Will IOA ever surpass a Disney park attendance wise?

[experiment624]

I really appreciate posters on this thread sharing their experiences with Uni employees because It's great to hear what others get to see. I haven't had any notably good experiences at Uni, and as mentioned, one specifically that turned me away. Gives us something to think about!

 

[englanddg]

I really appreciate posters on this thread sharing their experiences with Uni employees because It's great to hear what others get to see. I haven't had any notably good experiences at Uni, and as mentioned, one specifically that turned me away. Gives us something to think about!

Odd...I did a 4 day / 10 day split stay at Uni / WDW last year, and I found the Uni CMs hands down more attentive and just generally having more fun with their jobs.

Sure, there was the occasional sour grape, but really (and this is just averaging out experiences) there weren't that many special moments with CMs at Disney (there were a few), yet I had several at Uni. An example?

Well, I'll quote from my Trip Report (sorry about the length, but I wrote it the evening of, so my memory is fresh...and it says it better than I can now...)

"We walked the Three Broomsticks (something that was closed the last night), and rode the ride, and said goodbye to IoA...time to head back to the hotel to get ready for Blue Man Group!

A walk and a quick Rickshaw ride (5 bucks) later, and we were in our room. She decided she didn't want to change clothes, but I took a shower and changed into a different outfit. Feeling refreshed, we headed back to Citywalk.

Unfortunantly, Orlando weather in August had a different plan for us. A storm had passed by earlier, and while it wasn't raining, the Water Taxi was still closed. This is turning into a regular thing on my trip. The water taxi sign (which, they could have put at the walkway, instead of us walking down there to find out it was closed) did say there was a shuttle we could take, but it wasn't raining, so I decided we should walk.

Not wanting to do the walk at a 7 year old's pace, I plopped her on my shoulders and we did it in a record 10 minutes! We made it all the way to Jimmy Buffet's, and I had just set her down for the final stretch, and the sky opened up on us. This wasn't a happy summer drizzle either. Lighting, thunder and all things rain poured down on us, and before we'd crossed the bridge, we were both soaked and rushing for cover. The Blue Man venue is past the Hard rock, and by then you'd think both of us had jumped headfirst into a pool in our clothes.

Attitude wise, my kid was done, and I ended up carrying her the rest of the way to the show. Here comes magic moment #3. About 100 feet from the venue, a cast member working the kiosk noticed us walking up, and she rushed out with an umbrella, and walked us to the venue, talking the whole time with my kid about how cool the show was and how much we were going to enjoy it. Talk about a mood saver!

Unfortunantly, I didn't catch her name, but she literally saved the evening for us (well, not me, but the kid was grumpy by now and really just wanted to go back to the hotel and a warm bed).

So, Blue Man Group, I don't want to say too much, but...if you've never seen them, do it. If you do Disney, and have time to do something off site...do it. I rate it higher then La Nouba.

I'm already a huge fan of theirs, and have seen them several times (though not this exact show/group). As before, they did not disappoint. We were front row, center, and here is magic moment #4...we interacted repeatedly with the Blue Men, and my daughter even got the painting they make during this scene:

Blue man group shadow/paint drumming, pvc ii - YouTube

After the show, they all "signed" it (they don't really sign anything, rather they put hand prints or finger smudges), but if you do the show, be sure to hang out afterwards, the band and the blue men all come out for pictures/autographs, etc.

Now for Magic Moment #5. I had thought that the storm would have passed after the show, but it hadn't. In fact, it had gotten worse. Now, I had a well spirited, but tired 7 year old and a wonderful painting to transport...and I'd left our rain gear at the hotel.

Again, Cast Members to the rescue! First, a Blue Man Cast Member "snuck" us a poncho (apparently, you are allowed to take them with you, but if you don't, they can't hand them out), which I used to wrap the painting, and we made it as far as the Universal Shop outside of the venue, which sold Ponchos.

I purchased two, and they let me use their scotch tape to wrap our painting up in the poncho the Blue Man Group Cast Member gave us, so it wouldn't get destroyed on our very wet walk back to the hotel.

Also, we got sprayed 3 times straight on with twinkie stuff during the show, and we were both sticky and messy. For those of you who have seen the show, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. It was in our hair, all over our skin, on our clothes and shoes. It is mushed banana, so if you want to simulate the feeling, buy a dozen of them, mush them to a pulp in your bathtub, then roll around it it. Let it dry for an hour, and see how you feel.

The other Cast Member working the shop was chatting with my daughter about the show, and the twinkies came up. She volunteered to take my daughter into the bathroom and help her get cleaned up. I was already planning on doing this, but was waiting for the crowd to thin out so we'd have the bathroom mostly to ourselves, but since the Cast Member volunteered, and my child seemed to be responding well, I let them go. About 20 minutes later they emerged from the ladies restroom, and the kid was all cheered up for the walk home.

By far, those two Cast Members are worth their weight in gold. I will be passing this on to Universal, and I wish I had grabbed their names. That was poor foresight on my part.

Now happy, clean and with ponchos on, we had a pleasant walk back to the hotel. We chatted about the show, yodeled under the bridges (there's an echo there), and discussed our plans for tomorrow. Once back in the room, the kid took a quick bath (had to get out the rest of the "twinkies", and then promptly passed out. I was hungry, so I ordered some (still overpriced) room service, as everything else was closed. I had a turkey club, and it was overpriced, but good."

 

[experiment624]

@englanddg awesome! thank you for sharing, i now have to go read your whole trip report.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I too had great experiences with UNI employees last trip.

In general, UNI has classic Disney hospitality down to perfection. Awesome, it feels very professional and welcoming.

On top of that one very kind lady at the Three Broomsticks really helped me out when bad weather struck.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I am happy I'm not the only one that has noticed the vast improvement of Universal's guest service and the slippery slope decline of Disney's.

 

[TubaGeek]

I just think it's messed up that Uni has the three best theme park attractions in Orlando (once you factor out nostalgia): 1) Forbidden Journey, 2) Spider-Man 3) Transformers.
They win that war with their two parks vs Disney's four.

 

[George]

I just think it's messed up that Uni has the three best theme park attractions in Orlando (once you factor out nostalgia): 1) Forbidden Journey, 2) Spider-Man 3) Transformers.
They win that war with their two parks vs Disney's four.

I haven't been on Transformers yet, but it is hard to argue with 1) and 2).

 

[BryceM]

I had a particularly nice TM experience at Lombard's restaurant in Universal Studios.

We walked in for a table, and of course my little sister had to have one next to the aquarium. However, the elderly hostess informed us that they were reserved seats. Of course, my little sister began crying because she couldn't sit near the fish (she's three). The hostess had an immediate look of urgency fall upon her face and she boldly stated "hold on!". She proceeded to then rush away. A few minutes later, she was back and then moved us near the aquarium. She said she couldn't stand to see her (my little sister) cry and that she worked something out. My little sister then approached her and gave her a big hug. It was a small act of kindness, but it definitely stood out and made the dinner far more enjoyable.

I think both Disney and Universal employees are great and really go out of their way to make sure the guests are happy.

 

[BryceM]

I just think it's messed up that Uni has the three best theme park attractions in Orlando (once you factor out nostalgia): 1) Forbidden Journey, 2) Spider-Man 3) Transformers.
They win that war with their two parks vs Disney's four.

I think Tower of Terror is pretty high up there. That attraction is near perfection.

 

[cynic710]

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 like that my money goes towards making my trip enjoyable and immersive. I have no problems with the style of uni what-so-ever, but getting a uni worker who didnt even point the shotgun at jaws just kinda sucks. what disney lacks in new attractions they make up for in details, and i personally can appreciate that. im going in novemeber 2014 for my next trip and i am really excited to experience transformers, the new hp and springfield...but at the same time i cant wait to get back to the "disney-way" of being in the world even more.

 

[TubaGeek]

I think Tower of Terror is pretty high up there. That attraction is near perfection.

I can totally see ToT taking the place of Transformers. Transformers has great 3D and motion simulation, but it lacks the real sets and effects that make Spidey so awesome.

 

[lazyboy97o]

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

No different than Toy Story Midway Mania! or World of Color being advertised as new to the Disneyland Resort, with no mention of Disney's California Adventure. And by next summer it'll make perfect sense as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be in both parks.

 

[righttrack]

The main issue I have with Uni, as a part of your FL vacation is the price. Uni tickets, like WDW tickets are front loaded. Day 1 and day 2 are super expensive. Add that cost to your WDW week, and most people will try it once, like we did last time, and decide the next time to do one experience. For us, that one experience is a week at WDW. For others, perhaps a week at Universal. Doing both is really expensive.

 

[Sassagoula-Rvr]

I visited IOA in 2011...It was probably the most miserable I have EVER been in a theme park...it rained all day...there were only like 3 attractions open. Then we sat in the rain at Hogwarts waiting to ride...the thing broke down 3 times while in line...in the rain...finally we get on...the seat was uncomfortable (and I'm NOT a large person, 6'3"ish tall though) then I just felt that ride was a let down after all the stuff I had heard...finally we stopped in a few shops in Hogsmeade....the stores were not built for large crowds...awful design.

However, Margaritaville afterwards was fun as always!! But never again will I visit IOA or Uni.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I think Tower of Terror is pretty high up there. That attraction is near perfection.

Or, it would be, if Disney took care of it.

i like that my money goes towards making my trip enjoyable and immersive. I have no problems with the style of uni what-so-ever, but getting a uni worker who didnt even point the shotgun at jaws just kinda sucks.

It was a grenade launcher, and there are parts in the script where they weren't supposed to aim at him because they have never used it before. I never once had an unenthusiastic Jaws skipper. It makes sense considering Universal actually required an audition for it, which can not be said for Disney's spieling attractions, of which I have had several awful trips on the likes of Jungle Cruise and Great Movie Ride.

The thing is, if you look for things to complain about, you will find them. A lot of you have been conditioned to think that Disney does things perfectly and better than the competition no matter what, but that isn't true any more - WDW falls short in a lot of aspects.

 

[cynic710]

Or, it would be, if Disney took care of it.It was a grenade launcher, and there are parts in the script where they weren't supposed to aim at him because they have never used it before. I never once had an unenthusiastic Jaws skipper. It makes sense considering Universal actually required an audition for it, which can not be said for Disney's spieling attractions, of which I have had several awful trips on the likes of Jungle Cruise and Great Movie Ride.

The thing is, if you look for things to complain about, you will find them. A lot of you have been conditioned to think that Disney does things perfectly and better than the competition no matter what, but that isn't true any more - WDW falls short in a lot of aspects.

i get your opinion but i have an open mind about both parks. i dont own anti-uni propaganda shirts nor do i spit on the path to ioa, all i am saying is i appreciate disney's details better than unis. no need to challenge my "mind conditioning", i like what i like and i think thats good enough. im glad you had a great experience on jaws and sorry you didnt on jungle cruise, that was one of my examples of my debate over why i chose to vote no on this poll. the fact of the matter is that when i go to universal, i rarely feel the same about the overall environment than i do about disney, and ive come to accept that and honestly, it doesnt even bother me. universal advertises it perfectly when it says "when you want a fun orlando vacation with not so much pixie-dust", because thats exactly what it is. my original statement simply reflects my overall opinion on what i want on my trip, and disney offers that better.

 

[Tom Morrow]

i get your opinion but i have an open mind about both parks. i dont own anti-uni propaganda shirts nor do i spit on the path to ioa, all i am saying is i appreciate disney's details better than unis. no need to challenge my "mind conditioning", i like what i like and i think thats good enough. im glad you had a great experience on jaws and sorry you didnt on jungle cruise, that was one of my examples of my debate over why i chose to vote no on this poll. the fact of the matter is that when i go to universal, i rarely feel the same about the overall environment than i do about disney, and ive come to accept that and honestly, it doesnt even bother me. universal advertises it perfectly when it says "when you want a fun orlando vacation with not so much pixie-dust", because thats exactly what it is. my original statement simply reflects my overall opinion on what i want on my trip, and disney offers that better.

I get what you're saying, I just think singling out one Universal team member being unenthusiastic is a bad way to get your point across, because if you look around WDW, you will find plenty of CM's to complain about.

 

[Kitchandro]

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.

People would give it it's due credit if it had the same effect on them Disney has. But it's just not the same.

Universal can add as many Potter rides as it wants, but it's still just Potter. It's not timeless and people will get bored of it eventually. People are also forgetting that whilst they've added attractions they've taken some classics away. For me, Jaws being shut down for another Harry Potter ride is a huge negative. And if we want to talk stale lets talk about Men In Black.

Universal may cram all it's thrill rides into 2 parks but that doesn't make it a better theme park, not for me anyway. In fact the majority of things that have changed at both Disney and Universal in recent years have disappointed me (Overdoing the Potter stuff (especially in getting rid of Jaws and changing the Dueling Dragons theme), The Avatar Land, updating POTC, Space Mountain and TTA) so new things aren't always good. I'd rather they kept the things I loved about the park before, whether that's the employees, the attractions, the music, the scenery, or whatever.

But nah, these currently popular fads don't really do it for me. I mean, does anybody in their 20s even know who Doctor Sseus is? Kids in 10 years won't.

For me, Disney just does what Universal does better. And I include MGM in that.

 

[BryceM]

I visited IOA in 2011...It was probably the most miserable I have EVER been in a theme park...it rained all day...there were only like 3 attractions open. Then we sat in the rain at Hogwarts waiting to ride...the thing broke down 3 times while in line...in the rain...finally we get on...the seat was uncomfortable (and I'm NOT a large person, 6'3"ish tall though) then I just felt that ride was a let down after all the stuff I had heard...finally we stopped in a few shops in Hogsmeade....the stores were not built for large crowds...awful design.

However, Margaritaville afterwards was fun as always!! But never again will I visit IOA or Uni.

That's a silly reason to NEVER visit again.

 

[BryceM]

People would give it it's due credit if it had the same effect on them Disney has. But it's just not the same.

Universal can add as many Potter rides as it wants, but it's still just Potter. It's not timeless and people will get bored of it eventually. People are also forgetting that whilst they've added attractions they've taken some classics away. For me, Jaws being shut down for another Harry Potter ride is a huge negative. And if we want to talk stale lets talk about Men In Black.

Universal may cram all it's thrill rides into 2 parks but that doesn't make it a better theme park, not for me anyway. In fact the majority of things that have changed at both Disney and Universal in recent years have disappointed me (Overdoing the Potter stuff (especially in getting rid of Jaws and changing the Dueling Dragons theme), The Avatar Land, updating POTC, Space Mountain and TTA) so new things aren't always good. I'd rather they kept the things I loved about the park before, whether that's the employees, the attractions, the music, the scenery, or whatever.

But nah, these currently popular fads don't really do it for me. I mean, does anybody in their 20s even know who Doctor Sseus is? Kids in 10 years won't.

For me, Disney just does what Universal does better. And I include MGM in that.

Um? Who doesn't know who Dr. Seuss is? That land has been there since IOA opened in 1999 and it certainly isn't stale. And Men In Black stale? A MIB movie was released in 2011. And as long as the attraction is awesome, I don't really care about the IP. Men In Black is probably the best "shooter" dark-ride ever created. Even without the shooting element it's still a pretty awesome dark-ride.

I'm not even going to touch on the topic of "Potter getting old and people getting bored of it". I've gotten into that debate too many times... Lets just say that as long as it's executed properly, people will come. Universal did WWoHP perfectly, and it won't matter if people get bored with Potter because it's still a freakin' awesome land.