Things Disney fans let Universal "get away" with...

[JT3000]

This is better than DHS? Nice try.
Show me how this beats Hollywood Blvd and you win.

Are you going to post a photo from inside the park next?

 

[JustInTime]

Are you going to post a photo from inside the park next?

No, it's your turn, remember?

Show me how this beats Hollywood Blvd and you win.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It is very patchy. But overall it looks better than Universal. That is all I am saying. And I am talking about exteriors, not the parks attractions themselves. DHS is not a perfect park and needs to total revamp. But over all, DHS is prettier and better themed than Universal, IMO. But I love both parks. And I actually prefer Uni to IOA.

See, this is what I was getting at earlier. Looking better (ornament and decoration) is not at all the same as being themed (theming) better. They are not one in the same. So which are you saying, because now you are saying something different than you were saying before.

 

[JustInTime]

See, this is what I was getting at earlier. Looking better (ornament and decoration) is not at all the same as being themed (theming) better. They are not one in the same. So which are you saying, because now you are saying something different than you were saying before.

The exteriors and the surrounding environments are what I am talking about. They are more visually pleasing. I'd call it theming. Some may all it ornamental. Either way, I feel like DHS does a better job currently.

 

[JT3000]

No, it's your turn, remember?

Okay then. How does this beat USF's Hollywood Blvd?

 

[TalkingHead]

This is better than DHS? Nice try.



Show me how this beats Hollywood Blvd and you win.

1. There's no big blue hat at the end of the street.
2. The street that runs in front of Terminator would be a more apt comparison with DHS's Hollywood Blvd.

 

[JustInTime]

Okay then. How does this beat USF's Hollywood Blvd?

Should I post USO's parking garage equivalent? And I didn't post in this thread for you. Sorry, I know it's tough to hear that people feel differently than you. Including the OP, but they do. I don't know why you care so much about my opinion. Sorry, it's not going to change. But carry on, I have you on ignore.

 

[JT3000]

Should I post USO's parking garage equivalent?

He wants to be equivalent all of a sudden. Okay.

I like Universal's more. It's more welcoming, if you know what I mean.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The exteriors and the surrounding environments are what I am talking about. They are more visually pleasing. I'd call it theming. Some may all it ornamental. Either way, I feel like DHS does a better job currently.

You could call it pancakes, but it would not really fit with your further explanation. Looking better is an issue of aesthetics that gets down to the question of beauty. Theme does not have to be beautiful, and in some cases, such as horror, to be beautiful would be counter to the theme as it is trying to be visually disruptive.

Should I post USO's parking garage equivalent? And I didn't post in this thread for you. Sorry, I know it's tough to hear that people feel differently than you. Including the OP, but they do. I don't know why you care so much about my opinion. Sorry, it's not going to change. But carry on, I have you on ignore.

Oh the irony.

 

[Magenta Panther]

But here is the thing. Why don't we get all up in arms about some of the questionable things done over at Universal? Why does it seem like they can get away with stuff we'd never want done at WDW? Is it cause deep down inside we really don't like it as much as WDW? Does it really come down to the fact that we have an emotional connection to WDW and not so much with Uni? Is it like that relationship you have with your beloved son/daughter where you push them (often in a harsh way) to succeed so much it would seem your just a jerk? Yet the neighbor's kid gets a pat on the back even though they're doing "okay" at school/sports? I sorta think so...all of the above is my guess.

Anyhow, it's just something I had running thru my mind. Hopefully it'll make a good discussion.

I think the answer is: People expect better from Disney. Disney, at least classic Disney, evokes a state of mind and touches the heart in ways that Universal cannot. The name "Disney" is synonymous with "magic" for many people, whereas Universal is just another movie studio. So people expect greater things from Disney. Universal, while a good park in many ways, is kind of a mess and kind of a mix thematically, because Universal really doesn't have the film and television legacy that Disney does. It doesn't have its own Mickey Mouse, and it never had anything close to a Walt Disney. So it has to bring in outside stuff just to be able to operate, to offer anything to customers. If it had to rely on its film legacy alone, it'd sink. And since it never had an original plan, like Disneyland with its "Adventureland", "Frontierland" and "Magic Kingdom" domains, it doesn't matter so much where it puts its attractions. Maybe that's why it gets away with the stuff you mention.

If I may digress: I have a real fear that WDW and Disneyland will start becoming more like Universal by bringing in stuff the Disney Studio didn't create or adapt, like Marvel or Avatar. The Disney magic is in danger of being diluted by such stuff. And unlike Universal, Disney doesn't NEED it. It has a rich legacy of its own films and TV shows PLUS a legacy of creativity; THAT'S what Disney should be drawing on for new park attractions. I can't wait for Robert Iger to be shown the door; maybe the new CEO, whoever he or she may be, will "get" people's affection for Disney and sustain and enlarge the parks in a way that honors and enhances Walt's original legacy. I can only hope...

 

[Californian Elitist]

I think the answer is: People expect better from Disney. Disney, at least classic Disney, evokes a state of mind and touches the heart in ways that Universal cannot. The name "Disney" is synonymous with "magic" for many people, whereas Universal is just another movie studio. So people expect greater things from Disney. Universal, while a good park in many ways, is kind of a mess and kind of a mix thematically, because Universal really doesn't have the film and television legacy that Disney does. It doesn't have its own Mickey Mouse, and it never had anything close to a Walt Disney. So it has to bring in outside stuff just to be able to operate, to offer anything to customers. If it had to rely on its film legacy alone, it'd sink. And since it never had an original plan, like Disneyland with its "Adventureland", "Frontierland" and "Magic Kingdom" domains, it doesn't matter so much where it puts its attractions. Maybe that's why it gets away with the stuff you mention.

If I may digress: I have a real fear that WDW and Disneyland will start becoming more like Universal by bringing in stuff the Disney Studio didn't create or adapt, like Marvel or Avatar. The Disney magic is in danger of being diluted by such stuff. And unlike Universal, Disney doesn't NEED it. It has a rich legacy of its own films and TV shows PLUS a legacy of creativity; THAT'S what Disney should be drawing on for new park attractions. I can't wait for Robert Iger to be shown the door; maybe the new CEO, whoever he or she may be, will "get" people's affection for Disney and sustain and enlarge the parks in a way that honors and enhances Walt's original legacy. I can only hope...

I was going to ignore this post, but I couldn't help myself, as it really struck a nerve in me. The biased attitude in this post is really unbelievable. Firstly, Universal has been around for much longer than Disney, and they've got a bigger name in film than Disney will ever have. Second of all, the original Universal Studios in Hollywood, CA pretty much relies the WORLDWIDE KNOWN film legacy and it hasn't "sank". Universal has a huge fanbase and it won't ever "sink". Thirdly, Disney's shows nowadays SUCK. They were great years ago, but not now. NBC Universal steadily has had great shows since the beginning, and they continue to make great ones. Fourthly, Disney already has other works in their parks.

Disney's film and television legacy will probably never top Universal's. Universal has been around for exactly one hundred years this year and they're not going ANYWHERE. I'll admit Disney does theme parks better, but to say Disney's legacy in film and television is greater than Universal's is laughable and one of the most ridiculous statements I've ever heard. Downright insulting, actually. Oh and speaking of theme parks, Disney should have went to USH before building DHS so they could have shown them what a real movie studio looks like.

 

[JT3000]

Universal really doesn't have the film and television legacy that Disney does.

Disney has a larger film legacy than one of the oldest movie studios in Hollywood, which is currently celebrating its centennial? And Disney has a larger television legacy than the oldest network in American TV, NBC, along with USA Network, Syfy, E!, Bravo, Chiller, G4, Telemundo, and a number of other channels?

If you say so.

I have a real fear that WDW and Disneyland will start becoming more like Universal by bringing in stuff the Disney Studio didn't create or adapt, like Marvel or Avatar.

Or Star Wars, or Indiana Jones, or Muppets, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or...

Oh and speaking of theme parks, Disney should have went to USH before building DHS so they could have shown them what a real movie studio looks like.

Eisner was too busy copying from the USF plans he had been shown.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

-Transformers - It's an exact copy of what's at Signapore and Universal Hollywood. Tons of folks, including myself, aren't happy about a possible Carlsand clone coming to WDW yet I haven't read many people being unhappy about Transformers coming to Orlando. There's gotta be somebody out there not diggin' this move.

- Shorter park hours, same price - Have either USO or IOA ever stayed open until midnight or at least past 8pm? If they do it's rare yet they charge what Disney charges. I understand it's really only MK that open till 12 but Epcot always a 9pm closer and DHS is regularly open past 7 as well. How does the value compare?

I deliberately left out the rest of your points as I feel they're much more subjective and eventually come down to a debate of opinions, but as for these two points -
Transformers: Least we forget, this ride is merely an added "bonus". A bonus that sprung out of nowhere and literally took a lot of insiders by surprise just as it did the rest of us. It's only purpose is to fill an empty building and help with future capacity issues once the wizards take over USF. Considering what MK is currently getting to help capacity issues, a big smackin' E-ticket to help make way for an even bigger and bolder E-ticket is nothing short of awesome. To compare that to Cars Land, which suits are hoping will be the end of DHS's problems is frankly ridiculous.

As for the short hours... I recall plenty of off-season periods when DHS had a 7-8pm closing and frankly I'm surprised you'd even bring it up at all considering WDW has the audacity to charge us full price for a park that during peak seasons closes shop at 6pm. Universal is far from perfect (what is perfect nowadays, really? - TDR aside ) but to debate these points as negative ones is reaching.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Disney has a larger film legacy than one of the oldest movie studios in Hollywood, which is currently celebrating its centennial? And Disney has a larger television legacy than the oldest network in American TV, NBC, along with USA Network, Syfy, E!, Bravo, Chiller, G4, Telemundo, and a number of other channels?

If you say so

I'm not merely talking about television stations, I'm talking about the actual legacy of the studio. Universal is ahead of Disney in the department. To a Disney fan, it may not seem this way. But to the Academy, film buffs, film historians, film students, etc., it's a different story. And even then, I'm talking about actual Disney shows, as in the Disney Channel. And ABC.

 

[kap91]

I'm still missing Universal's problem with thematic cohesiveness. Production Central is a problem, as is Twister in New York, but everything else is where it should be.

I guess I have two main problems with the theming at Universal - one is more specific to the original park, the other applies to both:

1. In the original park, the only area that makes any thematic sense is New York and there's a roller coaster going through it. The entire area where ET, the animal show, Simpsons, and MIB is located doesn't make any sense thematically. It's just a hodgepodge of weird looking buildings. ET is next to fieval land and New York's central park with a spongebob storepants store. ET itself is just a square building with no theming on the outside. The simpson's is located next to the international food and film festival. What the heck is that anyway?Even if the map says these are distinct areas - in the park they are not. The same criticism can be made of production central - although its slightly more excusable since its "supposed" to be that way - I don't entirely buy it. In short, not only do the attractions and buildings not make sense next to each other, many of the buildings are little more than soundstages (or less) with billboards on them. IOA is mostly lacking these exact problems - although it has problems in many areas (Marvel island, toon lagoon, part of suessland) in that instead of theming a land to a comic book world for instance, they instead decorate a land with tons of cutouts painted with comic book characters. I don't feel like I'm walking through the world Popeye, spiderman, or Dr. Suess - rather I'm walking through a land with a lot of memorabilia and posters (even if they're very creative and nice ones). The placemaking strategy used in Jurassic Park, Port of Entry, WWOHP, and Lost Continent should be carried into the rest of the lands.

2. My second big problem with Universal's thematic cohesiveness is their utter disregard for intruding sight lines. I can see Hogwarts in jurrasic park and suessland - including its show building. I can see the Poseidon show building from marvel island and suessland. I can see the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket in Suessland. And you don't have to be in a specific spot, squint and look through the trees. All of these intrusions and more are glaringly obvious throughout the park. Sightlines are something Disney cares very much about and for the most part executes very well - not the case with the Universal parks.

I would like to point out that none of this criticism is directed towards the interiors of the rides - while there are places Universal could do better there, for the most part once you step inside the building everything is spot on.

 

[GLaDOS]

1. In the original park, the only area that makes any thematic sense is New York and there's a roller coaster going through it.

Disagree. Hollywood and San Fran are very nicely themed, New York has Rockit in one, small, basically backstage area of the land, Amity was nice (and Potter will blow it out of the water). More than I can say about DHS, which has two good looking areas in Sunset and Hollywood.

ET is next to fieval land and New York's central park with a spongebob storepants store. ET itself is just a square building with no theming on the outside. The simpson's is located next to the international food and film festival. What the heck is that anyway?Even if the map says these are distinct areas - in the park they are not.

Well, you're talking about 2 different lands here. MIB/Simpsons/IFF are the World Expo. Everything else is in Woody Woodpecker's KidZone, both of which are in the beginnings of being completely changed. And yes, they are very much in different areas of the park. Simpsons is getting it's own mini land as we speak, and the KidZone will be completely overhauled in 2016/17. They are problem areas from the park's original design, left untouched by the park's former owners that had no idea how to run a theme park. I give them a benefit of the doubt for now because I know what's on the way for them.

IOA is mostly lacking these exact problems - although it has problems in many areas (Marvel island, toon lagoon, part of suessland) in that instead of theming a land to a comic book world for instance, they instead decorate a land with tons of cutouts painted with comic book characters. I don't feel like I'm walking through the world Popeye, spiderman, or Dr. Suess - rather I'm walking through a land with a lot of memorabilia and posters (even if they're very creative and nice ones). The placemaking strategy used in Jurassic Park, Port of Entry, WWOHP, and Lost Continent should be carried into the rest of the lands.

I completely disagree about your Marvel point. It is themed to a city where the villains and heroes are in constant battle. The larger than life representations of the characters are supposed to represent that. Plus there are so many small, fan-aimed touches to the land. As a Marvel fan, I absolutely love the land. Toon Lagoon is a bit of a problem in it's main drag, but the sight gags make up for it, IMO. It's definitely not the best themed land in the world.

And Seuss? Seriously? You're gonna go after Seuss? That place is FANTASTICALLY themed. I seriously don't get what you're saying there.

2. My second big problem with Universal's thematic cohesiveness is their utter disregard for intruding sight lines. I can see Hogwarts in jurrasic park and suessland - including its show building. I can see the Poseidon show building from marvel island and suessland. I can see the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket in Suessland. And you don't have to be in a specific spot, squint and look through the trees. All of these intrusions and more are glaringly obvious throughout the park. Sightlines are something Disney cares very much about and for the most part executes very well - not the case with the Universal parks.

I can see the castle in Adventureland. I can see Splash Mountain in Liberty Square. I can see Japan from America. I can see Mount Everest from Dinoland USA. I can see a tiki hut from Frontierland. I can see Soarin's show building from multiple parts of WS. I can see the Swan and Dolphin towering over WS.

I think this is nitpicking. It's never taken me out of the moment to see all the above.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I was just getting ready to ask, can't you see the castle from almost any location in MK?

 

[Mickey_777]

And the point of this thread is to talk about why USO gets slack and DHS doesn't.

Yes! Finally somebody read the whole post...Magenta Panther too. Hmm, why is it that we cut Uni more slack than the mouse? So far it's cause it was always a hodgepodge to begin with and Disney folks are . Kinda' gross...moving on.

Anyways, about the whole movie production thing (also off topic), which studio currenty produces more films? Am I crazy to guess it's Disney? Plus I'd bet your common Joe off the street could name more Disney films than Uni films. That's gotta count for something in terms of legacy.

 

[AswaySuller]

I disagree... I think people could name more universal movies... They just don't know they're universal movies...

Is the Disney brand stronger than universal's? Yes

Is there movie and tv making legacy bigger? No

I personally think Universal gets slack where DHS doesn't because Walt never had a hand in DHS and it kind of shows (same with AK IMO). It's kinda like when a great band suddenly release a poor album it looks worse because you KNOW they can do better.

We expect more......

They set the bar so high they almost shot themselves in the foot.
DHS was rushed, green lit in panic by Eisner.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Yes! Finally somebody read the whole post...Magenta Panther too. Hmm, why is it that we cut Uni more slack than the mouse? So far it's cause it was always a hodgepodge to begin with and Disney folks are . Kinda' gross...moving on.

Anyways, about the whole movie production thing (also off topic), which studio currenty produces more films? Am I crazy to guess it's Disney? Plus I'd bet your common Joe off the street could name more Disney films than Uni films. That's gotta count for something in terms of legacy.

Insulting people for disagreeing with your point is often considered a sign that there is little substance.

Issues have been mentioned an recognized. As has been stated, a huge difference between the two is that Universal is actively working to fix the issues while Disney just ignores theirs and creates more.