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Ok I should let this topic go.. But I can't. I hope i am wrong but my gut tells me that Disney made a mistake not grabbing hp back in 06. I think this hp land is going to jolt Disney back to reality. Disney's attendance loss could be the byproduct of not grabbing hp. How does everyone out there feel?
I think if it hurts them it will be temporary. I feel like there are two very different breeds of people that go to Disney vs. Universal...I just dont see Universal as having the power to really hurt Disney, not in the long run at least. I have a feeling Disney is very aware of what is happening there, and the potential for the financial impact it could have, I wouldn't be shocked if Disney has big plans in mind for the coming years, plans outside of the ones happening in Fantasyland. Only time will tell!
Hope you are right. Still can't beleive that Disney let a money maker go. But I do think you are right with Disney having more up their sleeve. Lord of the rings? Just kidding
I am a huge Harry Potter fan but even with the Harry Potter land I will never, I repeat never go to the U word. No way, no how.
I really don't think Disney is going to hurt when it opens.
Yeah, I guess we will see. I think that with all of the addition of Princess related stuff coming to Magic Kingdom, they are really trying to get back to the basics, the essence of what is Disney...but for some reason, i sense some thing bigger coming. Time will tell
lobaugo, pretty much how I feel. I can see it having an initial impact but thats really it
My last several trips have been shorter than our normal. That makes it harder to switch over to Universal. My last 14 day trip the first 4 nights I was housed at Universal for a School Board convention. Our next long trip will include Universal tagged on to the beginning.
Universal has shaken that minor park in Orlando. It does a few things Disney has failed to invest in. Disney is waking up and updating and overhauling. I think Disney just waited to long at some venues to invest back into their parks. All the while Universal was building and building in their two parks and City Walk. Their fast pass has more perks for on site guests. Its transportation from their hotels is much better than most of Disney hotels minus the monorail hotels. Can't wait to see if Disney has a real plan in the works for Pleasure Island. It has been a year and still a ghost town and no real construction. Makes ya wonder.
The gamble here is like the major UPS strike years ago. The owners gambled and lost they never got all the loyals back completely. Let's face it they need more than Fantsyland and Star Tours. No updates to the back of Epcot in how long? Norway? Soar'n is great but most people will not wait that long for a short adventure. Epcot needs help too.
And yes, I think Disney would have cleaned up with HP as Universal will. I'm going and I'm not even a major fan of HP. I think it is a must see.
I think this is the risk Disney is running, instead of people like me who for 25 years stayed at Disney only will time share now with Universal.
They still have my loyalty but subtract multiple days I'll now give to Universal.
I like all the HP movies and books, but this attraction will not bring me to Universal instead of WDW. I don't see the attraction drawing away that many die-hard Disney fans that will now tour Universal, but not visit WDW. If anything, I think that if HP draws more new visitors to the area, then they will split time betwen Universal and WDW.
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Originally Posted by HauntedGabe
Totally agree, I always spend time at Universal and IOA when I visit Florida and always have a very good time. I think sometimes the negativity shown towards it/them on here is unfounded, purely because they love Disney so much.
People say it is full of rowdy teenagers and people who just want to get drunk etc, etc. I can safely say I have never had a major problem with anything like this in my 25+ trips. Obviously had one or two annoying families or kids but nothing I haven't seen in Disney also.
A lot on here complain about it being nothing like Disney and most of it is not suitable for children. It is of course nothing like Disney but if everything in the world was the same it would be an extremely boring place. As for not suitable for children, my two young nieces always visit when I do and they love the place. I lost count of how many times they rode the new simpsons ride or Spiderman last time we went.
I'm rambling a bit now as you can see :D
But it just kind of annoys me when I see the same stuff being written about Universal on here every week. Dont get me wrong I absolutely love Disney, I wouldn't post on here if I didn't but Universal has two very good parks too and I think they do not get as much credit as they should.
I still don't get why people have this Disney OR Universal thing stuck in their mind... I love Disney and if I only have the option of one of two days a at park on my vacation (as my vacations so often are) I'm gonna pick Disney every time. But I REALLY like Islands of Adventure. Its no Disney, but the theming is fantastic and it has some really great innovative rides (like the spiderman ride.... there's nothing like it at disney right now). The park is DEFINETLY a must-see. at least once if youve never been. I for sure will go back to see the HP area... although I'm sure its gonna be really crazy busy for awhile. I just really don't get it... Disney is NOT going to hurt financially if its die-hard fans go to universal once in awhile. To me there are for sure things that are worth seeing at least once, and the HP seems like its going to be one of them. It just makes me sad to see so many disney "snobs" out there...
I think that the people who come to see HP at IOA won't be able to resist going to WDW as well, so it may end up being a way of seeing higher turnstile figures during the fantasyland expansion.
Universal may be nice and HP may be cool, but in the end, how can one part of a theme park compete with a resort that has 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping/entertainment area, a raceway, and who knows how many themed hotels? This doesn't even include non-attraction based activities like pin trading, etc. I'll go see HP when I can, but am I interested in spending more than a day there? I don't think so. Also, I LOVE the HP books and movies, but after the last movie, I am not so sure how timeless HP is. Kids are fickle and are quick to move on to the next thing. Though aimed at an older audience, many teens seem more obsessed with the Twilight series.
My thoughts exactly! I enjoy Universal as much as Disney, and still have a hard time figuring out why is it so hard for people to try something new and different for a change? Afraid you might actually like it and feel like you're betraying the mouse? You're not. In fact, if you only went to Universal and skipped a couple trips to Disney, they would eventually take note and do something about that, as in come up with something other than a Fantasyland redo and Star Tours 2.0, which looks like Disney's answers to HPland and Simpsons. HP land will have 1 new ride, and 2 recycled rides, 1 themed restaurant, and an interactive themed area. Sounds similar, almost identical to what's going on in Fantasyland.Quote:
Originally Posted by RuddyWDW
I'm not arguing so much for the superiority of one over the other, or saying that Universal is a bad place. I just feel as though the dynamics of the two parks do drawl different families and people in, so I find myself believing that Disney won't take a huge hit. The question was not which park is better or a tread aimed at hating Universal, so don't turn it into that. I too enjoy most of the rides at Universal, they have a lot of really fun rides and I'm sure the new HP land is going to be great, I'd like to see it myself!
I do see you point about Disney needing to answer to all of Universal's expanding, and hopefully they have something bigger in mind to do so. But we will just have to wait and see. They need to put their money into something to bring in the crowds again. I honestly hope they do, and I hope its in some form other than the rumored "Night Kingdom."
I think Harry Potter will help Universal make major in-roads into Disney's market-share of International tourists.