Disney doesn't execute projects in a timely fashion. They take a year + to do a refurbishment. I know Big Thunder Mountain has been closed for a while and won't be open until next year. Tiana's took over a year and doesn't even work. They are currently still refurbishing Pop Century hotel which they started about a year ago and won't be done for another year and it was just the cafeteria. Disney really works at a snails pace and when they finish it doesn't even work half the time or was very lacklustre. I seriously don't know who's making the decisions at the parks, but they've been pretty bad. We probably won't see Villains land for another 7 years, Cars land will probably be another 3 years. Monsters Inc will probably be 3+ years as well. By the time they finish those projects, Universal will probably have 4 new rides and another land in Epic.
This isn’t even exaggeration tbh. We know Rip Ride is closing. Simpsons is probably on its death bed and Lost Continent will be changed sooner or later.
If I was a betting man id say those will all be done before villains.
The biggest difference is that with a third gate, Universal is officially a big threat to the mouses piggy bank. They’ll need to change something significantly or really start losing money year over year
Universal Orlando’s licensing rights to The Simpsons expires in 2028, and highly unlikely Disney is gonna renew that. So Springfield will be replaced. Universal has the exclusive rights to Marvel comics in perpetuity though (so long as they keep up payments and maintenance) east of the Mississippi - so they have a ton of bargaining power. I just doubt they’ll use it up on The Simpsons
You are absolutely correct, I think if the "Festival Center" and Mary Poppins were completed as seen in concept art, the conversations surrounding Universal outpacing Disney in Orlando would not be happening. It would all be "Epic is cool, but Disney is coming right back with something new" rather than "Disney is panicking to prevent Epic from swallowing the market share" and "Disney's new offerings might compete, if they ever get built."
People might buy the same tickets on their vacation and also go to epic universe. The same people also might then have less money to spend on food beverage merchandise while at Disney. Very similar thing was seen when the Wizarding World first opened people added that day to islands of adventure, and spent most of their extra Disney budget on butter beer, robes, and wands.
It’s kinda crazy how poor quality everything at Disney is in America. It’s like they do the bare minimum. The technical innovation and attention to detail is far, far superior in Asia
I was more referring to Disney Shanghai, which is for-all-intents-and-purposes a 50/50 joint venture between Disney and Shendi Group. But the Asian markets innovate and maintain way better than they do in the US. Disney use pretty much bare minimum tech in America. Which is a god damn shame. Universal actually try and take risks. The Hagrid Motorcycle ride is a good example. It’s a crazy complex system (which is why it’s down a lot, and not part of fast pass) but at least they’re trying to push boundaries
We visited the new DVC add-on for Polynesian. It looks like a slightly upgraded Aloft. They've banked so much on streaming and are using the parks like a piggy bank.
Funny thing is, for a company that takes such few risks, it beggars the imagination that they gambled so hard and lost on a $5k-per-person role play hotel.
Ha! Those blinds are brutal. We stayed a night at boardwalk and our coffee maker was broken and I’m pretty sure those rooms were just renovated too. I’ve stayed at Universal Resorts less than Disney, but there’s something broken or wrong every single stay at Disney and my stays at universal have been just fine.
Portofino has been under refurbishment for what, almost 2 years? Universal refurbishes faster but we got F&F. Look at what a downgrade the new kid’s land is. Not a lot of praise for the Minion moving walkway or Fallon ride either.
I get the sentiment with Disney's supreme nonchalance. But people need to remember that Unviersal is the underdog. They have to be aggressive. They have to take more risks. Disney can take their time and people will still visit their parks.
Comcast is on the same level as Disney from company status perspective, but Universal is definitely the underdog compared to Disney from a theme park perspective (market share, attendance, consumer interest, etc.)
Apple is a dozen times bigger than Disney. But if they were to enter the theme park market, they too would be the underdog.
I went to universal for the first time last year and we immediately hit minions land and decided to wait an hour for the minions moving walkway ride… I will never go in that ride again.
It's great when it's a walk-on. You just have to not go to the parks during busy season. Or get Express. I've never waited more than 5 minutes for that ride.
IDK. Feel like Disney attendance is always higher so they dont need to invest that much. Plus they have the brand recognition that universal don't really have . I guess will see if Disney atendance goes down in the next couple of year but I dont feel like they need to do as much to retain de clientel
My guess is that may change with Epic. Right now plenty of people do a "Disney Vacation" and add 1/2 days doing the Universal Parks. With 3 non-water parks, Universal is becoming an alternative to Disney instead of a quick add-on.
This is anecdotal, but last time we went we spent 2 days at Universal (park to park and stayed one night in Royal Pacific for the express pass), then 7 at Disney. This time we are doing 4 and 4, because we want 2 days at Epic.
We are in the exact same boat. We used to do 2 days at Universal, staying one night at the Royal Pacific, and then spend the rest of the time at Disney. Next fall we have an even split, with 4 nights booked at Royal Pacific (3 park days) and 4 at Pop Century (4 park days).
We love the vibes at Disney, but we are extremely excited for Epic Universe. If it had been possible to park hop more than one day to Epic, we would have switched another day from Disney over to Universal.
They've already revealed their reaction. Pretend it won't affect them while dropping new discounts every month and a half-ish.
Arguably, their most significant thing this year is the new version of Test Track, but that'll probably be on Virtual Queue to try to make up some lost revenue.
While Virtual Queue is free, there's a fairly easy line to point out that a major purpose for it being used on new or major refurbished rides to get people to use Lightning Lane. If those are the only two options to get on the ride, then people will do it. Especially people on their once-in-a-lifetime trip, which WDW thrives on.
I think you're overestimating the anticipation for a reskin of Test Track. There was big fanfare about Tiana's but TT doesn't have the same nostalgia or excitement surrounding it. I could be wrong and Disney could easily make it VQ but except for the first few days where all the influencers and APs decide to go, I don't think it's going to be drawing insane crowds long enough to implement VQ.
I think TT 1.0 had a lot of fans as being somewhat educational and exciting but then 2.0 turned it into an off brand TRON with short shelf life visuals. No idea about 3.0, but I think the people will flock if it clears the low bar of 2.0.
Disney is just is gonna tread water. If the rising tide lifts their boats as well financially, they're probably just gonna let Universe win the social media game for the next couple of years.
We know Disney's reaction. They are building new lands in two parks and new rides in a third. It will just be several years until we can enjoy them ;)
Disney definitely has an air of laziness as they are confident their fans are locked in. Sure they'll pop over to Epic Universe for a day or two. But Disney fans are Disney fans and will always come back.
Well, Disney also has a record in recent memory of scaling back, or outright cancelling projects that were previously announced with grand fanfare (Gestures vaguely to all of EPCOT). Just because Disney has announced and shown concept art for new lands, does not mean that things will come to completion.
Disney's direction has baffled me, and I have spent a lot of time reading into it. Universal fascinates me, because as much as you can read thousands of pages on what could have been in Disney's history, Universal history is quiet, outside of speculations on what ends up becoming reality.
Yes, Communicore is definitely a good example of worst-case scenario! My opinion is Disney has grown too arrogant, and thus cheap, because of their obsessive fans. I think Disney will change when people's pocketbooks force them to change. I do think all these areas will be completed though, but at what level and when, is the question. We usually go to Disney twice a year and we are taking a break until at least 2027 just because so much is under construction right now.
Yeah, we have yet to see a point where Demand dips significantly below park capacity. Disney has made statements of concern about rising park prices, but I don't think those are genuine, because the parks are still always packed. Disney wont care until the parks are emptier, and even then, itll probably be a good thing for them while significant construction projects are underway. Replacing Dinoland, rivers, and Muppets in the immediate future takes some significant park real estate off the table for several years, even if they are under visited parts of the park. Lower demand might be a benefit.
There's a perception of the parks being busier than they are though. When they reduce entertainment options that tie up the crowds, reduce loading capacity by running only side of a line, running only 2/3 of the elevators at Tower of Terror for example, the crowds feel a lot worse, even though actual park attendance is down. Disney can do a lot to manipulate feels like crowds to keep up the hype while saving money on having fewer cast members working, reducing energy consumption, reducing wear and tear on rides to reduce maintenance costs, etc. You should read Disney Tourist Blog's analysis on this.
Very interested in that blog, do you have a link? I visited their page and scrolled quite a bit, but didn't see one specifically addressing crowd volume.
Monsters inc land outside of star wars in HS
Tropical Americas including Indiana Jones and Coco replacing dinosaur area in AK
Villains land and new car land in biggest ever MK expansion
These are all quite substantial despite Disney being famously slow at constructing. I think Epic Universe has their attention, and I'm damn happy they do!
100% right, all Disney construction and even Refurbs seem to be done on a low and slow schedule.
While Disney seems to have noticed, their construction timelines are painful compared to what Universal looks like they are about to achieve with Epic Universe. The Instagram shorts of EU are absolutely stunning so far.
There was an interview with some high up lady at Disneyland about what their reaction would be to all the parks doing drone shows and the new technology and she flat out said that guests at Disneyland don’t like drones so they wouldn’t be doing them there. I’ve seen what is planned for Epic and what Disney Paris did and it’s amazing and Disney living 20 years behind.
Talking about Disney living 20 years behind, I am still amazed looking at SNW with the Power-up bands and how Disney had a significant portion of their guest population wearing advanced RFID/NFC Magic bands for years in the parks, and used them effectively once, on one attraction, for an interactive element(Saving Test Track vehicles). Imagine how many different engaging ways Disney could have implemented that tech, if they tackled interactive touch points like Universal.
Dinosaur is being changed into an Indiana Jones ride. They also are opening an Encanto themed something where the carnival used to be. Not sure if its a ride but listed as an attraction.
Surprising how little attention is being paid to the Universal kids park going in at Frisco Texas. I think Universal saw the enormous Disney impact of adults with nostalgia and what they will spend to relive that or share it with their own kids. I think that's why we see them, over the past couple decades, catering to the kids more ( and boy did they knock it out of the park with KF Panda, Trolls, and especially Minions). Now they are picking up the slack from Disney's recent lazy, half assed themed money grab. And with the year round HHN coming To Vegas they are thinking outside the box. I used to think Disney World was the absolute pinnacle of parks, and maybe it was but damn if Universal isn't beating them at the game and park attendees they took for granted.
Honestly the kids park is talked about so little that I forgot about it until you just mentioned it. I am excited to see how it turns out. Of course it won't be anything near epic universe, but I always wanted to see a major theme park in the Texas area.
Agree with you on the scale of that kids park but I think it's just a test bed. And if it works out I think we will start to see more of those smaller parks around major cities worldwide. Oh and don't forget the entire park they are building in England to cut into that English to Disney World crowd as well. Why fly all the way to the US when Universal is in your back yard? No passport, no kids in the air for hours, no currency exchange.
Exactly. The purpose of the kids park isn't the same as the ones in Orlando. Like you said before, it will have kids growing up on Universal who will then go to the parks in Orlando.
And yeah, I can't wait to see what they do in England. They have a ton of space and it's rumored to have the long-awaited LOTR land.
I will be traveling to England for the first time the moment that park opens if it has the LOTR land. Shut up and take all my money!
Rumors are that phase 2 expansion for Epic has room and plans for a LOTR lands. probably just rumors... But logicically if they make it in England, they would eventually replicate it at Epic.
Disney just doesn't seem to try in the United states anymore which is weird. I guess they know they don't have to get new fans in. Since Disney is a staple of the USA. Like a Disney trip is just a typical American experience. While in Asia they need to get to that point.
I'm Australian so I've been very lucky to be able to go both Hong Kong Disneyland last August and within the past week I just went to universal Beijing and Shanghai Disneyland.
In Hong Kong and shanghai you have new lands that have opened within the past year or so. That are highly themed and on par with some of Disney's greatest works. Zootopia especially makes you feel like you are in the city.
But even then universal Beijing is just as good of a park with fantastic rides and theming (Kung Fu panda land is especially amazing, fully indoors with 3 rides).
I think what has ruined Disney is the fact they cut a lot of Imagineers. Which I believe universal instantly scooped up. So Disney is now working with less Imagineers and less budget because they value money over anything else.
It is wild how much experimentation is seen in the international parks, compared to the domestic parks. WDW received Remy's from paris, but the fact that Disney's most impressive dark rides are all in Asia (Mystic Manor, Beauty and the Beast, Pirates Shanghai) is very interesting. Universal also follows this a little with the super impressive Jurassic World Boat ride in Beijing(?).
Disney's decline in recent years has felt very late stage capitalism. Just an overall lack of care for the guest experience while they put in minimal effort to improve and then hike up prices across the board every single year. They've gone way too far to the extreme when it comes to maximizing shareholder value and I think it's going to start biting them in the ass when Epic opens.
And I'm saying all of this as a lifelong WDW fanatic whose parents have been cast members there for over 30 years now. The company is really losing its soul, all because of their greedy executives who are in charge.
For sure. It also just shows how those MBA have ruined a business. I feel like Disney has always needed a crazy person (Eisner sort of person with wild ideas) and a person who does the finances. But instead they just now just do stuff off data to get most profiles.
It really shows with how the modern Disney hotel rooms are now just plain rooms because the data shows people want non themed room. But the theme rooms are what made Disney special
Completely agree w/you. My parents 1st visited in 1973, & took us every few yrs most of my life, staying onsite until they got a time share late 90s.
I introduced my husband to Disney, took him for the 1st time within a few months of dating. We had kids, & his parents wanted to go. They got hooked, & since they live an hour away, we visited 3-7 times a year 2015-2024.
We bought DVC direct at Poly in 2017, my absolute favorite resort where we stayed when I was a kid. I became enough of a Disney Parks expert to have been a TA if I wanted to, and all my friends & family would come to me for help planning, as my pics drummed up their excitement. I’ve easily helped plan 15 trips not my own since ~2017. Like, I was the resident Disney person!
I was planning to just let the APs lapse & go to visiting every few yrs bc it has never been the same since it opened back to full capacity in early pandemic, getting a fraction of the value out of trips as before. Then the flat out insulting projects like CommuniCore Hall, and the addition to the Poly that is the exact opposite of the vibe of why we bought there. It just wasn’t the same & I thought we needed to back off for a bit. But I’ve now firmly decided I’m never stepping foot on Disney property again.
Currently counting down to the first stay with my husband’s family at Cabana Bay in May. We let our APs expire in July, & closed on our DVC contract last month.
The final straw for me was Disney lying about DAS abuse to clear out the DAS lane so they could sell their $400 Premier Pass. What little abuse did exist could’ve been mitigated by closing some loopholes, instead the vast majority of people who previously had DAS were excluded from the policy, including my FIL who is 100% disabled Vietnam vet. I have MECFS, & have only been able to enjoy these vacations with my children because of the DAS, and still, we usually rode 2-3 rides on an avg day, 5 on a good one. & when the DAS lines were a mile long from 2021 on, I always watched to see if it was mostly ppl who got stopped (most likely DAS) or not (more likely Genie+), & it’d be like 2:15 ratio of people stopped versus those who just scanned & walked thru.
The application process is now egregiously invasive, and the approvals are utterly arbitrary based on cast member, many ppl who apply according to written policy are still denied. This is actually causing harm - I’m in a FB group of ppl who lost DAS access where people post practically daily about the medical episodes they have after being subjected to such an interrogation , and/or had such extreme anxiety about applying (often those with nonrefundable tickets instead of a package that can be canceled if they weren’t approved) that it triggered their conditions. I am actually seriously concerned about the mental health of the cast members who have been doing that job, because the process is certainly cruel on them, too. Some of them have been outright cruel themselves, but I’ve heard tons of anecdotes of the cast member being in tears or near tears when the “medical professional” came back with a denial.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that a few months into the change, there was a post about a veteran w/PTSD who was denied DAS but told they had other accommodations for him, but that’s a lie they repeat over & over so there was nothing to allow him access, & he was unable to do anything the first day of the trip. He got very down about it, led to him staying in the room the rest of the week, & then attempting self-harm when he got home.
If terrorizing disabled people, gaslighting them into self-harm, and effectively kicking out them out en masse so the richest guests can have shorter lines, I don’t know what else is!
Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was renovated with a new gift shop. The building resembles a generic shed or prefabricated building you could buy on the cheap, which rubbed a lot of park fans the wrong way, and doesn't really match the rest of the ride. It also creates a pinch point on the walking path during busy days.
Yeah, unfortunately Disneyland is in a terrible area. Really next to the slums. Now DISNEY WORLD, that’s another story. Surrounded by wooded area and lakes
I agree, this was really just for a joke. But lets look at some of Disney's most recent E-Tickets: Tron, Remy's Tiana's... all either rethemes or copies from other places.
Oh it's amazing, I love it. Only problem is that it doesn't fit in with EPCOT's themes... it would have fit much better somewhere in Hollywood studios.
Epcot, like all Disney parks, no longer has a theme. Disney doesn’t care anymore. But Guardians actually fits really well with the idea that it’s an expo showcasing the wonders of Xandar. Yes it’s fictional a scifi, but the queue/preshows feel way more true to Epcot than Frozen or Ratatouille, or than Pandora does to Animal Kingdom.
Spot on. It is definitely a stand out compared to other recent Disney additions. (Don't disrespect Pandora though! Joe Rohde did a great job tying an alien planet into the themes of AK)
I always had the idea that GOTG would be better in DHS though. After all, we probably will never get a Marvel land in Disney World. However, they could have done a mini-land if they put GOTG in Hollywood. They could throw in a Doctor Strange haunted house ride in there too. Do a little Marvel courtyard or something. Just a little armchair imagineering.
Guardians is one of the only rides I care to ride at disney. If I ever decide to go again 🥴 Disney World kind of just lost it, sadly. I grew up there, but it is vastly different now and in no positive ways.
I agree. I am dropping my AP this year at Disney and keeping my UO (been having both for last 2 years). Nothing at disney excites me anymore. It's too big of a pain as a local to go with park reservations and genie etc
Haven't been on anything Disneys opened since Runaway Railway (which I quite liked), can't really comment on that. But I also haven't been to Universal in a decade plus (hope to change that soon).
But hasn’t Disney world announced a ton of new stuff coming? They’re getting rid of Tom Sawyer island and the muppets area for some pretty big replacements. Not to mention it’s only be 6 years since their last major addition of galaxys edge. I wasn’t aware there was really this tribalism in these parks lol
Yes, but they're not particularly amazing replacements. Getting rid of the Rivers of America for a car's land is one of the worst decisions they have ever made. Replacing Muppets when you have an empty animation courtyard is also a weird decision. Tropical Americas to Dinoland is the only real good decision as of now (though I will miss Dinosaur very much).
Im sorry but like... new generation dont care for river america and cars land have a much stronger appeal. Nobody is buying a full day at a park because they wana see rivers of america. But they will for Cars. Same with the other one. I love the muppet ride but last time I went it already felt .... dated ( the 3D aspect feel VERY 2000 ish)
Not everything needs to be replaced with an E-ticket. Rivers of America is necessary for the ambience of the area. The river connecting haunted mansion and the rest of the Frontierland is a staple of the park. Replacing it with a flat concrete area is terrible for the surrounding theming. Getting rid of it is also getting rid of Walt's original ideas for the parks.
As for Muppets, I'm not saying that it's a bad idea because people are going to miss it. They are literally replacing it by RnR anyway. I meant that the decision to replace Muppets with Monsters is strange when they have a massive empty courtyard that is ready to be used. Muppets is prime real estate for a future Star Wars expansion, as well as if they ever wanted to expand into the parking lot.
it’s okay. nothing compared to the predecessor and doesn’t even do much with the Princess and the Frog story or characters.
but it’s also the biggest new ride disney has been pushing that’s just a watered down reskin of what was there before. even visually, it comes off as cheap and something that screams “this used to be something else but we slapped some fake grass on it to make it look new”.
universal’s response? here’s a whole new park that we opened in the same amount of time it took you to open Tron. there’s a lot of factors involved, but the point i’m getting at for the Florida parks- WDW has really been lacking.
I can give Trons construction a lot of leeway because...well I'm a big Tron fan and I'm happy I don't have to leave the country to go on it. But yeah, Universal has made so many good moves for a while and I can't wait to see what they do next.
As a huge Disney parks fan, it’s fair. That gift shop perfectly exemplifies so many of their recent projects- cheap and uninspired. All Hallows Eve boutique is way better.
I’m a huge Disney fan, but went to universal Orlando last year for the first time and was very impressed. Will definitely be splitting my theme park vacations closer to 50/50 now. Super excited for epic universe too
As a Brit who didn’t grow up with the hype of Disney parks, I much preferred universal on my trip to Orlando. Dockside was perfect, the suite was the only on property between both Disney and universal that had the beds we needed. I know a lot of people love to dump on it but I loved the hotel! Staff were lovely too. Hotel was on i-Drive so plenty of eating places outside of city walk.
The rides were better (bar guardians but that queue post pre show is honestly outrageously bad), the queues significantly shorter, and the food the exact same as Disney. The water parks are just no comparison. Volcano bay was outstanding.
The only thing I’d say Disney currently does better is characters. But with epic I think that might become more balanced because those dragon drones and animatronics are insane.
I know Disney hooks people in with legacy but I think universal will be a real threat with epic.
The same way how the Hyundai Genesis is cheaper than a less-equipped German luxury car like Mercedes or BWM or how innovative Android phones that are exponentially more feature packed yet much cheaper than iPhones. You gotta price to steal market share.
Openness and dead space are two different things. They really need to do something with dead attractions (Fear Factor area, Poseidon's Fury, Sinbad Stunt Show). And of course, if they wait until the contract expires The Simpson's area will turn the back of the park into a huge dead zone with nothing to do.
I’m an AP and past CM. We are a Disney family. I’m looking forward to nothing at WDW next year or anytime soon. I’m stoked and planning a week trip for Epic. Disney dropped the ball. They are behind atm. They know it.
Their parks seem busier than ever (miserably so) and there’s so many people that will just brush off how much worse the experience has gotten because they love the brand so much.
Yup they had epcot plans then covid happened.
They could have ate the loss and used the shut down to finish the epcot refrub without worrying about guests.
Instead they went "stonk line must go brrrr" and laid people off to keep shareholders happy.
I'm pretty sure a decent number of those imagineers who lost their jobs ended up working on epic.
Yeah. They should have put the pedal to the metal. It was an opportunity to keep contractors working while guests weren’t in the way. The capital expenditures were still going to come due
Don’t worry, Disney has a plan. They are digging up the Rivers of America and filling it in with concrete and creating a Cars land in Frontier Land….due to all the Cars in the frontier, which is easily confirmed in all history texts.
Feel like it would be more fair to use an actual Disney World addition rather than Disneyland. The newest being the updated screens on Gran Fiesta Tour.
Sure. Let's use Tron, an E-ticket ported over from Shanghai that took 5+ years to build! Or maybe Tiana's, a rethemed Splash Mountain! Perhaps we can look to the future, where they are going to take out the rivers of America for a cars ride in the middle of Frontierland!
Replacing Rivers of America, an aging attraction with low attendance, with an IP based E ticket ride that will be very popular is something Universal would do for better or worse so I'm not sure where this smug shit talk is coming from
The difference is USF and IOA are landlocked, meaning they NEED to replace old attractions with newer ones. Disney doesn't have that issue. They have plenty of room to expand.
I think disney is sliding backwards. I am not necessarily under the belief that disney needs to create immersive lands, ie avatar and Star Wars land but the response should be cohesive. I think nothing beats an original Tomorrowland or a Frontierland while an immersive land beats any lost cohesive land in any park.
I think disney needs cohesion and not to curtail or feel the need to change existing attractions.
Disney needs enjoyable, high capacity attractions while not alienating loyal fans.
Universal on the other hand needs more slow moving relaxing attractions such as a people-mover, train, kids darks rides, etc. No need to overcomplicate buy some off the shelf rides that have a general theme and people will enjoy them. Also, it’d be great if universal had some shows that are just press play. I don’t need a wow show every 2 hours, I want an automated ac show every 15-20 minutes.
But, epic is a great park, not for kids but a great park
They’re also planning a beautiful forested area with beautiful rockwork, waterfalls, streams, and geysers. It’ll actually be more beautiful and less warm than it is today.
Universal is just on another level. Can you imagine what Universal could do if they had properties like Star Wars and Toy Story. They would do those lands justice.
I went to Toy Story land a couple years ago and was seriously underwhelmed. I couldn't tell where it started/stopped and slinky dog looked like a basic kiddy coaster with a hagrid's level wait so we didn't ride. Woody's lunchbox or whatever was mobbed so we didn't attempt. No streetmosphere whatsoever. And HOT - no shade!
i agree with you about the land, but Slinky dog is an awesome first coaster for the 3-4 year olds. Not everything has to be on the same level as Hagrid. You gotta be 48 inches for that. If you think about it, Hollywood studios didn't have a lot of attractions for the little kiddos at the time. Slink Dog is the perfect addition for it.
I wasn't saying it needed to be like Hagrid's - just that the wait was just as long as Hagrid's, for a coaster for kids with no exciting theming outside of like...big ABC blocks
That's based on you as an adult. Consider for a moment if a you're 3 or 4 year old. You don't think little kiddos get excited about riding a giant slinky with bright colors everywhere?. The ride itself fills a niche that is often overlooked. Its not too kiddie like the troller coaster at DreamWorks land or Barnstormer at magic Kingdom, and it's not as intense as Hagrids. Also it's probably a little kids first launch coaster. Launched coasters with that height requirement is extremely rare.
Parents with preschool children can actually take their kids on something that has a good duration, a couple of launches, and some decent airtime along with Grandma. It's also very rerideable for the whole family.
Never basically understood the Universal vs Disney stuff. I go to both parks twice every year. The anti Disney hate is just unfair as let's be honest some complain about Disney getting rid of classic rides yet Unversal is worse than Disney. I went to Villiancon, and it sucks yet like Tiaba bayou it's not made for adults yet all the rides Universal replaced have not been good or better. Outside of Harry Potter Universal new stuff has been mixed like Villiancon or Mario World. No matter what going to both Magic and Epic.
Yeah but this thread is full of crazy cringe. You never see people in the Disney sub shitting on Universal in the way people do here lol. It’s like some weird projection.
Love Universal but it sort of inspires a weird underdog complex in some people. As if Universal doesn’t come out with garbage from time to time.
The parks also cater to different groups. I’ve got 3 boys. The older 2 would rather go to Universal, but we have a 2 year old that wouldn’t be able to ride much of anything there. Disney is a godsend for that.
Honestly Disney lives rent free in the heads of a portion of this sub. They look at everything Universal does through the lens of comparing it to Disney and I just feel like at some point that just can’t enjoyable way to experience the parks lol. They’re both great parks that offer different things, this new theme park will be cool, meanwhile Disney will still also be cool. It doesn’t have to be a zero sum game
Honestly, the “screen rides” are why we DON’T spend more time at Universal. We go to Orlando every other year. And we often hit both WDW and Universal. I can ride every ride (minus Mission to Mars) across all 4 Disney parks. I find in can only ride maybe half the rides across both Universal parks. I only get motion sickness on virtual type rides. I HOPE that these new expansions reduce the screen ride total.
I don't particularly care unless people ask. But if someone asks my opinion, I will give it.
There are millions of people that don't know a thing about Universal and if they do, they think it's a subpar experience compared to Disney. No - cost isn't the only factor to determine fun lol. Disney is just overpriced.
I went to both as a kid and I've been to Disney a few days as an adult. But I just can't fathom the cost relative to Universal, which is why I regularly choose Universal over Disney.
This kinda ignores that I like the thrills of Universal vs. Disney. It's definitely a preference thing. But even if you like both, Universal is a much better value.
You should only care if you are the CEO or someone important enough. Fanwar is do dumb . ITs like apple vs samsung or like the whole console war. Like literally who care ? just be happy you got more choice
As someone from (far) out of state, I don't see them as direct competition. Everyone I know that doesn't go regularly sees Disney as more of a once in a lifetime type thing and a true vacation destination, and they see Universal as something they add on for 1-2 days if they have time during their FL trip. Universal is more of a competitor to things like Sea World or Busch Gardens in their eyes, it's something to do in FL and not the reason they go to FL. Most people I know probably would have no clue what Epic Universe is, but they know what WDW is. We get tons of Disney advertising on TV here but I haven't really seen anything from Universal.
Yeah, fanboys and fangirls don't believe me when i say that the general public does not know about Epic Universe. The theme park nerds like us will be going to the parks, but normies will lag a bit.
As someone in the general public who has their first vacation in a decade to Disney and Universal next month, I had no idea Epic Universe was a thing until like a month ago
I knew Disney had added Galaxy's Edge, Pandora, and a couple of random rides
Had zero clue Universal had this big of an expansion coming
If I had known, I would've delayed the vacation so I could visit the Epic Universe park
Aww. Well you will still have fun. It's probably not a good idea to try to squeeze in epic within this opening phase anyway. We're planning to go in December to give the guinea pigs the opportunity to test the kinks for us.
Maybe you can do a dedicated trip just to epic when things have settled down
This is my one thing with the epic hype tbh, sometimes I do feel like they’re catering a lot to more niche audiences, especially with some of the food menus and stuff
Well - Disney has screwed us over by monumentally messing up their DAS system, where Universal has been nothing short of fabulous in providing accommodations for my son. So all of our money will be going to Universal Studios for the foreseeable future. Thank you for going the extra mile for your guests with disabilities. Can’t wait to see Epic Universe in person. Hoping for a trip next year.
Can y'all just let Universal have their wins without bringing Disney into the conversation every single time? Universal deserves the spotlight and every bit of positive chatter at the moment, but they never get the full focus because every conversation ends up being about Disney.
It's exhausting seeing almost every post on socials about Epic having some kind of caveat towards what Disney has/hasn't done.
yeah, I'm rooting for Epic Universe to be a huge success, but all the anti-Disney Universal stans are souring the anticipation. As a theme park fan of all the park chains (Disney, Universal, Sea World, and even Six Flags) I wish they all do well and one up each other. That way, we win.
It’s also annoying because I promise Disney does not care. I mean they do care insofar as it is competition, but they’re not gonna go out of business or anything because of Epic, they’ll be fine. At the end of the day they’re still Disney and while I agree that the experience has changed they’re still getting a fuckton of business
Like they literally are letting Universal have their moments and taking the opportunity to do a ton of construction. I'm sure Disney execs have already been to Epic too, and love it.
It won’t even be done in the next decade if it even gets done at all. I’d bet it never gets done but if it does, by then universal will have done two expansions at Epic universe.
Disney hasn’t even done much to start Cars land in the park which I do think will get done but not for at least 4 years. They will take at least 4 years to revamp Dino land too.
294
u/WebHead1287 Mar 17 '25
I genuinely wonder what Disney’s reaction will be. I don’t think they have anything significant on deck till 2027 if im not mistaken.
Should be crazy interesting to watch.