Why Disney is better than Universal and other amusement parks...

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
I agree that the boat ride in Avatarland is going to have a more "Classic Disney Attraction" feel than many have considered. I am more interested in seeing what they bring to the table with this expansion than I have been in a long time at WDW.
I am just very concerned as to how they are going to theme the Soarin' Over Pandora ride system so that it actually appears that you are Soarin' Over Pandora and not watching a movie and being shaken around a bit.

castmembers slapping you with plant leaves as you shake? ;)
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Everyone has different tastes. But I can be with my family and someone will say, "Remember that restaurant at WDW 5 years ago?" Granted my memory isn't that great but I can't think of one memorable meal at Universal. OK, one. Bubba Gump's. Does that count? And the food at DLR blows them both out of the water. IMHO.
My main memories of food at modern WDW are about unspeakably bad food. Pig fodder at the 50s Prime Time, frozen sushi in Japan, and a vegetarian bean burger at the Liberty Inn so bad that it makes the thought of scraping warmish puke off a bathroom floor feel like haute cuisine by comparison.

Next time I'm at WDW I shall sustain myself by driving with my head outside the car window to catch some lovebugs with my mouth spread open like a whale shark sifting the ocean waters for some krill.
 

Fairybuzz

Well-Known Member
It used to, and still does elsewhere. But in Orlando.... the last innovative and truely state of the art surely has to be ToT or Test Track. Dinosaur was cloned but even so they're all a decade or two old now. Its nice to see modern innovation retro fitted to legacy attractions, but it doesn't always sit well with older themes and effects. It works well in Mansion, not so well in PotC (IMHO)

Before people mention it, Everest is a good third party coaster where in-ride track switches are nothing special now and is an attraction totally lacking in on-ride theming and story (IMHO)

Third party coasters are all over the place. Vekoma's RNRC I think Arrow Dynamics had a hand in thunder mt. and vekoma in paris's. Intimin AG may have had a hand in a space mt or two I gotta check the rcdb again.

DLR is moving forward fast. TDL you really don't need to mention everyone knows that. DLP is im not even sure whats up with that, Disney studios paris is probably the least value park in the world. The best rides in that park are toned down versions of cloned rides.



Everyone has different tastes. But I can be with my family and someone will say, "Remember that restaurant at WDW 5 years ago?" Granted my memory isn't that great but I can't think of one memorable meal at Universal. OK, one. Bubba Gump's. Does that count? And the food at DLR blows them both out of the water. IMHO.

There's a bubba gumps in manhattan too. In fact times square is pretty much like citywalk and dtd combined with a few extra stores and a traffic flow of cars. And of course a lot my crazy people barking at you that god is an alien and lives in his dog.

See bolded.

Stop...just stop...right there...

Exactly
 

RoyWalley

Well-Known Member
My main memories of food at modern WDW are about unspeakably bad food. Pig fodder at the 50s Prime Time, frozen sushi in Japan, and a vegetarian bean burger at the Liberty Inn so bad that it makes the thought of scraping warmish puke off a bathroom floor feel like haute cuisine by comparison.

Next time I'm at WDW I shall sustain myself by driving with my head outside the car window to catch some lovebugs with my mouth spread open like a whale shark sifting the ocean waters for some krill.
giphy.gif
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
My main memories of food at modern WDW are about unspeakably bad food. Pig fodder at the 50s Prime Time, frozen sushi in Japan, and a vegetarian bean burger at the Liberty Inn so bad that it makes the thought of scraping warmish puke off a bathroom floor feel like haute cuisine by comparison.

Next time I'm at WDW I shall sustain myself by driving with my head outside the car window to catch some lovebugs with my mouth spread open like a whale shark sifting the ocean waters for some krill.
Oh my! Such a malcontent! :joyfull:
 

SherlockWayne

Active Member
I'll admit that as of late, I've been spending way more time at Universal than I have at Disney, and ultimately I think it's simply because of the crowds. For a resort that's apparently seeing record attendance, I'm not sure where the peeps are at Uni. I can't remember the last time I waited more than 5 mins for Transformers, which genuinely surprises me. I still firmly believe that Disney does immersion and theming better than Uni, but that wouldn't be the case if Uni just completed their work. That mantra of good enough is certainly evident there. Other than that, I would be lying if I said Disney's attractions were even in the same ballpark technologically, which is very sad. I rarely eat in the parks, but I'd have to call it a toss-up for my purposes. MK is a disaster as far as I'm concerned, Be Our Guest is good, everything else is exactly what I'd expect from a park that focuses on speed over quality. While I honestly like LeFou's Brew over Butterbeer (I'm not much of a cream soda guy, but I love apples) I do see it for what it is, a shameless copy. Epcot and Animal Kingdom are the saving graces, offering decent alternatives to the standard burgers and fries. I like Uni's merchandise offerings better, but they are more suited to my demographic.

I still consider WDW to be the premiere resort in Orlando just because of the scale and breadth of its theme park and non-theme park offerings, I'm still waiting for the Universal golf course. But Universal is certainly proving what is possible with out of the box thinking and a healthy bit of competition. Disney is more than capable of matching or even surpassing Universal in any way they wish, but considering how unbelievably busy the parks always are, even I have a hard time coming up with a rational reason why they'd want to.

Full disclosure too, I researched many of the technologies now being integrated as MyMagic+ while in grad school, and, while I don't thing FastPass+ will be as successful as Disney is hoping for, I do honestly think in the long run MyMagic+ will generate a significant amount of revenue. It's off to a shaky start, no question, but it's laying a foundation that Disney will be happy to have in the future. E-tickets will bring in the crowds, for a while, but as the five minute Transformers, Mummy, Dragons, Hulk, and even Spider-Man queues I've gotten used to show, they don't necessarily guarantee profitability.
 

TalkingHead

Well-Known Member
I'll admit that as of late, I've been spending way more time at Universal than I have at Disney, and ultimately I think it's simply because of the crowds. For a resort that's apparently seeing record attendance, I'm not sure where the peeps are at Uni. I can't remember the last time I waited more than 5 mins for Transformers, which genuinely surprises me.

It had a 45 min wait when we were there in early November. Of course, early December is slow.

One thing I love about Universal: there's almost no strollers in the park. If Hogsmeade was in MK, there would be stroller parking all in front of the shop windows.
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
?...Disney studios paris is probably the least value park in the world. The best rides in that park are toned down versions of cloned rides.
Oh WDSP has some gems amongst the Eisner-induced cost cutting. Rock n Rollercoaster is a superior version of Orlandos. Armageddon is a technically complex show in the round. Cinemagique is still an emotionally charged masterpiece. Crush is surprisingly fun. The park is still sub par and still is the only Disney park with no lake or pond (grrrrr) but from my first visit in 2002 it's come along leaps and bounds. At least Rat should lift the bar.

Gotcha with the 3rd party coasters. I was just explaining why Everest isn't the best thing ever before I got jumped on.
 

Fairybuzz

Well-Known Member
Oh WDSP has some gems amongst the Eisner-induced cost cutting. Rock n Rollercoaster is a superior version of Orlandos. Armageddon is a technically complex show in the round. Cinemagique is still an emotionally charged masterpiece. Crush is surprisingly fun. The park is still sub par and still is the only Disney park with no lake or pond (grrrrr) but from my first visit in 2002 it's come along leaps and bounds. At least Rat should lift the bar.

Gotcha with the 3rd party coasters. I was just explaining why Everest isn't the best thing ever before I got jumped on.

While the RNRC seems to have better effects in Paris, I think the story in the MG....err DHS version makes more sense to me. Correct me if I'm wrong since I've only seen it in videos, but I believe the paris one focuses on a music video, which by extension means their music video is about a car flying through a stage upsidown. I've seen some weird Blammy out of the blue music videos in my life but I WOULD HAVE to see this one!

Crush coaster looks very fun to me. That would be what I would head to first. The placement of the magic carpets makes absolutely no sense. Its themed on Aladdin being nothing but a movie. That kinda sucks the magic out.

I believe the park can be saved though. It just needs the same love DCA is getting now.
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
RnRC in Paris is touted as a sequal to the original. The preshow is very similar but now the ride is built. Tyler has a model of a track segment infront of him. The (loose) theme is starring in the music video on stage - ie the band did make it to the gig- and the visuals are stunning. Especially with the new LED lighting and smoke package. Thinking about it, its no more bizzare than a limo flying over LA.
 

Pumbas Nakasak

Heading for the great escape.
RnRC in Paris is touted as a sequal to the original. The preshow is very similar but now the ride is built. Tyler has a model of a track segment infront of him. The (loose) theme is starring in the music video on stage - ie the band did make it to the gig- and the visuals are stunning. Especially with the new LED lighting and smoke package. Thinking about it, its no more bizzare than a limo flying over LA.

Given the bad driving and the crappy cars theres nothing bizarre about it.
 

James122

Well-Known Member
Third party coasters are all over the place.

Not trying to be a smart-aleck, but what is meant by the term 'third party coaster'? Do you mean a roller coaster that isn't built in house by Disney? I was thought that most of Disney's coasters were built by outside companies. I know that Arrow Dynamics built the Matterhorn at Disneyland, and I thought I read somewhere that MK's Space Mountain was also built by Arrow. I know Vekoma built Rock N' Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest & California Screamin'.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Not trying to be a smart-aleck, but what is meant by the term 'third party coaster'? Do you mean a roller coaster that isn't built in house by Disney? I was thought that most of Disney's coasters were built by outside companies. I know that Arrow Dynamics built the Matterhorn at Disneyland, and I thought I read somewhere that MK's Space Mountain was also built by Arrow. I know Vekoma built Rock N' Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest & California Screamin'.
Yes, that is what is meant. And California Screamin' is a disowned Intamin coaster.
 

James122

Well-Known Member
Yes, that is what is meant. And California Screamin' is a disowned Intamin coaster.

Gotcha. I was actually surprised when I learned that Vekoma built both Everest and Rock N' Roller coaster because both are so smooth. Every other Vekoma I've been on was always really rough.
 

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