Universal Orlando Getting Bigger, Better, Wetter, Wilder

Mike S

Well-Known Member
I believe one of the differences between the camps of fanbois is the fact that a lot of Universal Fanbois were Disney Fanbois first.
Most of the straight up Disney Fanbois hated Uni before Uni started making their home team look bad.
I always wanted to go to Universal cause I knew they had Jurassic Park and that was pretty much my favorite movie. Sadly Kongfrontation was already closed by the time I finally went.
 

Funmeister

Well-Known Member
That's not really true. On a literal level, yes, the specific dollar spent in one place isn't spent somewhere else, but the increased attendance at one park doesn't have to be cannibalized from another. If that were the case, it wouldn't make sense for WDW to have four parks. Some people, of course, will just say they have X days in Orlando and each day they choose to be at one resort is a loss for another. But new attractions also drive increased Orlando-area tourism which ultimately benefits everyone. For example, a family that likes both resorts may have not been thinking of coming to WDW next year, but who comes to Orlando to visit something new at Universal, may decide to put in a couple of days at their WDW favorites. More people visiting Orlando for whatever reason puts more money in local pockets, some of which will get spent at WDW. And so on. Economics is not a zero-sum game.

In short, Universal upping their game is both a benefit and a concern for WDW, and the long-term impact isn't easy to predict.

Well wait. It is true. If universal Orlando did not exist and those guests visited they would be going to Disney. Guests did not make trips to exclusively go to Disney up until the last few years. (For the most part) it doesn't HAVE to cannibalize other parks but it does. Disney and Uni attendance was up last year and Sea World was way down. This shows people still went to central Florida to vacation but opted not to go to Sea World. You cannot tell me The people who did not go to SW chose not to go to Florida at all.

Would you agree that Disney has lost market share to Universal?

I understand what you are saying but it is hard to buy into that reasoning when kids are walking through Disney resorts/parks/downtown Disney with Harry Potter wands when they could have bought mouse ears.
 
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Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
I do believe that after Sapphire Falls and WonderSea open, UOR will be a thing. A solid vacation destination of it's own. Dare I say, more resort than Disneyland Resort even.

(Oh, he didn't?!? He did!)

I'll top your statement by saying it's currently more so than Disneyland.

Mainly because the resort elements at DLR beyond the parks are not much to go on about and the atmosphere is better at UOR (boats + shady pathways > immediate Anaheim urban sprawl).
 

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
Well wait. It is true. If universal Orlando did not exist and those guests visited they would be going to Disney. Guests did not make trips to exclusively go to Disney up until the last few years. (For the most part) it doesn't HAVE to cannibalize other parks but it does. Disney and Uni attendance was up last year and Sea World was way down. This shows people still went to central Florida to vacation but opted not to go to Sea World. You cannot tell me The people who did not go to SW chose not to go to Florida at all.

Would you agree that Disney has lost market share to Universal?

I understand what you are saying but it is hard to buy into that reasoning when kids are walking through Disney resorts/parks/downtown Disney with Harry Potter wands when they could have bought mouse ears.
Kids having wands is not proof that UNI is cannibalizing Disney. Overall visitors to the Orlando has been increasing for years. This can explain away some. People could be booking longer trips than they once would to see both parks.
Of course, I believe that UNI is actually taking days away from Disney, but my point is that using people in Harry Potter gear as proof isn't proving anything. I mean, my kid wore her Jack Sparrow outfit to IoA. That doesn't prove that Disney cannibalized days from my UNI trip.
 
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Kman101

Well-Known Member
I'm happy to say I was a fan of Universal before their explosion of amazingness and I'm also a fan of Disney.

I loved Back to the Future, Kongfrontation, Nickelodeon Studios (I refused Jaws for many man many years, lol) .... sigh. As great as Uni is now, I miss the old stuff too. I still sort of cringe seeing Blue Man taking over the Nick Studios.

My problem is the "fanbois" suddenly insisting Universal is the most amazing place ever and the be all end all and no criticism is allowed.
 

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
I'm happy to say I was a fan of Universal before their explosion of amazingness and I'm also a fan of Disney.

I loved Back to the Future, Kongfrontation, Nickelodeon Studios (I refused Jaws for many man many years, lol) .... sigh. As great as Uni is now, I miss the old stuff too. I still sort of cringe seeing Blue Man taking over the Nick Studios.

My problem is the "fanbois" suddenly insisting Universal is the most amazing place ever and the be all end all and no criticism is allowed.
Except, no one has said that. But oddly enough, a lot of Disney fans hear that.

Odd.
 
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hopemax

Well-Known Member
Exactly. Universal is just stepping up their game and doing a great job of making their own brand known. This isn't a war, it's a coming of age for Universal.

While talking to my Dad about this thread, I said that Universal NOW, feels like what WDW might have felt like between 1986ish-1994. Captain EO, Star Tours, Splash Mtn, ToT, the early part of the resort boom at WDW, water parks, mini golf, stuff like that. WDW started that period in 1986 with 2 parks and total attendance of 23.9 million. Universal Orlando isn't that high, 2013 attendance was 15.2 but 2009 (pre-HP) numbers were only 9.9 million. That's 50+% growth in 4 years. That's amazing. 2014 numbers can't be that far away, and I would expect them to be strong, and even stronger this year.
 

BrerJon

Well-Known Member
I'm happy to say I was a fan of Universal before their explosion of amazingness and I'm also a fan of Disney.

I loved Back to the Future, Kongfrontation, Nickelodeon Studios (I refused Jaws for many man many years, lol) .... sigh. As great as Uni is now, I miss the old stuff too. I still sort of cringe seeing Blue Man taking over the Nick Studios.

I'm a fan of quality themed entertainment, whoever produces it. I became a Disney fanboy because they did it better than anyone else, but since they decided to give up on that for fifteen years, I'm cheerleading for the company that seems to have embraced it.

I'll always consider Disney my 'home team' as they were the ones that blew me away on my first visit to Orlando, but I've always loved Universal too - I was one of those kids getting gakked at Nick Studios, I adored Jaws from the day it opened until the day it closed, and I feel as privileged to have enjoyed Kongfrontation as I do about Horizons.

Nowadays, after years of feeling like Disney is trying to push me away by closing things I like and not building anything decent new, I'm firmly on Team Universal. But if Disney really turned the tide, if DisneySea standards became the norm not the exception, I would stop telling people they might get more value from Universal in a heartbeat.
 

Funmeister

Well-Known Member
Kids having wands is not proof that UNI is cannibalizing Disney. Overall visitors to the Orlando has been increasing for years. This can explain away some. People could be booking longer trips than they once would to see both parks.
Of course, I believe that UNI is actually taking days away from Disney, but my point is that using people in Harry Potter gear as proof isn't proving anything. I mean, my kid wore her Jack Sparrow outfit to IoA. That doesn't prove that Disney cannibalized days from my UNI trip.

Um...it is proof that they are spending their money somewhere other than Disney.

Believe what you would like. The wand EXAMPLE has more truth to it than you prefer to believe.

BTW...you can buy a Jack Sparrow costume in many places besides WDW. Please tell me how many places you can purchase an Universal Orlando specific Harry Potter wand? I guess the guests hung out at the main gate and gave someone some money to go in and get it for them. Naive.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
I just didn't realize we needed to have teams. #TeamUniversal or #TeamDisney? No. I'm a fan of themed entertainment.

And to '71, I was simply pointing out I have always been a fan of both Disney and Universal. And yes, many take offense to anything critical said towards Universal. It's often a double standard.
 

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
Um...it is proof that they are spending their money somewhere other than Disney.

Believe what you would like. The wand EXAMPLE has more truth to it than you prefer to believe.

BTW...you can buy a Jack Sparrow costume in many places besides WDW. Please tell me how many places you can purchase an Universal Orlando specific Harry Potter wand? I guess the guests hung out at the main gate and gave someone some money to go in and get it for them. Naive.

What if it was a family of universal lovers giving Disney a try? That would be proof that they are giving someone other than Universal their money.

And reread. I said I do believe that Universal is taking guests away. I agreed with you on that. I was just nitpicking that anecdotal evidence is not proof. That is all.
 

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
I just didn't realize we needed to have teams. #TeamUniversal or #TeamDisney? No. I'm a fan of themed entertainment.

And to '71, I was simply pointing out I have always been a fan of both Disney and Universal. And yes, many take offense to anything critical said towards Universal. It's often a double standard.
That's why they are called fanbois. But in terms of "many", Disney wins. Go over to The DIS and say something harsh-ish about The Mouse. It's not pretty.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
That's why they are called fanbois. But in terms of "many", Disney wins. Go over to The DIS and say something harsh-ish about The Mouse. It's not pretty.

Well, that's true. I know it can be just as bad on the Disney end as well. Should have clarified my statement I guess.
 

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