WDW and Universal. Who wins?

[BrianL]

No, that's not what you wrote, which is why I quoted your post. You said, "We see what we see because of a preconceived notion."

Please don't try to tell us that's not what you wrote.


My first day at WDW, the entrance of BTMRR was a bit of a funnel. About 10 feet into the line, a petite older woman attempted to rejoin her younger family members. She was only about 10 people behind her family, and she was politely asking if she could join them and pointed to them. A large man in front of her LOUDLY objected, and body slammed her. He yelled, "NO! THEY can fall back! You are NOT passing me!" It was quite something to see, because he was just SO aggressive out of thin air, while I'd describe her as polite. We were so close to the ride entrance, that it was clear she'd just gotten separated by a few people.

The level of his anger and aggression is what caught my attention.



Customers assaulting each other = dangerous situation.

You' don't have to tell me what I wrote. I know what I wrote. Let me clear it up for you.

Incidnets happen at both WDW and USO every single day. On any given day, a guest may see a lot at one, and none at the other - doesn't mean they weren't happening. If you have the idea that it happens a lto at one, then you'll probalby notice them more. If you think they never happen, you may not even see it at all because you're too busy looking at the good stuff. One guest's experience on any day in the park doesn't make it true overall.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

You' don't have to tell me what I wrote. I know what I wrote. Let me clear it up for you.

Incidnets happen at both WDW and USO every single day. On any given day, a guest may see a lot at one, and none at the other - doesn't mean they weren't happening. If you have the idea that it happens a lto at one, then you'll probalby notice them more. If you think they never happen, you may not even see it at all because you're too busy looking at the good stuff. One guest's experience on any day in the park doesn't make it true overall.

Um, no.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

No, that's not what you wrote, which is why I quoted your post. You said, "We see what we see because of a preconceived notion."

Please don't try to tell us that's not what you wrote.


My first day at WDW, the entrance of BTMRR was a bit of a funnel. About 10 feet into the line, a petite older woman attempted to rejoin her younger family members. She was only about 10 people behind her family, and she was politely asking if she could join them and pointed to them. A large man in front of her LOUDLY objected, and body slammed her. He yelled, "NO! THEY can fall back! You are NOT passing me!" It was quite something to see, because he was just SO aggressive out of thin air, while I'd describe her as polite. We were so close to the ride entrance, that it was clear she'd just gotten separated by a few people.

The level of his anger and aggression is what caught my attention.



Customers assaulting each other = dangerous situation.

Um, no.

Agreed.

People are just observing stuff around them and being told it's just because they prefer one park over the other and really all you have to do is just will it away which is not only dismissive but insulting. I'm not even sure how frequently that person goes to Universal Orlando by that I mean how many days are they spending there..a day? or is it longer?

 

[tony67]

Pretty much this.
They could have updated FP+ to just day of with so many being released every hour to keep from overloading system and keep standby moving. The "disney is a business" to excuse money grubbing for CEO's to get into 1% rich is tired. THAT is NOT what Disney USED to be nor promote, but sure is handy excuse to pay the ever increasing prices for lower quality/experience.

And the "universal isn't for shorter/younger kids" is all perception-+ they ARE addressing this with the regional park and redo with Dreamworks (Universal LISTENS and tends to ACT on their customer feedback unlike Disney). Depends on Disney park you compare it to. DHS doesn't have much for anyone unless you really love sing alongs, lame shows (cars thing) and character meet n greets.

I want to love Disney like I did when kids were younger & when I worked there&even as recent as 2018. Did the MNSSHP last year to get MK fix-while the party was actually good, much less crowded than precovid-yet it lacked 'something'. Not sure what changed in perception for me? Other than disgust at myself for paying prices to encourage Disney $$$ grabs maybe LOL

Agreed - I really miss the Disney of the late 90s and early 2000s.
There are numerous things I can point out that are awful with recent changes and decisions - but its not worth it.

The fact that I can post here and not be attacked by 100+ Disney zealots tells me Universal is wining.
In 2015 if you posted anything negative about Disney you were attacked by folks that defended them till the end - as I said previously- not so much anymore. For Disney to loose those folks they must have done something very wrong. These are folks that would be happy to pay TS prices to eat a CS burger at Coral Reef just because its Disney.

I am planning to go to Disney for a couple of days soon and I'm really not sure I want to - seems like a lot of money to be disappointed yet again - but ill be doing many days at Universal.

As for the younger kids thing - they had the curious George area for years and my kid enjoyed that more than anything at Disney - Universal did a poor job or promoting that and the characters were very dated - but it was a lot of fun.
Short term they should have updated the water area to bikini bottom years ago.
I'm sure they could have done a quick retheme of the ball factory as well - maybe Minions.

I look forward to seeing what they come up with in DreamWorks land - between that, minions and Nintendo I think Universal is on the upswing where as Disney cant even retheme Epcot in a timely fashion. and is too busy trying to redo everything that got them to the top. Worse they are degrading the things that got them here. Not just the parks but all the IPs as well it seems.

 

[tony67]

Incidnets happen at both WDW and USO every single day. On any given day, a guest may see a lot at one, and none at the other - doesn't mean they weren't happening. If you have the idea that it happens a lto at one, then you'll probalby notice them more. If you think they never happen, you may not even see it at all because you're too busy looking at the good stuff. One guest's experience on any day in the park doesn't make it true overall.

Just go to Epcot on a Saturday afternoon during F&W and people watch - there is no lack of incidents- every year there is several posts about the things people see during F&W - makin the beers smaller and more expensive really did not change it all that much - but its great for the profit margin I am sure.

On the other hand - Universal has greatly improved the security during its events - for example HHN - it may not be as fun as it was years ago - but there are far fewer problems - and when there is a problem its dealt with very quickly.

 

[Tigger's ally]

The fact that I can post here and not be attacked by 100+ Disney zealots tells me Universal is wining.

Not really. The fact that nobody attacks you actually tells me Disney is winning. There are all types of people that come on a Disney centric site and say that Universal is winning. Seems like a mission to many on this thread. But, you and others have to work so hard to try and prove your point tells me exactly who is winning. Well, that and the attendance numbers. Until Universal starts winning the attendance wars and the hotel stay wars and the festival wars, and the DS vs. Citywalk wars, they are not in fact winning. So at this point, there is no doubt Disney is indeed winning.

Has Universal put a dent in that? Yes. And those of us Disney fans on a Disney site do acknowledge that, and we hope it spurs Disney to loftier heights. I will say Universal with VB is winning the water park battle though. Congrats on that.

 

[jade1]

I enjoy the "incidents" at both WDW and US equally.

 

[NickC]

Guardians? Rat?

For us, the thing that brings us back year after year in the fall is the F&W. We just enjoy easy evenings walking around, enjoying the libations and soaking in the atmosphere. I basically need my fix every year. Love that feeling of being in no hurry. I even see people talking about the long line at the skyliner after the fireworks. We never even notice because we casually drink our last drink and walk slowly that direction. No hurry for us. Only reason we would ever be in a hurry would be weather/rain.

Both were huge investments, absolutely. But (honest question) do you think those rides are making people take annual trips? I guess if they keep adding more and more rides, people will come for them, but it's an expensive way to make people come back. I think things like F&W are more of a draw for loyal visitors. We all have different reasons for visiting year after year, but I just wonder if rides are at the top of the list for many?? And even then, which rides? Maybe a new thread with a poll would be interesting...

 

[Smugpugmug]

Both were huge investments, absolutely. But (honest question) do you think those rides are making people take annual trips? I guess if they keep adding more and more rides, people will come for them, but it's an expensive way to make people come back. I think things like F&W are more of a draw for loyal visitors. We all have different reasons for visiting year after year, but I just wonder if rides are at the top of the list for many?? And even then, which rides? Maybe a new thread with a poll would be interesting...

Not Disney but Hagrid's + Velocicoaster were the main reasons why my friend wanted to add a day at Universal when I did an Orlando vacation with her.

Lack of rides is often cited as a reason why people tend to skip AK if they only have a limited time at WDW. AK is amazing in other aspects but rides are definitely a priority for many people.

 

[NickC]

Not Disney but Hagrid's + Velocicoaster were the main reasons why my friend wanted to add a day at Universal when I did an Orlando vacation with her.

Lack of rides is often cited as a reason why people tend to skip AK if they only have a limited time at WDW. AK is amazing in other aspects but rides are definitely a priority for many people.

Oh yeah, us too! We were excited about the new stuff at Universal. We did one trip just Universal, and had a great time, but it's just a once-in-a-while trip for us. Maybe an 'add on' day at WDW every 3 or 4 visits. We aren't doing annual trips like we do at WDW.

So, if I can ask a question: are you planning on visiting Universal again just for those rides, or are you waiting for more stuff to open before returning? I think new rides are great. But, there are a lot of ways to get repeat business...probably cheaper ways too!!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Oh yeah, us too! We were excited about the new stuff at Universal. We did one trip just Universal, and had a great time, but it's just a once-in-a-while trip for us. Maybe an 'add on' day at WDW every 3 or 4 visits. We aren't doing annual trips like we do at WDW.

So, if I can ask a question: are you planning on visiting Universal again just for those rides, or are you waiting for more stuff to open before returning? I think new rides are great. But, there are a lot of ways to get repeat business...probably cheaper ways too!!

In all honesty you're asking on the wrong forum. This Board in its entirety will skew more Disney. Go ask the question on the Universal subforum and you'll find that a decent amount of the regular posters have long stopped going to Disney.

We go to both parks, we don't treat one as a side trip, they are both the trip and the reason for going, it's why I would have a hard time going to Orlando and not doing both despite my husband wanting to do Food & Wine again and then most recently yesterday discussing Universal's buy 2 days get 3 days free promo (which is very tempting).

If you ask those, like yourself, who treat Universal as a side trip you should expect the answer to be of a certain way. If you ask those who treat Disney as a side trip you should expect the answer to be of a certain way.

If you only go after those who favor one side or the other you're never going to truly get the answer. My casual observation is that for Disney yearly trips tend to drive higher on emotional "Happy Place" vibe than a new ride. On the other hand if you're a high Disney fan who already is more than willing to drop everything and go to Disney at a moment's notice a new ride depending on what it is could make you make that trip. I saw that with Guardians and to a lesser extent Tron. Star Wars was sorta different because you needed most to be Star Wars fans to begin with.

 

[starlite_]

Agreed.

People are just observing stuff around them and being told it's just because they prefer one park over the other and really all you have to do is just will it away which is not only dismissive but insulting. I'm not even sure how frequently that person goes to Universal Orlando by that I mean how many days are they spending there..a day? or is it longer?

...That is not what he said...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

...That is not what he said...

Uh huh..

 

[BrianL]

...That is not what he said...

I'm glad at least someone seems to understand what I said....

 

[starlite_]

I'm glad at least someone seems to understand what I said....

I have no idea why folks seem to be interpreting what you said in the worst way possible. It seemed pretty clear to me

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Not Disney but Hagrid's + Velocicoaster were the main reasons why my friend wanted to add a day at Universal when I did an Orlando vacation with her.

I think their appeal and theming tied in for new movies (mostly speaking about Jurassic World in this case as Hagrid's was the existing HP world) provided people with high interest in what they were like.

Plus the rides themselves were on a wider appeal than I think Disney has with many of their rides. Universal may be high in thrills overall but that is what appeals to a lot of people.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I have no idea why folks seem to be interpreting what you said in the worst way possible. It seemed pretty clear to me

As another poster on the Boards generally likes to point out if you find yourself in a situation where at least several people are misinterpreting what you're saying you may need to go re-read, and re-examine what you're saying and how you're saying it. It happens to us all

 

[Minnie1222]

Both were huge investments, absolutely. But (honest question) do you think those rides are making people take annual trips? I guess if they keep adding more and more rides, people will come for them, but it's an expensive way to make people come back. I think things like F&W are more of a draw for loyal visitors. We all have different reasons for visiting year after year, but I just wonder if rides are at the top of the list for many?? And even then, which rides? Maybe a new thread with a poll would be interesting...

Rides are the only reasons we go to Disney. Maybe fireworks too. We're usually at Epcot during F&W, but I honestly don't remember ever eating or drinking from any booth.

Cosmic Rewind is now the must-do for our kids. My husband is not a Disney enthusiast, but he likes to go on ROTR at least once per trip. For me, the success of each trip depends on the number of rides I get to go on.

 

[NickC]

Rides are the only reasons we go to Disney. Maybe fireworks too. We're usually at Epcot during F&W, but I honestly don't remember ever eating or drinking from any booth.

Cosmic Rewind is now the must-do for our kids. My husband is not a Disney enthusiast, but he likes to go on ROTR at least once per trip. For me, the success of each trip depends on the number of rides I get to go on.

Thanks for answering! Can I ask which rides draw you in the most? You mention CR and RotR, but are there any classic rides that are must do?

 

[NickC]

In all honesty you're asking on the wrong forum. This Board in its entirety will skew more Disney. Go ask the question on the Universal subforum and you'll find that a decent amount of the regular posters have long stopped going to Disney.

I was asking (wondering, really) if a large percentage of yearly WDW visitors go specifically for the rides.
US came up in the post you quoted, but it started with asking if the new Epcot expansion had attractions that would make repeat visitors. It's not really a US versus WDW question.