Is it really that bad, and is it really that good?

[Runmyhorse]

I can "handle" someone talking about Disney, I am not that fragile. I am sure as my kids get older we will go to Uni and we will have a blast, me personally I will always prefer Disney....more memories. They may prefer Uni, who knows and it doesnt really matter. From a growth standpoint, does Universal have the same land ownership that Disney does? That may be the eventual difference.

I believe uni can and will handle everything just fine. Uni really is putting a butt whooping on disney anf the future plans only prove it. disney is going on the nostalgic of everyone. Its banking on people's thinking like that. I have those feelings to as I grew up on disney and with disney in my life. Made awesome memories with family there, but every year disney delines and uni rises. Its right there in everyone's face. Some just refuse to see it. I dare anyobe to spend a day at uni and a day at disney and see what the difference in attitude and ect is. As sad as it makes me.to say.

 

[draybook]

Whoever thinks that Disney is still "family friendly" obviously doesn't go during any of the warm months when the Brazilians are there. Any less clothing and they'd be in beach wear.

And don't get me started on all of the shirts I saw that said things like "every damn day" and 'I need to poop".

 

[ChevisMickey]

A couple of things that Uni (I just like calling them that after the unicorn from the old Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series) needs to look at are hours and access. The hours match well with Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, however EPCOT and Magic Kingdom hours go beyond Uni and IOA hours for most of the year. It really surprised me that neither park stayed open until at least 9 when I went, not even on weekends. It makes no sense to me, but they must have reasons, and you cannot claim 'off season' for any park in Orlando these days. Second, with all of the proposed construction out and in the parks it sounds like a potential nightmare for the next few years if they are not careful. I hope they do it right since I just bought passes and will likely renew them next year if they keep up the good work.

 

[luv]

I can "handle" someone talking about Disney, I am not that fragile. I am sure as my kids get older we will go to Uni and we will have a blast, me personally I will always prefer Disney....more memories. They may prefer Uni, who knows and it doesnt really matter. From a growth standpoint, does Universal have the same land ownership that Disney does? That may be the eventual difference.

If you have the money and the time, you should take your children to Uni. I get that you have a personal preference and are very loyal to Disney...and that's great. Nothing wrong with preferring one or the other.

People who skip Disney or Uni due to personal preferences have kids who miss out on the fun, though.

 

[ChevisMickey]

Whoever thinks that Disney is still "family friendly" obviously doesn't go during any of the warm months when the Brazilians are there. Any less clothing and they'd be in beach wear.

And don't get me started on all of the shirts I saw that said things like "every damn day" and 'I need to poop".

I would rather them have shirts on that aren't too vulgar over the shirtless teens roaming and running around Uni. The only time the staff got involved was when they were getting in line or on rides.

 

[Gabe1]

I just never thought of comparing those two structures based on their size. From a forced perspective view I see what you are saying, and Hogwarts either way is more impressive. Any argument of the size, the use, or the differences would lead back to what each company invested and built, so it just boils down to that discussion anyway.

I just re-read my two posts that you quoted. Help me out, where are you coming up with I focused on the size? Did I read correctly you have not been to the Uni parks in almost a decade? In fairness it is difficult to be critical of two parks that have been updated dramatically since your last trip.

Is that really the only difference you see is size between the two mountains and building? You don't see the difference in the rock imagineering, you don't see the difference in the landscaping? You don't see the difference in the building details? My post that you originally quoted listed the differences and you are condensing that to comparing sizes? That was to the point a few posts ago, some guests can only find fault with Uni and not give them the Kudos they deserve when their imagineers hit one out of the park.

I'm still in awe of the details Uni's imagineers created all these years later. I don't believe you have to be a Harry Potter fan to look up and admire what they pulled off.

 

[LondonGopher]

I've been pondering this topic for a few days - so sorry - I think this is going to be a LONG post - but it's relevant (or I guess we'll see...).

I'm originally from Saint Paul, moved to London to marry my husband (he's from Holloway - c'mon the Gunners blah, blah, blah...). The first few years we were married, we went back to Minnesota for Christmas - my husband's folks have both passed away and I wanted MY "family Christmas", as it had always been, just better - with my new husband included. But then we became parents (and the airfares more than doubled...) and we decided to celebrate Christmas here, in England, just our "little family".

The first year I felt a bit sad as the big day approached, thinking of all the things I would miss - all the things that would be "different". But when my hubby went back to work on January 2nd - I realized that our little family Christmas had been...great. And over these last few years the things that were once new and different have become our Christmas traditions. These are the things that my kid will associate with Christmas. And while I sometimes do wish that it was still the way it was for me as a kid - my son will treasure his memories in the way I treasure the DIFFERENT memories of MY childhood.

How does this relate to the Disney/Universal thing? I'm sure you can see it coming...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I grew up in the nightclub business - we didn't get away much because if my dad wasn't working, he wasn't being paid - but we went to WDW three times during my childhood. Stayed at the Contemporary once, the Golf Resort twice. For all of us (but especially for my dad, who had to swim in some pretty nasty stuff every night at work) going to Disney was a TOTAL ESCAPE from real life. At WDW everyone was polite and respectful - the air was full of tempting smells - wonderful music (all different) drifted out from around every corner - and on and on....not to mention the unique rides/attractions - with ORIGINAL music (Imagination (Dreamfinder) and Horizons were my favorites). My dad (long gone to Glory) would bring his little tape recorder and just wander around recording this and that...he loved it. And I LOVE these memories. How things were then, for MY family, in this place we adored. This is what Disney did so well - the ESCAPE is what created "the bubble" that everyone talks about. Disney always seemed to be S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G what an amusement park could be. Who would greenlight Horizons today?

Last year, I took my son to WDW for the first time. I wanted those feelings again, this time with my husband and kid. To me, it seemed like that ESCAPE wasn't as evident. The extras that provided that feeling (lots of live music, CMs who all seemed to go above and beyond, can't find anything like it anywhere else attractions)...not so much. We still had a great time and with one exception (a NASTY Chinese CM at Beach Club check-in) OK CM interaction. But I wanted more. If the extras are gone, then surely there should be more/bigger/better attractions. Right? No.

It seemed like most things are now about REINFORCING the bubble (this means you, DINING PLAN! and wristbands and on and on) so guests are forced to make decisions based MORE on dollars and not on desire.

I have been to Universal twice (stayed off property 1st visit, at Royal Pacific 2nd). I loved the rides - LOVED, LOVED, LOVED what was essentially a FOTL pass (slow season) and Man! IOA has some gorgeous architecture. But RP felt like a convention hotel (which, to be fair, it is - but, still, no soul) and the CMs seemed like ones that couldn't get on at WDW. Theme park JV, if you will. Photographers who pushed you to pose for pictures, ride operators who were jobsworths...And of course, I had no memories of enjoying Uni with my much-beloved father to blur the outlines. Still had fun, but my brother and I agreed (2007) - NOT AS GOOD AS DISNEY.

2013 - Uni still has the best bubble feature of all (the ride pass) but now they are also jamming their parks with new stuff available to ALL GUESTS. Rides! I LOVE rides, and I am EXTREMELY keen to try Harry Potter (and Portofino!) so next year - now that my kid is tall enough for almost all the Uni rides - we are going for a Uni vacation (and a week on Sanibel - small one OBSESSED with seashells). Because I love my Disney memories, but my kid doesn't have them. He experienced a different Disney (it was still heaps of fun).

I know Portofino will be great (bro stayed there with SIL and was impressed, mightily) and am hoping (hope, hope) that the CMs are as improved as described by the Uni-lovers here. I am more than willing to let Uni be my new Christmas - or maybe Uni AND Disney will be it for us. But for this trip, I am voting with my feet. I vote for rides - for investments I can see and hear (and ride...wink). Jam the bubble with GREAT STUFF so that I want to stay. Don't just make it painful for me to leave.

I can visit Olivander's with my kid - we can fight crime with Spiderman. We can't bond over RFID.

A thousand apologies that this is so long. I CHERISH my WDW memories. I want Disney to get that! I think we may only understand what is really happening NOW when our kids decide where to take THEIR kids on holiday...

 

[Gabe1]

There is a multi attraction Jurassic Park expansion already started and The Lorax Dark Ride has been fast tracked. Both of those will be open in 2015.

Yeah what he said. Uni is Disney World of yesteryear with their additions to the parks.

And at WDW we look forward to some rough thoughts about Avatar in what 2016 or 2017?
And we don't really know how big of an expansion that will be. Dwarf will be what it is an expensive smallish coaster, so Disney will have both Goofy and Dwarf wedged together in same area. I'm really hoping this is going to be a grand addition to knock BoG down as the Crown Jewel of FLE, but I'm beyond guarded.

 

[draybook]

Second, with all of the proposed construction out and in the parks it sounds like a potential nightmare for the next few years if they are not careful.

True, but Uni doesn't have the Sea of Strollers that Disney does, so navigating the parks is much easier. No offense to all of the stroller users here but geesh, it's a PITA navigating the MK with strollers jutting out halfway into the paths.

 

[flyerjab]

A couple of things that Uni (I just like calling them that after the unicorn from the old Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series) needs to look at are hours and access. The hours match well with Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, however EPCOT and Magic Kingdom hours go beyond Uni and IOA hours for most of the year. It really surprised me that neither park stayed open until at least 9 when I went, not even on weekends. It makes no sense to me, but they must have reasons, and you cannot claim 'off season' for any park in Orlando these days. Second, with all of the proposed construction out and in the parks it sounds like a potential nightmare for the next few years if they are not careful. I hope they do it right since I just bought passes and will likely renew them next year if they keep up the good work.

What an excellent reference in your post! I used to look forward to that cartoon every Saturday morning as a kid.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I believe that this past year will be the worst for construction walls. Potter doesn't impede traffic flow. The JP expansion will mostly be behind Thunder Falls Terrace and in the Triceratops Encounter plot which are currently inaccessible to guests. The Lorax ride will be outside of the current parks boundaries so that won't effect guest flow. So the next major project that will be inconvenient for guests will be the Toon Lagoon replacement and given the size of the land and the project I wouldn't be surprised if the whole area is closed off forcing people to go the other way around the park. And that will be inconvenient. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Oh, and look for KidZone to be completely walled off too when they get to that redo.

 

[Mark In KY]

While you and I have a mutual respect for each other, it's that type of attitude that Disney is banking on and is allowing them to give less product for more money.

I have nothing but respect for you (and the admirable Horse). But remember, I'm coming at this from a different perspective (and not a forced one). Imagine that you are an almost 60 year old, divorced guy making over 6 figures a year whose kids are grown, who has no grandchildren and goes to WDW to capture some of what he enjoyed not only growing up with Disney but what he enjoyed while he was still married and his kids were little. A guy who can totally make his own WDW plans and schedule regarding everything from hotel choice to how many times he's going on Soarin' to spending hours getting pics of every carving on The Tree Of Life. A guy who dates several women casually but none that he would take to WDW for a vacation (the only woman that would make that cut is my ex and I don't think that her husband would go for it).
I "do" WDW in an entirely different way, with entirely different motivations, than a young couple with young kids.

 

[draybook]

But the fact remains the same, you're getting less for your money as we all are. Price increase with less EMH....check.

The same CMs that don't care if you're solo or with family..check.

The same broken effects on the rides whether you're solo or not...check.

Disney should be held to the highest standards by anyone and everyone that sets foot there.

 

[Mark In KY]

Yes Mark, we are all simpletons. You've got us all figured out.

It couldn't be that both companies simultaneously opened castles on rock mountains. And only one of them is REALLY impressive.

I don't think that any of you are "simpletons". I don't insult other posters, that is obviously your territory.

Yours and others posts merely read like ads for Uni. That is your "right" as it is others "rights" to post their favoratism of Disney.

 

[Mark In KY]

But the fact remains the same, you're getting less for your money as we all are. Price increase with less EMH....check.

The same CMs that don't care if you're solo or with family..check.

The same broken effects on the rides whether you're solo or not...check.

Disney should be held to the highest standards by anyone and everyone that sets foot there.

I've been going since the 1970s and never once had a "bad" CM experience. On the contrary I've had some awesome conversations with CMs merely by noticing the location on their nametag and asking them about the college or town written there. As I've lived in 16 different states for school and work I usually can find a common thread. When I was with wife and kids there was "no time" to do this. Now I have nothing but. I've discovered that the WS CMs in the shops are so bored out of their minds that the simple question about their home can lead to learning tons about places overseas. Couldn't do that when the kids were tugging on my arm to head to Maelstrom and the wife wanted to move on to the next "country".
I've seen the Yeti (a WDWMagic cause celeb) in full working mode. The milliseconds that it took to pass it didn't make me stand up and cheer and its lack of movement doesn't cause me to dwell on disappointment for the rest of my trip, or life.
Getting less for the money is something that I've come to expect from everything in life, not just vacations and resorts. My medical insurance premiums have increased at the same time that my copay and deductible have. I pay a lot more for the same gallon of gas that I bought years ago. A movie ticket and a bucket of popcorn are a lot more for the same 100 minute film that I used to see for a lot less. I have the same exact electric and water service that I had last year but the rates for both have increased. And the local vendors are now charging $10.99 for the same 6 pack of IPA that used to be $7.99. It's still 6 bottles, the bottles are still the same size. Restaurants have greatly decreased their serving staff so now the "wait" is longer and the attention to each customer is less. And coming at it from the other angle, Medicare has decreased what they pay me for seeing and treating a patient in the ED with chest pain. I am still obligated to provide the same level of care as before, I am still required to maintain all the "little pieces of paper" that the Feds and State require me to pay for, I am still required to carry the same malpractice insurance whose premiums have increased without an increase in coverage levels. So "paying more for less" is something that I've come to terms with and not only as it relates to WDW.

 

[Mark In KY]

Whoever thinks that Disney is still "family friendly" obviously doesn't go during any of the warm months when the Brazilians are there. Any less clothing and they'd be in beach wear.

And don't get me started on all of the shirts I saw that said things like "every damn day" and 'I need to poop".

Partially clothed (or if you prefer, seminaked Brazilians), something else I couldn't enjoy while traveling with the wife and kids.

 

[ToyStorygirl]

Partially clothed (or if you prefer, seminaked Brazilians), something else I couldn't enjoy while traveling with the wife and kids.

LOL!

Actually on this point (which I know you didn't make) I was a gruesome teenager and all through the 90's wore heavy metal t'shirts with pretty hideous designs on. Nobody batted an eyelid. It's not new for non family friendly tops to be worn.

 

[Runmyhorse]

LOL!

Actually on this point (which I know you didn't make) I was a gruesome teenager and all through the 90's wore heavy metal t'shirts with pretty hideous designs on. Nobody batted an eyelid. It's not new for non family friendly tops to be worn.

I think draybook was more referring to the girls where there shorts were in tue butty crack and all the way up the sides with more then half the cheeks out. These girls were like 15 maybe 2 yrs older than my daughter. There is no way and heck she would even walk out of the house in those.

Mark Its always nice to see you again.

 

[Mark In KY]

LOL!

Actually on this point (which I know you didn't make) I was a gruesome teenager and all through the 90's wore heavy metal t'shirts with pretty hideous designs on. Nobody batted an eyelid. It's not new for non family friendly tops to be worn.

You should have seen us all in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nothing but hair and bellbottoms. And the only way to be cooler was to wear bigger and bigger bellbottoms. I finally had a pair that a family of 7 could have lived under.

On a trip to WDW last year I was coming out of the HM and walking behind a guy who had to go a good 350 lb. He was wearing a wifebeater imprinted with the message, "Mess with me and you mess with the whole trailer park". Fat rolls everywhere. But compared to the woman with him he was well covered up and dressed. She had to go a good 250 lb. I'm pretty sure that they weren't Brazilian.

There is mucho sight pollution in 'Mur-i-ca everywhere you go, and plenty of self-important rudeness too. Not just at WDW. Most of them ain't fer-i-ners.

 

[Mark In KY]

I think draybook was more referring to the girls where there shorts were in tue butty crack and all the way up the sides with more then half the cheeks out. These girls were like 15 maybe 2 yrs older than my daughter. There is no way and heck she would even walk out of the house in those.

Mark Its always nice to see you again.

HORSE!! How ya been ya lil devil? Keepin' 'em straight down there? I am really really sorry that y'all didn't have a great time on your recent WDW trip. That just sucks. I wish that I could fix it for you.

When I see them Brazilian butt cheeks I think, "You got a single, older sister/cousin/aunt? Or maybe your Mom is single and looking?"