Will IOA ever surpass a Disney park attendance wise?

[BryceM]

While true, you would be surprised at the number of people that don't care. I had a number of clients, especially those with small kids, that had no interest in IOA outside of the Potter expansion. When they found out that Forbidden Journey had a 48" height restriction, even that interest dropped.

That's sad to me. Sometimes I miss what IOA was like before WWoHP. I know that WWoHP has done wonders for the park (and the entire resort) and I do think it is just amazing/stunning/beautiful. But I do miss when it wasn't known as "the Harry Potter theme park" and when The Lost Continent was a whole lot cooler.

 

[cynic710]

i said no for a few reasons. on my last trip in 2011 i spent 4 days in the world and 2 at uni (one being at ioa) and though its fun and integrated and enjoyable, the "magic" will forever be missing from uni parks. Details like park employees (usually early 20 somethings who just dont get into it most of the time) and exposed "real world" structure are things disney painstakingly work to maintain to keep the show going for guests. I just dont see uni doing that. i love going to the uni parks, but i just hold disney parks to a higher standard that they somehow always deliever on.

 

[FigmentJedi]

To be fair, Universal never promoted it as its own theme park, it was other media outlets that dubbed it as such.

It's always promoted as "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando" and generally promoted in a manner that separates it from the rest of Islands of Adventure

 

[draybook]

Strange, in our 5 trips to Uni we've found the workers to not only be happier than Disney cms but many of them came from Disney.

 

[Tom Morrow]

It's always promoted as "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando" and generally promoted in a manner that separates it from the rest of Islands of Adventure

I checked out the Universal Orlando website, and now I see what you mean, they seem to avoid referring to it as a land or section of a theme park. However, they do tell you everything it offers, so if people still go expecting an entire theme park, they should have done even minimal research.

Since the attendance numbers initially skyrocketed when WWoHP opened, but have not subsided after three years, I'd wager that people on average aren't too disappointed.

 

[Dads 2 Boys]

The Magic Your Way packages pretty much guarantee that Uni/IOA will never beat WDW in attendance and it's simply becuase of money.

Adding one day to a MYW pass from 5 days to 6 days cost $10 pp so for a family of four it's $40 more. If that same family chooses to do Uni/IOA for that same 6th day, the cost after food, tix, transportation will be around $500-$550. That is a tremendous cost difference and for the large majority of guests it's the reason why they stay in WDW.

 

[draybook]

Not really. I'd wager that most people do what we do which is to stay off-site and hit Universal first. Plus we have a rental car so it's a cinch.

 

[experiment624]

i said no for a few reasons. on my last trip in 2011 i spent 4 days in the world and 2 at uni (one being at ioa) and though its fun and integrated and enjoyable, the "magic" will forever be missing from uni parks. Details like park employees (usually early 20 somethings who just dont get into it most of the time) and exposed "real world" structure are things disney painstakingly work to maintain to keep the show going for guests. I just dont see uni doing that. i love going to the uni parks, but i just hold disney parks to a higher standard that they somehow always deliever on.

Agreed, and Uni Employees crack on that all the time, "we don't work for Disney, so we can do whatever we want..." A Uni Employee performing in a show at US said that to the audience I was in, and grabbed himself. I didn't care for that and I prefer the magic and family friendly.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

I have personally had great Uni employees, and I have had a few whom were terrible, but its rare.

I have had absolutely amazing Disney cast members who have gone above and beyond, and I usually have come across a great one ever trip I have ever been on. I still to this day remember a great server from Italy who I tipped almost the same amount of my meal because he was that fantastic. In all my years of going to Disney I think I had only one questionable cast member who was kind of bad, but another cast member saw what was happening and she took over my issue and the bad one was taken off stage.

As for the whole Potterland fiasco, I would have to say yes, Universal is milking it for all its worth, and in the process making it out to be more than it is. Its really a very small subsection of the park and if you blink you walked through it. Hopefully the second phase will make it larger because if you take out the Potter fanboi's, I would have to think a family planning a vacation and spending deluxe rates for the Potter experience that's portrayed by Universal will be completely disappointed by what they find. There is just not enough beyond a couple hours of things to do with half that time waiting in line.

I will make this statement, if DHS does actually get a Star Wars land, it will draw 13 million making it number 2 in Florida.

Jimmy Thick- The Star Wars fanboi's unite to bring down Potter!!!

 

[JIMINYCR]

Details like park employees (usually early 20 somethings who just dont get into it most of the time) and exposed "real world" structure are things disney painstakingly work to maintain to keep the show going for guests. I just dont see uni doing that. i love going to the uni parks, but i just hold disney parks to a higher standard that they somehow always deliever on.

I've found on multiple trips, theres to be a vast difference in the way the CM's interact and assist guests and the feeling that it's more than just a job to them attitude. It's got to be the standards in training and family environment that makes the difference.

The Magic Your Way packages pretty much guarantee that Uni/IOA will never beat WDW in attendance and it's simply becuase of money. Adding one day to a MYW pass from 5 days to 6 days cost $10 pp so for a family of four it's $40 more. If that same family chooses to do Uni/IOA for that same 6th day, the cost after food, tix, transportation will be around $500-$550. That is a tremendous cost difference and for the large majority of guests it's the reason why they stay in WDW.

Yet I can't remember when the last time I read on this or any of the other sites how guests won't go to Uni any more because of the unreasonable profits corporate pushes through, poor decisions regarding ticket price increases, cost of hotel stay charges.

Agreed, and Uni Employees crack on that all the time, "we don't work for Disney, so we can do whatever we want..." A Uni Employee performing in a show at US said that to the audience I was in, and grabbed himself. I didn't care for that and I prefer the magic and family friendly.

I've encountered Disney CM's horsing around, doing things outside of what you might think they should be doing "on stage" but never anything I would consider offensive or inappropriate for a family style environment. There have been several Uni employee's that I would have tossed out for horrible actions with guests if I were a supervisor.

 

[Master Yoda]

I will make this statement, if DHS does actually get a Star Wars land, it will draw 13 million making it number 2 in Florida.

Jimmy Thick- The Star Wars fanboi's unite to bring down Potter!!!

and I'll only be responsible for like half of those turnstile rotations.

 

[Dads 2 Boys]

and I'll only be responsible for like half of those turnstile rotations.

Don't exagerrate......errrr.......actually 2/3 would be more like it!! (and my best friend would move to Florida to accomadate the other 1/3)

 

[Tom Morrow]

i said no for a few reasons. on my last trip in 2011 i spent 4 days in the world and 2 at uni (one being at ioa) and though its fun and integrated and enjoyable, the "magic" will forever be missing from uni parks. Details like park employees (usually early 20 somethings who just dont get into it most of the time) and exposed "real world" structure are things disney painstakingly work to maintain to keep the show going for guests. I just dont see uni doing that. i love going to the uni parks, but i just hold disney parks to a higher standard that they somehow always deliever on.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but maybe its because Universal's goal isn't absolute immersion and authenticity like Disney's is. And in the end, what would you rather get for your money? A fully authentic park that unfortunately only has a few attractions, with many of said attractions being outdated, tired, and in need of a refurbishment? Or seeing a *gasp* ride's show building?

Agreed, and Uni Employees crack on that all the time, "we don't work for Disney, so we can do whatever we want..." A Uni Employee performing in a show at US said that to the audience I was in, and grabbed himself. I didn't care for that and I prefer the magic and family friendly.

I might have agreed with this around 2008-2009, but they have really stepped up their game. At worst, their employees, on average, are now about the same as Disney's. However lately I find that I don't have a single complaint, yet find it easy to spot not-so-magical CM's at Disney.

 

[draybook]

I'm not a Potter fanboi nor do I partake in any of the rides or most of the activities in that land. I still think it's awesome and the second phase will only make it shine further while adding more for folks to see.

It's obvious that there are people here that just don't want to give Universal their due credit just because they're the "competition". That's cool, just say so. I much prefer Disney, but Universal is currently laying the smack down as far as producing more bang for the buck right now.

 

[cheezbat]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but maybe its because Universal's goal isn't absolute immersion and authenticity like Disney's is. And in the end, what would you rather get for your money? A fully authentic park that unfortunately only has a few attractions, with many of said attractions being outdated, tired, and in need of a refurbishment? Or seeing a *gasp* ride's show building?I might have agreed with this around 2008-2009, but they have really stepped up their game. At worst, their employees, on average, are now about the same as Disney's. However lately I find that I don't have a single complaint, yet find it easy to spot not-so-magical CM's at Disney.

And this year that has been the exact same experience I've encountered.

Some people on here just absolutely hate that Disney has some serious competition. If they were smart they'd love it....realizing that the competition bringing it up about five notches forces Disney to make a move and actually give us new experiences and a better product.

I'm giving my money to the resort that's spending my money the way I want to see it reinvested: in attractions.

 

[George]

I've recused myself from this poll since as a time traveler I know the answer and don't want to have an impact on history.

 

[danpam1024]

Strange, in our 5 trips to Uni we've found the workers to not only be happier than Disney cms but many of them came from Disney.

Same here. Just got back from 5 days at UOR and heading back in 2 weeks for another couple of days- I love it!

 

[BryceM]

The best experience I've ever had with an employee at a theme park was at Universal.

 

[draybook]

Now, I don't want people getting the wrong idea. I've never had a Disney employee walk up to me and put five fingers across my face, but the most genuine, personal interaction I've ever had was with a handful of Universal workers.

For example; while leaving Seussland at closing one night, we were walking past a couple of custodial workers that were playing kick with a plastic bottle. The lady gave it a good boot and it went right into the bag. I told her, "the 49ers could use a good kicker" to which all of us had a hardly laugh and very pleasant "good nights". These people were having an absolute blast picking up garbage and the joy was genuine and brought a smile to our faces.

I know that almost every Disney custodial CM enjoys their job as well but many of them seem more low key to us. I wonder if sometimes it's caused by cultural barriers, as it seems that Disney has way more international workers and people from different backgrounds/languages.

 

[experiment624]

I might have agreed with this around 2008-2009, but they have really stepped up their game. At worst, their employees, on average, are now about the same as Disney's. However lately I find that I don't have a single complaint, yet find it easy to spot not-so-magical CM's at Disney.

You're right, that was a few years ago, I haven't been to US or IOA in a couple years, I would be pleased to find they are more family friendly now. I agree with you, not all Disney CMs are perfect on stage, no doubt or argument there. I never felt that "spark" at the Uni parks and that's why I haven't been there in a few years. Glad that you mention your updated view because I will definitely take that into consideration when thinking about going there again. (I do love their resorts!)