Rank the Disney/Universal Orlando parks

[PiratesMansion]

Why has Universal Studios regressed though? I still think it is a fun and worthwhile day, but it is clearly inferior to Islands of Adventure, and just really has lost a lot of its charm over the years, I think. We all tend to agree that the rides are not as good today as they were in the 1990s in that park. Did they just ignore it over the years and sort of put their focus more on IOA?

For a long time it was IOA that was ignored; USF got more overall investment for some time by comparison.

But the positive side effect of that is that very little of the original Islands has been removed or replaced compared to the Studios. Most of the investments at Studios were replacements, replacements that have had an unfortunate tendency to be less iconic IP, more screen-based, or both.

Pretty much everything showing how movies were made is gone.

I think that in their desire to replace a lot of what they saw as dated attractions, they ended up doing some damage to the Park's identity & soul.

 

[UNCgolf]

Why has Universal Studios regressed though? I still think it is a fun and worthwhile day, but it is clearly inferior to Islands of Adventure, and just really has lost a lot of its charm over the years, I think. We all tend to agree that the rides are not as good today as they were in the 1990s in that park. Did they just ignore it over the years and sort of put their focus more on IOA?

They didn't ignore it -- most of the attractions have been replaced with newer rides this century.

The problem is that they built a bunch of rides that were worse than what was there before (for the most part). That's why I said it's a bit like EPCOT.

 

[UNCgolf]

Pretty much everything showing how movies were made is gone.

I think that in their desire to replace a lot of what they saw as dated attractions, they ended up doing some damage to the Park's identity & soul.

It's very similar to what Disney has done to Hollywood Studios.

Some of the attractions built at DHS are better than what's gone in at Universal (some are not), but the park used to have a cohesive theme and no longer does. Most of DHS was better in the late 1990s than it is now outside of Galaxy's Edge.

 

[Andrew25]

Park Atmosphere/Design Wise:
1) Animal Kingdom
2) Magic Kingdom
3) Islands of Adventure
4) Universal Studios
5) Hollywood Studios
6) Epcot

Attraction Wise:
1) Magic Kingdom
2) Islands of Adventure
3) Hollywood Studios
4) Universal Studios
5) Animal Kingdom
6) Epcot (GOTG will probably move it up)

 

[Wilbret]

Universal studios has been kinda bleh in terms of development to me, but we still love it.
Jimmy Fallon ride is a dud. Fast & Furious is a dud. We lost a couple "unique" experiences like Jaws and Twister along the way, among others. I know they were tired, but they were different, and now all we get are screens.

HHN actually makes Universal rank high in my personal list. It's so much fun.

Atmosphere
1)Animal Kingdom. I don't even particularly like this park, but I can't deny it. I consider it a half day park, but my kids can make a day out of it.
2)Magic Kingdom. It's magical.
3)Islands of Adventure. If they could improve the lull from Spider-Man to Rip-Saw falls... man, it would be great
4)Universal Studios
5)Epcot
6)Hollywood Studios. I don't know why, but I do not like navigating around this place, for some reason. Other parks do better with "zones."

Attractions
1)Islands of Adventure. Tons of rides from A to Z, and spread out enough to really eat up the crowd.
2)SEA WORLD - write in candidate here. Amazing coasters, and another one being added
3)Magic Kingdom. Honestly this one could be #1, but my kids are now all 9 years and older. A lot of great rides for everyone.
4)Hollywood Studios. It still feels like there aren't enough rides, but it's likely due to shows/restaurants not being fully open... but I struggle with this park and standing in line 70 minutes at a pop.
5)Universal Studios. They need to bulldoze a couple rides, but this place is still so much fun.
6)Animal Kingdom. I'm including wildlife in the atmosphere ranking. There are just not many things to "do here," and as such, the lines can get outrageous. If EE is down, I wouldn't even go.
7)Epcot. Our kids love Test Track. They like the other stuff, but they don't really like walking 8 miles to get to France. We often don't even include Epcot in a visit.

 

[BlakeW39]

I'm sorry but can someone here explain to me why the answer would be Magic Kingdom? Just feels like bias to me.

Islands of Adventure is just too stacked with E tickets. Hogsmeade is also better themed than any area of the MK. So I really see no way around giving IoA the crown.

Animal Kingdom though takes a close second. It's the artisan theme park if you will. The only issue is that is has too few artractions, and one of them is broken, with no hope of being fixed. Other than that, though, its entertainment offerings probably exceed MK.

 

[James.Green]

If Universal spent a few hundred million updating the set design of their parks, it would be tough for me say any Disney park is “better”. But, as of right now, there’s to many exposed show buildings and not quite the level of detail in some part of the parks that I would consider up to a Disneys standards. Comparing rides though? You could say any of those 6 parks and I wouldn’t really argue with you.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

Exactly, they don't seem to realize that people love to do the classics. Magic Kingdom's popularity is largely based on rides like The Haunted Mansion.

Back to the Future, Jaws and King Kong should still be there right now. They could have just put The Simpsons in the Kidzone area and Diagon Alley where Fear Factor resides. Plus they've replaced the classics with mostly screens. There's no boat rides, dark rides or omnimovers, even their shows have screens (Bourne). Their lack of different attractions definitely puts Universal Studios on the bottom of my list.

In weighing USO vs IoA for a 1 day visit the choice was easy. Kids ages 6, 7, 9 will benefit from Dr Seuss land. Plus the water rides and Hagrid etc just made it a more fun place to go. I went to USO in 1990 and loved it but most or all of what I saw and enjoyed is gone. Daigon Alley and the Gringot ride do look cool. But the screen only rides are definitely a turn off and I think my kids would be bored at USO.


As for the Disney parks I love MK for the fantasy vibe, the beauty of the park, and of course some of the classic rides. Tron will help a lot modernizing it. I think they should completely overhaul the speedway ride or replace it with another E ticket....And I love Epcot especially due to the countries, food, and the chill vibe there....I do wish they could squeeze 1 or 2 more small rides into the country section but overall once finished it will be awesome with the Moana water attraction etc.

HS was MGM last time I went (1990) and but for Indiana show and maybe the star tours, will be unrecognizable to me. I do remember liking it back then but it took a back seat to superior USO.... Never been to AK but that changes this November. Have heard great things.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

I would definitely agree that Universal has more of a thrill/party park feel to it as opposed to Disney's family park feel, IMO . I remember the Hulk coaster just being freakin' awesome. The Hogwarts ride (not sure the name) blew me away. I'd like to go back again and experience the newer stuff since I was last there. I just usually end up riding that stuff by myself.

Out of me, my son and wife, I am really the only coaster person. They enjoy the dark, omni mover, type rides more. Agree MK is best right now, for the reasons you stated. As I have gotten older, Epcot is moving up on the list as I enjoy walking through World Showcase, taking in the cultures, the different food and drinks. Hopefully Future World will work itself out. I am looking forward to the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. Hopefully it lives up to the hype.

Its obvious that while the parks definitely compete directly US is slightly more geared for teens and Disney a little bit more family and younger children. That said as an adult I'm gonna enjoy the hell out of both experiences and I suspect so will my elementary aged kids. And if they have a lifetime memory then that's what matters most to me.