Is Universal's Epic Universe a Shot Across the Bow or A Body Blow to Disney

It really needed to be a coaster. Tokyo Drift would have been amazing. Instead they did a re theme of an existing ride which is not what Universal fans want. I look forward to the new park, but I’m very happy with the existing ones.

It's honestly tragic in my opinion, especially considering how they took out two beloved attractions in order to generate such a massive, yet disappointing attraction like this. There is so many different directions they could have taken this, especially with the space they had. Of course, it's common to have an attraction in more than one location, but if it isn't immediate and after the fact, it's typically due to an insane amount of popularity of the ride, which was never the case for FaF from what I heard on the Hollywood end.

However, they spent God knows how much money on that computer generated film they might have well make good use out of it. I honestly think that's the only reason why they done this. It's sad when a film that was released decades ago (T2) has better quality and special effects than another and more current attraction film.
 
I'd like to see them get rid of Marvel Island, only because any money generated from there ends up in Disney's pockets which irks me..

Universal pays a licensing fee.. but sure most of the money made there ends up in their pockets, otherwise they wouldn't do it.
 


The only reason I started going back to Disney was having 2 small kids. It's better geared towards them.

If Universal had a few more little kids things to do, we'd be there. But it is hard to beat MK when you have a 3 year old. The whole park is geared towards them.
 
The only reason I started going back to Disney was having 2 small kids. It's better geared towards them.

If Universal had a few more little kids things to do, we'd be there. But it is hard to beat MK when you have a 3 year old. The whole park is geared towards them.

It has whole sections for little kids like Seuss Landing.

I think DL is a better park for kids that age. There is much less walking.
 


It really needed to be a coaster. Tokyo Drift would have been amazing. Instead they did a re theme of an existing ride which is not what Universal fans want. I look forward to the new park, but I’m very happy with the existing ones.
I don't think a coaster would have necessarily been the best fit either, but would have been much better than what we got. The ideal ride for it to me would have been something using a system like Radiator Springs Racers at DCA. Could start off with a small dark ride portion setting up the story and you travling from a garage to a meet up point for a street race, then you and another car have a big race with each other.
 
I don't think a coaster would have necessarily been the best fit either, but would have been much better than what we got. The ideal ride for it to me would have been something using a system like Radiator Springs Racers at DCA. Could start off with a small dark ride portion setting up the story and you travling from a garage to a meet up point for a street race, then you and another car have a big race with each other.
I was thinking drifting in a coaster. Cat and mouse through a parking garage. Who wouldn’t want to challenge DK?
 
It really needed to be a coaster. Tokyo Drift would have been amazing. Instead they did a re theme of an existing ride which is not what Universal fans want. I look forward to the new park, but I’m very happy with the existing ones.

Tokyo Drift is the worst in the franchise.
 
I feel like my family is rather representative of how families spend time/money at the two parks. We were doing yearly 8-10 day Disney trips with Hoppers, staying onsite, Dining plan, add ons, etc. and bringing Grandma with us for help. We spend so much time at the parks and character dining that have spent about 4 hours total at the resort pool in 4 years. We have never made time for a waterpark there because there is so much to do. We love staying inside the bubble and never have a car, etc. This year we are doing a Universal trip - adults only (just me and my husband) with 4 nights, base tickets, and staying at the holiday inn across the street for $55/night no add ons. I anticipate the bubble feeling so small we may want to leave it. We usually value resort at Disney but I would feel better spending $250/night at Disney for 4-5 people than even $120 at Universal for just 2 people - the space and amenities are more applicable when we have the entire family; when it's just my husband and I, we would prefer to "rough" it to save the money.

As many say, having younger children makes Disney more applicable, and I'm happy to go every year since they forget or experience it so much differently as they age it makes it fun to watch their reactions/preferences change. Older children/adults that go to Universal aren't experiencing it as "new" every year as a child does to Disney. I would be happier taking a small child many times to Disney than a teenager many times to universal. I would want my teen to go do other vacation destinations or even education spots. My kids, 7yo & 3yo (girls) don't know ~85% of the characters at Universal, and they don't know anything that is being added either... they know a little about HP, but only because we had them watch the first movie when we were considering taking them this year. We aren't star wars people either, but that's a small % of Disney. Maybe Disney has less competition in it's age demographics than Universal? Although, I dream of Disney without kids, and intend to retire there (think RV at the campgrounds, not Golden Oaks).

In my mind, Disney is a 7-10 day park for us, and Universal 3-4. After Disney expands/updates, and Universal expands, I think both parks extend the desirable number of days, but do it proportionally. We are in the middle of a 1-3 year Disney break, but by 2021 we will be back often again.

JUST MY THOUGHTS!
 
I feel like my family is rather representative of how families spend time/money at the two parks. We were doing yearly 8-10 day Disney trips with Hoppers, staying onsite, Dining plan, add ons, etc. and bringing Grandma with us for help. We spend so much time at the parks and character dining that have spent about 4 hours total at the resort pool in 4 years. We have never made time for a waterpark there because there is so much to do. We love staying inside the bubble and never have a car, etc. This year we are doing a Universal trip - adults only (just me and my husband) with 4 nights, base tickets, and staying at the holiday inn across the street for $55/night no add ons. I anticipate the bubble feeling so small we may want to leave it. We usually value resort at Disney but I would feel better spending $250/night at Disney for 4-5 people than even $120 at Universal for just 2 people - the space and amenities are more applicable when we have the entire family; when it's just my husband and I, we would prefer to "rough" it to save the money.

As many say, having younger children makes Disney more applicable, and I'm happy to go every year since they forget or experience it so much differently as they age it makes it fun to watch their reactions/preferences change. Older children/adults that go to Universal aren't experiencing it as "new" every year as a child does to Disney. I would be happier taking a small child many times to Disney than a teenager many times to universal. I would want my teen to go do other vacation destinations or even education spots. My kids, 7yo & 3yo (girls) don't know ~85% of the characters at Universal, and they don't know anything that is being added either... they know a little about HP, but only because we had them watch the first movie when we were considering taking them this year. We aren't star wars people either, but that's a small % of Disney. Maybe Disney has less competition in it's age demographics than Universal? Although, I dream of Disney without kids, and intend to retire there (think RV at the campgrounds, not Golden Oaks).

In my mind, Disney is a 7-10 day park for us, and Universal 3-4. After Disney expands/updates, and Universal expands, I think both parks extend the desirable number of days, but do it proportionally. We are in the middle of a 1-3 year Disney break, but by 2021 we will be back often again.

JUST MY THOUGHTS!
Perhaps if it's "just your thoughts" it would be better not to say you're "rather representative" of people. Representative of Disney lovers - perhaps.
 
You going ever year blows my mind.

I need variety, so I prefer to go when new rides open up.

Why does it blow your mind?

Many of us on these boards do go every year and I’m sure many of us love variety too. Can’t imagine that blowing anyone’s mind........last few years we’ve spent around 70 nights a year in Orlando.....and we certainly get plenty of variety.

We’ve travelled to many countries over the years that we wanted to visit, and now find Orlando and areas around Florida are perfect for us to explore.

And there is plenty to explore. We have never once been bored in all our visits.
 
Why does it blow your mind?

Many of us on these boards do go every year and I’m sure many of us love variety too. Can’t imagine that blowing anyone’s mind........last few years we’ve spent around 70 nights a year in Orlando.....and we certainly get plenty of variety.

We’ve travelled to many countries over the years that we wanted to visit, and now find Orlando and areas around Florida are perfect for us to explore.

And there is plenty to explore. We have never once been bored in all our visits.

We've never been bored either. We go at least once, sometimes twice, per year and always look forward to it. I've traveled all over the USA and several countries in Europe. One reason I love going back to Universal is that my son is autistic, and most autistic people struggle with things that are different. He spends the majority of the year dealing with problems caused by his autism - on vacation he gets to relax and enjoy the familiarity.
 
I see Disney and Universal Studios as apples and oranges. I like them both. Disney is a more immersive experience overall. I feel like I'm in Pandora (which has my new favorite ride!) I forget that Animal Kingdom is in the United States. We still get goosebumps walking down Main Street. I love the food and the smells.

But I love Universal Studios too! Even though I am not a Harry Potter fan, I love those rides and the entire scene. I see something new every time I ride Gringotts. I like that "Hidden" world.

So here's what I want from Disney: I want Star Wars Land not to suck. I am a Star Wars nerd and I want to geek out while there. Oh, and I want more expansion into the Marvel Universe. I also want the Pirates upgrade from China along with that Tron ride. That's what I want.

Now here's what I want from Universal- I want immersive rides, but outside of the HP universe. But let's not do the Star Trek thing. That would be too much like imitating Disney and their Star Wars experience. Let's do something else- like make some of the horror stuff stay year round.

A true "Star Wars Nerd" would never say that Star Trek is too much like Star Wars. ;)
 

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