Disney vs. Universal: The Never Ending Debate

[Veritas]

my rant part two

on the same theme EPCOT does a great job of making you feel like you are touring the world in the world showcase. While future world still feels a bit disjointed overall you do get the land/sea and technology theme (please do something with the buidling Body Wars was in! Steal somehting from Tokyo or whatever).

Of the other parks "ve been to Sea World does as good a job as Disney (please no hate mail) for giving a unified experience. As you go from area to area the ocean theme continues and Seaworld is not a one trick pony, the attractions are varied.

In the end I just felt like Universal and IOA were a bunch of unrelated attractions housed together (not true I know, but that is how it felt). While Disney does a much better job of tying its' attractions together.

[GoofyRulez]

We are going to Universal IoA for the first time because my wife wants to see WWoHP. I hope we aren't diappointed. Spent alot of money to get tickets.

[KHfan182]

First off, I just got back from my first Universal trip. I love Disney so admittedly I'm a little biased but I will try and be as helpful as possible. By comparison Univ and IoA are lame in comparison. If you are staying at one of their hotels or have the express pass you can do both parks in a day, two tops. None of the rides I did really thrilled me. They were ok at best.
Now for those of you going to see Harry Potter this is a warning. If you are not staying on universal property it will take you all day to do everything. The lines are long for everything. I have to be honest I think that it is a quick cash grab of a park. There are only 3 rides. You cannot walk through the entire castle, there isn't a whole lot to see even when you're On line for the ride. Honestly I think I'm going to do a whole thread soon on universal in comparison and what families looking to go should do.

[zippitydoodah]

First off, I just got back from my first Universal trip. I love Disney so admittedly I'm a little biased but I will try and be as helpful as possible. By comparison Univ and IoA are lame in comparison. If you are staying at one of their hotels or have the express pass you can do both parks in a day, two tops. None of the rides I did really thrilled me. They were ok at best.
Now for those of you going to see Harry Potter this is a warning. If you are not staying on universal property it will take you all day to do everything. The lines are long for everything. I have to be honest I think that it is a quick cash grab of a park. There are only 3 rides. You cannot walk through the entire castle, there isn't a whole lot to see even when you're On line for the ride. Honestly I think I'm going to do a whole thread soon on universal in comparison and what families looking to go should do.

Hm, well it's all your own opinion I guess. If you go in looking for Disney, you're not going to like it there. But its NOT Disney, and they want to be different from Disney so it's not going to be all that comparable. I'm not a big fan of Universal Studios but I really like Islands of Adventure and there were LOTS of rides I love love loved... I think they do water rides better than Disney and obviously thrill rides as well, and Spiderman is awesome.

I am worried about Harry Potter. For the lines I mean. It's not MEANT to be a whole park though, just a "land" so there's no problem with it only having three rides. How many rides does Liberty Square have? The problem is that HP is new, and it doesn't seem like they anticipated just HOW popular it is...

[JNota0005DakMC]

I am worried about Harry Potter. For the lines I mean. It's not MEANT to be a whole park though, just a "land" so there's no problem with it only having three rides. How many rides does Liberty Square have? The problem is that HP is new, and it doesn't seem like they anticipated just HOW popular it is...

this is what i mean about Universal... they seem to "mess" things up... im not being Disney biased by any means... nor am i bitter... but in my opinion it seems everytime Universal does something new or updated... they seem to make major mistakes...

for instance...
1. MIB- they were unaware that the film was a fad... even the second one did terribly... (the ride is ok though not as popular as it was when the film was...)
2. Fievel's playland... seriously... they didnt know that would be a 2 year thing...?
3. Closing classic attractions... and replacing them with... garbage... Kong to The Mummy... Ghostbusters is now Twister... Hanna Barbera to Jimmy Neutron... the only ones they got right were Hitchcock to Shrek... and maybe BTTF to the Simpsons (i am completely against this though no matter how outdated BTTF was... no bueno here...)
4. the opening of IoA... was supposed to be the end of Disney's reign over Orlando... when did it happen again...
5. HP and the lines that Universal mysteriously wasnt expecting... what did they think it would open to modest success... its like they expect mediocrity... and then they have a winner on their hands and what will they do... drive the people away...

[Chrissy&Tayen]

this is what i mean about Universal... they seem to "mess" things up... im not being Disney biased by any means... nor am i bitter... but in my opinion it seems everytime Universal does something new or updated... they seem to make major mistakes...

for instance...
1. MIB- they were unaware that the film was a fad... even the second one did terribly... (the ride is ok though not as popular as it was when the film was...)
2. Fievel's playland... seriously... they didnt know that would be a 2 year thing...?
3. Closing classic attractions... and replacing them with... garbage... Kong to The Mummy... Ghostbusters is now Twister... Hanna Barbera to Jimmy Neutron... the only ones they got right were Hitchcock to Shrek... and maybe BTTF to the Simpsons (i am completely against this though no matter how outdated BTTF was... no bueno here...)
4. the opening of IoA... was supposed to be the end of Disney's reign over Orlando... when did it happen again...
5. HP and the lines that Universal mysteriously wasnt expecting... what did they think it would open to modest success... its like they expect mediocrity... and then they have a winner on their hands and what will they do... drive the people away...

my hubby boycotted universals for years for this very reason...lol

[JNota0005DakMC]

my hubby boycotted universals for years for this very reason...lol

see... thats what i mean...

[Mr. Tom Morrow]

3. Closing classic attractions... and replacing them with... garbage... Kong to The Mummy... Ghostbusters is now Twister... Hanna Barbera to Jimmy Neutron... the only ones they got right were Hitchcock to Shrek... and maybe BTTF to the Simpsons (i am completely against this though no matter how outdated BTTF was... no bueno here...)

I agreed with this mostly except that I preferred Hitchcock to Shrek and although Kong is gone the Mummy is actually a fun ride. Now I probably preferred Hitchcock to Shrek because I am a film geek. The Mummy's only downfall for me is what it is themed after. They could of done the same thing with a King Kong theme. But I totally get where you are going with this. Attractions based off of classic films and tv show being replaced with ****. I was shocked at how terrible Twister was. When it was over I honestly could not believe they even made something that horrible.

[Chrissy&Tayen]

all the reasons i wanted to go to universals when i was a kid are gone now. all but jaws

[JNota0005DakMC]

all the reasons i wanted to go to universals when i was a kid are gone now. all but jaws

exactly... i am saying... i am fearful that eventually jaws will fall by ways of the chopping block... although in some instances i think Universal is going to let US rot in favor IoA now with the HP land...

[fermithekrog]

this is what i mean about Universal... they seem to "mess" things up... im not being Disney biased by any means... nor am i bitter... but in my opinion it seems everytime Universal does something new or updated... they seem to make major mistakes...

for instance...
1. MIB- they were unaware that the film was a fad... even the second one did terribly... (the ride is ok though not as popular as it was when the film was...)
2. Fievel's playland... seriously... they didnt know that would be a 2 year thing...?
3. Closing classic attractions... and replacing them with... garbage... Kong to The Mummy... Ghostbusters is now Twister... Hanna Barbera to Jimmy Neutron... the only ones they got right were Hitchcock to Shrek... and maybe BTTF to the Simpsons (i am completely against this though no matter how outdated BTTF was... no bueno here...)
4. the opening of IoA... was supposed to be the end of Disney's reign over Orlando... when did it happen again...
5. HP and the lines that Universal mysteriously wasnt expecting... what did they think it would open to modest success... its like they expect mediocrity... and then they have a winner on their hands and what will they do... drive the people away...

i agree with most of what you've said here, but most of the movie's that they make rides out of, their vauge enough that you don't have to know the movie, yet they have enough content that fans of the movie will like it too. Fieval's playground is a good example of this, because really, how many kids these days even know who Fieval is? it's themed so that you can still have fun, if you get what i'm saying. although, most stuff here is terribly outdated, they don't even show Jimmy Neutron on Nick anymore, or rugrats, wild thornberries. the only show that is in the ride that is still relevant today, is Spongebob. it is nice for some nostalgia for all us 90's kids though.

[fermithekrog]

I agreed with this mostly except that I preferred Hitchcock to Shrek and although Kong is gone the Mummy is actually a fun ride. Now I probably preferred Hitchcock to Shrek because I am a film geek. The Mummy's only downfall for me is what it is themed after. They could of done the same thing with a King Kong theme. But I totally get where you are going with this. Attractions based off of classic films and tv show being replaced with ****. I was shocked at how terrible Twister was. When it was over I honestly could not believe they even made something that horrible.

and i love how in the Twister pre show, they act like Twister was some classic movie or something.. the only thing good about that movie was the special effects and the flying cows.

[JNota0005DakMC]

i agree with most of what you've said here, but most of the movie's that they make rides out of, their vauge enough that you don't have to know the movie, yet they have enough content that fans of the movie will like it too. Fieval's playground is a good example of this, because really, how many kids these days even know who Fieval is? it's themed so that you can still have fun, if you get what i'm saying. although, most stuff here is terribly outdated, they don't even show Jimmy Neutron on Nick anymore, or rugrats, wild thornberries. the only show that is in the ride that is still relevant today, is Spongebob. it is nice for some nostalgia for all us 90's kids though.

well... my issue is not with the attractions themselves... but the problem is many people bypass certain attractions because there not "cool" like Fievel... who's Fievel... i dont wanna go on that garbage... stuff like that... your right the attractions are somewhat generic... but it depends on if you can even get family members to ride them...

[JNota0005DakMC]

and i love how in the Twister pre show, they act like Twister was some classic movie or something.. the only thing good about that movie was the special effects and the flying cows.

Twister wasnt a classic movie...? really...? i thought it was... and i thought the attraction was the best show of a floating cow on wires that ive ever seen...!

[Chrissy&Tayen]

augh i hated twister... i liked the movie.. the ride or show whatever it is.. is a waste.. it isnt like jaws, or back to the future, or kong... its not a movie icon..