My first Uni Trip (with comparisons)

MacRtst

Active Member
Original Poster
My wife and I were fortunate enough got to Universal for a quick 2 nights this week for free (an anniversary gift from my mom and step-father)

Here are some things I noticed. DISCLAIMER: I am a Huge WDW fan, I don't want to appear biased...but this might seem that way.

1 The Booking I booked and overnight package stay at Lowes Royal Pacific. (fantastic place btw) with 2 day park-to-park b/c: A. it was the middle of summer and B. Harry potter had just opened up. We only had 2 days, and from all i have heard this was the thing to do. IT WORKED GREAT! we had Express passes for 2 days.

The ho-hum...I made the reservation a few months ahead. Got an email receipt about the trip and then...nothing else. Not a post card welcoming us, or email with some special video. Nothing to get you excited about our upcoming trip. Sorry, but Disney has this in the bag.

2 The check-in/ticket/express pass thing. Since Lowes owns the hotel the room key doesn't get you into the park. so, once you check in, you have to go to a separate desk for park tix, then go to the express pass kiosk to get your picture taken. So you have 3 things to keep track of (room key, express pass & park tix) PLUS some city walk pass. Disney has this one too. one wristband for the whole thing. that's it.

3 The Hotel. This place was fantastic! Spotless and a great place to stay. Convenient to the parks. Walk or take the boat. Room was great. (no fridge though, slight bummer.) ONLY bad things $20 a day for parking, and breakfast (although delicious) was a little pricey. But that's it. I'd stay here again in a heartbeat.

4 The Parks. I think Disney is where my heart belongs. Here is why. I am really not into superheroes, I really can't stand the Simpsons, Betty Boop is well..."old" The minions and Harry Potter do nothing for me (my wife is the HP fan). AND most important, I have no history with anything there. No past trips with my Dad when I was young. So, i had nothing to really reflect back on.

Didn't really realize this until I went into the gift shop. I didn't want ANYTHING. Really, NOTHING AT ALL. I was kind of stunned. The wife found/bought some pretty cool HP stuff. They do a great job of Merchandising Potter stuff.

Diagon alley was stunning. Not even a fan of the movies, but this place was done so well. I hope Disney steps it up a little and faster than they have been moving.

But the parks themselves seem SO CHOPPY i.e. The minions, the 50's, the warf all with Transformers plopped in the middle of it all. the layout really sucks. It just doesn't seem organized at all. No cohesiveness at all. A lot of empty store fronts.

BUT...I am so used to being at disney this may be the Biased WDW person in me. Disney is just so second nature to my wife and I.

5 The Rides. Rode Spiderman, Transformers, both Harry potter rides, The Hogwarts express, Disaster, the Mummy and ET. Let me say this they were all AMAZING. So well done. And Un-disney. (except for ET) It was kinda refreshing. I can be entertained by some other things. A LOT of 3-D screens though

6 The Staff. All pretty good here they seem pretty happy. Maybe a few blah ones here or there but no-one was rude.

7 The food. Here is where I got a little peeved. The wife has a gluten allergy. So Food options are a little tricky. The cast members just really didn't seem familiar. So it was a bunless burger for lunch (boring)
I will take som of the blame here b/c i didn't map this part out quite enough. We just know Disney so well. we don't have any issues.

Breakfast was non-existant (for us-no pastries) which made us go back to the hotel (post Harry Potter early start) for a really pricey breakfast. Food and service EXCEPTIONAL though.

8 City walk. Looks like a CLUSTER of CRAP. that is all I can say. Not a fan.

9 The conclusion. I did have a great time. It just doesn't have the repeat factor that Disney does (for me at least) This place just seems to have a lot of "stuff". Just nothing that makes me say, "I have Gotta go to UNIVERSAL"

Just my observations.
 

danpam1024

Well-Known Member
CW a "Cluster of Crap"? :confused: WOW! Seems pretty harsh considering the state of DTD- or whatever they're calling it these days. It's actually VERY entertaining at night.
"Choppy"- hummm have you been to DHS- EVER?
Food allergies- sounds like since it was a quick trip you didn't do much planning- I too cannot eat gluten AND we are vegan- I ALWAYS find something to eat, you just have to ask :)
Well at least you gave it a shot, looks like the $2 billion spent on wrist bands was worth it :p:D
 

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
CW a "Cluster of Crap"? :confused: WOW! Seems pretty harsh considering the state of DTD- or whatever they're calling it these days. It's actually VERY entertaining at night.
"Choppy"- hummm have you been to DHS- EVER?
Food allergies- sounds like since it was a quick trip you didn't do much planning- I too cannot eat gluten AND we are vegan- I ALWAYS find something to eat, you just have to ask :)
Well at least you gave it a shot, looks like the $2 billion spent on wrist bands was worth it :p:D

I know you're kind of funning us there...but the original Key to the Kingdom cards worked just as well as the stupid overpriced bands, and so did the original Fast Pass tickets - heck, they worked BETTER in my opinion.

But we're stuck with them, I guess. But the bands WON'T make me spend more, so nuts to you, Iger. :p
 

Prince-1

Well-Known Member
Like you said, you have a bias towards Disney and nothing wrong with that. You went to Uni and liked many things about it which is great. If your heart belongs to WDW, you will find the little things that tick you off and compare it to how Disney does things and does it better. But I agree with danpam1024, calling CityWalk a "cluster of crap" is harsh considering what DTD currently is. But hey, each to his/her own.
 

JT3000

Well-Known Member
But the parks themselves seem SO CHOPPY i.e. The minions, the 50's, the warf all with Transformers plopped in the middle of it all. the layout really sucks. It just doesn't seem organized at all. No cohesiveness at all. A lot of empty store fronts.

USF isn't the best themed park on earth, but most of the things you've mentioned are isolated to a single problem area, which was originally meant to be a studio setting. Over time they got away from that by replacing the original attractions with whatever they needed the space for. However, the rest of the park is made up of pretty distinct sections. Much more so than DHS.

The empty store fronts are facades. USF has large attractions that require some sort of exterior theming. The entire west side of the New York section is a single building housing a ride.

City walk. Looks like a CLUSTER of CRAP. that is all I can say. Not a fan.

Did you actually stop and do anything here?
 

MacRtst

Active Member
Original Poster
ok, so I was a little harsh about city walk. We did stop at Margaritaville. Here is my thing... Totally agree with the state of DTD, but this is just a temp thing. Granted its going to take some time but, it's temporary.
So here is my reasoning: Not a fan of NASCAR, NBA, Hard Rock (which is past it's prime). My thoughts hinge on the fact that that one section is so clustered together.

Danpam1024-The Food thing...we did ask and no one was really offering up suggestions. If you know of somewhere, please let me know, in case we go back. Thanks.
the magic band cost aside. you check in, you get it and your done.
 

IAmFloridaBorn

Well-Known Member
My wife and I were fortunate enough got to Universal for a quick 2 nights this week for free (an anniversary gift from my mom and step-father)

Here are some things I noticed. DISCLAIMER: I am a Huge WDW fan, I don't want to appear biased...but this might seem that way.

1 The Booking I booked and overnight package stay at Lowes Royal Pacific. (fantastic place btw) with 2 day park-to-park b/c: A. it was the middle of summer and B. Harry potter had just opened up. We only had 2 days, and from all i have heard this was the thing to do. IT WORKED GREAT! we had Express passes for 2 days.

The ho-hum...I made the reservation a few months ahead. Got an email receipt about the trip and then...nothing else. Not a post card welcoming us, or email with some special video. Nothing to get you excited about our upcoming trip. Sorry, but Disney has this in the bag.

2 The check-in/ticket/express pass thing. Since Lowes owns the hotel the room key doesn't get you into the park. so, once you check in, you have to go to a separate desk for park tix, then go to the express pass kiosk to get your picture taken. So you have 3 things to keep track of (room key, express pass & park tix) PLUS some city walk pass. Disney has this one too. one wristband for the whole thing. that's it.

3 The Hotel. This place was fantastic! Spotless and a great place to stay. Convenient to the parks. Walk or take the boat. Room was great. (no fridge though, slight bummer.) ONLY bad things $20 a day for parking, and breakfast (although delicious) was a little pricey. But that's it. I'd stay here again in a heartbeat.

4 The Parks. I think Disney is where my heart belongs. Here is why. I am really not into superheroes, I really can't stand the Simpsons, Betty Boop is well..."old" The minions and Harry Potter do nothing for me (my wife is the HP fan). AND most important, I have no history with anything there. No past trips with my Dad when I was young. So, i had nothing to really reflect back on.

Didn't really realize this until I went into the gift shop. I didn't want ANYTHING. Really, NOTHING AT ALL. I was kind of stunned. The wife found/bought some pretty cool HP stuff. They do a great job of Merchandising Potter stuff.

Diagon alley was stunning. Not even a fan of the movies, but this place was done so well. I hope Disney steps it up a little and faster than they have been moving.

But the parks themselves seem SO CHOPPY i.e. The minions, the 50's, the warf all with Transformers plopped in the middle of it all. the layout really sucks. It just doesn't seem organized at all. No cohesiveness at all. A lot of empty store fronts.

BUT...I am so used to being at disney this may be the Biased WDW person in me. Disney is just so second nature to my wife and I.

5 The Rides. Rode Spiderman, Transformers, both Harry potter rides, The Hogwarts express, Disaster, the Mummy and ET. Let me say this they were all AMAZING. So well done. And Un-disney. (except for ET) It was kinda refreshing. I can be entertained by some other things. A LOT of 3-D screens though

6 The Staff. All pretty good here they seem pretty happy. Maybe a few blah ones here or there but no-one was rude.

7 The food. Here is where I got a little peeved. The wife has a gluten allergy. So Food options are a little tricky. The cast members just really didn't seem familiar. So it was a bunless burger for lunch (boring)
I will take som of the blame here b/c i didn't map this part out quite enough. We just know Disney so well. we don't have any issues.

Breakfast was non-existant (for us-no pastries) which made us go back to the hotel (post Harry Potter early start) for a really pricey breakfast. Food and service EXCEPTIONAL though.

8 City walk. Looks like a CLUSTER of CRAP. that is all I can say. Not a fan.

9 The conclusion. I did have a great time. It just doesn't have the repeat factor that Disney does (for me at least) This place just seems to have a lot of "stuff". Just nothing that makes me say, "I have Gotta go to UNIVERSAL"

Just my observations.
Yes Universal has a terrible layout and theme. They have a huge problem rushing rides. Dispicable me should have replaces something in Kidzone. (Animal Actors or ET)
Transformers should have replaced something in world expo. (Fear Factor, MIB Mystery Plot)
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockits entrance Should be re-purposed to blend in with Hollywood Blvd.

All of this I will definitely agree with you on.!


Those empty store fronts are called facades? And Many of them especially in Hollywood and New York you an actually enter....
Some of those are Ice Cream shops, gift shops, restaurants, Starbucks, magic shows, rides, etc.


I worked in foods at UNI. Def have gluten free meals. If you contact the place you are going ahead of time they can assist you with that. For anyone who needs the assistance here is a link.
https://www.universalorlando.com/Resort-Information/Food-Allergies.aspx

Fennigans has a Gluten Free Menu marked GF.
Mythos also has Gluten Free.

And There are Pastry shops at the beginning of both parks. Cinnabun, Starbucks, and Another place in IOA. And a Hollywood Pastries in USF. They are easy to miss if you don't know you can actually walk in them which you can haha! There is a Starbucks right outside of Transformers too!


Glad you at least had a good time at UNI! Totally understand about not returning. That's how I feel about Disney unfortunately. Whats important is you gave it a chance!
 

Milla4Prez66

Active Member
Transformers replacing MIB would've been a travesty. As much as I love Transformers (probably my favorite ride), MIB is too cool and unique to be replaced with something that is essentially a clone of a ride that's been in IOA since 1999. Transformers' location is perfect because it made use of an old abandoned building (Soundstage 44) that sit right in the middle of the park. You don't need a giant futuristic or Transformers themed land for the ride, it sits right outside of New York where the ride seemingly takes place anyways (I know technically it's in Production Central, but it literally is the border between the two areas) and you even see that one statue that sits in New York on the ride in the scene where Devastator sucks you up after Megatron's bomb explodes. I think it's fine.

The entire front of the park needs a makeover though, it's supposed to be soundstage theming but nothing in the area really goes with that. You have a Despicable Me simulator, a 3D show based on Shrek and a roller coaster themed to music. Obviously, KidZone is a mess too but it's supposedly going to be torn down before New Years.
 

IAmFloridaBorn

Well-Known Member
Transformers replacing MIB would've been a travesty. As much as I love Transformers (probably my favorite ride), MIB is too cool and unique to be replaced with something that is essentially a clone of a ride that's been in IOA since 1999. Transformers' location is perfect because it made use of an old abandoned building (Soundstage 44) that sit right in the middle of the park. You don't need a giant futuristic or Transformers themed land for the ride, it sits right outside of New York where the ride seemingly takes place anyways (I know technically it's in Production Central, but it literally is the border between the two areas) and you even see that one statue that sits in New York on the ride in the scene where Devastator sucks you up after Megatron's bomb explodes. I think it's fine.

The entire front of the park needs a makeover though, it's supposed to be soundstage theming but nothing in the area really goes with that. You have a Despicable Me simulator, a 3D show based on Shrek and a roller coaster themed to music. Obviously, KidZone is a mess too but it's supposedly going to be torn down before New Years.
NOBODY said to replace MIB...
 
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danpam1024

Well-Known Member
In response to you wife's gluten issues, we eat at confisco's, Hard rock (but you said it is "past it's prime" :jawdrop:), Vivo, Antonjito's, Bob Marleys and Room service to name a few. I found if you're not so uptight about it (like I used to be- it's embarrassing) when you ask and ask for a replacement option, people are much more willing to accommodate you (in my own experience). Example- a waitress doesn't necessarily know what "gluten allergies" entail (as it is different for everyone). So I look at the entire menu to see what is on hand, pick what I want, and kindly ask to sub the rice for noodles or ask for extra veggies instead of bread. The nicer restaurants, the chef ALWAYS comes out and talks with us and prepares our meals (off menu).

Next time you go- LIGHTEN UP! It's NOT Disney, it's not trying to be. Stop comparing and just enjoy yourselves! And Hark Rock Cafe isn't past it's prime btw- I thought that too until we decided to go hang out at the bar and grab some appetizers- it's still a great time- FAR better than Planet Hollywood-the food is edible :D
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
But the parks themselves seem SO CHOPPY i.e. The minions, the 50's, the warf all with Transformers plopped in the middle of it all. the layout really sucks. It just doesn't seem organized at all. No cohesiveness at all. A lot of empty store fronts.
It is Universal Studios Florida. The park was built with a strong focus on being used as a film studio and film studios jump from backlot to backlot. This is even more so at Universal Studios Hollywood which is still dominated by the film production. Only Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Singapore were built to be theme parks first and foremost.
 

bhg469

Well-Known Member
Uso is reimagining itself, you can tell because there is obvious flow to everything new they are doing. Now if you told me there was flow to NFL I would argue that there is much too much mashed up in one area. Disney has not been doing well in the building department.

You can really only compare it to DHS which is in a pretty awful state right now anyway.

As far as attractions, universal has been killing it. That is what is all really about right?

Food... yeah disney has way more options and really much better ones too even though those are on the decline bigtine. Mythos was a fantastic meal but we were there for a day I cannot compare.

My heart was in disney once too, then they kept taking and not giving back.
 

SJN1279

Well-Known Member
Disney has much better options for those with food allergies(like myself) than Universal does. There really is no comparison in that regard between the two resorts.
 

BryceM

Well-Known Member
Universal Studios is actually a very pretty park, to me. I don't find it to be all that choppy, except for certain things like Production Central (where the point is to be choppy, sadly) and Kid Zone. New York, San Francisco, Hollywood, London, Diagon Alley and Springfield are all distinct themed areas which stay true to their theme. I find Universal's city themes to be so much more stronger than DHS' attempts. In Universal, I actually feel lost in NYC when I wander into an alleyway, or stumble into an Irish store which I never knew was there. In DHS, I always feel like I'm in a faux environment.
 

khale1970

Well-Known Member
2 The check-in/ticket/express pass thing. Since Lowes owns the hotel the room key doesn't get you into the park. so, once you check in, you have to go to a separate desk for park tix, then go to the express pass kiosk to get your picture taken. So you have 3 things to keep track of (room key, express pass & park tix) PLUS some city walk pass. Disney has this one too. one wristband for the whole thing. that's it.

My family made our first trip to UNI this year and stayed at the Royal Pacific. We had been at WDW for several days before this and I had very mixed feelings about wearing that silly wrist band. But after UNI and the three cards/pieces of paper to keep up with (and spread out to dry after those water based rides that get you wetter than jumping in the pool), I found myself thinking that the band isn't so bad after all.
 

SJN1279

Well-Known Member
[citation missing]

Good luck finding gluten free bread, specialty foods, or desserts at the Universal Orlando Resort. Mamma Della's at Portofino serves gluten free pasta and there are gluten free pancakes in the restaurant next door, but I haven't found it in the parks at all.

Disney offers gluten free pasta, pizza, bread, specialty deserts and just about anything you can imagine in all of their restaurants. Disney owns Universal when it comes to serving guests with food allergies.
 

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