Disney and Universal Thread

This thread is all about Universal and Disney. So...

1) It seems that everyone either has been to a Disney park or is going to. If someone has never been there, they are planning a trip in the near future. Do you agree with me, or am I just weird for saying that.

2) Many people prefer Universal over Disney just because of thrill rides. Here's the list of the thrill rides at Disney and Universal:

Disney(World):

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster

Tower of Terror

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Splash Mountain

Space Mountain

Dinosaur

Mission: SPACE

Test Track

Universal(Orlando):

Hulk

Dueling Dragons

Spidey

JP River Adventure

Dudley-do Right

Revenge of the Mummy

Docter Doom

Then of course, there's always those rides that don't ofer thrills, but are just plain FUN(mostly at Disney). Also, Disney wins, 8-7. Universal's rides do offer bigger thrills though, so it's all a matter of opinion. Overall, I think WDW is a better park.

Thrills-Universal

Non-thrills-Disney

Rides that aren't thrill rides, but are fun-Disney

Overall "Park" Experience-Disney

1.) I agree with you, nearly everyone has been to a Disney theme park. There is also a lot of them now, like, 11.

2.) Disney and Universal generally appeal to different people. You can't really get the same thing at one you can get at the other. For example, you don't see little preschool girls running around in fairy dresses, having the time of their lifes at Universal (imagine how out of place they'd look at HHN) and at Disney you won't find violent shows, many explosions and hear the roar of the hulk. IMO disney is better as it has quantity AND quality. It is a pity how people who prefer one seemingly have to hate the other, like those people with dead mice (cry Elissa, cry) in their avatars at Universal Excitement.

Central Florida is great -- eight major theme parks.

Variety is the spice of life.

Viva Disney!

Viva Universal!

Viva Anheiser Busch!

I'd be saddened by the loss of any of them.

All the rides in Disney would cost someone a park hopper or something of that nature which is if I remember correct a hell of alot more than a 1 day pass for both parks at USF. And! when I was there I got a free third day pass for the price of two. I don't know if they are still running that deal but it beats the hell out of selling your body to go to Disney World. Plus I had my mom sit through the buying a timeshare thing to get %50 off the park price for the 2 days. But the Thrill rides are much better at IOA than at Disney due to the rollercoasters at IOA being a little bit more adult oriented. Rockin Roller Coaster is fun but the Hulk and DD I would consider much better.

Walt Disney World is not ONE park either.

Its 4 Parks. Where for 70 bucks I get all the thrills at IOA/USF, a single day park hopper is something like 90 bucks.

Plus, hitting ALL of the parks in one day is nearly impossible, only on the most dead of weeks. And dont add up single day admission to those 4...thats a huge number too.

But the parks are vastly different IMO. They offer completely different thrills and target totally different audiences. Its funny that Disney even considers them "Competition" because I dont see any there at all.

They are two totally different parks.. aimed at different audiences...

we the consumer are very lucky to be able to visit Orlando and be exposed to such high quality from two very good brands.. Everyone has their own preference.. mine is Disney thats because quality is more important than thrill to me... but thats just my preference... I love both brands and all there Florida parks... Long may it continue to be such a fantasic place and hopefully it will get bigger and better.....

Oh as regards the iditots with dead mice etc.... well that is just dumb.... millions and millions and millions of repeat visitors can't be wrong.... stupid people... don't take any notice Elissa

The only flaw in the original post is that they list Dinosaur as a thrill ride!

It's more like a "dark area....rumble, rumble, rumble...'not our dino'....dark area....rumble, rumble, rumble, 'another black lit dino!'...rumble, rumble, rumble...." kind of ride!

--Robb "Not a fan of Dinosaur!" Alvey

The only flaw in the original post is that they list Dinosaur as a thrill ride!

 

It's more like a "dark area....rumble, rumble, rumble...'not our dino'....dark area....rumble, rumble, rumble, 'another black lit dino!'...rumble, rumble, rumble...." kind of ride!

 

--Robb "Not a fan of Dinosaur!" Alvey

You are right. It's not a REAL thrill ride but still has some thrills. I like Dinosaur. Tip: go there first thing and the ride will be a walk on. Once, my family and I rode it, got a fastpass, and rode it again in a few minutes.

I think that you should add BTTF to the Universal list (Back to the Future). I found it extremely thrilling. It's one wild simulator!

Well, I've always been somewhat of a chicken with dark thrill-rides and shows, ever since Honey I shrunk The Audience scared the bee-jezus out of me, but I guess that's because I wasn't expecting it to be that intense, hehe.

Now that I'm planning to see USF which has a ton of dark thrill rides, I'll just have to master the art of keeping my eyes open and telling myself. "It's just a ride, it's just a ride"

Dinosaur = funniest ride EVER!!! I think I laughed for five minutes straight after my first ride, as I could not believe how silly it was. It's "dark, dark...DINOSAUR HEAD!!!" What a waste of technology...

dt

Err, what's with the people insinuating Disney is the only one with a quality product? And when did Universal become all about quantity? If anything, it's been the other way around ever since the day MGM opened. (Which, btw, is just the product of Eisner ripping off Universal's plans for USF.)

Err, what's with the people insinuating Disney is the only one with a quality product? And when did Universal become all about quantity? If anything, it's been the other way around ever since the day MGM opened. (Which, btw, is just the product of Eisner ripping off Universal's plans for USF.)

I'm not 100% sure that they built Disney (MGM pretty much gone) Studios completely because they heard that Universal was building their second theme park/production facility in Orlando. They had a plans for a movie themed park but when they heard the annoucment of USF they got off their ass and put some of the things they had planned into play. To be truthful, until Mummy, I preferred Disney-MGM. It had more to offer in the terms of things I enjoy. Now I'm not so sure.

Err, what's with the people insinuating Disney is the only one with a quality product? And when did Universal become all about quantity? If anything, it's been the other way around ever since the day MGM opened. (Which, btw, is just the product of Eisner ripping off Universal's plans for USF.)

 

I'm not 100% sure that they built Disney (MGM pretty much gone) Studios completely because they heard that Universal was building their second theme park/production facility in Orlando. They had a plans for a movie themed park but when they heard the annoucment of USF they got off their ass and put some of the things they had planned into play. To be truthful, until Mummy, I preferred Disney-MGM. It had more to offer in the terms of things I enjoy. Now I'm not so sure.

You are wrong. Disney was already going to build a movie based theme park before Universal announced USF.

^Oh, okies, not that it makes a HUGE difference.

*feels strange being corrected by a ten year old*

Err, what's with the people insinuating Disney is the only one with a quality product? And when did Universal become all about quantity? If anything, it's been the other way around ever since the day MGM opened. (Which, btw, is just the product of Eisner ripping off Universal's plans for USF.)

 

I'm not 100% sure that they built Disney (MGM pretty much gone) Studios completely because they heard that Universal was building their second theme park/production facility in Orlando. They had a plans for a movie themed park but when they heard the annoucment of USF they got off their ass and put some of the things they had planned into play. To be truthful, until Mummy, I preferred Disney-MGM. It had more to offer in the terms of things I enjoy. Now I'm not so sure.

 

You are wrong. Disney was already going to build a movie based theme park before Universal announced USF.

I keep hearing both ways on this. I've heard reports that Universal planned an Orlando park as early as 1980, before MGM was announced.

Anyway, my take is that in the past 10 years, Universal has done a LOT more than Disney and one reason why I prefer it now. Look at the off the shelf carnival rides that Disney put in Animal Kingdom, it's a joke to Disney fans everywhere.

Well, they're certainly dedicated over there at Universal.

I saw on a travel channel special, that EVERY night after IOA closes, people come in and repaint virtually everything in the park. That's caring about your appearance, folks.

MGM was Eisner's brainchild. And like I said, it was the product of him being shown the plans for USF. Disney did not have an entire studio park planned beforehand (although there were rumors of a planned "studio pavilion" at EPCOT). This, combined with the fact that he purposely rushed to have it open before USF, is the reason MGM opened with so few attractions.

http://www.usoinfo.com/Parkinfo/guides/usf/USF-history.htm

JT3000...

why are you trying your best to turn this into a Universal v's Disney thread... No one is knocking Universal... People are generally stateing they love both sets of parks and then giving their preference, like in my case it's Disney due to my preference to their quality themeing. (i dont know what your on about quantity for?)

as I've already said all the parks are great.. what's with knocking Disney... it's just childish and stupid

To me, it's like the difference between PBS and HBO. Uni is just more adult, edgier, less pompous, more thrilling. Less self-important, more postmodern. E.g., Uni stages HHN, while WDW turned the alien into Stitch. Nothing at WDW is as in-your-face cheeky as Shrek 4-D. And the ecological messages at DAK, while well-intentioned, are plodding. (And ignore the fact that Disneyfication has pretty well overwhelmed Florida.)

There's plenty I love about WDW: TOT, RnRC, the India and Africa theming at DAK, and the Haunted Mansion is still fun after all these years. But plenty of WDW falls, for me, flat: I think Test Track's weak, parts of DAK's theming is sub-Six Flags, and World Showcase is positively creaky. What's new at WDW? Well, I like M:S, though it seems I'm in a minority, while the Great New Mountain is, let's face it, just a massively updated Matterhorn, yeti and all. On a case-by-case comparison - Kali vs. Bluto, Dudley vs. Splash, RnRC vs. ROTM, JPRA vs. Dinosaur, Jungle Cruise vs. Jaws, T23D and Shrek vs. HISTA and the Muppets, BTTF vs. Star Tours, MIB vs. Buzz, Catastrophe Canyon vs. Earthquake and Twister, Indy vs. Sindbad, Port of Entry vs. Main Street, Spidey vs. any WDW dark you care to name, even the theming of Fantasyland vs. Seuss Island - I think Uni wins most times, though not all.

What Disney does have in spades, especially the MK, is charm and childhood resonance. And the four WDW parks are better than just about any parks on the planet. But IMO, for sheer, audacious imagination, IOA beats them hands down.

If I were a kid or a parent, I'd probably prefer WDW. But, hey, I'm neither.

LOL! JT3000, I think you should get your info from a less pro-universal site and try to be a bit more open minded, you can like both you know, they won't sue you.

DAK, dosen't really lack in theming. Okay that whole Dinosaur Carninval is hanusly, embarrasingly awful so I'm just gonna exclude that. It lacks SUBSTANCE. Theres just not that much to do, and the whole Natazu thing is a bit weird.

And please don't bother with these;

Theming- Disney

Magic- Disney

Rides- Disney

People- Disney

Anal Lube- Disney

and vice-versa, it's really boring.

^Oh, okies, not that it makes a HUGE difference.

*feels strange being corrected by a ten year old*

I am obsessed with Disney and Universal stuff. I get mad at books if they don't have the right facts, like one says Hulk is 150ft tall. It's really 110ft tall(incase you didn't know). Plus, I'm a really smart 10 year old. Not like those kids that can't even read the word accomplices(no offense to those kids).

i get angry at books do, when they get their facts wrong. But i think Universal is better than Disney. Why? I like huge thrills, and Islands of Advenutre applies than need. The park is amazing. Coasters, thrill rides, you name it. But i wasnt so keen on The Studios part, because it was all show etc. But i went when the Mummy was being built, so i am sure it is way better now.

But disney also has good thrills to.

The fundamental fact that gets overlooked whenever someone goes into the realm of a "Universal vs. Disney vs. Busch vs. Holy Land Adventure (okay, maybe no one is taking Holy Land into consideration)," is this:

Orlando has pretty much become the hotbed for high quality theme parks because of the direct competition. I can think of few areas where the variety of parks are so...um, varied.

Why is WDW getting the abundance of the new attractions for the 50th? Simple, they need more new attractions to keep people from heading a few miles up I-4. Why does Universal remove attractions and replace them? If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? They want to have the newest thing to steal whatever thunder Mickey's tossing out. Without all the competiton, the companies could easily sit back on their laurels and not need to add something new on a semi-regular basis. But because of the competition, the bar has to keep getting raised (and IOA needs to get off their butts and take a look at where that bar is - give us something new, guys!)

Comparing Disney and Universal is like apples and oranges. They're both fruit, but the tastes are exquistitely different. But if all you had was apples...man, wouldn't you want a friggin' orange.

^Oh, okies, not that it makes a HUGE difference.

*feels strange being corrected by a ten year old*

 

I am obsessed with Disney and Universal stuff. I get mad at books if they don't have the right facts, like one says Hulk is 150ft tall. It's really 110ft tall(incase you didn't know). Plus, I'm a really smart 10 year old. Not like those kids that can't even read the word accomplices(no offense to those kids).

Yeah, and did you know that a Universal tour guide got a fact wrong? They called LIM's "linear inductive motions", and I almost corrected her, then decided to hold my tongue.

By the way, let's see if you're as smart as you say you are - which launches faster, Mummy or Hulk? (But you really are smart for a 10 year old, you know that?)