Universal Studios Orlando attendance down 12% in 2009 from 2008

Slipknot

Well-Known Member
Only thing that I think will discourage a lot of Harry Potter fans who are not "in the know," from return visits, is that they are expecting a brand new park. Not a rebuilt portion of an already existing land in a park with only one brand new attraction and two re-themed attractions.

Like I said, time will tell. But I am waiting patiently for HPatFJ (hope soft openings happen soon) and Butterbeer. :slurp:
 

Mouse Man

New Member
After I finish my eight day/night Disney trip in September this year I do plan to spend two days at Universal and IOA to see the parks again and see the new attraction. The reason I am going is to see the new attraction of HP at IOA. I feel HP will do well for UNI for awhile, but will decline after the last two movies are over. Kids love HP but as with kids whats great today maybe boring tomorrow. I honestly do not see HP weekends thriving like Star Wars weekends mainly do to adults are really not into HP like they are into Star Wars. I have enjoyed going to see all the HP Movies and will not miss the last two mainly do to wanting to see how it all wraps up far as Movies go. Instead of HP at IOA I wish they would have done a Lord of the Rings instead. I do hope Uni does well and would like to see them succeed. Uni does do some wonderful theming, but there is something missing that I just can't put my hand on as to why there parks do not draw like WDW.
 

Dinoman96

Well-Known Member
Uni does do some wonderful theming, but there is something missing that I just can't put my hand on as to why there parks do not draw like WDW.

Atleast they don't have the following:

-Stitch's Great Escape
-Monsters Inc Laugh Floor
-Toonified rides in general
-Chester and Hester's Dinorama
-Cheesy sappy marketing about wishes and dreams
-Broken Yetis
-Unfinished descent in SSE
-Unfinished parks
-Generic merchandise
 

Mouse Man

New Member
Could be true but at least Disney does not have

Beetle Juice review
I Love Lucy lame display
No water tunnel to walk through any more due to money problems
Re-themed rides to aid in WHoHP
Poor customer service
Lack Luster resorts
outdated terminator movie that's now getting boring
Jimmy Neutron ride
CM's that bash guest's for wearing Disney hats or T's
Souvenirs that are just purely lame.
Finally lack of customers making them wonder are we going out of bussiness.
Totally lame Thanks Giving Day Parade.

I guess your right touche
 

Skip

Well-Known Member
Could be true but at least Disney does not have

Beetle Juice review - I, and apparently other people, still find this show to be entertaining - it's lasted in various incarnations from the inception of the park.
I Love Lucy lame display - It's a very small, unassuming building that has some thoughtful displays on one of the most nostalgic, cherished TV sitcoms of all time. Where's the problem here? What were you expecting?
No water tunnel to walk through any more due to money problems - I'll agree here, this is just a cheap-out.
Re-themed rides to aid in WHoHP - Disney has rethemed attractions before, this is nothing new...
Poor customer service - Customer service standards are just as high as Disney, don't try this card...
Lack Luster resorts - Disagreed, strongly. The Universal resorts are all excellent, with great pools, restaurants, and amenities... plus the whole walking distance from the park, early entry, and unlimited Universal Express.
outdated terminator movie that's now getting boring - Again, you seem to be in the minority here, as Terminator still plays to full-houses with genuine applause. It may be a child of the nineties, and it's directly based on the second of four movies, but it's still technologically impressive and extremely entertaining. Certainly not outdated.
Jimmy Neutron ride - This attraction space has always been weak and I agree with you - a souped up Six Flags type simulator not worthy of its location.
CM's that bash guest's for wearing Disney hats or T's - I've been teased at Disney, too, for wearing Universal-oriented shirts. There are bad eggs at both resorts.
Souvenirs that are just purely lame. - Erm, what? I'm sorry, but you're really reaching here.
Finally lack of customers making them wonder are we going out of bussiness. - Yeah... really reaching... this is the lull before the storm. Universal turned a profit last year and will certainly do so this year, as well, with Harry Potter coming...
Totally lame Thanks Giving Day Parade. - I'm inclined to agree somewhat - Universal's parades have never been as impressive as Disney's, in part due to the design of the park, but to call it poor I think is an over exaggeration - in its own right, Macy's is a quality parade well worth a viewing.

I guess your right touche

Responses in bold.

If you dislike the parks this much I don't see why you're devoting two days of your vacation time to it. Both resorts have flaws and I think it's fair that if we're going to point out Disney's (which was unnecessary in the first place, frankly) we should point out Universal's - however, most of yours, as I've noted, are either invalid or you're in the minority.

Now, as for the topic at hand, I pray Potter will give the parks the surge they need to spur further investment - if Harry Potter is successful in driving up massive attendance and generating profits, then we WILL see more epic adventures such as the upcoming Forbidden Journey. I'm no theme park analyst and I'm not going to sit here and try to figure out how much attendance will increase, but anyone who thinks Harry Potter will generate a serious attendance boost for at least a year (if not more) needs to re-examine their opinion.
 

emerald28

New Member
I've never been to Universal because I had heard it was all rollercoasters, and as I don't like coasters, I never had a desire to go. However, I will be going during my next Disney trip (most likely Dec 2011) to see HP... and will obviously at least check out the rest of the park while I am there. I bet HP draws a lot of new people like me, but the rest of the park will have to impress me, too, for my repeat business, and who knows about that... so I think it's hard to say if HP will increase the park's business for years to come. I mean, if I love it and want to go back, it'll be thanks to HP that I even discover that. :)
 

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