IOACentralRadio
New Member
That may be the only thing that appeals to YOU...but there is much more than just Shrek that drives people through the turnstyles....just certain folks want to see less.
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Stolen weapon seized after shooting at Universal Studios
- Thread starter napnet
- Start date
kcnole
Well-Known Member
There's plenty to drive guests through the turnstyles. The mummy is probably close to my favorite ride in all of Orlando. It's a great mix of dark ride and dark coaster interjected with psychological fear and humor. BTTF is supposed to become something else soon, we'll just have to wait and see what it is. Jaws still pulls people in as does MIB and that's just for Universal Studios.
I do agree that Islands needs a new ride, but there's a ton of great things over there that pull guests through the gates as well. The Hulk, Spiderman, Jurassic Park, Dueling Dragons. It's not nearly as run down a park as so many people on Disney forums like to say. Does it match up to the level Disney operated at say 20 years ago? No, but neither does Disney either.
I do agree that Islands needs a new ride, but there's a ton of great things over there that pull guests through the gates as well. The Hulk, Spiderman, Jurassic Park, Dueling Dragons. It's not nearly as run down a park as so many people on Disney forums like to say. Does it match up to the level Disney operated at say 20 years ago? No, but neither does Disney either.
PeecahSmoocher
New Member
UO does have some great thrill rides. For those of us who don't want to drive to Tampa to go on a good one, The Hulk and even Dueling Dragons are awesome. The thing that I think Disney has over Universal (and always will) is Family Appeal. There really is no comparison if you have a 4-year-old like I do. Sure, there are some things you can get on in both US and IOA if you're a child, but Disney has a LOT more to offer. Once you're a Mommy, you realize that making the babies happy takes precedence over your own happiness (wow - that's "harsh" when you see it in writing!). I think that's why UO serves the alcohol that WDW doesn't (WDW has WAY more kid friendly rides), and they (UO) have more (reported, anyway) adult problems than WDW. Maybe I'm naive, but getting trashed with my kid around doesn't appeal to me, and subjecting her to 1,000 (or more) drunk adults doesn't appeal to me, either. So, to each their own. It is FUN to get a buzz on and then go into a Haunted House and get scared. As an adult. WITH my adult friends. Would I bring my child there? No. And I hope that most responsible adults wouldn't, either. But there is always the minority, the "select few," the future winners of "The Darwin Awards" that will. It's sad.
>>>That may be the only thing that appeals to YOU...<<<
After a year of working in and around management at that resort, I feel pretty confident in standing by what I said. Shrek is their key driver. Mummy draws guests to a much lesser extent. And you know what? That's about it. Universal has a real crisis in not having any products that the general public is interested in. They know it, but they just don't care.
If you really wanna know how bad it is, think about this. For years now, it was a forgone fact that the Magic Kingdom was the most attended park in Florida and drew more guests than both Universal parks combined. Big deal. This year, even Epcot is getting more guests than both UO parks. It's bad.
After a year of working in and around management at that resort, I feel pretty confident in standing by what I said. Shrek is their key driver. Mummy draws guests to a much lesser extent. And you know what? That's about it. Universal has a real crisis in not having any products that the general public is interested in. They know it, but they just don't care.
If you really wanna know how bad it is, think about this. For years now, it was a forgone fact that the Magic Kingdom was the most attended park in Florida and drew more guests than both Universal parks combined. Big deal. This year, even Epcot is getting more guests than both UO parks. It's bad.
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
Its about perception, many people I know travelling to Orlando will not go to Disney because its for kids, they go to Universal Sea world and Busch.
Perhaps Disneys marketing and free dinning plan have helped with their attendance figures.....just a thought
kcnole
Well-Known Member
To be fair, this only happens at HHN. I've never seen anyone drunk in the parks at any other time. In fact, I'm not even certain where to buy alcohol in the parks outside of that timeframe since I don't buy alcohol so it's really not in your face on an average day anyhow. It's more in your face at Epcot than Universal in that regards.
HHN is not an event for a 4 year old anyhow so that's a relatively moot point. Any parent who brings their child to HHN needs to have their head examined. However it's perfectly fine to bring your child there during the day.
Now, Universal may not have as much for kids as the magic kingdom, but there are a lot of things that kids will enjoy. I do agree, that especially over in IOA, there's not enough family attractions and I really think that's where they need to focus, but it's not really any worse than Epcot or MGM when it comes to kid friendliness.
bayoutinkbelle
Active Member
I love going to Universal parks and I think there's plenty there to appeal to young and old. It's a shame that a few idiots resorting to violence gives the whole place a bad reputation with some people.
When I heard about it, I wondered how security had responded to the incident. Someone vandalized my car on my trip last summer (kicked the rear passenger door in to the tune of $1,500 in damage) and security was spectacularly unhelpful. Even an Orlando officer laughed when I told them what had happened.
Needless to say, I went valet on this past trip.
When I heard about it, I wondered how security had responded to the incident. Someone vandalized my car on my trip last summer (kicked the rear passenger door in to the tune of $1,500 in damage) and security was spectacularly unhelpful. Even an Orlando officer laughed when I told them what had happened.
Needless to say, I went valet on this past trip.
Universal is terrible at their branding. As phenix stated, Shrek is probably the only popular character among the families coming to the parks. I mean, they have popular characters, like, say, Spiderman, but they aren't as directly associated with the Universal name as Mickey and the gang are to Disney. I mean, they've tried making Woody Woodpecker their mascot, but honestly, where the heck do you ever see Woody Woodpecker? I don't see him on TV anywhere, or any of his cartoons being released on DVD. Same with Popeye and Betty Boop.
I mean, people like these characters and movies, obviously, but the problem is that Universal doesn't have anywhere near the same marketing strengths that Disney does in selling their product, or more specifically, associating their product with the company name. Everyone know that Disney=Mickey....and in some cases, to Disney's benefit, people associate pretty much any animated feature with Disney, including Shrek. (Which is sad...but probably true)
I'm not saying I like that this is happening. I wish people would look into things more closely. But thats the way it stands, anyway
I mean, people like these characters and movies, obviously, but the problem is that Universal doesn't have anywhere near the same marketing strengths that Disney does in selling their product, or more specifically, associating their product with the company name. Everyone know that Disney=Mickey....and in some cases, to Disney's benefit, people associate pretty much any animated feature with Disney, including Shrek. (Which is sad...but probably true)
I'm not saying I like that this is happening. I wish people would look into things more closely. But thats the way it stands, anyway
It is not that they really need animated cartoon characters to make their parks more popular, though that would make things a hell of a lot easier. Las Vegas is not synonymous with any specific icon outside of Wayne Newton and they've done a pretty good job of stealing business way from Orlando for several years now. What they really need to do is get associated with a specific kind of entertainment, be it hip and edgy shows, explosive thrills, and... well I dunno... RIDING THE F'ING MOVIES!!!! They still believe that the next miracle discount will turn things around. It won't. No one really cares about Universal Orlando anymore. Until they start offering a product that people care about that is not going to change.
IOACentralRadio
New Member
I love how this turned from a shooting story to beat on Universal. Sure it has its problems, but disney does as well. Pixarization is sweeping, and I for one am not renewing my AP because of it....yeah, you wont miss me, I know. But if enough people start feeling that way, they will start to miss a lot of business.
Universal has done pretty good with riding the movies at USF, and they have done really well with the attractions that they have opened up. Blue Man Group is going to bring something huge as well as whatever attraction replaces Back to the Future. Islands of Adventure, well....thats another thing altogether. The last ride was something that was originally supposed to open, and it took this long to happen. They havent had a major attraction since they've opened, and yes it is time. That being said, I still love everything over there. And like all of you towards disney, I'm just a little biased in that statement.
Universal has done pretty good with riding the movies at USF, and they have done really well with the attractions that they have opened up. Blue Man Group is going to bring something huge as well as whatever attraction replaces Back to the Future. Islands of Adventure, well....thats another thing altogether. The last ride was something that was originally supposed to open, and it took this long to happen. They havent had a major attraction since they've opened, and yes it is time. That being said, I still love everything over there. And like all of you towards disney, I'm just a little biased in that statement.
>>>Sure it has its problems, but disney does as well.<<<
Yeah, it does, but even though I think the head of their parks and resorts division is a moron (Jay Rasulo, for those who don't follow the business), he has at least allowed the parks to maintain a decent standard for guest service and park operations. Disney's parks here in FL are moderately enjoyable places to be, and their parks in CA are an absolute blast to go to. I can't say the same about Universal anymore.
Yeah, it does, but even though I think the head of their parks and resorts division is a moron (Jay Rasulo, for those who don't follow the business), he has at least allowed the parks to maintain a decent standard for guest service and park operations. Disney's parks here in FL are moderately enjoyable places to be, and their parks in CA are an absolute blast to go to. I can't say the same about Universal anymore.
IOACentralRadio
New Member
And I cant say the same about disney. Why anyone would pay money to go there, let alone 8 grand for a week, is beyond me. Agree to disagree....people on this site love disney and hate Universal, thats why they are on this site. Universal has its fans and followers too...and in our eyes its better than disney, shooting or no. See at least I stay a bit on topic :drevil:
>>>Why anyone would pay money to go there<<<
Because it is better than any other theme park in the southeast.
>>>let alone 8 grand for a week<<<
Not gonna argue that one. For the money it takes to go to WDW there are several other places I'd rather go to first.
>>>people on this site love disney and hate Universal<<<
It is not that they hate Universal dude, they just don't give two turds about Universal period. Hence why this board gets less traffic than most of the other boards on this site.
>>>Universal has its fans and followers too<<<
And most of them don't last very long.
Because it is better than any other theme park in the southeast.
>>>let alone 8 grand for a week<<<
Not gonna argue that one. For the money it takes to go to WDW there are several other places I'd rather go to first.
>>>people on this site love disney and hate Universal<<<
It is not that they hate Universal dude, they just don't give two turds about Universal period. Hence why this board gets less traffic than most of the other boards on this site.
>>>Universal has its fans and followers too<<<
And most of them don't last very long.
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
Some do last, even if the sole purpose is to act like a jab in the jaxi for the Disney can do no wrong brigade.:drevil:
Legacy
Well-Known Member
:lookaroun
Crockett
Banned
More than likely. The clubs at CityWalk do not close until late. Many people still heading towards their vehicles during this time.