies everywhere in Universal. Like Captain Picard, I'm not a family man and while I'm not entirely cold-hearted, my patience with this sort of thing is always tested at Disney, never at Universal.

I've even gone into Disney at times in the best of moods and actually excusing obnoxious behavior, but at some point my mood deteriorates and I become incredibly annoyed. I've never had a kid humping my leg or swinging around on a railing or even loudly asking dumb kid questions while their parents respond to them in an infantile manner in my vicinity at UO. I don't even think I've encountered a bratty kid there. It MUST be a Disney thing.

 

[JoeCamel]

Universal also seems to draw less annoying family crowds than Disney. No offense to anyone. Well...whatever. What I'm getting at is there aren't baby carriages and screaming kiddies everywhere in Universal. Like Captain Picard, I'm not a family man and while I'm not entirely cold-hearted, my patience with this sort of thing is always tested at Disney, never at Universal.

I've even gone into Disney at times in the best of moods and actually excusing obnoxious behavior, but at some point my mood deteriorates and I become incredibly annoyed. I've never had a kid humping my leg or swinging around on a railing or even loudly asking dumb kid questions while their parents respond to them in an infantile manner in my vicinity at UO. I don't even think I've encountered a bratty kid there. It MUST be a Disney thing.

I've seen the railing hang/swing at Universal. I even did it as a kid myself to the point of annoyance. I also see crying whiny kids, screaming kids and all that you see at WDW but there just aren't so dang many of them!