Has Universal Studios lost the plot?

[Hogwarts]

That's exactly how I felt about disney, different people like different things I personally wouldn't go back to disney if they let me in free .seaworld and universal for me all the way!,

[Ballerina]

We went to the original Universal in California first, this was in 1996, and saw the real Bates Motel that was used in the Phsyco. This was the place that the 1950s glamourous film stars walked around and worked. There seemed to be more entertainment that didn't depend on being thrown around at speed, we were in awe at what we saw and did.
When we went to Universal in Florida in 2000 we liked this as well, but it didn't have the magic feel to it. We returned last year and loved HP, transformers & Spiderman, loved City Walk and eating out at Bubba Gumps. I find it hard to explain, we like Universal Florida, but it is like a large space that has had buildings/rides/entertainment placed in it and the atmosphere that history creates is not there.

[Ballerina]

Disney World and Universal Orlando are very different from each other and I don't compare them, but like going to both of them.

[Ming]

We first went to Universal when it opened and the car park was just outside the big universal arch. It was our favourite park and there was not a ride or show we would miss. The whole park had such a great atmosphere and you never knew who you would bump into for a phot opportunity, Maralyn Munro or Lucy and a host of other characters.
We took DS to see the Rocky Horror Make Up Show the other day and they are still picking a Chinese lady as their stooge. It is still good fun even after 24 years. We still have a couple of VHS tapes made at their screen test show. I think we were Star Trek characters.

We love the 2 parks although Citywalk we could live without it just makes for a longer walk to the parks for us.

[paul11000]

I really miss the backstage tour they used to do round the sound stages when they were all in use. The fact it was a working studio really added something.

[Guest]

I know what you mean. As much as I enjoyed my recent trip to Universal (in particular minion mayhem) it didn't have the magic of the times I went in the 90s. To me the loss of Back to the Future, and now Jaws, Kongfrontation at the expense of turning the park into Harry Potter land is something of a minor tragedy.
I also enjoyed the Hitchcock show when I went in previous years and can't help but feel that something is missing at Universal now. There are so many properties they have that could make brilliant additions to the park. We'll see what future years bring with it.

[Twinklestar1]

We went in May. We all love the Disney Parks having been seven times for the 'once in a lifetime' trip!

We have ventured up to Universal and whilst my two tween boys liked Universal I have to say that I feel it lacks something! I think that the Studios doesn't quite capture the 'studios feeling' and at points feels like a fun fair - almost tacky.

If it was left to me we wouldn't visit again - but the boys would like to return.

[Floridarules]

We love Universal because its different to Disney, it would be boring if it was the same.
And it is MUCH cheaper than Disney and the attention to detail with the HP part is mindblowing.
Yes its not Disney and I love Disney but there are parts of Disney that are looking tired now (we were disappointed with Epcot for example), but we love them all.😃

[TigerMom]

I think Universal had to change because it's audience is changing. I loved, loved, loved Jaws but it doesn't have the same attraction for my children's generation who grew up watching other movies. We like staying at Portofino Bay and leaving the car behind for a few days. When we went to Disney last year it seemed tired and drab and the addition of Star Wars and Avatar is something that doesn't interest me in the slightest. I know what the Op means and I think he is right but Us and Ioa are still my favourite parks.

[Kaspian]

I think I can see everyone's points and here's my views.

The first time I went to Florida, we didn't do Disney as we could only afford either Disney OR Universal. So then, Universal was all we knew and it was amazing.

Harry Potter had just opened and I am a HUGE HP fan and so that was really exciting, but once you did HP, the rest of the park just felt a bit, disshevelled and lacking in purpose.

Once I had been to Disney and seen how each park had a distinct theme with a clear purpose and finish, I began realising that Universal Studios had lost this. It had stopped being about the movies and the backstage thing and had slowly replaced all it's magic with thrill ride after thrill ride that had no actual relevance nor place in the park.

It's clear that with the addition of these new rides, Universal have decided that they just want to be about rides and thrills, tempting away those who think Disney is "for kids" but for those of us who as adults see Disney as just as magical as when we were children, we're left wondering what the point of travelling all the way over to Universal is when we'd be leaving the magic that is Disney?

Last year we were in Florida for Christmas and were worried about crowds etc but Disney managed it so well that even on Christmas Day, we never waited longer than 30 mins for ride standby and there was entertainment everywhere, what a wonderful experience!

We decided to go to Universal on Boxing Day and what a different story! They were clueless of how to manage crowds and we felt like we were being herded like cattle with staff being pushy and shouting to get people to move in different directions. When going to HP area, we found there was a 3 hour queue for Forbidden Journey AND they added a 75 minute queue JUST TO ENTER HOGSMEADE!

We tried to find rides we could go on but everything was 2 hours plus, so we tried to get snacks but the snack areas were packed and the only things we could get were turkey legs, great for a vegetarian huh?

We ended up just leaving the park and feeling we'd really wasted our 14 day tickets because we actually only spent around 6 hours there.

Lo and behold though, our bus pulled in to our Disney resort and we were greeted by Cast Members with a smile and we knew we were home.

We will likely try US again next year when we go for longer but it really will be the final chance to impress us!