The Potter Affect......

[elatino]

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!

 

[allgar]

Definitely

Went to WDW in June, and spent a day at Universal. Unfortunately WWOHP wasn't open yet, though I had already booked the tickets based on some earlier news that it was opening in late May. Liked Universal, but wouldn't beat my way back.

That said, I'm heading down again in early November for a conference (coincidentally at Universal), wife is joining me for a long weekend. We'll spend the first day (Friday) at IoA to check out WWOHP, then head to MK for the MVMCP in the late afternoon.

So where I had never felt the interest to go to Universal before, here I am, again going to Universal (twice in one year). We'll see if WWOHP is enough to get me to want to go back again. That said, there is no doubt it made a change on my regular activities.

 

[Tybee]

I know it's a bit late in the game, but could we please correct the misspelling in the title of this thread? It's EFFECT, not AFFECT.

Affect is most appropriately used as a verb: The time of year you visit the parks will affect the amount of time you wait in line. There is a noun form of affect but it's archaic and is primarily used in psychological diagnosis: Donald Duck's affect suggests mild schizophrenia.

The verb form of effect means to cause: The new Disney board will effect change across the organization. But what is required here is the noun: The Harry Potter effect may be to blame for decreased crowds at Disney parks.

Please. Think of the children.

 

[danpam1024]

Yes, but then again Uni started taking away from my WDW trips in 2009. Unless I am heading down for just a long weekend, which is rare. I will be spending 2 days at Uni and 5 or 6 at WDW, where as it used to just be 7 or 8 at WDW.

Disney has been stagnant, and seems to purposely be ignoring my demographic (Mid 20's couple). So now we spend time at Uni and Citywalk.

The addition of Harry Potter it is just all the more incentive to spend my vacation dollars at Uni. And we are DVC members.

totally agree..DS is 8 and loves all the "big rides" at US. Hard Rock Hotel is amazing..I just love being treated like a rockstar:king:. Love our long weekends at US, but my heart is still at DISNEY and that's where our next 2 week vaca will be :sohappy:. It's nice to have options:animwink:

 

[danpam1024]

I know it's a bit late in the game, but could we please correct the misspelling in the title of this thread? It's EFFECT, not AFFECT.

Affect is most appropriately used as a verb: The time of year you visit the parks will affect the amount of time you wait in line. There is a noun form of affect but it's archaic and is primarily used in psychological diagnosis: Donald Duck's affect suggests mild schizophrenia.

The verb form of effect means to cause: The new Disney board will effect change across the organization. But what is required here is the noun: The Harry Potter effect may be to blame for decreased crowds at Disney parks.

Please. Think of the children.

LMOA...that's the first thing I noticed too:ROFLOL:

 

[hurricanepat]

Disney is not the place for mid 20's couples. When I was in my mid20's till about 35 I went to adult vacation spots like Lake Tahoe, Hedonism, Thailand, Hong Kong, Many islands, Disney is never going to appeal to the adult no children crowd so why try. I would rather be in a jungle driving a 4 wheeler as opposed to being on a Disney ride that pretends to be a 4 wheeler out in the jungle. I have small children so I can't do that any more so off to Disney. Cedar Point is a much better adult park if that's what you are looking for. Been there too, lots of roller coasters.

Myself and my girlfriend are going in February...both of us are in our mid 20s and could not be more excited. I may be a 24 year old who loves to get drunk and hammered but I could not be more excited for spending 8 days in Disney World and would not rather be anywhere else. I visited Cedar Point a number of years ago and had a fantastic time, it is a fun traditional theme park but yet doesnt have that Disney feeling that keeps us coming back.

Sure, Disney may be more family oriented but we look forward to spending a night bar hopping on the Boardwalk and enjoying a "few" adult beverages in the World Showcase.

As for WWOHP.....I stopped going to Universal years ago, it was ok but never had the appeal that I enjoyed, I have no interest in potter and could care less about his wizardly world.

 

[_Scar]

I actually had the opposite effect! We stayed around 6/7 days at SSR and 2 days at Universal and I preffered SSR way more.

I didn't like switching and unpacking and unpacking for 2 days and the hotel (Royal Pacific) was a Holiday Inn overgrown with palm trees and other vegetation with sticks glued to the side. Sorry Uni, Potter is awesome- the hotels aren't.

But you never know! I would like to try HRH sometime in the future!


However, with that being said, I still will definitely be stopping by IoA this summer (not US) while staying on Disney grounds.

 

[fosse76]

I just love how everyone here simply dismisses Harry Potter, as if since it is true for them then it must be true for the rest of the world. Universal has seen a 36% increase in attendance since the area and its attractions opened. And financially, Disney must be pulling its hair out (though no doubt they want it to succeed...more people at Universal means potentially more people who are buying Marvel merchandise). While I doubt it will have any significant impact on admission, it will affect Disney's bottom line. Even people who add a day to their itinerary are diverting money that would have most likely been spent at Disney to Universal. And analysts predict that Universal's attendance figures should remain high, as a lot of travellers are waiting for the hype to die down.

 

[joeA_baddolphin]

I've been a WDW Annual Passholder since 1994 and I, of course, love the "Disney magic" that keeps us all blogging ,discussing and spending all our disposable income at WDW. That being said, Universal, while it doesn't have that "Disney magic", does have some awesome attractions. Spiderman is absolutely amazing (no pun intended), and the entire WWoHP area is themed to a level only previously attained by Disney. I, for one, hope we are entering a period where Universal and WDW push each other to greater heights and we the consumers are the ultimate winners. I am keeping my fingers crossed for the new Fantasyland!

 

[tomm4004]

I just love how everyone here simply dismisses Harry Potter, as if since it is true for them then it must be true for the rest of the world. Universal has seen a 36% increase in attendance since the area and its attractions opened. And financially, Disney must be pulling its hair out (though no doubt they want it to succeed...more people at Universal means potentially more people who are buying Marvel merchandise). While I doubt it will have any significant impact on admission, it will affect Disney's bottom line. Even people who add a day to their itinerary are diverting money that would have most likely been spent at Disney to Universal. And analysts predict that Universal's attendance figures should remain high, as a lot of travellers are waiting for the hype to die down.

Of course it depends on the circumstance, but I'm not sure Disney lost money in my case. I stayed nine nights at the Poly intent on going to IOA on one day. Without Harry I may have shortened my trip by a day, or maybe not, so we'll call that a wash. I bought a 7-day park hopper. Don't think I would have bought an 8, but even so it's only 5 bucks extra. I took Mears. Had breakfast at Cook's, lunch and dinner at IOA. It would have been a mid-trip pool day or relaxing day if not for Harry.

So Disney lost a couple meals, but maybe gained a hotel night. So it didn't affect them that much in my one case.

 

[monorail_silver]

Tony Baxter loved Potter, but that's heresy right fanboys?

 

[joeA_baddolphin]

Tony Baxter loved Potter, but that's heresy right fanboys?

With good reason. It's awesome! From the design of the castle, to the queue, to the ride, the best attraction in Orlando in my opinion.

 

[CP_alum08]

I read through almost all of this and Im not sure where to begin. I guess by saying this; obviously I am more of a Disney fan than a Uni because im posting this here!

Secondly, I am in this magical 'mid 20's couple' realm (well, 23, Im not sure that's mid, maybe more like early) that we keep bringing up. My GF and I love amusement parks in general which is different than most people here I guess. We enjoy thrill rides just as we enjoy themed attractions (I lean more towards the themed attractions, again why I am posting here.)

The past two years we have taken WDW trips and the thought of Uni came up in the initial planning stages but was dismissed for reasons like time, transport, money, etc. Recently we have moved to south Florida, about 3 hours from WDW and have visited WDW once since moving. We now are going to Orlando for a weekend for a conference and this time we are contemplating Uni for a day or two. Eventually we will have AP's to WDW and probably Uni as well, but for now we have neither. I think I read that the Uni AP goes by the calendar year so buying one now would be a waste, where as if we end up going to WDW we will get AP's.

The GF is much more of a Harry fan than I am. I have read the first couple books and have gone to see the movies, but only because of her. However, I would still like to check out the new land and the rides. I enjoy being open-minded and experiencing new things even if they are not exactly what I love.

THAT being said, why are people so negative about anything not Disney. Just because it is different doesn't automatically make it bad (in the entirety of America isn't this a reoccurring theme?) Honestly, I just don't get it. I understand being loyal to a brand and loving one thing, great, but why automatically dismiss something else. Im not saying Uni is as good as WDW, far from it, and I don't think it is trying to be WDW either. Uni is a completely different atmosphere and experience and appeals to a different crowd. Do they get some of WDW's customers? sure. Does WDW get some of Uni's customers? I would assume so. But I think most people know they are different and expect different things from both.

I guess thats all for my rant. I just hate that the vast majority of my generation has a tendency to be ignorant and outspoken (which is a terrible combination) about everything. Obviously not all of you are in my generation, but still. If you just step back and look at everything instead of just what's inside your tunnel vision, you just might see something you like.

 

[fosse76]

Of course it depends on the circumstance, but I'm not sure Disney lost money in my case. I stayed nine nights at the Poly intent on going to IOA on one day. Without Harry I may have shortened my trip by a day, or maybe not, so we'll call that a wash. I bought a 7-day park hopper. Don't think I would have bought an 8, but even so it's only 5 bucks extra. I took Mears. Had breakfast at Cook's, lunch and dinner at IOA. It would have been a mid-trip pool day or relaxing day if not for Harry.

So Disney lost a couple meals, but maybe gained a hotel night. So it didn't affect them that much in my one case.

Universal has seen a 36% increase in attendance. And the Harry Potter merchandise is flying off the shelves. Disney can't give its merchandise away. While they aren't "losing" money in the sense that spending is down, they are losing money in that people are chosing to divert money to Universal that might have gone to Disney. And while $50 a person isn't much, when it accumulates by over a million people, Disney is losing a substantial amount of money.

 

[jakeman]

Universal has seen a 36% increase in attendance. And the Harry Potter merchandise is flying off the shelves. Disney can't give its merchandise away.

Harry Potter merchandise is filling a need that has never been available before. Whereas Disney park merchandise has been around for 40 years.

I can't really see where that shows that one is superior to the other.

My family knew we were going to spend on merchandise at Potterland. We budgeted extra for it. It didn't detract from our Disney spending at all.

While they aren't "losing" money in the sense that spending is down, they are losing money in that people are chosing to divert money to Universal that might have gone to Disney. And while $50 a person isn't much, when it accumulates by over a million people, Disney is losing a substantial amount of money.

You are operating under the assumption that people are dropping a full day at Disney for Uni and not taking into account those that are extending their stay on property at Disney hotels and just heading over to Uni for the day (such, again, as my family did).

It's a WDW fan board, of course people are going to prefer Disney over Uni. There are also going to be people that have no interest in Potter just because it is Potter. The same would be true if there was a full Star Wars land as well.

More interesting than people saying that their not going to Potter, are the posters that barge into a thread like this and automatically assume that you are a Uni hater if you don't fawn over Potterland.

Potter faces some of the same issues that happen at WDW with major projects, but they were/are glossed over with a good dose of, "You're only saying that because you're a Disney fanboy"

The food is subpar. The show building sticks straight up over the greenhouse and is completely unthemed. Lastly, my kid's wand didn't trigger effects in the land or in the castle as originally promised.

However, the ride is a breakthrough in technology. Hogsmeade is immersive in it's theming. The shops transport you to the book.

I don't understand why you have to pick a side? Why can't someone respect what Uni has done, but at the same time have the opinion that Disney is overall a superior product?

Potterland is great and better in theming than anything Disney has done since the Everest queue, but the rest of Universal doesn't present the same type of vacation experience that Disney does for my family.

It doesn't mean that I hate Uni or can't/don't/won't appreciate the effort and quality of Potterland. Just like Dinoland isn't representative of all of WDW, neither is Potter representative of all of Uni.

 

[WDWmazprty]

Harry Potter merchandise is filling a need that has never been available before. Whereas Disney park merchandise has been around for 40 years.

I can't really see where that shows that one is superior to the other.

My family knew we were going to spend on merchandise at Potterland. We budgeted extra for it. It didn't detract from our Disney spending at all.

You are operating under the assumption that people are dropping a full day at Disney for Uni and not taking into account those that are extending their stay on property at Disney hotels and just heading over to Uni for the day (such, again, as my family did).

It's a WDW fan board, of course people are going to prefer Disney over Uni. There are also going to be people that have no interest in Potter just because it is Potter. The same would be true if there was a full Star Wars land as well.

More interesting than people saying that their not going to Potter, are the posters that barge into a thread like this and automatically assume that you are a Uni hater if you don't fawn over Potterland.

Potter faces some of the same issues that happen at WDW with major projects, but they were/are glossed over with a good dose of, "You're only saying that because you're a Disney fanboy"

The food is subpar. The show building sticks straight up over the greenhouse and is completely unthemed. Lastly, my kid's wand didn't trigger effects in the land or in the castle as originally promised.

However, the ride is a breakthrough in technology. Hogsmeade is immersive in it's theming. The shops transport you to the book.

I don't understand why you have to pick a side? Why can't someone respect what Uni has done, but at the same time have the opinion that Disney is overall a superior product?

Potterland is great and better in theming than anything Disney has done since the Everest queue, but the rest of Universal doesn't present the same type of vacation experience that Disney does for my family.

It doesn't mean that I hate Uni or can't/don't/won't appreciate the effort and quality of Potterland. Just like Dinoland isn't representative of all of WDW, neither is Potter representative of all of Uni.

Well said.

 

[fosse76]

Harry Potter merchandise is filling a need that has never been available before. Whereas Disney park merchandise has been around for 40 years.

That's irrelevant. The fact is simple: Universal is making a killing off of Harry Potter and ancillary purchases. It's money that might have gone to Disney.

I can't really see where that shows that one is superior to the other.

It doesn't, and I certainly didn't say it did. But Universal created a lot of unique merchandise, whereas Disney is selling the standard fare.

My family knew we were going to spend on merchandise at Potterland. We budgeted extra for it. It didn't detract from our Disney spending at all.

So if it's true for you, then it MUST be true for everyone.

You are operating under the assumption that people are dropping a full day at Disney for Uni and not taking into account those that are extending their stay on property at Disney hotels and just heading over to Uni for the day (such, again, as my family did).

And you are operating under the opposite: that people are adding extra time. Contrary to popular belief, the average Disney vacation is less than a week, and a large percentage of people don't visit all four parks (and that is evident simply by looking at the attendance figures). But it doesn't matter. I clearly stated that Disney isn't going to be affected; attendance-wise. And like a lot of people on this board, I think Harry Potter may only help Disney, by bringing people to Orlando who might not have had any other reason to visit, I imagine a good portion (though not all) will take at least a day trip to WDW. It may be a reason why we aren't seeing so many discounts, and why the discounted rooms seem to have filled up much faster than previously. But fact is fact: Universal is making a ton of money on merchandise sales, and Disney is not. And most people can't afford to simply increase their budget, so it's going to come from somewhere.

It's a WDW fan board, of course people are going to prefer Disney over Uni. There are also going to be people that have no interest in Potter just because it is Potter. The same would be true if there was a full Star Wars land as well.

That's an almost Republicanesque mentality. Liking something more than something else does not mean that you can dispute facts. Universal saw a 36% increase in attendance in its 3rd quarter over its 3rd quarter last year. People are going to Universal, and they are spending quite a bit of money. Whether or not that is having a financial impact on Disney remains to be seen. And as I said before, it will most likely benefit Disney too.

More interesting than people saying that their not going to Potter, are the posters that barge into a thread like this and automatically assume that you are a Uni hater if you don't fawn over Potterland.

I haven't seen any of that in this thread, and is completely irrelevant.

Potter faces some of the same issues that happen at WDW with major projects, but they were/are glossed over with a good dose of, "You're only saying that because you're a Disney fanboy"

Again, completely irrelevant to the thread.

The food is subpar.

Universal's counter service food is leagues better than anything Disney serves. Even Six Flags has better counter service food. Disney's food verges on inedible. But that's neither here nor there. It is irrelevant to the topic of this thread.

The show building sticks straight up over the greenhouse and is completely unthemed.

And once again, that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this thread. Harry Potter is better than anything Disney has given us in a long time.

Lastly, my kid's wand didn't trigger effects in the land or in the castle as originally promised.

You know, I think I remember reading that as well. Universal sure isn't Disney. After all, Disney delivers everything it promises in press releases! Oh, wait...

However, the ride is a breakthrough in technology. Hogsmeade is immersive in it's theming. The shops transport you to the book.

I think the shops around ollivanders are unecessarily too small. I know they aren't supposed to be Emporium-big, but even in a small town the shops are bigger than what Universal designed. Honeydukes I think is about right, but Zonkos could have been a little bigger. Hog's Head should have been completely separated from the Three Broomsticks (and not next to it). But still, I think they did a tremendous job with the themeing.

I don't understand why you have to pick a side? Why can't someone respect what Uni has done, but at the same time have the opinion that Disney is overall a superior product?

Who picked a side? The topic of the thread is whether or not Harry Potter will have a negative impact on Disney. It won't. As I stated numerous times now, at most the only effect it will have is guest spending at Universal instead of Disney. Guests who only go to Universal and not Disney most likely weren't ever planning on going to Disney, so there's no effect on Disney.

Potterland is great and better in theming than anything Disney has done since the Everest queue, but the rest of Universal doesn't present the same type of vacation experience that Disney does for my family.

It's not meant to. What's irritating to me is how a lot of people think that if something doesn't appeal to families with children, then it is somehow inferior. I like Universal a little better than Disney, simply because I feel there is superiority complex there. The universe doesn't revolve around children, and I find it refreshing to get away from the sugar-inducing coma that can be WDW.

It doesn't mean that I hate Uni or can't/don't/won't appreciate the effort and quality of Potterland. Just like Dinoland isn't representative of all of WDW, neither is Potter representative of all of Uni.

I personally don't get this. Other than than the unthemed RRR coaster, I find Universal's themeing to be rather consistent. It's not pretending to be Frontierland or Tomorrowland...it's a park with attractions themed to movies and the studio setting. And while I'd prefer a more thematic queue for The Hulk and Dr. Doom's Fearfall, Universal is using the comic motif for the Marvel section, and it works. Other than a few headstones, there's nothing in the Haunted Mansions queue that does any better of a job than the aforementioned rides. Same with the Liberty Belle and BTMRR.

 

[jakeman]

That's irrelevant.

This seems to be a favorite response instead of true discourse. Since instead of actually having a discussion you have decided to play thread police and enumerate in my response what isn't relevant or off topic, I've highlighted some post from the first three pages you may want to police as well. :wave:

I read an interesting article in Forbes that said that Harry Potter will actually ECLIPSE Star Wars! at some point this next Spring/ Summer as the highest grossing movie franchise - inclusive of all merchandise, movie ticket, etc.! (but it looks like Star Wars will take the title back soon after when they release one or more of their movies in 3D.)

At first, I totally agreed with most on here that WWOHP would be irrelevant in a few years. Now I think Harry is here to stay!

It already did this in May.

How was the wait at fbj? How bout the wait for the rest of the rides? Tia.

Oh and as a side note, attendance figures don't strictly have anything to do with the thread either. The OP is simply asking how Potter has affected individual vacation plans.

It doesn't, and I certainly didn't say it did. But Universal created a lot of unique merchandise, whereas Disney is selling the standard fare.

Universal did. They are filling a demand that wasn't previously met and good for them. However, let's not assign marketing genius to know that people will want to buy Harry Potter merchandise that isn't available anywhere else at Potterland. I even said in my previous post that Disney could learn some merchandise restraint from this area.

So if it's true for you, then it MUST be true for everyone.

No more so than the converse assumption you made that people are not spending at Disney but are spending at Uni based on one statistic

And you are operating under the opposite: that people are adding extra time. Contrary to popular belief, the average Disney vacation is less than a week, and a large percentage of people don't visit all four parks (and that is evident simply by looking at the attendance figures). But it doesn't matter. I clearly stated that Disney isn't going to be affected; attendance-wise. And like a lot of people on this board, I think Harry Potter may only help Disney, by bringing people to Orlando who might not have had any other reason to visit, I imagine a good portion (though not all) will take at least a day trip to WDW. It may be a reason why we aren't seeing so many discounts, and why the discounted rooms seem to have filled up much faster than previously. But fact is fact: Universal is making a ton of money on merchandise sales, and Disney is not. And most people can't afford to simply increase their budget, so it's going to come from somewhere.

For some reason you aren't understanding that I'm just pointing out that not everyone fits into your mold of vacationing parameters. I've pointed out that my family vacations different and you've run with that with the assumption that I am saying that all families are like mine.

I'm not arguing that Uni isn't making money, but I don't think you can support that per guest spending at Uni is up and per guest spending at Disney is down with any facts at the moment.

That's an almost Republicanesque mentality. Liking something more than something else does not mean that you can dispute facts. Universal saw a 36% increase in attendance in its 3rd quarter over its 3rd quarter last year. People are going to Universal, and they are spending quite a bit of money. Whether or not that is having a financial impact on Disney remains to be seen. And as I said before, it will most likely benefit Disney too.

This doesn't even make sense. The context I was describing was that asking if Potter affected travel plans on a WDW fan site is going to draw somewhat of a skewed result.

The OP asked if this will affect travel plans and you just simply go on about a 36% increase in attendance.

I haven't seen any of that in this thread, and is completely irrelevant.

Here, this is from the first 3 pages:

I am always a little taken back by these threads. How people can be so negative about Uni, when they are consistently putting out a better product then Disney. Over the past few years Uni has developed great headlining rides, a thriving nightlife area, and an unbelievable new land.

Meanwhile Disney has closed down PI, built a clone ride, and could possibly be planing a mediocre to excellent new land. All the while completely pandering to the under 5 set.

Uni is offering a very competitive product right now.

Disney is not the place for mid 20's couples. When I was in my mid20's till about 35 I went to adult vacation spots like Lake Tahoe, Hedonism, Thailand, Hong Kong, Many islands, Disney is never going to appeal to the adult no children crowd so why try. I would rather be in a jungle driving a 4 wheeler as opposed to being on a Disney ride that pretends to be a 4 wheeler out in the jungle. I have small children so I can't do that any more so off to Disney. Cedar Point is a much better adult park if that's what you are looking for. Been there too, lots of roller coasters.

Again, completely irrelevant to the thread.

You realize that by dismissing my criticism of what was promised versus what was actually delivered you have proven my point?

Universal's counter service food is leagues better than anything Disney serves. Even Six Flags has better counter service food. Disney's food verges on inedible. But that's neither here nor there. It is irrelevant to the topic of this thread.

That's your opinion. I happen to find several QS places at WDW to be very good. Three Broomsticks was not up to this standard.

You are also applying a criticism of one QS location to all of Uni, which I never claimed was the case.

The rest of the QS at Uni may be awesome. I wouldn't know as this was the only place we ate.

And once again, that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this thread. Harry Potter is better than anything Disney has given us in a long time.

Yet if the same thing happened at Disney, you would be calling for heads.

It's a ridiculous double standard that has been applied to this project compare to Disney.

People here still complain about the backside of Everest not being a full mountain, yet you have a 7 story white building shooting up from the side of a greenhouse and suddenly that's irrelevant?

I agree, the theming and ride technology are better than anything that Disney has done, but let's also be honest, a dumb monkey could make Potterland with how involved Rowling was.

You know, I think I remember reading that as well. Universal sure isn't Disney. After all, Disney delivers everything it promises in press releases! Oh, wait...

I never said Disney does, but everyone's head didn't exploded when Potter opened with what was a major feature.

Instead of wands that "work" we now have plastic sticks. That seems to be a pretty significant downgrade that was nary harped on.

I think the shops around ollivanders are unecessarily too small. I know they aren't supposed to be Emporium-big, but even in a small town the shops are bigger than what Universal designed. Honeydukes I think is about right, but Zonkos could have been a little bigger. Hog's Head should have been completely separated from the Three Broomsticks (and not next to it). But still, I think they did a tremendous job with the themeing.

I agree here.

Who picked a side? The topic of the thread is whether or not Harry Potter will have a negative impact on Disney. It won't. As I stated numerous times now, at most the only effect it will have is guest spending at Universal instead of Disney. Guests who only go to Universal and not Disney most likely weren't ever planning on going to Disney, so there's no effect on Disney.

Really? I thought it was a question regarding individual travel plans.

However, since your interpretation of the topic seems to be what matters, I'll play along.

I agree completely with you. Potterland is extraordinarily well done and even with the nitpicks, is the standard for how theming should be done. It is a benefit for the consumers in almost every aspect, from new technological experiences to raising the standards for other theme parks in the area.

I think the increase in attendance, based on nothing more than my own travel habits and assumptions is that this will be a positive for both Uni and Disney.

It's not meant to. What's irritating to me is how a lot of people think that if something doesn't appeal to families with children, then it is somehow inferior. I like Universal a little better than Disney, simply because I feel there is superiority complex there. The universe doesn't revolve around children, and I find it refreshing to get away from the sugar-inducing coma that can be WDW.

That's your opinion and there really isn't anything wrong with it. I enjoy Uni, just not as much as WDW.

I personally don't get this. Other than than the unthemed RRR coaster, I find Universal's themeing to be rather consistent. It's not pretending to be Frontierland or Tomorrowland...it's a park with attractions themed to movies and the studio setting. And while I'd prefer a more thematic queue for The Hulk and Dr. Doom's Fearfall, Universal is using the comic motif for the Marvel section, and it works. Other than a few headstones, there's nothing in the Haunted Mansions queue that does any better of a job than the aforementioned rides. Same with the Liberty Belle and BTMRR.

Consistency does not equal quality.

The quality of Potter is not (in my opinion) on par with the rest of Uni; it is miles ahead of everything else.

Just like the quality of Chester and Hester's is far below what is standard at WDW.

 

[elatino]

I'm curious to see how UNI looks for the holidays.....I"m glad that staying at UNI first then heading to the WORLD (AKL), Disney never disappoints.