Will Universal's new Budget Hotel hurt Disney?

[ParentsOf4]

And oh yeah, most of the quick service food STINKS!

Most of the quick service food is geared towards the burgers & fries, pizza, and chicken fingers crowd and these are not good at Universal. WDW QS used to be about as bad but they made tremendous strides in the 1990s. WDW's QS food has been slipping once again over the last 5-8 years but it's still better than Universal's QS food.

Universal's table service restaurants are much better. Just ate at Confisco's (in IOA) and Finnegan's (on St. Patrick's Day of course) this week. My family enjoyed their food and prices were comparable to typical chain table service restaurants, noticeably less expensive than Universal's Jimmy Buffet's or Hard Rock (where we ate last Thanksgiving).

 

[BryceM]

The only way Universal can hurt Disney is if a tornado picked up the entire park and dropped it in the middle of a Disney theme park, thereby lowering the property value

Cute.

 

[mrdisman]

Cute.

thanks...I was hoping for roughly handsome in a Bruce Willis sort of way...but I'll take cute

 

[BryceM]

And oh yeah, most of the quick service food STINKS!

Agreed. Except for maybe Three Broomsticks, Mel's Drive In, Beverly Hills Boulangerie and Louie's. However, the full-service dining is amazing! (Looking at you Mythos, Confiscos, Finnegan's and Lombard's!)

And the easy accessibility to CityWalk from the parks also helps to alleviate the need to dine quick service.

 

[luv]

I don't think I've ever had fast food at Uni. If I'm going to eat there, I'm going to Pastamore or Margaritaville!

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

And I agree with your statement about Islands of Adventure's Port of Entry. The music, the sights and the sounds of the Hulk roaring in the distance make walking through the Port of Entry completely magical and it envelops you in a sense of true adventure. Just approaching the lighthouse and hearing the change from the CityWalk music to that enchanting soundtrack Port of Entry soundtrack sends chills up my spine.

You've described what is easily the best-executed part of IOA. There are a bunch of really great things about Uni. I feel like the sum of these parts is still probably inferior to the full WDW experience but that doesn't lessen the stuff that IOA does really, really well.

 

[BryceM]

You've described what is easily the best-executed part of IOA. There are a bunch of really great things about Uni. I feel like the sum of these parts is still probably inferior to the full WDW experience but that doesn't lessen the stuff that IOA does really, really well.

I believe Islands of Adventure to be right there with Magic Kingdom as the best park in Florida, and what they both have in common is two of the greatest theme park entrances ever.

 

[bubbles1812]

I don't think I've ever had fast food at Uni. If I'm going to eat there, I'm going to Pastamore or Margaritaville!

Margaritaville! Yum I ate there when I was down there last month. I wanted a good burger that wasnt that overpriced unlike in the any of the parks. I also had a passion fruit margarita.. Perfect cap to a great day on the Universal side of Universal.

 

[Bloopers]

I agree. Though Tower of Terror and another ride in the same park (The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man) come close.

I don't remember Spider Man that well but IMO, I though Tower of Terror is a little too short of a ride. Aside from that, the ride is very well done.

 

[Bloopers]

I expect long lines, but what I don't get is there are people (on this board) that say it's only a half day park??

I don't think it's a half day park at all.. especially if you're going to both universal studios and islands of adventure. I kinda miss it now that we're all talking about it lol. Also, City Walk is just nice to walk around and grab a bite. I like it more than Downtown Disney, actually.

Forgot to add - revenge of the mummy is pretty awesome too!!

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

I believe Islands of Adventure to be right there with Magic Kingdom as the best park in Florida, and what they both have in common is two of the greatest theme park entrances ever.

I agree that IOA is pretty great, but for me it's still an "almost there" thing. Toon Lagoon, in particular, is a lot of clutter, and Marvel Super Hero Island, while it has great rides and Hulk gives is great dynamism, looks cheap. (I'm a big advocate of limiting the scope, taking down the big cut-outs, and limiting the theme to Spider-Man's new York, re-theming the other rides and stuff to Spidey's rogues gallery and friends, and most important of all, selling Avengers rights back to Marvel/Disney...) Jurassic Park really, really needs another ride, too, and as much as I've seen people argue otherwise, there really isn't enough for families with younger kids.

(As an aside, something Uni understands somewhat better than Disney: In an age of Instagram/Twitter/Snapchat, giving lots of places to pose for quick photos is pretty worthwhile, and gets a lot of people to advertise your product for you!)

I hope the new budget hotel at Universal make them a lot of money and encourages growth around the resort (and encourages WDW to work a little harder).

 

[Gabe1]

Hurt Disney, not likely, pinch Disney likely. About 10 years ago when Uni Parks had built some nice resorts we started splitting our vacation stays, 1/3 at the Portofino and 2/3 of our vacation at a Disney resort, so most of our vacation is still spent at Disney, just not as much as we use too.

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

Hey CC you very well may get your wish soon as far as Jurassic Park.

I've seen a few rumors, I hope they're true!

 

[BryceM]

I agree that IOA is pretty great, but for me it's still an "almost there" thing. Toon Lagoon, in particular, is a lot of clutter, and Marvel Super Hero Island, while it has great rides and Hulk gives is great dynamism, looks cheap. (I'm a big advocate of limiting the scope, taking down the big cut-outs, and limiting the theme to Spider-Man's new York, re-theming the other rides and stuff to Spidey's rogues gallery and friends, and most important of all, selling Avengers rights back to Marvel/Disney...) Jurassic Park really, really needs another ride, too, and as much as I've seen people argue otherwise, there really isn't enough for families with younger kids.

(As an aside, something Uni understands somewhat better than Disney: In an age of Instagram/Twitter/Snapchat, giving lots of places to pose for quick photos is pretty worthwhile, and gets a lot of people to advertise your product for you!)

I hope the new budget hotel at Universal make them a lot of money and encourages growth around the resort (and encourages WDW to work a little harder).

I agree about Toon Lagoon. While I like the area around Popeye and Dudley, I really don't care for the look of Comic Strip Lane. It's like what I think about the current "old" Fantasyland of Magic Kingdom. I really just don't care for it (the tacky tents and large open concrete spaces) but I don't not like it. I actually love Marvel Super Hero Island and the direction that they went with a comic book city instead of a realistic city. It really gives off the impression of stepping into a true Marvel comic book, and I like that.

And Jurassic Park will (hopefully) be getting a new ride or two. I really hope the rumor stays true. Though I treat Camp Jurassic like a ride and always make a point to explore a little every time I visit.

 

[danpam1024]

I don't see the draw of the new hotel without the unlimited Express pass being included. I'd rather stay offsite and pay a lot less for a room a few minutes away (I remember a trip where we only went to Disney in 2006 and from the hotel room we could see Islands of Adventure). I went to Universal 2 years ago and it was my first trip to Islands of Adventure. We did stay at Royal Pacific to get Express for 2 days which was nice but I can't imagine paying any kind of premium to stay onsite without the Express and I'm guessing not even free parking since we had to pay to park at Royal Pacific.

we actually did the math- for us (a family of 3) we can stay at CBR and purchase express passes for less than staying at HRH during the times we go in similar rooms. Some days, you don't even need them and as premium passholders we get it for free after 4:00 pm. As long as the pool rocks, I can see us going there if we're short on cash for HRH!

 

[DfromATX]

You will like it - a lot. Just differently than WDW.
Uni has a lot more high octane rides; perfect for my teen boys. You, however, will have less of an emotional attachment to the parks, if you know what I mean. And, although the Uni parks are well themed, there just seem to be less places to stop and smell the roses and just soak in the atmosphere.
And oh yeah, most of the quick service food STINKS!
But the rides are pretty amazing.

Yep, that's pretty much what I am expecting. I have 3 teenagers and a 10 year old who love thrill rides so I know they will like it. I'm sure I will like it too, but my heart will always be with Disney. I totally get what you mean about the emotional attachment.

 

[baggienath7]

no i think it won't Disney is Disney after all, known all over the world which is why everyone loves it, even more so with little kids, where as i see uni/ioa as more of an older/teen/adult market even though kids do still enjoy it

 

[righttrack]

The front of the line benefit is their selling point. If not, then why stay there and not somewhere else?

 

[Alexis]

I doubt it, the hotel isn't really cheap. I saw the rates and its 230 a night. Just like the other three hotels of theres, when they were new they started off "cheap" then the rates got out of control.

 

[DfromATX]

I doubt it, the hotel isn't really cheap. I saw the rates and its 230 a night. Just like the other three hotels of theres, when they were new they started off "cheap" then the rates got out of control.

That's considered budget? Wow!