LOL Universal compares them self better than disney

[Zummi Gummi]

You see, I think Universal is boring. Halloween Horror Nights is scary to the point where it only caters to a small crowd. By the time Harry Potter is finished the books and movies will only be a memory. Same thing with the Simpsons most liklely. To me the big difference between Disney and Universal is that many of the rides in Universal never have any shot of being relevant again. Marvel Island is one exception. However, Dr. Seuss land was created around an author who is not writing books anymore, so there is no shot at something new appearing. The Mummy is a series of movies which may or may not see a fourth installment and then will be done. Harry Potter is a great book and movie series, but is over now, and the movies will be done before the land opens and people will be on to something new. Most rides there are so outdated that a good portion of the population shows up, and they're either too young to know the movies or it's something someone barely remembers from 10 years ago.

The rides in Disney follow things that are either classical movies, things that are currently in fashion, have things with them such as Broadway plays that are still avaliable today, or are rides made exclusively for the park. Disney rides feature ongoing characters, legendary figures, and ongoing memories like Mickey Mouse, Donald, Goofy, the Yeti, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da, and many more items which are relavent to people whether young or old.

Rides like the Simpsons or Potter will only have meaning for a certain generation of people, once they are done, they're done, there will be nothing more. No promise of more to come. Basically Universal takes certain trends and jumps one them about 5-10 years too late. Last time I was there the only rides that had characters in them which were still relavent were located on Marvel Island and Shrek 3D. Everything else was outdated, never seen, or forgotten. They have about 3 classic characters in the entire park(Popeye, ET, and Dudley Do-Right) to go along with the comic book characters. Those are about the only things in the parks which you can guarantee everyone is going to know. Everything else there, if you did not grow up with the stuff, you'll have no clue or vaguely remember it. You can't beat the annual pass price though if you're gonna be there 2 or 3 times in a year.

Actually, i have to disagree about the relevance of Harry Potter. That is a franchise that I believe will endure for years, and will remain quite popular for a looooooooooong time.

 

[malice]

i just returned from my first visit to universal orlando. i enjoyed IOA immensely (minus the sinbad show--it was embarrassingly bad), but i have nothing kind to say about that studios park.

the $30 express pass puzzled me, as almost every attraction was a walk on (minus pteradon flyers...that thing is a beast; and it's exempt from express pass. i had to go on it first thing after opening on my last day).

i was able to finish the studio park in under 4 hours (i'm from LA and did not want to repeat the shows at USH nor revisit long extinct USH shows such as beetlejuice) and IOA did every attraction before closing time.

 

[tirian]

Actually, i have to disagree about the relevance of Harry Potter. That is a franchise that I believe will endure for years, and will remain quite popular for a looooooooooong time.

I hope so!

I hope that Universal picks up more business and gives Disney better competition so that WDW stays alert!

 

[MIDisneyFamily]

Disney competes with a lot more parks then just Universal. Universal is not the only reason for Disney to stay ahead of the game. It dosnt hurt though to have them up the road to keep Disney even more alert.

 

[Chezman1399]

Actually, i have to disagree about the relevance of Harry Potter. That is a franchise that I believe will endure for years, and will remain quite popular for a looooooooooong time.

I like Harry Potter, but I don't see it lasting, books and movies as well usually don't sell years down the road. They sell best upon first release for the most part. Those people who aren't into it most likely won't get into it, and those that were too young for it or not born will have something new. Also besides a few hardcore fans, most people will take those books move on and never read them again. For a movie series, no matter how much I love them and I do, they are pretty average movies. TheTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were huge when I was groing up, and they were around for almost 10 years before that, the most they ever got was a cheesy Meet and Greet at MGM. They've now had almost 30 years of staying power, and you could create around them, they have food, ideas for rides, good guys, villains. Harry could have a Hogwarts cafeteria, I couldn't really see too much to base a ride off of unless they did something similar to ET, maybe something that dealt with flying, and by the time it ends, and I haven't read the book, but I assume most of the villains are going to be dead with no hope of returning.

I think A better series to work with would be Lord of the Rings. There is just so much and it has proved to be a timeless tale(50+ years), if you are going to stay in a fantasy world that is. People have been reading those books for years, award winning movies, succesful video games, one liners taken from the movies, other books associated with it(i.e. The Hobbit).

I'm not a big fan of LoTR but I think it would make more sense as an all encompasing Theme Park area. However, I hope Universal proves me wrong so I actually have a reason to use my annual pass more than just 3 times a year and to get 15% off at Margaritaville.

 

[DocHoliday]

Universal was best in the 90's but they are still very good. I am into more immersion than thrills will little substance. Disney and Unversal are the only two places that do this well. Harry Potter will be good Universal which will make Disney up their game. In works out for everybody across the board.

 

[mep517]

PP, I agree -- you would never see a Universal reference in a Disney ad. Low class IMO. I've been to Universal Orlando and while I admit it's a good time, you can't duplicate Disney magic. THAT's what sets WDW apart -- an overall sense of magic that touches each and every square inch of the property. It wouldn't matter to me if Universal had 20 coasters and Disney had none -- it's the magic that I go for.

 

[mac41099]

I like Harry Potter, but I don't see it lasting, books and movies as well usually don't sell years down the road. They sell best upon first release for the most part. Those people who aren't into it most likely won't get into it, and those that were too young for it or not born will have something new. Also besides a few hardcore fans, most people will take those books move on and never read them again. For a movie series, no matter how much I love them and I do, they are pretty average movies. TheTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were huge when I was groing up, and they were around for almost 10 years before that, the most they ever got was a cheesy Meet and Greet at MGM. They've now had almost 30 years of staying power, and you could create around them, they have food, ideas for rides, good guys, villains. Harry could have a Hogwarts cafeteria, I couldn't really see too much to base a ride off of unless they did something similar to ET, maybe something that dealt with flying, and by the time it ends, and I haven't read the book, but I assume most of the villains are going to be dead with no hope of returning.

I think A better series to work with would be Lord of the Rings. There is just so much and it has proved to be a timeless tale(50+ years), if you are going to stay in a fantasy world that is. People have been reading those books for years, award winning movies, succesful video games, one liners taken from the movies, other books associated with it(i.e. The Hobbit).

I'm not a big fan of LoTR but I think it would make more sense as an all encompasing Theme Park area. However, I hope Universal proves me wrong so I actually have a reason to use my annual pass more than just 3 times a year and to get 15% off at Margaritaville.

The same was probably said about Star Wars 30 years ago. Given they came out with 3 more movies to revive it a bit, but do you really think that this generations Star Wars (referring to Harry Potter) will die away in a few years?

Rowling will allow other authors to continue to write about the HP universe just as Lucas has done and will continue for many, many years.

I am pro-Disney, but also an HP fan and other things out there.

All the old Disney characters have endured (Cinderella, Peter Pan, Snow White, Pooh, etc, etc), so I don't see why HP, Simpsons, etc won't live on well into the century.

 

[mickster]

I like Harry Potter, but I don't see it lasting, books and movies as well usually don't sell years down the road. They sell best upon first release for the most part. Those people who aren't into it most likely won't get into it, and those that were too young for it or not born will have something new. Also besides a few hardcore fans, most people will take those books move on and never read them again. For a movie series, no matter how much I love them and I do, they are pretty average movies. TheTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were huge when I was groing up, and they were around for almost 10 years before that, the most they ever got was a cheesy Meet and Greet at MGM. They've now had almost 30 years of staying power, and you could create around them, they have food, ideas for rides, good guys, villains. Harry could have a Hogwarts cafeteria, I couldn't really see too much to base a ride off of unless they did something similar to ET, maybe something that dealt with flying, and by the time it ends, and I haven't read the book, but I assume most of the villains are going to be dead with no hope of returning.

I think A better series to work with would be Lord of the Rings. There is just so much and it has proved to be a timeless tale(50+ years), if you are going to stay in a fantasy world that is. People have been reading those books for years, award winning movies, succesful video games, one liners taken from the movies, other books associated with it(i.e. The Hobbit).

I'm not a big fan of LoTR but I think it would make more sense as an all encompasing Theme Park area. However, I hope Universal proves me wrong so I actually have a reason to use my annual pass more than just 3 times a year and to get 15% off at Margaritaville.

Well, you're in luck! Looks like Universal is going to get the theme park rights for that franchise too: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=202286

 

[disneyfreak53]

i really hate that when Universal thinks that they are better than Disney. Sure there are some thrill rides there but Disney is alot better overall. I went to Univ. St. Hollywood and, to be honest, it sucked:hurl: they had like 2 good rides; Back to the Future and Jurrasic Park. they had a few shows and not many rides. It was alot dirtier and didn't look like it was well taken care of. At least Disney is clean and friendly and has numerous rides and attractions:ROFLOL: :lol: :sohappy:

 

[poohster]

i thought hotel guests at universal got to go to the front of the que regardless but fastpass holders got to go in the fastpass que, am i wrong becasue we thought that was a great idea, as it is disney hotel guests get no privilages at all except extra hours but how do they get rid of non hotel guests when its evening extra hours and on those days there are that many people, its not worth going on those days anyway

 

[DISMOM]

You know, we might actually consider Universal once they get Harry Potter Land in place. We are huge Harry fans and Disney really really lost out on that one. I guess that hind sight is 20/20. I don't see us going until then, though. When is Potter going to open...2009? Disney til then.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I like Pepsi better than Coke and my Dad can batter your Dad

Nanannananana

 

[JML42691]

i thought hotel guests at universal got to go to the front of the que regardless but fastpass holders got to go in the fastpass que, am i wrong becasue we thought that was a great idea, as it is disney hotel guests get no privilages at all except extra hours but how do they get rid of non hotel guests when its evening extra hours and on those days there are that many people, its not worth going on those days anyway

The fastpass queue puts you in the front of the queue and it is for everybody, not just hotel guests. The CMs at the queue merge are instructed to keep the fastpass line down to an absolute minimum, so the only time that you should see a long fastpass line is at the end of the day when all the people are trying to use their fastpasses before the park closes as well as right after a ride reopens after a breakdown. There is no real difference then between fastpass and whatever US calls theirs. Disney hotel guests get a lot more privledges then just EMH, they get transportation that is reliable and fairly quick, free parking at the parks if you bring a car, and many more.

For evening EMH guests are required to get a wristband by showing their hotel room card and the CM will put it on you. These wristbands are practicaly fool proof as you can really only remove them by cutting them and the have a small plastic thing that makes it impossible to remove and be able to give it to a non disney hotel guest. Also, the wristband color changes nightly.

 

[mickster]

Disney hotel guests get a lot more privledges then just EMH, they get transportation that is reliable and fairly quick, free parking at the parks if you bring a car, and many more.

Not being sarcastic here or anything, but I'm curious what you mean when you say "and many more". Beyond what you listed, I can't really think of any other "privileges" of staying on Disney property. So I'm wondering if "and many more" means you couldn't think of anything else to list, or if it means there are too many other things to list.

In all honesty, I really don't think Disney offers a lot of great perks for staying on property. As far as the free transportation goes, anyone can use that whether they are staying on property or not. I know it is listed officially as a perk for hotel guests, but I've used it plenty of times when I was not staying on property, and no one has ever made me prove I was staying on property. In a way, I think that kind of jips the hotel guests by listing it as a "perk", and then not making it exclusive to the hotel guests.

I think the perk that Universal offers to their hotel guests (i.e. getting to bypass the long lines) is probably a better perk to most people than getting to use the transportation for free, especially when Disney doesn't enforce that at all.

 

[sublimesting]

The only thing I do agree with is pet friendly accomodations. We can't bear to leave our lab in a kennel and have to drive him north 4 hours to my wife's parents house to drop him off before turning around to leave for vacation, it adds 8 hours to our trip. Disney should have a few pet friendly rooms.

 

[mickster]

i really hate that when Universal thinks that they are better than Disney. Sure there are some thrill rides there but Disney is alot better overall. I went to Univ. St. Hollywood and, to be honest, it sucked:hurl: they had like 2 good rides; Back to the Future and Jurrasic Park. they had a few shows and not many rides. It was alot dirtier and didn't look like it was well taken care of. At least Disney is clean and friendly and has numerous rides and attractions:ROFLOL: :lol: :sohappy:

Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida are in no way similar to one another. If you're basing your opinion of Universal strictly on the one in Hollywood, then it's irrelevant in this discussion. That's not the park that's being compared to Disney. It's the Florida version (which is vastly superior to the Hollywood version).

 

[poohster]

totaly agree with you Mickster, perhaps if ouside guests wernt allowed to use the transport onsite guests wouldnt have to wait around to get where they are going, especialy when its closing time its a real burden to get back to your resort

 

[fireworkz]

They don't bother to enforce the transportation thing because anyone who buys a Park Hopper option no matter where they stay is also allowed to have full use of the transportation system. Besides how many offsite people really use the resort routes? Just look at the line for the resort monorail on the MK loop compared to the TTC express at closing time.

 

[ChrisFL]

I grew up on Disney, Universal and Busch parks, so I love them all EQUALLY.

It's truly sad that people feel they have to bash the amazing Universal parks because some marketing "geniuses" put up some bad comparisons.

I mean, most of Universal's recent additions, including IOA was designed by........Disney Imagineers!!! the shock and horror!!!!

They were out of the job once EuroDisney was an initial failure and Disney decided to get rid of many of them, Universal was hiring so they went and started making attractions with more freedoms and higher budgets than what Disney was doing at the time. (Compare how many good attractions that IOA opened with compared to Animal Kingdom or California Adventure).

I think IOA is nearly unsurpassed in quality overall, the attractions, the music, the theming and food are all top class.

Universal Studios STILL has more to do than MGM/Hollywood Studios and always has.

I don't think Universal is better than Disney, but there is a LOT that Disney could improve upon.