Just wanted to know if the WWOHP has influenced your Disney Vacation this year.......I was planning on 4 days at AKL for the holidays and now I have had a change of heart and decided to do 3 days at AKL and 2 days at Universal .....I can't wait to see what all the fuss is about. Not too crazy about the 15 dollar/day self parking fee Universal (Royal Pacific) is hitting me with.....Strike One!
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The Potter Affect......
- Thread starter elatino
- Start date
Lucky
Well-Known Member
I never cared about WDW until I had kids, and then started spending over half my vacation dollars there every year.
But it's pretty obvious that a lot of young childless adults love Disney parks too.
Back to Potter: I don't think it makes us disloyal or ungrateful to Disney to acknowledge that Uni did a terrific job on this new land, and I hope they expand it. Yes, the shops are small, but otherwise it wouldn't seem authentic.
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I'm part of that crowd and I'm not alone. It's actually a substantial demographic, but one that's admittedly dwarfed by Dad, Mom and 2.5 kids. I've been to events such as Mousefest that showcases this crowd. And they've got cash!
People complain that Disney panders to the under-five set, but my niece is five and there's little there for her other than meet and greets, a couple rides and the pools (all of which she loves). Soarin', EE, V&As, French Bistro, the golf courses, TZTOT, gardens, Food and Wine - the list goes on and on and on, were all made for adults. Perhaps Disney just has a wider appeal and the 20s couples are more in numbers but smaller in percentage.
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Mopar Magic
New Member
My wifey and I are those adults with no small children that spend a week in Orlando every year. We alternate between Disney and Uni. Usually 2 years to Uni and 1 year to Disney, simply because it is so much cheaper to visit Uni. We love both parks, they each have something to offer the other does not. Potter does add something we haven't done to Uni. And yes IoA was getting pretty stagnant
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xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
You are way off base. WDW does appeal to the young couple set. In fact WDW is one of the most popular honeymoon spots in the world.
My wife and I take trips to other places as well, Vegas, Aruba, Hawaii, many major US cities. We have Great Adventure within an hour drive from us. But Disney holds a special appeal to us. And many others. To say It does not appeal to the adult no children crowd is very false.
My point was just that Uni is working harder then WDW to get my vacation dollars over the last few years, and they are succeeding.
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scottnj1966
Well-Known Member
I live in the central Florida area and I have not been back to Universal since 2006 I think. The employees and how they keep the park makes it hard for me to want to visit again. HHN's is awesome but not enough security, to much bad stuff happening in that fog hahahaha
I really want to see the Harry Potter area. Everyone I have talked with said it was very nice. The ride sounds very cool.
I will be waiting for Universal to have a great Florida resident special again when they give you two years for the price of one. Then I will go again.
I need to take my girls there anyway.
I really want to see the Harry Potter area. Everyone I have talked with said it was very nice. The ride sounds very cool.
I will be waiting for Universal to have a great Florida resident special again when they give you two years for the price of one. Then I will go again.
I need to take my girls there anyway.
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Tybee
Member
We're currently debating whether or not to add a day to our upcoming January trip to do WWoHP. Wife and I are both avid HP fans (read all the books) though not obsessives (give me Tolkien any day of the week). We're driving so it wouldn't be hard to adjust our travel schedule. If we did do it, we'd probably go on Jan. 2 and stay in a cheapo hotel that night before moving over to our reservation at the Wilderness Lodge on the 3rd. But it's hard to justify the exorbitant admission price for essentially half a day at IoA with WWoHP being the only thing that interests us. Neither of us are big coaster fans -- I'll eagerly ride everything at WDW and love RRC, ToT, etc., but Six Flags-level coasters make me :hurl: pretty much every time. So still on the fence.
Says you. And for a particular subset of alpha, status-obsessed couples, this may be true. For instance, I have a friend who used to be a HUGE Disney fan (even worked there one summer in college). But he subsequently married a woman who would never be caught dead at Disney because she was terrified of what her social-climbing friends might think of her going to such a "kiddie" locale. So instead they gallivant about Europe and Central America and Asia and make sure everyone knows how much beer they consumed and how many ziplines they rode. And they sound like prime douchebags the whole time.
I've traveled all over the world from a young age (Dad was an airline captain and Mom works in the cruise industry) and hate packaged tours. There's a time for Disney and there's a time when I want a different, more down-to-earth travel experience. So I understand where you're coming from. But generalizing that EVERY 20-something/childless couple is ambivalent about Disney parks is asinine. My wife (late 20s) and I (mid 30s) love Disney, and there was never a time when we felt like "Disney has nothing for us." Quite the opposite. And in a lot of ways, all the places you mention are just as cliched and manufactured experiences as some people feel WDW is. When yet another friend breathlessly recounts his experiences boozing in Bangkok, I have a hard time not rolling my eyes (for the record, some people can garner the same reaction from me with over-the-top WDW trip reports).
It's all perspective. I loved the Disney parks as a child, I love them in a different way as an adult, and I'm sure I'll love them in an entirely new way as a parent.
Says you. And for a particular subset of alpha, status-obsessed couples, this may be true. For instance, I have a friend who used to be a HUGE Disney fan (even worked there one summer in college). But he subsequently married a woman who would never be caught dead at Disney because she was terrified of what her social-climbing friends might think of her going to such a "kiddie" locale. So instead they gallivant about Europe and Central America and Asia and make sure everyone knows how much beer they consumed and how many ziplines they rode. And they sound like prime douchebags the whole time.
I've traveled all over the world from a young age (Dad was an airline captain and Mom works in the cruise industry) and hate packaged tours. There's a time for Disney and there's a time when I want a different, more down-to-earth travel experience. So I understand where you're coming from. But generalizing that EVERY 20-something/childless couple is ambivalent about Disney parks is asinine. My wife (late 20s) and I (mid 30s) love Disney, and there was never a time when we felt like "Disney has nothing for us." Quite the opposite. And in a lot of ways, all the places you mention are just as cliched and manufactured experiences as some people feel WDW is. When yet another friend breathlessly recounts his experiences boozing in Bangkok, I have a hard time not rolling my eyes (for the record, some people can garner the same reaction from me with over-the-top WDW trip reports).
It's all perspective. I loved the Disney parks as a child, I love them in a different way as an adult, and I'm sure I'll love them in an entirely new way as a parent.
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First off Disney is for adults. The DWF is 50 and I am turning 48. Our Daughter is 32 and our sons are 28 and 21. We went to Disney Again as just the two of us. We had the time of our lives this past trip and are planning to go again. I have been to WDW since I was 7 years old. In my mid 20's we enjoyed going imensely and WDW has always gotten better over the years.
Now Uni for us is a been there done that NOT going back. The park after two to three times is boring and does not offer a whole lot like a WDW vacation does. At WDW you have the parks, Resteraunts, Resorts, entertainment and activities, then throw in the water parks and all the resort magic and you have a totaly fun filled, fun packed vacation where a ton of memories are made.
So will us two adults be going back to WDW by ourselves, next year yes and 2012 will be be taking my 5 year old Grandson for his very first visit. We are in the process of viewing and getting ready to take the plunge to become DVC members.
Now Uni for us is a been there done that NOT going back. The park after two to three times is boring and does not offer a whole lot like a WDW vacation does. At WDW you have the parks, Resteraunts, Resorts, entertainment and activities, then throw in the water parks and all the resort magic and you have a totaly fun filled, fun packed vacation where a ton of memories are made.
So will us two adults be going back to WDW by ourselves, next year yes and 2012 will be be taking my 5 year old Grandson for his very first visit. We are in the process of viewing and getting ready to take the plunge to become DVC members.
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roaddogg6420
Member
Wait for FBJ posted was 75mins, we only waited 45mins. The rest of HP rides about 30mins, rest of the park 15 to 45mins.
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JCtheparrothead
Well-Known Member
We are heading to WDW on November 25th for 18 days. My wife is a Potter fanatic and we will be there at least twice during our stay. I really dont see how potter can take away from WDW as they are 2 different experiences. Most of Universal (with the exception of WWOHP) does not have the theming, cast member participation, or general feel of WDW. Don't get me wrong it is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there if you know what I mean. I love Disney and I like Universal..and my son loves penguins at Sea World, but i digress.
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Funfy
Active Member
It totally influenced us. We went to AKL-Kidani in July with in-laws-we didn't not want to make them lose a day of ticket since we have AP's, so, we didn't go to HP then, but, we scheduled a return trip to go to Universal. We are DVC members and as mentioned above had AP's-so we stayed on Disney property with a day over at HP/Universal.
We bought 2-Park 1-day tickets, because we wanted to make sure we had options. We liked HP so much, we upgraded that day to a base AP for universal because we didn't get through all the parks.
Since Univ/IOA annual passes are so much cheaper (at least base ones, which is all we would need)-there is a strong possibility when we get Disney AP's we will also get Uni/IOA passes too.
We had never been to Universal before-and really didn't have any desire-so yes, HP has greatly influenced future visits.
We bought 2-Park 1-day tickets, because we wanted to make sure we had options. We liked HP so much, we upgraded that day to a base AP for universal because we didn't get through all the parks.
Since Univ/IOA annual passes are so much cheaper (at least base ones, which is all we would need)-there is a strong possibility when we get Disney AP's we will also get Uni/IOA passes too.
We had never been to Universal before-and really didn't have any desire-so yes, HP has greatly influenced future visits.
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marcriss
Member
My brother just got back from DW and opted to spend a day at Uni to see HP. He said it was amazing. The rest of the park is pretty much the same as it had been but if you're a HP fan it's great. I talked to another person who went to see it without being a fan and the experience was kind of lost on them. As huge HP fans I'd love to go in Dec, but for a fam of 4 it's too expensive right now and too crowded. Hopefully some of the hype will have died down next year and the kids will be old enough to do more to justify the expense.
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PuertoRekinSam
Well-Known Member
I must say, I loved the Harry Potter experience. I don't care for the books or the movies, but I thought the ride and area were really well done. Even if I don't know what was going on (apparently, according to my wife, those weren't ring wraiths). Butter beer was good, tasted like carbonated Egg Custard snowball syrup.
That being said.... my whole day at IOA can be summed up as follows:
You can't put a diamond on a turd and call it a Tiara.
Now if Universal would go DCA style rebranding on the rest of the park to bring it up to the new standard set by Potter, they'd have something.
That being said.... my whole day at IOA can be summed up as follows:
You can't put a diamond on a turd and call it a Tiara.
Now if Universal would go DCA style rebranding on the rest of the park to bring it up to the new standard set by Potter, they'd have something.
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lilclerk
Well-Known Member
We are HUGE Potter fans and my nephew and I did head over to Universal for 2 days of our 10 day trip last month. It wasn't that unusual though, I usually spend one day in Uni. I thought HP was absolutely fantastic, but holy crowds. I probably won't go back for a year or two to wait for the crowds to die down.
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Victor Kelly
Well-Known Member
The HP area is over rated, bottlenecked, insanely crowded, but I could go on. And generally with the treatment we received at universal, along with 50% ride breakdowns, terribly over priced food, unclean.......well everything, we will not be going back there for a very very long time.
Now our time at Sea World was wonderful. Beautiful park, well landscaped, plenty of trees, enough to keep you busy all day. We went in at 9am and left at 2:30 when closing was at 5pm. For me, with the experiences we had it was worth the price, food was good quality, staff friendly, clean. It might not be an every vaction must do but it is good for every few years. And Manta was a blast to ride.
Now our time at Sea World was wonderful. Beautiful park, well landscaped, plenty of trees, enough to keep you busy all day. We went in at 9am and left at 2:30 when closing was at 5pm. For me, with the experiences we had it was worth the price, food was good quality, staff friendly, clean. It might not be an every vaction must do but it is good for every few years. And Manta was a blast to ride.
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JeffH
Active Member
Someone needs to start regulating these obscene parking fees...
YES, parking charges could deter me from visiting another park since I have an annual pass at WDW and don't pay any. I really feel sorry for those who attend the expensive Halloween and Xmas parties who also have to pay an additional $15/day to park...here Disney double dips by kicking everyone out of the park then charging another parkload of people for parking (and even if you have an annual passport, you'd have to pay).
THEN the DD area (non-Disney) hotels now charge you $10/night self parking fee just to park at your hotel?!?
Parking cost should cover the cost of parking cars, not an artificial profit maker.
$15 to be pointed to park in a 40 year old parking lot in the hot Florida sun for the day?!? If they want to promote longer stays, then charge $15 for your stay (so it's good for a week or 2).
Unfortunately, all the parks charge $15/day and some arenas charge more.
YES, parking charges could deter me from visiting another park since I have an annual pass at WDW and don't pay any. I really feel sorry for those who attend the expensive Halloween and Xmas parties who also have to pay an additional $15/day to park...here Disney double dips by kicking everyone out of the park then charging another parkload of people for parking (and even if you have an annual passport, you'd have to pay).
THEN the DD area (non-Disney) hotels now charge you $10/night self parking fee just to park at your hotel?!?
Parking cost should cover the cost of parking cars, not an artificial profit maker.
$15 to be pointed to park in a 40 year old parking lot in the hot Florida sun for the day?!? If they want to promote longer stays, then charge $15 for your stay (so it's good for a week or 2).
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I can only compare it to my visit in March 2002 when everything was a walk on. I rode Spider and DD 7 times each. Had to stop as I was getting dizzy.
Two weeks ago, park was fairly crowded with 20-40 minute lines for everything. Easiest to get on actually was HP and the FJ thanks to single rider line - or lack of line. It had to be HP spillover. Still, it was very manageable.
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