Anti-Universal?

[McLiberal8]

Am I alone here?
I have such a loyalty to Disney - I really have no want to visit Universal when I am on my Disney vacations. As far as I can see, the park is themed pretty poorly, and half the time the entertainment value is at the expense of Disney/low-brow.
I always hear from non-Disney friends 'well why aren't you going to Universal when you are in Orlando?' and I get a crazy look everytime I answer.
Plus, when I am at Disney, I want to stay submerged in all that is Walt! :mickey:
I think those anti-Disney commercials they had a few years ago left a very bad taste in my mouth...

[faline]

I'm certainly not ani-Universal. Once, we spent most of our vacation time in the Universal Parks and only ventured over to Disney a couple of times. A couple of times, we have spent 2-3 days at Universal before moving over to Disney. On one occasion, we made a day trip to Universal but, on that trip, only because my brother and his wife were with us and he wanted to go.

There are certainly things I enjoy at Universal Studios. It's unlikely I'd ever spend a week on site at Universal and spend all my time at Univeral but 2-3 days works well.

[BellesRose]

I've never been to Universal, but I've seen pictures from friends and it has never appealed to me. My brother went for Rock the Universe one year and said it was chaotic and unorganized and none of the rides interested him. He thought Disney was pure chaos with Night of Joy until he went to Universal. Now he realizes that Disney isn't "that bad" ;)

Edited to add:
Also, this has nothing to do with my "loyalty" to Disney. I have been to Busch Gardens a few times and loved it. I got a pass for the whole year for less than the price of one day at Disney. It's much closer than Disney. And it's a lot cleaner than people say. One man was cleaning up our popcorn around us...we even threw some on the ground to see if he'd come back and get it - he did. He was sweet, though, and he joked with us about going on the roller coasters with a stomach full of popcorn :P
I just don't understand Universal, that's all.

[Madame Leona]

I have to agree that Rock the Universe is not the time to go.
That being said, I do like Universal Studios. It's not Disney but it does have some nice rides and I enjoyed a few of the shows.
My question for McLiberal8 is, have you ever been to Universal or are you forming your opinion off of what you have heard from others? If it doesn't appeal to you, I don't think you should visit. Life is short and vacations are expensive. However, I feel that comparing it to Disney is like comparing apples and oranges. Of course nobody does it like the original but other places do have a certain appeal also.

[McLiberal8]

I haven't been.
I tend to have strong brand loyalty/hatreds. I really dislike the ads they have done in the past, making fun of Disney, and the anti-Disney spins they put on the Shrek ride, etc. If you need to defame one company to make yours look better, it doesn't say much about your ethics.
I guess I should look at it more like any other amusement park, than like Disney. But - UNIVERSAL would never say they are apples to oranges!

[tinksmom02]

We've never been to Universal. I don't have the brand-loyalty thing, it's just that it's never seemed to appeal to me. In the past, I was also worried that height restrictions might be an issue--DD would've wanted to ride tons of stuff that she wouldn't have been tall enough for. (Granted, I didn't research it too much.)

I did look into spending a day at Universal for our trip last year, but the price of admission, plus lunch, renting a car, parking, etc., for one day just wasn't justifiable (there were 5 of us).

[caryrae]

We love Universal, we always make a point to visit one or both parks each trip. We loved the Halloween Horror Nights they do, very awesome. Spiderman is awesome and really like the Mummy roller coaster. We like Disney more but Universal is a fun time too.

[DizneyRox]

Without Universal, where would all the laid off Disney Imagineers find work?

Really, IoA is one of the best themed parks period (IMHO). Universal Studios, well, it's a fun place, but I haven't felt the need to go back in a while. Theming there is on par with MGM if I recall correctly.

[Carolanne]

I wouldn't say that I'm anti-Universal, but I just don't feel the need to go there. Kind of like how I feel about Animal Kingdom :D.

I've been to Universal & IOA (and have done both parks in 1 day). It's ok but not something that I feel like I need to do. It isn't about loyalty to WDW, I'm just not interested.

[Tink1]

Without Universal, where would all the laid off Disney Imagineers find work?

Really, IoA is one of the best themed parks period (IMHO). Universal Studios, well, it's a fun place, but I haven't felt the need to go back in a while. Theming there is on par with MGM if I recall correctly.

I agree! Love the atmosphere at IOA, always have. And those laid off guys have come up with some great ideas when they are given the funds to do so.

Is Uni for everyone? No, but neither is Disney. I do not compare it to Disney, it is what it is:

A park geared to the high tech kid that does not have a clue that Wonderful World of Color was on Sunday nights, let alone what Walt looked liked. (although there are many that love it that are far from kids and far from high tech)

They do not want to be Disney. Disney does that well enough.

Nanc

[jmj18]

You are not alone!

We have been and will NEVER go back. We spent hours there....and all but 1 ride broke down. They weren't willing to do anything to compensate until someone on line told all of us that she got her money back. They had no choice but to return all of our money.

We will NEVER give them a second chance!


:mickey:

[ILoveLegos]

I go to Universal & I go to Disney. I think Busch Gardens is swell too. I liked Wiki-waki world & Cypress Gardens (in their heyday) too. I can't wait to go to Legoland, FL (of course - see my screen name). Plus I've been to Bok Towers, Daytona Beach & Saint Petersburg and Spook Hill (goofy little local attraction involving cars seemingly rolling uphill) too. Limiting myself to just one form of entertainment is just that ... limiting. IMO - I'll never know if I like something unless I try it. :cool:

I still want to get to the Florida Keys on a vacation. There is so much more out there to explore ... Disney is just the tip of the iceburg! I'm getting closer to my trip to Japan & Alaska - after that, the sky is the limit on where to explore next. :thumbsup:

No offense to Disney, but it'll still be there when I get back. :blush:

[DisneyPrincess21]

Am I alone here?
I have such a loyalty to Disney - I really have no want to visit Universal when I am on my Disney vacations. As far as I can see, the park is themed pretty poorly, and half the time the entertainment value is at the expense of Disney/low-brow.
I always hear from non-Disney friends 'well why aren't you going to Universal when you are in Orlando?' and I get a crazy look everytime I answer.
Plus, when I am at Disney, I want to stay submerged in all that is Walt! :mickey:
I think those anti-Disney commercials they had a few years ago left a very bad taste in my mouth...

:exactly: I am also Anti-Universal. I don't know why anyone would want to leave the magic? :balloon:
I also agree about the Anti-Disney commercials, those really got under my skin, like people from Disney are weird, geeky, not cool people. I personally love Disney, and I am none of those things, but if loving Disney makes me a weirdo then I will gladly accept the role! :mickey3::hatter::minnie:

:wave:

[BrerGnat]

It's really not fair to judge until you've actually gone there for yourself.

IOA has better themed areas than lots of Disney parks. You may not like to hear that, but it's true. Plus, the hotels on property there are arguably better than anything Disney has to offer, across the same price points. Universal did something right by outsourcing their hotel operations. That's all I'll say about that.

I like IOA. Not so much Universal Studios. I hope to visit again in the future to check out Potter Land.

I will always prefer Disney Parks. But IOA is, perhaps, my third favorite park in Orlando, and the only other major theme park outside the Disney gates that I find worthy of my time and money.

[baldburke]

We aren't anti-Universal, we just have no desire to leave WDW. I couldn't even imagine that it could compare.

Only 235 acres between the two Universal parks compared to the 30k+ acres of the World? You come out of the park there's a Cracker Barrel and TGI Friday's right across the street. How can that compare?

I will however say that we will probably be tempted to go to Legoland. We've never been to Cali and would be interested to see it here on the east coast.

[joonyer]

I'll just say this: while Universal studios and IOA are not as immersive as Disney World. They have some attractions that are just good if not better than any at WDW. Ride Revenge of the Mummy, Spiderman, Forbidden Journey and if you like coasters, Hulk, Dragon Challenge and Rip-ride and Rockit, then then see if you can honestly say you disagree.

We love Disney World and it is our favorite family vacation destination. But just because one place is a favorite is no reason for anyone to hate or dislike other vacation destinations (especially one you've never visited) or to deny yourselves the pleasure and fun of visiting those spots once in awhile. That makes no sense whatsoever.