Quote Originally Posted by starryeyes21 View Post
My husband and I included Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure when we went to Orlando for our honeymoon in 2008. I am a huge Disney fan and so is my husband but I also love Universal Orlando. We stayed on Universal's property and were extremely satisfied. I had never been to the hotels before and wasn't sure what to expect. Let me tell you it was a great experience. We stayed at Portofino Bay and were blown away by the attention to detail, the costumer service, and the high quality of the room. The staff was cordial and extremely helpful, housekeeping was impeccable, and the atmosphere, in general, was to die for.

Universal did everything right. They strove for excellence. Unfortunately, I think Disney sits back on its laurels far too much. Our experience at Disney was no where near as satisfying as our stay at Universal. Our room at the Wilderness Lodge was small and dingy. When complaints were made they were ignored. Mousekeeping was sub-standard and our room was barely touched.

What does this have to do with Harry Potter? I discovered all of this about Universal, almost, by accident. My husband and I decided that since we were spending two full days at Universal that we should stay on the property. How many more people will fall in love with Universal this way? Yes, they may draw people away with Harry Potter Land but they may keep them by exhibiting superior service, beautiful hotels, and wonderful theming.
And THIS, my dear INTERCOTTERS, is EXACTLY what Disney is worried about and EXACTLY why they need to step things up.

They're not dumb. They know they've been coasting for a number of years, because they've been largely unchallenged. IMO, they've been using this time to milk as much cash as possible out of WDW.

But that time has passed and, assuming the folks running the show have even the smallest clue, they'll have to react to HP.