jane.steve11 said:
I don't understand why there seems this need to criticise competition to Disney. We come over from the UK for 2 to 3 weeks at a time and whilst Disney is our favourite we come over for the 'Orlando' experience including Disney, Universal, Sea World, Busch and the many other small attractions in and around the area. All of these attractions have plus points and Universal scores well on thrill rides but not so well on the overall 'experience and theming'. When we come over from the UK we just appreciate that there is this massive choice of different parks and attractions and try to do as many as we can in the time we have - I totally agree with a previous post in that the better other parks get in the area, the more likely Disney will put greater effort in to improving their own parks and resorts to keep ahead of the competition. Finally. with reference to the first post I think it was particularly rude as the person is only trying to make a living for himself and his family. When we holiday both in Orlando and in Europe you do get pestered by, for example, timeshare operators, however I appreciate they are only trying to make a living and say 'no thankyou'. Though I agree he shouldn't have sunk to your level and made a gesture back.
Only 10 weeks till we hit AKL for 3 weeks.......
Nobody bashes SeaWorld and the other attractions b/c their management has class, doesn't bash it's competition and works on expanding their market as well as catering to the niche markets (brewing education, wildlife, etc).
I spent 7 years working at UO and at one time wanted to make a career there but the company sucks. I do think that the UO product is mediocre and management is terrible. I can tell you stories that would make you wonder how that place is still in business and how they aren't sued. Now I think UO does have some good things and if they weren't in Orlando they'd have a better image (in other words, no "in your face" reminder that #1 is right down the street).
Last time I voiced my opinion on this site I got attacked. The truth is, besides working in the biz, I've spent years analyzing the industry, reading reports, journals, news, listening to management interviews, talking with execs, front line employees, etc. Hell, my degree was almost in theme park management but i realized there is no money in that. Now I'm conferences and conventions for another local comapny and own my own e-commerce business development company.
ANd BTW, U360 was a let down. THe images were distorted, the pyro made no sense and did not compliment the video (except T2 scene), nm the fact that there was almost no pyro. And those screens are eyesores in the park. They didn't even take away the photo spot signs where you used to be able to take pics of the cityscape. Now you see what you're supposed to take a pic of on the sign and in reality, a big ugly white sphere. Way to go UO!!
Both sets of die hard fans have their biases but reagrdless, I'll take the Disney's side anyday!
