I just returned from July 4th weekend at Universal, and I wanted to get out my thoughts while they were fresh.
- Universal feels like the little brother trying to compete with and outdo his big brother. So many attractions felt like a deliberate attempt to take a Disney ride and "outdo" it. Everything was just slightly more intense or glitzy.
- Crowds were MUCH lower than I expected. Being July 4th weekend, I was scared of the potential lines. But at least before 11 am, even popular rides had low lines, with or without the unlimited express pass. Then lines got low again at reasonable times in the evening. A 25 minute wait for Gringotts at 9pm, for example. Disney E-tickets are not 25 minutes at 9pm..
- Dining was a totally different experience. I don't understand this at all. Disney, practically every restaurant seems to always be full, needing reservations weeks if not months in advance. On the other hand, seemed you could get into any restaurant at any time at Universal. You could get a table at Emerils, right on City Walk outside both parks, at any time. We got immediately seated at Cowfish at about 1pm on July 4th!
- The size of the property and closeness between everything makes life so much easier. Part of the reason Disney takes at least 4 or 5 days to do "right" is because everything is so spread out. Lots of 20-30 minute bus rides. In contrast, "park hopping" is fantastic at Universal.... with about a 3 minute walk from 1 park to the other, or hopping on the Hogwarts Express. City Walk immediately outside the parks, instead of a long bus ride away like Disney Springs. The hotels being a 5-10 minute water taxi from the parks, instead of an intricate system of buses, water taxis, monorails.
- Especially if you get express pass, Universal is MUCH more flexible than Disney. As mentioned above, you can eat almost anywhere even without dining reservations. You can easily bounce between parks. You don't need to book FPs 30-60 days in advance. The lines at most rides are manageable enough that you don't need a detailed touring plan.
- Express pass versus Fast pass: For the most part, Express Pass is better. Fastpass is a FAKE advantage. By giving every single guest 3 fastpasses per day, you're essentially giving them a short cut on 3 rides, but making all their other ride times longer. In the end, you're breaking even as if fastpasses never existed in the first place. So yes, Universal is less socialist -- You need to pay for express pass, either buying the pass or staying on property at a deluxe hotel. But by limiting it, it becomes a REAL advantage as opposed to a fake advantage. And it also keeps most of the standby lines pretty reasonable. Even during the super busy July 4th weekend, I don't recall any standby lines ever going over an hour.
On the other hand, it was rare that the express pass really saved a whole lot of time. Before about 10:30 am, most rides that took Express Pass were virtually walk-on anyway. And when rides did get long, the Express Pass was often still 15-20 minutes. Still, that may have been a reduction of 50 minutes down to 20. But it wasn't quite as much as a "walk on" as a fastpass in most cases.
-The Wizarding World of Harry Potter kicks Disney's butt. Disney World has absolutely nothing on that level. Between the 2 main rides plus the connecting train, and all the amazing detail that goes into Hogsmeade and Daigon Alley, including the wand show at Ollivanders....
I love that Daigon Alley isn't even labelled at Universal.. no signs... You have to go to "London" and sneak into the unmarked alley which suddenly opens up into a huge world. It is truly AMAZING. Maybe Disney will reach this level of rich theming with Avatar or Star Wars land.
But while Disney is known for its detailed theming, Disney seems lightyears behind Wizarding World right now.
-The attractions are much more family friendly and timeless at Disney, where it felt like Universal is taking everything up a notch (for good and bad). Jurassic Park River Adventure felt like Jungle Cruise... the first half. Then everything goes "wrong" and it becomes a scare-ride ending in a huge water drop. Shrek 4D felt like Muppets 4D, except that the entire room is shaking and jolting with Shrek. Each coaster as Universal seems bigger and faster and twistier than the coasters at Disney.
MIB was similar to Buzz Lightyear, but with scarier aliens and a ride vehicle that twists and spins a whole lot more. Height requirements are higher at universal.
For better or worse, all the newer attractions at Universal seem to be totally movie-ride simulations. So where Soarin in a gentle simulation of gliding over parts of the world, all the move simulations at Universal are jolting you in wild directions. I generally enjoyed the simulations, but they did become repetitive and a bit boring. Spiderman, Transformers, Simpsons, both Harry Pottery rides, kept using the same tricks.
-Disney takes care of you in a more seamless fashion. Magic Express picks you up, delivers you to your hotel. Your baggage is taken directly to your hotel. You have your magic bands, which is all you need. Though it wasn't a huge deal, it was kinda annoying that you had to carry 3 different passes at Universal. At check in at the hotel, get your room key. Then go to a kiosk to get a paper ticket. Then another kiosk to get a paper express pass. Then figure out which piece of paper you need at which time within the parks.
-If you know what you want to do, you can effectively get through all of Universal in 2 days. Part of that, is simply that it is only 2 parks located right next to each other. But I didn't feel it has a whole lot less than Disney World. Disney World just stretches their attractions between more parks. DHS is down to really only having a handful of attractions for most people. Animal Kingdom is still a half-day park until they open Avatar.
-As I said above, Disney is more suited for the entire family, all ages, all genders. And Disney is definitely more "girl friendly" with its heavy focus on princesses. Universal felt more teenage boy friendly (including the teenage boy that continues to live within 20-50 year old men). Instead of Anna and Elsa, I saw a Betty Boop meet and greet, with most of the meet and greets being superheros, robots, etc. Grandma and Grandpa can ride Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean and Small World, but I don't think they could handle the Mummy, Gringotts and Spiderman.
I was wondering, if I would find Disney or Universal to be better. In the end, I can only conclude that despite lots of overlapping similarities, they are just very different experiences, with differents pros and cons.
- Universal feels like the little brother trying to compete with and outdo his big brother. So many attractions felt like a deliberate attempt to take a Disney ride and "outdo" it. Everything was just slightly more intense or glitzy.
- Crowds were MUCH lower than I expected. Being July 4th weekend, I was scared of the potential lines. But at least before 11 am, even popular rides had low lines, with or without the unlimited express pass. Then lines got low again at reasonable times in the evening. A 25 minute wait for Gringotts at 9pm, for example. Disney E-tickets are not 25 minutes at 9pm..
- Dining was a totally different experience. I don't understand this at all. Disney, practically every restaurant seems to always be full, needing reservations weeks if not months in advance. On the other hand, seemed you could get into any restaurant at any time at Universal. You could get a table at Emerils, right on City Walk outside both parks, at any time. We got immediately seated at Cowfish at about 1pm on July 4th!
- The size of the property and closeness between everything makes life so much easier. Part of the reason Disney takes at least 4 or 5 days to do "right" is because everything is so spread out. Lots of 20-30 minute bus rides. In contrast, "park hopping" is fantastic at Universal.... with about a 3 minute walk from 1 park to the other, or hopping on the Hogwarts Express. City Walk immediately outside the parks, instead of a long bus ride away like Disney Springs. The hotels being a 5-10 minute water taxi from the parks, instead of an intricate system of buses, water taxis, monorails.
- Especially if you get express pass, Universal is MUCH more flexible than Disney. As mentioned above, you can eat almost anywhere even without dining reservations. You can easily bounce between parks. You don't need to book FPs 30-60 days in advance. The lines at most rides are manageable enough that you don't need a detailed touring plan.
- Express pass versus Fast pass: For the most part, Express Pass is better. Fastpass is a FAKE advantage. By giving every single guest 3 fastpasses per day, you're essentially giving them a short cut on 3 rides, but making all their other ride times longer. In the end, you're breaking even as if fastpasses never existed in the first place. So yes, Universal is less socialist -- You need to pay for express pass, either buying the pass or staying on property at a deluxe hotel. But by limiting it, it becomes a REAL advantage as opposed to a fake advantage. And it also keeps most of the standby lines pretty reasonable. Even during the super busy July 4th weekend, I don't recall any standby lines ever going over an hour.
On the other hand, it was rare that the express pass really saved a whole lot of time. Before about 10:30 am, most rides that took Express Pass were virtually walk-on anyway. And when rides did get long, the Express Pass was often still 15-20 minutes. Still, that may have been a reduction of 50 minutes down to 20. But it wasn't quite as much as a "walk on" as a fastpass in most cases.
-The Wizarding World of Harry Potter kicks Disney's butt. Disney World has absolutely nothing on that level. Between the 2 main rides plus the connecting train, and all the amazing detail that goes into Hogsmeade and Daigon Alley, including the wand show at Ollivanders....
I love that Daigon Alley isn't even labelled at Universal.. no signs... You have to go to "London" and sneak into the unmarked alley which suddenly opens up into a huge world. It is truly AMAZING. Maybe Disney will reach this level of rich theming with Avatar or Star Wars land.
But while Disney is known for its detailed theming, Disney seems lightyears behind Wizarding World right now.
-The attractions are much more family friendly and timeless at Disney, where it felt like Universal is taking everything up a notch (for good and bad). Jurassic Park River Adventure felt like Jungle Cruise... the first half. Then everything goes "wrong" and it becomes a scare-ride ending in a huge water drop. Shrek 4D felt like Muppets 4D, except that the entire room is shaking and jolting with Shrek. Each coaster as Universal seems bigger and faster and twistier than the coasters at Disney.
MIB was similar to Buzz Lightyear, but with scarier aliens and a ride vehicle that twists and spins a whole lot more. Height requirements are higher at universal.
For better or worse, all the newer attractions at Universal seem to be totally movie-ride simulations. So where Soarin in a gentle simulation of gliding over parts of the world, all the move simulations at Universal are jolting you in wild directions. I generally enjoyed the simulations, but they did become repetitive and a bit boring. Spiderman, Transformers, Simpsons, both Harry Pottery rides, kept using the same tricks.
-Disney takes care of you in a more seamless fashion. Magic Express picks you up, delivers you to your hotel. Your baggage is taken directly to your hotel. You have your magic bands, which is all you need. Though it wasn't a huge deal, it was kinda annoying that you had to carry 3 different passes at Universal. At check in at the hotel, get your room key. Then go to a kiosk to get a paper ticket. Then another kiosk to get a paper express pass. Then figure out which piece of paper you need at which time within the parks.
-If you know what you want to do, you can effectively get through all of Universal in 2 days. Part of that, is simply that it is only 2 parks located right next to each other. But I didn't feel it has a whole lot less than Disney World. Disney World just stretches their attractions between more parks. DHS is down to really only having a handful of attractions for most people. Animal Kingdom is still a half-day park until they open Avatar.
-As I said above, Disney is more suited for the entire family, all ages, all genders. And Disney is definitely more "girl friendly" with its heavy focus on princesses. Universal felt more teenage boy friendly (including the teenage boy that continues to live within 20-50 year old men). Instead of Anna and Elsa, I saw a Betty Boop meet and greet, with most of the meet and greets being superheros, robots, etc. Grandma and Grandpa can ride Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean and Small World, but I don't think they could handle the Mummy, Gringotts and Spiderman.
I was wondering, if I would find Disney or Universal to be better. In the end, I can only conclude that despite lots of overlapping similarities, they are just very different experiences, with differents pros and cons.
Gringotts Banks
but just amped up the action. That's why I was puzzled by your statement. Thanks for clarifying.
