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Is Universal superior on some levels?
- Thread starter tigfan
- Start date
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
cmatt
Active Member
meh - at least it is warmer than the frozen north kind sir :lookaroun
I have been to Universal in Fl and in CA. Sure, the food is better and the parks were fun enough - but I don't feel the desire to return like I do with WDW. I still consider Universal just an amusement park with lots of coasters, better than Six Flags, but in the same league. Totally different atmosphere than with Disney.
Alexx
Member
I've been to disney AND universal and i can't decide on which one i like more.
People come up with reasons why universal is superior to disney then people can come up with reasons why disney is superior to universal.
You can't really compare them, they're completely different parks.
People come up with reasons why universal is superior to disney then people can come up with reasons why disney is superior to universal.
You can't really compare them, they're completely different parks.
ChrisFL
Premium Member
It's these types of quotes that really bother me. Where is a Six Flags studio park with dark rides and heavy theming?
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
I've definitely seen the "difference in attendance" as far as types of people. USO attracts more teens than Disney does as Disney attracts more "families" than USO does.
Don't believe me? Go to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and then go to Halloween Horror Nights. Sure, that's the extreme...but you'll definitely notice two completely different crowds.
IoA is a much better theme park than Universal Studios. It's the same reason the DHS is the worst "theme park" of the 4 (IMO). Universal and DHS were studios that were converted to theme parks whereas the others started out as theme parks.
It's a lot easier to build an idea from the ground up than to build an idea into something that's already existing.
My idea of a "Movie Studios Theme Park" would be a place where you can "Ride the Movies" or experience different aspects of the making of a movie. Universal Studios does this MUCH better than DHS.
1. Jaws
2. E.T.
3. MIB
4. Back to the Future (RIP)...and now "The Simpsons"
5. Terminator
6. Twister
7. Shrek
8. Mummy
9. Jimmy Neutron (Not sure if this is a movie)
10. Beetlejuice
vs.
1. Beauty & the Beast
2. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
3. Rock n Rollercoaster (Whuh?)
4. Great Movie Ride
5. Indiana Jones
6. Toy Story Mania
7. Lights, Motors, Action!
8. MuppetVision 3D
9. One Man's Dream
10. Animation Tour
11. Backlot Tour
12. Fantasmic
13. Star Tours
These are just some...
Notice that all of the Universal attractions deal with very popular and successful movies...whereas the DHS attractions seem a little "mish-mashed" with no rhyme or reason.
Basically we have movies (Beauty & the Beast, Great Movie Ride, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars). We have television (Twilight Zone and Muppets). We have "How the movies are made" (Lights Motors Action, Animation Tour, Backlot Tour). Then we have those attractions that don't really fit in at all (Rock n Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania, and Fantasmic). One Man's Dream gets a slide because it's all about how the Disney studios began...
People will attack me about my attractions that don't fit...
Rock n Rollercoaster is not about a music studio and how music deals with movies. No, the attraction (while fun) is about making it to a rock concert on time. This has NOTHING to do with movies, television, or the movie-making experience.
Toy Story Mania (although I won't be sure until after I ride it) only has a movie connection because of the characters in the attraction. It has nothing to do with the movies or movie-making experience. (Like I said, I could be wrong).
Fantasmic...again, great attraction...but has nothing do with the "studio" theme.
I like the idea of them adding "Pixar Place" because it could be turned into a "Movie Studio Gathering" and have different small studios in the large theme park...but, unless I'm wrong, TSM really has nothing to do with the theme of the park. If they had the Toy Story characters in an animation building and you were trying to shoot the bad guys so that the animators couldn't make them come to life...it would at least tie it in.
Don't believe me? Go to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and then go to Halloween Horror Nights. Sure, that's the extreme...but you'll definitely notice two completely different crowds.
IoA is a much better theme park than Universal Studios. It's the same reason the DHS is the worst "theme park" of the 4 (IMO). Universal and DHS were studios that were converted to theme parks whereas the others started out as theme parks.
It's a lot easier to build an idea from the ground up than to build an idea into something that's already existing.
My idea of a "Movie Studios Theme Park" would be a place where you can "Ride the Movies" or experience different aspects of the making of a movie. Universal Studios does this MUCH better than DHS.
1. Jaws
2. E.T.
3. MIB
4. Back to the Future (RIP)...and now "The Simpsons"
5. Terminator
6. Twister
7. Shrek
8. Mummy
9. Jimmy Neutron (Not sure if this is a movie)
10. Beetlejuice
vs.
1. Beauty & the Beast
2. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
3. Rock n Rollercoaster (Whuh?)
4. Great Movie Ride
5. Indiana Jones
6. Toy Story Mania
7. Lights, Motors, Action!
8. MuppetVision 3D
9. One Man's Dream
10. Animation Tour
11. Backlot Tour
12. Fantasmic
13. Star Tours
These are just some...
Notice that all of the Universal attractions deal with very popular and successful movies...whereas the DHS attractions seem a little "mish-mashed" with no rhyme or reason.
Basically we have movies (Beauty & the Beast, Great Movie Ride, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars). We have television (Twilight Zone and Muppets). We have "How the movies are made" (Lights Motors Action, Animation Tour, Backlot Tour). Then we have those attractions that don't really fit in at all (Rock n Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania, and Fantasmic). One Man's Dream gets a slide because it's all about how the Disney studios began...
People will attack me about my attractions that don't fit...
Rock n Rollercoaster is not about a music studio and how music deals with movies. No, the attraction (while fun) is about making it to a rock concert on time. This has NOTHING to do with movies, television, or the movie-making experience.
Toy Story Mania (although I won't be sure until after I ride it) only has a movie connection because of the characters in the attraction. It has nothing to do with the movies or movie-making experience. (Like I said, I could be wrong).
Fantasmic...again, great attraction...but has nothing do with the "studio" theme.
I like the idea of them adding "Pixar Place" because it could be turned into a "Movie Studio Gathering" and have different small studios in the large theme park...but, unless I'm wrong, TSM really has nothing to do with the theme of the park. If they had the Toy Story characters in an animation building and you were trying to shoot the bad guys so that the animators couldn't make them come to life...it would at least tie it in.
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
I know
What I don't get is that people complain about "character invasion" of attractions. Well, at DHS ESPECIALLY there should be characters. Movies have characters in them.
My first choice would be a complete revamp of the entire park. Have sections that deal with different genres of movies. The Great Movie Ride could STILL remain where it is because it could act as the "hub attraction." Horror, Comedy, Animation, Action, Sci-Fi, Drama, etc.
My next choice...would be the direction they MAY be headed...which I'm a fan of.
Pixar Place, Lucasfilm Studios, WDC, Burton's, Spielberg, etc. All of the big directors/studios could have a section of the park that highlights their films and accomplishments.
ChrisFL
Premium Member
Well actually Spielberg already has his...consider how many Universal attractions he was involved in:
Jaws
MIB
BTTF (RIP)
E.T.
Jurassic Park
Fievel's Playland
Edit: forgot Shrek also
Fun2BFree
Active Member
Hey, I'm going to attack you about the attractions that don't fit. :wave:
DHS is about show business, not just movies and television. Show business incorporates music (and Broadway) too, making RNRC an ideal fit (though I would disagree with its placement on Sunset Boulevard).
Toy Story Mania isn't a literal retelling of the movie but rather an extension of the franchise, as you've quite rightly pointed out. However, it could be argued that Star Tours and Muppet*Vision 3-D, both counted as fitting in with your theme, are also not retellings but rather new experiences.
Fantasmic could be argued for using both arguments, being both a Broadway-style show and a partial retelling of several Disney films.
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
New experiences yes. Star Tours...is basically taking you to the last battle of A New Hope. You're reliving the movie experience just from a different point of view. MuppetVision puts you in the Muppet Theater just like you were in the audience of the old Muppet show. It makes you feel like you're part of it. TSM (from what we know) is a completely different experience that has nothing to do with the films aside from using the same characters. There wasn't a carnival in either of the Toy Story films and they never mentioned carnivals. They had the ride designed for DCA because it fits with the theme of Paradise Pier and they decided to plop that idea/theme into DHS because it needed an attraction. So, unless they revamp the story a little to fit into the them of DHS, it truly doesn't belong. (It's similar to designing a winch and brush-guard for an SUV...and putting it on a sports car. It may work...but it won't look or feel right)
Again, Fantasmic works better in a Magic Kingdom setting. It was designed for it...and DHS needed a new nighttime show and they had the room for a large theater.
I can see your argument for Rock n Rollercoaster...but getting through traffic quickly to get to the "show biz" area...and having no real "show biz" area doesn't focus on showbiz...it focuses on how cool it can be to get backstage passes and get to the show on time.
(I like these discussions!) It opens your eyes...for instance, I hadn't even thought of the "show-biz" aspect of RnR.
hrcollectibles
Active Member
Just to let you know The Simpsons Replaced Back to the Future. The Hanna Barbera one was replaced by Jimmy Nutron.
I like the Shrek attraction but miss the attraction it replaced. Alfred Hitchcock...
I prefer the Disney Parks for the fell you get...
Hmmmm... I'm not really sure that's the best comparison to make. It doesn't really illustrate the difference between the "typical" Universal clientele versus the typical Disney clientele. The events you're referring to are specific events in and of themselves. They are not permanent fixtures of their respective parks. Each has a particular clientele they are marketing to. With Halloween Horror Nights, they are not marketing to families, so of course you're not going to see families go to that, like you would at MNSSHP.
Sorry, but that's not exactly correct (Not sure where you got this information). Perhaps you're thinking of Universal Studios in California, which is a vastly different concept than the one in Florida. It did start out as solely a movie studio and didn't become anywhere near being a theme park until the 60's (and even then, it was nothing more than a tram tour until the 90s). Universal (Florida) and DHS, on the other hand, started out primarily as theme parks from the very beginning. The original idea was to also produce films and television shows at both these places (and that did occur to a small degree), but that was ALWAYS their secondary purpose. Both were built first and foremost to be theme parks. Of course, any film and TV production is all but nonexistent these days at either park. But neither started out as a studio that was later "converted" to a theme park.
This is something I tend to hear from time to time, and it's unfortunate that so many people mistakenly judge Universal Orlando based solely on their experience with Universal Hollywood. They are two very very different parks. I think that anyone who has been to Disneyland in California and then goes to Magic Kingdom (or vice versa) quickly realizes the two parks are extremely similar (to the typical non-Disney fan, they probably appear to be identical). So I wonder sometimes if that's why people assume the same will hold true of the two Universal Studios parks.
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
But, in their intent, they were built with the necessities to be a working studio. In doing so, the layout couldn't exactly be the ideal way to build a theme park. Their goal was to be a theme park and a working studio. Certain things needed for a theme park needed to be sacrificed in order to be able to work as a studio. For instance, you don't see the hub/spoke design or any "easy flow" throughout either of these parks. Because they are not a working studio anymore, they can make the changes necessary to fix what they couldn't do when it was a working studio.
As I said, the comparison as far as clientele went was an extreme. Let's do this...go to IoA and count the number of average families you see...(mom, dad, 2 1/2 kids). See how long it takes you to get to 100. Now go into any of the other parks at Disney...see how long it takes you. I would almost guarantee on Disney's slowest day you would get to that number faster than on IoA's normal day. This isn't a bad thing...just what I've noticed.
Also, I think the fact that those halloween events specifically cater to "adults only" (not that they promote it that way) should tell you something. In October, if you're going to have a Universal Orlando vacation, you do not want your child in the parks once that Halloween event starts. What kind of "family place" is that? On the flipside...not too many teens/young adults would choose MNSSHP over HHN. (aside from us nuts :lol: ).
Kids = family. Teens/young adults do not. Why? Kids need to be accompanied by a parent or parents. A child accompanied by a parent or parents is a family. Teens and young adults can go by themselves or with groups of friends.
Given a classroom of 3-10 year olds...I would say that the majority would choose Disney World. Again, this is really just a numbers game and unless a study comes out we will never know. This is just my opinion based on what I've witnessed with my own eyes and nothing more.
Okay, that makes more sense. When you put it that way, I see your point (and I think it's a valid one).
On this one I think I may have misunderstood you and assumed that you were describing the "different" clientele at Universal as the "ghetto" type (as others have said). My bad for making that assumption without reading your post more carefully. I just have failed to notice, I guess, a crowd at Universal that appears any less respectable than what you tend to see at Disney. HHN is definitely an exception to that rule though. That's a major cool event, but I wasn't wild about the crowds the one time I went to it.
I think the point you make, though, about families being more prevalent at Disney is a very valid one. Disney is the master at marketing to families, and a lot of theme parks are discovering that that's where the money is to be made. Teens go on rides and buy sodas and hamburgers. Families eat at sit down restaurants and buy tons of souvenirs! So Disney is smart to market that way and to make it their brand.
However, as someone who has no kids, I kind of like the change of pace (and different style of entertainment) that Universal offers....just for a change every now and then.
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
:lol: No, I didn't notice any more "ghetto" people... Maybe teens that dress like they're from the ghetto (or pretend to be due to some fashion sense) but nothing out of the ordinary :lol:
I completely agree with you about the change of pace with Universal
I'm in the same boat as you. I love Disney but sometimes even I need a break from "the magic" and go someplace else