Universal Studios Florida or Disney's Hollywood Studios?

[JarethDrakul]

Universal, it has more to it for me.

USF, on the other hand, is very well laid out. There is a logical and smooth transition from one section to the next (a great example of this is how they transition seamlessly from New York to San Francisco to Amity Island...brilliantly done).

I agree with you completely on that.

 

[jonnyc]

I think it is unfair to compare DHS and USF, as USF in the current day is a 'main' park of a resort, in the vein of MK or Epcot, whilst DHS is secondry park. In the current incarnation of USF it can't really be compared to DHS.

It would be a fairer comparison in their early stages of opening.

 

[agent86]

I think it is unfair to compare DHS and USF, as USF in the current day is a 'main' park of a resort, in the vein of MK or Epcot, whilst DHS is secondry park. In the current incarnation of USF it can't really be compared to DHS.

It would be a fairer comparison in their early stages of opening.

So basically anything that makes Disney's park look better is the "fair" comparison? :hammer:

 

[Mr Bill]

Well if we're going to compare the early stages of opening...

In the opening year Universal had:
Jaws
ET
Universal's Horror Make-Up Show
Lucy: A Tribute
Nickelodeon Studios
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera
Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies
The Boneyard
Murder, She Wrote Mystery Theatre
Production Studio Tram Tour
The Adventures of Rocky and Bulwinkle Show
Ghostbusters Spooktacular
Kongfrontation

While the Studios had
The Great Movie Ride
Star Tours
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Specatacular
Backlot Tour
Theater of the Stars
Superstar Television
Monster Sound Show

 

[captainkidd]

I think DHS is themed better, but Universal is a much better park overall.

Tower of Terror is great. So is Rock N' Roller Coaster and Toy Story Mania. My kids loved Playhouse Disney, so that's cool. I like One Man's Dream, but after that, I'm bored with DHS. How many times can you sit through the Great Movie Ride or the Muppets?

Universal has Mummy, Men In Black, ET, Disaster, Woody Woodpecker Kids Area, Simpsons, Rip Ride and Rokkitt (once it works properly), Jimmy Neutron, Twister, Shrek, T2, Jaws. Much more to do there.

 

[jonnyc]

So basically anything that makes Disney's park look better is the "fair" comparison? :hammer:

No. If you have seen my posts in the past i am a big fan of USF and defend against those who snort pixie dust, alluding to my orginal point if we were discussing the main park of the resorts, Magic Kingdom vs. Universal Studios, i would pick US.

 

[captainkidd]

No. If you have seen my posts in the past i am a big fan of USF and defend against those who snort pixie dust, alluding to my orginal point if we were discussing the main park of the resorts, Magic Kingdom vs. Universal Studios, i would pick US.

I'd pick USF over DHS any day, but Magic Kingdom is my favorite theme park anywhere.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Like both, but USF is a better fuller day. Plus it has the Blues Brothers.

 

[MKCP 1985]

If I could only go to one, ever again, and it had to be today, I'd pick Universal because I want to check out the new coaster.

But I prefer the cast members at DHS.
I prefer the dining at Sci Fi to any restaurant at USF.
Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster make the end of Sunset Blvd a place where I want to be.
I prefer Fantasmic to any single show at USF.
I prefer the Incredibles, the UP characters, the characters who appear at the hat to any USF characters who may walk around.

Overall, by way of history, I prefer DHS but I like them both.

 

[Dinoman96]

USF.

I haven't been to DHS, but my parents went there, and were unimpressed.

 

[tomman710]

DHS and it isn't even up for debate. Anyone saying USF over DHS must either work for Universal or have never been to DHS.

DHS, while light on attractions is filled with top notch attractions from iconic characters.

USF is filled with mediocre attractions to horrible attractions, many of which replaced great attractions and alot of them are from flash in the pan characters.

*Shrek is a terrible ride, show, and character and should have never replaced the WAY better Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.

*Twister is boring and based off an even more boring film.

*The Simpsons is OK but grows stale after the first ride and replaced the much much better Back to the Future Ride.

*MIB, again cheap ride based off average movies.

I do love ET, Jaws, Terminator ...and I think the Mummy is ok but nothing at USF comes even close to touching the perfection of themeing, ride, story, etc of Tower of Terror ... or even RNRC, TSM, ST, or even VoTLM.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

 

[kcnole]

If Universal had a better entry point instead of going into soundstages it would win without any competition. As it stands USF is the better theme park. If I have to choose between the two I'd take USF almost every day. It has more attractions and while I don't think any of the attractions are as good as ToT, overall its got far better slate of attractions.

DHS however does have a better emotional feel (aside from the stupid hat). You walk into a beautifuly designed area with iconic music playing in the background which really sets sthe feel of the park. Too bad the rest of the park doesn't hold up.

 

[SirGoofy]

DHS and it isn't even up for debate. Anyone saying USF over DHS must either work for Universal or have never been to DHS.

Actually I work for Disney. And I'd go to USF over DHS if I had to pick one.

*Shrek is a terrible ride, show, and character and should have never replaced the WAY better Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.

Well, Shrek replaced Alfred Hitchcock, but nice try.

*Twister is boring and based off an even more boring film.

Twister is no more boring than the Back Lot Tour or the incredibly terrible LMA.

*The Simpsons is OK but grows stale after the first ride and replaced the much much better Back to the Future Ride.

And Star Tours is different, how?

*MIB, again cheap ride based off average movies.

Uhhhh...did you ride the same MIB ride I did? How can you call that lavish building, preshow, ride filled with AAs cheap?

I do love ET, Jaws, Terminator ...and I think the Mummy is ok but nothing at USF comes even close to touching the perfection of themeing, ride, story, etc of Tower of Terror ... or even RNRC, TSM, ST, or even VoTLM.

Mummy, MIB, Jaws, and T2 are 100x better at "theming, ride, story" of RnRC.

 

[sknydave]

DHS and it isn't even up for debate. Anyone saying USF over DHS must either work for Universal or have never been to DHS.

The funny thing is, it sounds like you've never been to Universal.

 

[JT3000]

DHS and it isn't even up for debate. Anyone saying USF over DHS must either work for Universal or have never been to DHS.

I love "my opinion is the only valid one" people. Of course, we know you came here just to bash Universal, so who cares, right?

 

[tomman710]

No, I thought we could all offer our opinions. That happens to be mine. Of course I have been to Universal and I have been a pass holder in the past my problem with them stems from taking out great attractions and filling them with lackluster ones.

Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, Twister, MIB are all terrible properties in my opinion. None of those films are good films and to make attractions of them is a waste of time ... and you know I could forgive that if the attractions were good. Yes I guess we rode the same MIB ride but every time I rode it it was going down or had some sort of technical difficulties, that combined with shoddy character design, passive gameplay, and lack of characters I care about ... makes it a fail in my book.

I do apologize for coming off as my opinion is gold and everyone else's sucks. I do see how I came off that way. That's not cool. However, I do feel like I am not blindly saying I hate Universal because they are not Disney ... first off I don't hate Universal, but I do offer valid reason for why I don't care for much of their products.

That all being said whylightbulb has me excited about a property I care nothing about in WWoHP, so maybe my thoughts on Universal as a whole will change when that hits but as for now my opinion of them is I think IoA has exactly TWO attractions that are worth going to the park for and USF has really gone downhill by getting rid of all the great stuff like Hitchcock, Hanna-Barbera, Back to the Future, King Kong and replacing it with attractions that I feel are cheap and don't have the WOW iconography that the ones they demolished them for did.

And yes I think DHS has some glaring deficiencies but they have three rides and a couple shows that blow anything at USF away ...

I will say that I agree that the story at RNRC is meh, I was more talking about ToT when I made my statement about story, themeing, etc ...

 

[kcnole]

IMO, there's not a single thing at DHS that even comes close to touching the perfection of Jaws. Its one of my favorite attractions ever. I will agree that Shrek is a bit lame, but its not like the Hitchcock show that was there before was fantastic to begin with.

I also don't care for Jimmy Neutron, and while my nostalgia side says that Hanna Barberra was a better attraction, I also realize that nobody aside from adults today even knows who any of those characters were. The ride system at that is the problem, as it is very dated, not the film.

I'll also agree with you that Twister is fairly lame and I much preferred The Ghostbusters show.

That said, I don't agree with anything else you said. Was I sad to see Kong go? Definitely, but he wasn't drawing lines anymore, and Mummy is fantastic. Would I have preferred to received mummy and kept Kong? Of course, but losing Kong for Mummy wasn't a downgrade.

Men In Black didn't replace anything, and the ride is fantastic. The theming is wonderful, the queue is brilliant, and the ride is fun. You may not like the movie but that doesn't mean the ride is lame.

Yes, Simpsons replaced Back to the Future, but its a slight upgrade still. I know there were those who were fond of BTTF, but it had gotten very dated. Adding the Simpsons was fresher and has breathed some life there. To me the ride system is still a bit dated, but its fun. And The Horror Makeup show is probably the best show in all of Orlando.

Is USF a perfect park? No, but the comparison is to DHS which is just a mess. Yes, DHS has some nice theming and two top notch rides, but that is it. Star Tours is in major need of an update as is the Great Movie Ride, Toy Story is ok, but just a low D ticket ride, and everything else is either very very dated, or just needs to be replaced. Add to the fact that DHS has no unifying direction and it fails. One or two good rides does not a park make.

So if the question is which park has the single best ride? I'd go with DHS. But the question is all in all, which park is a more complete, better experience. For that its USF at least in my opinion.

 

[SirGoofy]

IMO, there's not a single thing at DHS that even comes close to touching the perfection of Jaws.

Wow really?

I've never heard that from someone before. Not saying there's anything wrong with it, just weird.:lol:

 

[kcnole]

That's why its an opinion. Jaws is one of my favorite attractions anywhere as long as you have a good skipper. I absolutely love it. I normally ride it at least 3 times when I visit.