What is it the Universal does BETTER than Disney?

captainkidd

captainkidd

Well-Known Member
agent86 said:
I think a lot of people on here just want to perpetuate the myth that there "isn't anything for kids" at Universal.
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There's stuff for kids, but not nearly enough to fill an entire vacation. It's like going to Six Flags. They have kiddie rides, but it's a waste to spend much time there.

Don't think I'm comparing Universal with Six Flags. Just saying, for kids, Disney takes the cake.
 
Skip

Skip

Well-Known Member
captainkidd said:
There's stuff for kids, but not nearly enough to fill an entire vacation. It's like going to Six Flags. They have kiddie rides, but it's a waste to spend much time there.

Don't think I'm comparing Universal with Six Flags. Just saying, for kids, Disney takes the cake.
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So are you saying all of the attractions I listed above are a waste? :shrug: Not trying to put words in your mouth, but that's just how I'm reading that...
 
DDEPILLO

DDEPILLO

Active Member
Disney world has magic plain and simple, you walk in to the magic kingdom and you feel the magic and see it. The memories and history Walt Disney World has is unbeatable. This Is just my thought. Walt Disney World is more than just rides.
 
dvcnut39

dvcnut39

Well-Known Member
For my family-

Universal is a great one day, two park destination. We love going there.

WDW is a great one-two week vacation. If I had my choice, I would chain myself to WDW and would never leave, but that's just me.
 
yankspy

yankspy

Well-Known Member
agent86 said:
Yes, I caught the facetious tone of his post and agree with his point. MY point, though (also put facetiously) was that I would gladly trade those specific Disney attractions for their Universal counterparts if I had to because they are both huge disappointments.
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Sorry. Hard to tell these days.:lol:
 
A

agent86

New Member
yankspy said:
Sorry. Hard to tell these days.:lol:
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No worries. I completely understand. There's a statistic that communication is 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, and only 7% words. So when all you have to go on is written, you're only getting 7% of the intended messaged...definitely a lot of room for misunderstanding. :lol:
 
ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
ONE thing that I forgot to mention earlier....

Universal absolutely destroys Disney in one department since around they first opened in Florida....opening COMPLETE parks with a FULL DAY of rides, shows and attractions.

MGM Studios when it opened had 2 rides and very few other attractions, Universal opened with MANY more rides shows and attractions.

MGM had no Star Tours, had no Tower of Terror, no MuppetVision 3D, they didn't even have the entire sunset blvd!

When Animal Kingdom opened, it too had very few attractions, vs. IOA which had a full park worth of rides, shows and attractions.

Yet in both situations Disney charged full price and had to take time to include enough of real attractions to make it worthwhile.
 
A

agent86

New Member
ChrisFL said:
ONE thing that I forgot to mention earlier....

Universal absolutely destroys Disney in one department since around they first opened in Florida....opening COMPLETE parks with a FULL DAY of rides, shows and attractions.

MGM Studios when it opened had 2 rides and very few other attractions, Universal opened with MANY more rides shows and attractions.

MGM had no Star Tours, had no Tower of Terror, no MuppetVision 3D, they didn't even have the entire sunset blvd!

When Animal Kingdom opened, it too had very few attractions, vs. IOA which had a full park worth of rides, shows and attractions.

Yet in both situations Disney charged full price and had to take time to include enough of real attractions to make it worthwhile.
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I totally agree with this. I have never understood how Disney justifies charging the same full price at a brand new park when that park is really half a park at best. Makes no sense.

I know we're talking about the Florida parks (as I mentioned in my post just before this one) but a really good example of this is DLR. DL is a full fledged Disney park and yet DCA charges the same admission price, and has done so since the day it opened. Even today, it doesn't come close to matching what DL has to offer. I would think that if they were to price new parks accordingly, the attendance would be better. Its like buying a Hyundai for the price of a Mercedes. Who in their right mind would do that??
 
Skip

Skip

Well-Known Member
Just some more food for thought to bring to the table... MERCHANDISING. No one ever really talks about it, but I believe Universal completely trumps Disney in terms of merchandising. Remember the days where each store in Disney was unique, instead of today where it's the same generic Hannah Montana, Pirates, Jonas Brothers, and Stitch merchandise in almost every store... and you can't find much attraction-specific merchandise other than pins?

Well, Universal's got you covered! Most of Universal's stores are unique with attraction-specific stuff and merchandise relevant to its thematic location. Some examples:

*Spider-Man merchandise and collectibles at the Spider-Man Store
*Liquid Fear being sold at the Marvel Alternaverse Shop - that's right, creative merchandising for Fear-Fall!
*A comics shop right at home in Marvel Super Hero Island
*Various shops along Comic Strip Lane featuring comic strip merchandise, even some Ripsaw Falls stuff
*Plenty of Seuss themed knickknacks on Mulberry Street
*Tons and tons of awesome Atlantis stuff over at Treasures of Poseidon
*Some great Dueling Dragons plushes and collectibles at the remaining merchandising cart
*Plenty of Jurassic Park, River Adventure specific merchandise
*Jaws-attraction themed stuff in the carts at Amity
*Sahara Traders offers oodles of Revenge of the Mummy-specific stuff
*Men in Black gear at the store of the same name
*ET plushies and so such at the Toy Closet

...and the list goes on. Note that none of the ET stuff is being sold at Jaws, or none of the Seuss stuff is being sold at Jurassic Park - it's all kept within the thematic areas with the Island Trading Company and the Studios Store being the two exceptions, just like it should be.
 
MKCP 1985

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
call me skeptical, because I think Disney moves much more merchandise than Universal. Not only that, but most of the stuff mentioned above doesn't even sound appealing. Liquid Fear? Is that like snake oil? :lol:

No doubt the Harry Potter merchandise will be a big seller but still won't match Mickey and Minnie and the rest of the Disney stuff.
 
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agent86

New Member
MKCP 1985 said:
call me skeptical, because I think Disney moves much more merchandise than Universal. Not only that, but most of the stuff mentioned above doesn't even sound appealing. Liquid Fear? Is that like snake oil? :lol:

No doubt the Harry Potter merchandise will be a big seller but still won't match Mickey and Minnie and the rest of the Disney stuff.
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That all may be so, but I don't think that was Skip's point. There was a time at Disney where each individual shop was not only unique, but also themed to the area it was in. It was just another one of those little touches that enhanced the experience and made a visit to a Disney park all the more special. Nowadays, every shop is basically just another "Disney Store". Universal, on the other hand, still does it the way Disney used to do it. And Skip is right, it's very cool to see that.
 
dixiegirl

dixiegirl

Well-Known Member
agent86 said:
Ummmm...you don't?? Take a look at just a couple of the posts that do show that...





This second one takes the cake and is truly indicative of the sentiment of a lot of closed-minded Disney fans (ones who won't even give Universal a fair chance just because... it's Universal and not Disney).

I can just see it one of these days... Disney will open an "exciting new attraction" and call it Mickey's Warehouse Adventure. You'll go inside this big empty warehouse and the whole idea will be to just "use your imagination". Afterward, people will come and post here about how "amazing" it is and how it "blows away anything at Universal"... simply because it's Disney. :hammer:
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Ok here's the"second one" here...
I am not closed minded to the thought of going to Universal, I've been , had a great time but ....I just have absolutly no desire to go back back anytime soon and that was about 7 years ago...But that is me .
Yes as many and I have said..YOu really can't compare the two parks..
They are both on two entirely different levels.
Well to me any way...
 
Fade_to_Blah

Fade_to_Blah

Member
Mummy is a phenomenal attraction.....

The one that confuses me the most though is JP river adventure. I was completely underwhelmed by this and prefer dinosaur. The AA's looked terrible and were falling apart, things were broken. The door in the beginning was open, i was looking forward to the "open as the boat comes" thing. I know its nit picky but it annoyed me. Maybe its better now after the refurb......but I really do enjoy the Dinosaur attraction and think its done better.
 
captainkidd

captainkidd

Well-Known Member
Fade_to_Blah said:
Mummy is a phenomenal attraction.....

The one that confuses me the most though is JP river adventure. I was completely underwhelmed by this and prefer dinosaur. The AA's looked terrible and were falling apart, things were broken. The door in the beginning was open, i was looking forward to the "open as the boat comes" thing. I know its nit picky but it annoyed me. Maybe its better now after the refurb......but I really do enjoy the Dinosaur attraction and think its done better.
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I felt the exact same way. I was so looking forward to that one too. It was just very unimpressive. The T-Rex at the end was lame.
 
eddiemcgarrigle

eddiemcgarrigle

Well-Known Member
To me, Universal Studios has become one big yawn. The Simpsons ride is nothing compared to Back To The Future and I only visit the park for The Mummy.

Islands Of Adventure is a different beast though and Spiderman is a must for me (well, I have been reading the comics since I was 6) along with Dudley Do-Right while the missus loves the Hulk coaster and Duelling Dragons. Throw in Suess Landings for my son and it makes for a good day out.

Comparing the rides in parks doesn't really work for me unless there is a huge difference, for instance, Doctor Doom v's Tower Of Terror. One is a quick on and off ride with minimal theming while the other is completely immersive from the gardens to the lobby to the ride. Love it. While the missus will not miss out on The Hulk, it doesn't compare to the Rock 'n' Rollercoaster and if she had to choose, Aerosmith would win everytime.

Where will we end the comparing? Waterparks next?
 

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