Just back - and won’t be returning to Disney…

[ollie87]

Originally Posted by SamH88

Agree I don’t particularly enjoy Universal because I don’t like rollercoasters or thrill rides, so for me there isn’t that much to do in comparison to Disney where they have much more stuff for people not into rollercoasters.

For me Disney is great value because of the options it has for everyone whereas I found the one day ticket price for Universal really poor value. We paid close to $200 each for a one day 2 park ticket with limited options if you don’t want thrill rides.

And they had the exact same issues people have posted about Disney having, which is understandable because they are both getting back into the swing of things after the pandemic. Both had ride breakdowns, both had food that could have been better, both have employees who are clearly new and might not be as good as CMs who have been there a long time, they were just as busy as each other and had very similar rides wait times.

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Problem I had with Universal last time I went wasn't rollercoasters but simulators - which I think are terrible and make me motion sick. I can cope with big coasters, but a park full of simulators is rubbish. Granted the last time I went to Universal was 2015 and then I said I wouldn't be back any time soon, mostly because the Simpsons land was tiny and rubbish, they'd removed a load of the rides I enjoyed and replaced them with inferior ones, and I'm not ≈≈≈≈≈ about Harry Potter and I also cannot stand bloody Minions.

My attitude was 'no more of these', and then you walk around and see that the new ride they were building at the time was Kong, another simulator.

The Simpsons ride made me want to puke way more than the orange side of Mission Space, for example.

I'm also still not over removal of Jaws honestly.

[Pep]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Not sure. Do you judge entry cost on park gates, or investment. Volcano Bay was a huge investment recently and frankly blows away the Disney water parks which are now getting long in the tooth, albeit I still enjoy them, they are very quiet now.

Epcot was basically half a park at Xmas and the front half has been a building site for years, and had no real investment, aside for swapping out one water ride with new theming for decades. Despite massive margins on the parks (see accounts) even the planned investment has been scaled substantially back, and even much needed upgrades such as Spaceship Earth now scrapped. That strikes me as short termism.

I was surprised to see the state of Dinoland at Xmas, with some stalls with torn plastic sheeting, empty space and closed food outlets. It seemed like a second rate British theme park in off season. Simply not acceptable.

Will be interesting to see what they charge when Epic Universe opens. Disney will have a real fight on their hands then, and may announce major park upgrades or even a new park to retain customers. Chapek may be gone then.

Part of the argument is also cost included at the hotel- parking, magic bands, ME all stripped away. The Disney hotels are much more expensive. I wouldn’t classify Hard Rock equivalent to a Disney moderate personally, and also Universal Moderates such as Aventure, Sapphire Falls are at least the equivalent of Disney moderates I’d say.

I don’t really have a problem with cost as such. Yes we may gripe if Genie now costs, if the tickets are ever more expensive (the rest doesn’t actually affect me as I am DVC with parking included, and we always usually have a car). What gripes is the poor implementation and feeling ripped off for prices paid, and my perceived value for the guest paying big bucks. If you are charging these sums give me the fabulous service. We certainly didn’t get that last Xmas in the main in the parks (resorts still very nice though).

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It's horses for coarses the state of the kiddy area at universal was soo bad when I went in 2019 also rides are always shut at all parks for refurb and as for investment its well documented disney has spent way more than universal since HP expansion. As I stated before universal has a great product that I really enjoy. Both disney and universal have ups and downs I just think disney gets unfair flack compared to universal. Of course I wouldn't suggest that Disney can't be criticised just let's have some balance.

[SamH88]

Originally Posted by ollie87

Problem I had with Universal last time I went wasn't rollercoasters but simulators - which I think are terrible and make me motion sick. I can cope with big coasters, but a park full of simulators is rubbish. Granted the last time I went to Universal was 2015 and then I said I wouldn't be back any time soon, mostly because the Simpsons land was tiny and rubbish, they'd removed a load of the rides I enjoyed and replaced them with inferior ones, and I'm not ≈≈≈≈≈ about Harry Potter and I also cannot stand bloody Minions.

My attitude was 'no more of these', and then you walk around and see that the new ride they were building at the time was Kong, another simulator.

The Simpsons ride made me want to puke way more than the orange side of Mission Space, for example.

I'm also still not over removal of Jaws honestly.

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Yes lots of simulators! I hated the Simpson’s when I did it a few years ago so avoided it this time and Kong was very disappointing.

[SamH88]

Originally Posted by Moorlandman

Disney themselves quote most guests get 2-3 rides a day using Genie+. Sounds like you did better than most

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Actually they said that on average guests can enter 2 or 3 attractions per day. “On average”is very different to “most”.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by SamH88

Yes lots of simulators! I hated the Simpson’s when I did it a few years ago so avoided it this time and Kong was very disappointing.

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I thought Kong was great. Fast and Furious though- now that is dire.

Universal do have a lot of screen based rides I agree. Simpson’s I don’t bother with. The best one is the original, Spider-Man which is phenomenal and still one of the greatest rides ever made IMO, the technical achievements on that for a 20 year old ride were incredible. The 2 Harry Potter ones as well are also excellent. Universal is probably better for our kids now teens, with some great coasters. Disney is better for people who like gentle family rides and theming, no doubt, save Harry Potter which is themed as well as Avatar.

People say they don’t like Universal as they don’t like coasters, but whenever Disney open a Coaster or semi thrill ride at WDW it seems to become one of the most popular rides of the entire park. I do think Disney could have invested a lot more on rides over the past 2 decades. But they were doing well without it. Epic Universe may change this. I’ll also accept they have started investing a lot more recently with some great additions. ROTR is probably the greatest ride ever made, it’s a masterpiece. But I’m looking forward to riding Velocicoaster and Hagrid more than any ride at Disney part from Guardians and Tron.

[SimplyDisney]

Originally Posted by Bad Pink Tink

I used the free Fastpass in Disneyland California for years. I had my first Covid visit in January and paid for Genie+ on all my days.

I am returning in June and have prepaid Genie+ on all my days.

While I loved the free Fastpass system, my trip in January with the paid Genie+ and Lightning Lanes was far more efficient. It was a game changer for me, being able to use my phone to book Lightning Lanes.

Before I would physically have to be in Tomorrowland to get the free Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear.

In January I could be in Galaxys Edge, check my phone, book the Lightning Lane for Buzz and by the time I walk from Galaxys Edge to Tomorrowland my Lightning Lane return window would be open.

I use a Fitbit and walked far less in January and achieved far more by using the paid Genie+.

I also used Photopass for the first time in January. In all my trips to Disneyland I have never used Photopass as it was an extra upcharge.

In Disneyland California , Photopass is included with Genie+. I had paid for Genie+ anyway so why not use Photopass as well.

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"Before I would physically have to be in Tomorrowland to get the free Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear."?

Why? Surely the app used to allow you to have the FastPass booked before you arrived?

[fl-veteran]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

I do think Disney could have invested a lot more on rides over the past 2 decades.

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Yes, I agree. There's lots of investment gone in at Disney in the last few years but I believe that is because they sat on their laurels for a very long time before that.

For years before 7DMT was commissioned Universal were adding stuff like crazy and Disney seemed mostly content with what they had in their portfolio.

I've been going to Florida (not necessarily all the theme parks every time but some of them every time) for 25 years. I'm old enough to remember parking being free at Seaworld. The one thing I abhor at all parks are queue jumping products - something you are charged for that makes the experience of guests who don't pay worse so that they also have to pay or suffer a worse experience.

If you have to put the price of park entry up then put the price up but a level playing field would do a lot to improve the experience for a lot of guests.

[standing by to be shot down in flames in 3... 2... 1...]

[Bad Pink Tink]

Originally Posted by SimplyDisney

"Before I would physically have to be in Tomorrowland to get the free Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear."?

Why? Surely the app used to allow you to have the FastPass booked before you arrived?

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I said at Disneyland California. In before times, at Disneyland California you could only get the free Fastpasses on the day at the Fastpass kiosks. It was different to Walt Disney World.

[SamH88]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

I thought Kong was great. Fast and Furious though- now that is dire.

Universal do have a lot of screen based rides I agree. Simpson’s I don’t bother with. The best one is the original, Spider-Man which is phenomenal and still one of the greatest rides ever made IMO, the technical achievements on that for a 20 year old ride were incredible. The 2 Harry Potter ones as well are also excellent. Universal is probably better for our kids now teens, with some great coasters. Disney is better for people who like gentle family rides and theming, no doubt, save Harry Potter which is themed as well as Avatar.

People say they don’t like Universal as they don’t like coasters, but whenever Disney open a Coaster or semi thrill ride at WDW it seems to become one of the most popular rides of the entire park. I do think Disney could have invested a lot more on rides over the past 2 decades. But they were doing well without it. Epic Universe may change this. I’ll also accept they have started investing a lot more recently with some great additions. ROTR is probably the greatest ride ever made, it’s a masterpiece. But I’m looking forward to riding Velocicoaster and Hagrid more than any ride at Disney part from Guardians and Tron.

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I only did Gringotts out of the Harry Potter rides because I knew it only had one small drop and it was great apart from that god damn snake 😂. But I spent an awful lot of time just waiting around for my husband because there wasn’t much to do for non rollercoasters people. I wandered down to Hogsmeade for a few minutes while he queued for Velocicoaster but you could barely move because it was so busy.

I do think $90 is a lot for the Universal Express Pass when it doesn’t include Hagrids or Velocicoaster which have the biggest wait times. At least at Disney you have to option to buy an ILL for FOP and RotR which are probably the two most comparable rides in terms of wait times.

[ollie87]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Fast and Furious though- now that is dire.

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Another franchise that is poo! Seems like the target demographic is 14 year old chavs.

Why would I ever want to go on that ride? I'm a massive petrol head too and I can't stand it.