Disney "Money Grab" and the future of Universal

[bakerworld]

~
I still recall a women arguing with me that I should be fine with a crappy burger at Coral Reef just because I'm at Disney and the theming is so great. Before the nemo retheme I had one of my best fish meals ever - anywhere - at Coral Reef - and I have been to almost every country in the EU. - one of her comments was "I would eat at coral reef even if all they served where burgers and chicken nuggets. It so nice”

Epcot and Disney have really gone down hill since the DDP started and I started calling this out pre 2009.

That is funny - we haven't eaten at Coral Reef since 2006

 

[CAPSLOCK]

It's not a roller coaster?

Nope, it's a stunt show.

 

[patster734]

It's not a roller coaster?

No, it’s a combination stunt show and 3D simulator. It took the place of Terminator 3D. It’s pretty cool, but isn’t a must do for me. I liked Terminator 3D better. Worth seeing once though.

 

[bakerworld]

No, it's an indoor stunt show. And it's amazing.

Cool! Thanks.

 

[shh]

Sorry, but I have gone to both and there still is not that much of a comparison. Universal definitely has some cool rides, but overall it is a most a two day experience, even less
if you are not a big roller coaster fan. I really do like Universal, but it is a much smaller resort overall with fewer options, again, especially if you are not a roller coaster fan.
Thank you for making more room at WDW.

Same here. Thanks for making more room at UO. It's all good. Something for everyone.

 

[shh]

Absolutely. While everyone has different tastes, I think some heavily undercut Universal. While I get that Disney has double the parks that Universal has, If you tally up the rides, attractions and shows, Universal (USF & IOA) has approx. as many as Magic Kingdom & Hollywood studios when put together. And out of the nearly 50 rides, attractions and shows that Universal has, only 3 of them I would consider scary Big Coasters (for those who say there isn't enough to do because they don't like big roller coasters).

So when some say Universal is only a 2 day resort, are they also saying if you were going to Disney for say only MK and HS, it would also only be a 2 day experience (becasue the number of rides, attractions and shows is roughly the same)? Or that's just based on their perceptions. Would it be fair of me to say that Disney is only a 2-3 day resort becasue I don't really care for princeses or toddler rated rides and attractions I don't find thrilling?

It's funny how 4-5 days can compress into 2-3 when the trip is more spur of the moment and every table service meal, ride, park choice, character meet/greet, or parade spot doesn't require 2-3 hour stakeouts, stalking websites and rope drop strategies. Not to mention killer wait times for even 2nd and 3rd tier attractions. (UO has wait times, but nothing like The Mouse in my experience.)

I still adore many aspects of Disney World, but I calls it likes I sees it. lol.

 

[tony67]

That is funny - we haven't eaten at Coral Reef since 2006

Yeah - its was an unusual case - they had a special for the day - Fire Roasted Whole Piranha - one of the best fish dishes I ever had - and the only time I had a good meal at Coral Reef

 

[RamblingMad]

It's funny how 4-5 days can compress into 2-3 when the trip is more spur of the moment and every table service meal, ride, park choice, character meet/greet, or parade spot doesn't require 2-3 hour stakeouts, stalking websites and rope drop strategies. Not to mention killer wait times for even 2nd and 3rd tier attractions. (UO has wait times, but nothing like The Mouse in my experience.)

I still adore many aspects of Disney World, but I calls it likes I sees it. lol.

That's why I gave up on WDW and moved all of my Disney vacations to DLR. It's most like universal. I'd rather do a trip to DLR in CA over a weekend and a trip to UO over another weekend than spend almost twice as much doing a week at WDW. I save a lot more on hotel rooms than I pay with the additional flights.

As for the comments on screen rides, Disney just released one: Ratatouille.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/disney-vacations/remys-ratatouille-adventure-ride-review

 

[RamblingMad]

Yeah - its was an unusual case - they had a special for the day - Fire Roasted Whole Piranha - one of the best fish dishes I ever had - and the only time I had a good meal at Coral Reef

That restaurant looks so dated.

 

[keishashadow]

That restaurant looks so dated.

Not a fan of recent menu changes at most theme park menus, let alone coral reef where they cut back on the already limited menu offerings.

They used to have a surprisingly good steak & interesting desserts on the menu. We enjoyed it more there than at LeCellier (terribly overpriced IMO).

I find it very soothing at Coral Reef. Like shark’s grill @ SW, a bit more energetic/brighter lighting. our food was good there a few weeks ago, DS reported the steak is still on point.

i’m past the point of expecting any theme park food to be stellar. At this point I’m happy with it being good…fresh & well prepared, have given up on inventive and interesting. You are paying for the real estate, otherwise, it’s easy enough to find some great offerings offsite in all price ranges, via Uber or rental car.

 

[tony67]

i’m past the point of expecting any theme park food to be stellar. At this point I’m happy with it being good…fresh & well prepared, have given up on inventive and interesting. You are paying for the real estate, otherwise, it’s easy enough to find some great offerings offsite in all price ranges, via Uber or rental car.

Very true - but I think it will have to swing back at some point. Maybe not all of the restaurants but a portion - I can hope anyway.

 

[keishashadow]

Very true - but I think it will have to swing back at some point. Maybe not all of the restaurants but a portion - I can hope anyway.

Good to be optimistic . Appears the bean counters are running the show as to food operations now.

 

[tony67]

Good to be optimistic . Appears the bean counters are running the show as to food operations now.

Yeah that is a big part of the problem - at one point the centralized all the food ordering so you basically had lamb shanks on every menu and just done slightly differently. The same steak etc....

Way back when the various restaurants in Epcot had daily specials and real chefs - and teh food was really good. Now everything is centralized as far as ordering and menus - and the chefs are now mostly line cooks

I think it will swing back as they seem to be trying to target higher income folks - many without kids - who would want better food
this is what happened in the late 90s when Disney was trying to bring in the empty nesters and the food got really good and it was actually reasonably priced.

In the Early 2000s they switched it to DDP and Quantity over Quality

 

[MillauFr]

Disneyland is not comparable to WDW. I grew up going there, have been back as an adult many times, and it's not the same experience at all.

Yes Disneyland generally has far better rides than its Florida counterpart. Plus the logistics and weather are far superior in California. You can stay offsite at Disneyland and walk to the front gate in 10 minutes. That is faster than getting from the Poly to Magic Kingdom

 

[DL1WDW2]

Sorry, but I have gone to both and there still is not that much of a comparison. Universal definitely has some cool rides, but overall it is a most a two day experience, even less
if you are not a big roller coaster fan. I really do like Universal, but it is a much smaller resort overall with fewer options, again, especially if you are not a roller coaster fan.
Thank you for making more room at WDW.

The locals would like to thank you with similar kind response.
I love Universal / used to love Disney.

 

[keishashadow]

The same steak etc....

now it’s a tenderloin of some sort or the other. Reminds me of the meat offered up in MDR of cruise ships. not even a distant cousin to a filet

Yes Disneyland generally has far better rides than its Florida counterpart.

and the food is varied and interesting.

the rides unique to DL are indeed done very well. It still retains a lot of it’s original charm, nice to see it hasn’t been homogenized to fit into the fold. Appreciate that their classic rides (especially the dark ones) are honored vs shunted aside for the ’next best thing’

 

[kathy884]

As someone who typically goes to Orlando for a week every three years or so and on that visit does two or three non-park days (lots of relatives in the area) and then picks three or four parks to do (usually one day SeaWorld - $90 and one or two days at Disney - we just pick one or two parks (maybe $126 or so and genie plus and one lightening lane could bring that to maybe to $160 per park day), and on occasion (every six years or so to see the new stuff Universal/IOA for a single day), Universal/IOA is by far the most expensive. They get us every time as we really like the train and like to see both HP areas for how infrequently we go, so we spring for the super expensive park to park one day ticket. For March 22nd, 2022 a park to park one day is $194 pp and then the one time express pass because it is a busy time is $136. That means to do that day at Universal pp and have a decent experience is about $330 pp. Ouch! For budgetary reasons, I'm glad that only four out of our party of nine want to do Universal and will be doing an extra resort/relative visit day instead.

If a friends group or family group would enjoy a Universal only trip, cost per day may be good, but a good experience for a one day park to park at a popular time like spring break is very expensive, the most expensive one day experience of any parks we ever choose to do. The Volcano Bay waterpark too FYI is a favorite of my nephew's who lives in Orlando, but we these days don't do waterparks on Orlando trips typically. With most in our family not liking Universal/IOA so much you aren't going to see us do a Universal only vacation ever.

I looked at a throw away room at Royal Pacific for one night, but since we really only want the one time express pass, it comes out to be more expensive than buying four one time express passes for March 22nd.

I think the onsite hotel prices of Disney are ridiculous. I think the hotels at Universal are expensive too, especially the ones that include the express pass (sure off season when you don't need an express pass they are way cheaper). We can get such a great deal on accommodations with a larger group especially doing an offsite condo or condos (inherited timeshare trade or owner rental). And I'm so spoiled with the extra space and amenities meaning the only time I say onsite at either place is if someone has a work conference at one of the onsite hotels and our room is paid for by a company we work for -- DH has had work conferences at the Contemporary four different times and once had a work conference at Royal Pacific.

 

[kathy884]

Honestly too for Disney, I saw more *****ing on the boards when they rolled out Fastpass Plus with having to do ride reservations way in advance and magic bands (Disney is watching your every move). There is a lot of *****ing and I'll never come back statements about Genie and lightening lane, but I think there were even more comments like this when FP + first came out and the magic bands came out.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I love how many people compare 1 day park to park with express at Universal vs 1 day at Disney. Of course that is a super expensive day! If you fairly compared that to 1 day hopper at Disney w/ express, that is effectively a VIP tour - guess which costs more?

1 day at peak season will be long lines at either park. At Disney, it's a lot of lines, end of story. At Universal, it's a lot of lines, or you can choose to spend a bunch for express, or you can use single rider lines. Offering options doesn't inherently make Universal expensive - choosing to buy them makes it expensive.

 

[mom2rtk]

I love how many people compare 1 day park to park with express at Universal vs 1 day at Disney. Of course that is a super expensive day! If you fairly compared that to 1 day hopper at Disney w/ express, that is effectively a VIP tour - guess which costs more?

1 day at peak season will be long lines at either park. At Disney, it's a lot of lines, end of story. At Universal, it's a lot of lines, or you can choose to spend a bunch for express, or you can use single rider lines. Offering options doesn't inherently make Universal expensive - choosing to buy them makes it expensive.

Fair. But it's also fair to note that you can get unlimited express pass for your entire party at USO by staying in a $350 room. Disney apparently won't even be offering an unlimited Genie option.

Hopper option isn't part of the discussion though as it's a separate add-on at both resorts.