Originally Posted By dshyates I am sorta where a lot of people are with the URO/WDW comparisons. I really am tired of it. Arguing with Disney fanbois. Is like arguing with tea partyers. They are right and they are smarter, end of argument. They will never accept that Universal is in a lot of ways offering a superior product. I mean, just to try it requires going off property (GASP!). Truely, their loss. I personally think URO is a fine resort deserving much higher praise than WDW fanbois will ever give it. We see it right here on LP. With comments like FJ is nothing special, it didn't blow me away, yeah they did ok, no big deal. So let them wallow in their mediocrity, I'm going to Universal.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I haven't seen HP yet, but it looks great based on everything I've seen. I've seen IOA pre-Potter, and to me it's a fine park, but not quite "all that." Love Spidey, like several other things, but I think it got somewhat overrated simply because certain aspects were Disney-level quality, and then the less stellar aspects were forgiven in a way that Disney is never forgiven for (except by the real blinded-by-pixie-dust folks). The studio park is okay, but again doesn't blow me away. I like it about as well as USH. The "attraction attractions" are probably better, but it lacks all the history and "real working studio vibe" than USH has - mostly because it isn't really one. So I have always enjoyed URO though not blown away by it. Same for WDW, really. I prefer DLR. The problems with WDW are certainly more noticeable, and have been growing if anything, while DLR has been really kicking on nearly all cylinders for a while now in terms of maintenance, new attractions, daytime and nighttime entertainment, etc. So as someone who's not really emotionally invested in either WDW or URO, the arguments here bemuse me more than anything. Yes, you do have WDW fanbois who downplay URO and play up WDW, but you have Uni fanbois who do the same thing, only the other way. But I suppose that's what discussions boards are for, so have at it! But to me, it's a little like being a non-Trekkie wandering in to a board with people arguing the relative merits of the original series versus the New Generation with more passion (and/or vitriol) than seems, well, healthy.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>...With comments like FJ is nothing special, it didn't blow me away, yeah they did ok, no big deal. So let them wallow in their mediocrity, I'm going to Universal.<< Anyone who says that FJ is "nothing special" is just being mindlessly provocative. "They did OK" and "no big deal" are specious non-comments. But as one who was not "blown away" by FJ, I resent being lumped in with the above. There's no "wallowing in mediocrity" to state an opinion based on personal taste. Sadly, the main reason the FJ didn't blow me away is because of the incredible technology and sheer scope of the attraction. In the end, it didn't add up to something I found all that appealing. But it's just a matter of personal taste.
Originally Posted By DlandDug I think what it comes down to is that I'm a fan of anything that appeals to me...
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I actually just spent 5 days at WDW and 3 at Universal totally immersed staying at the Hard Rock on property. I found myself thinking the fake train at the entrance to WWoHP should have been real like Disney...and did get the same treatment Disney gives it's early hour guests...they allowed us into the Forbidden Journey only to stand and wait 35 minutes to 'fix" something. So the extra hour I was trapped inside. This also happened last year at the early entry for WWoHP and has happened so many times to me at DCA I don't even bother anymore! So i did feel ripped off slightly by Uni which is always the feeling Disney gives me anymore. I also think nightime at the Universal Resorts is so much better...I really think Florida should consider Las Vegas hours(sleep in the daytime experience the lighting fun all night long) I also am wondering how Universal can allow the long lines inside FJ since Disney does not allow long lines to form inside most attractions anymore(like Space Mnt and Indiana Jones) Does California have stricter Emergency Evacuation Codes? Did love the small town feel of HP enjoyed people watching in the town square. Don't forget to purchase the special commemorative HP postal stamps and postcards that they have a special postmark for and will mail them via owl delivery(watch for the owl delivering the mail as you enjoy your Butterbeer and wonderful FishnChips! Why can't Disney"s Epcot England serve such wonderful FishnChips and how dare they call them chips.?...outraged! Does the real England still serve chips or they also changed shape everywhere now?
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Did anybody else receive the e-mail for the special Harry Potter Celebration from Universal Resorts yesterday? It Sold Out Fast for the package that included after hours entry party.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>Don't forget to purchase the special commemorative HP postal stamps and postcards that they have a special postmark for and will mail them via owl delivery...<< Would have loved to, but getting in to do this was nightmarish. Like everything else in Hogsmeade, Uni planned very poorly for the crowds.
Originally Posted By dshyates Well, JKR demanded that the shops be small and quaint. And while Potter is a popular franchise, it was untested in a theme park setting so no one knew that it was going to be as big a draw as it is. So, yes, Uni was caught flat footed in a lot if ways with Potter. But I think Disney also underestimated Potter's popularity or they would have offered up more than a wand activated Buzz Lightyear plus exit shop.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Actually you can purchase the postcards and stamps right outside the store and have them personally postmarked and mailed outside the store also! Very quick and wonderful souvenir! I did this last year(Aug)and this year last week. Did you miss the owl's shadow delivering the mail in Hog'sbreathe flying overhead? For those that are planning a trip soon; be forewarned they have to monitor crowd controls and have issued two different areas to hand out return times. As you enter into the parks mid-morn watch for these castmembers (3people)with a sign outside that year round Holiday Store and another one on the Jurassic Park side. They are easy to miss as you are hurrying thru the crowds. At least that was the gameplan last week. Also it is a different experience in the nightime and you will notice a lot of "magic" as you peer into the shop windows. Did not seem to need return entry times for the nightime hours...
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Darn I just received my 2 postcards in the mail. One is ripped and missing a huge top piece. I collect postcards and mailed them to myself and of course did not have addresses along with me for friends! So reminder: take addresses to mail these authentic postcards with the Harry Potter stamp and Owl Mail PostMark. Another reminder is to ask the castmember stationed outside the wandstore to postmark it before you write on the back so the postmark is perfectly clear and your handwriting does not interfere with the design! I notice the commemorative Harry Potter stamps were ordered thru Stamps.com. I think Uni only sells a full page of these and they were 44cent value.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub It has been a while since we have had one of those Pre-planning lists of things to take that we always forget. Good suggestion for future trip planners.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>I also am wondering how Universal can allow the long lines inside FJ since Disney does not allow long lines to form inside most attractions anymore(like Space Mnt and Indiana Jones) Does California have stricter Emergency Evacuation Codes?<< It has nothing to do with evacuations, and everything to do with FastPass. Beacuse FP is supposed to let you skip ahead of the line, there needs to be a minimal wait after the merge point. For both attractions mentioned, the only place that they could feasibly place the merge point as at the entrance to the indoor queue, meaning that the majority of it is kept empty of guests most of the time. Before FP, it was very common for the indoor portions to be completely full, using the outdoor areas for overflow queues. This is one of the biggest complaints of the FP system, particularly at Indiana Jones where much of the spectacularly themed queue goes unused, while guests are forced to wait outside. There are many attractions with long indoor queues in California (Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Soarin', and Roger Rabbit all come to mind), so I would be pretty shocked if that was true. Unlike a large crowd in an arena, a queue would be pretty simple to evacuate, since everybody is already in a more-or-less single-file line. Just turn them around, and point them toward the doors they entered through. In the case of Indiana Jones, I think that the queue/exit may actually be an emergency evacuation point for the park, sending guests backstage through the large wooded doors just before the bat cave section of the queue. If anything, I'd rather be there in the case of an emergency than many other places in the parks.
Originally Posted By CDF1 I think the true emergency exit for Indy is out the doors in the map room - you can see through them sometimes and the fence between Indy and the Downtown Disney is just outside those doors (used to be the parking lot before DTD came along). The big doors on Indy are there to allow for movement of larger AAs from the JC (to the east) to maintenance areas on the other side of those doors (on the west). I would imagine in an emergency they could be used to get people out of the Indy ride but they would need a bunch of security folks there to ensure guests were'nt roaming around in the backstage areas to POTC or HM or Indy which is all just on the west side of the big doors. I certainly recall at WDW that before FP came along that it was normal to have both lanes in the passgeway to Space Mountain full of people - given the fact that it was during the hot summertime, nobody minded! But now, after FP, not uncommon to have the non-FP one full with FP folks quickly moving in their dedicated queue. Slightly different with Indy queue at DL - since there is just the one queue line it is kept pretty empty so FP'ers that enter the queue get to the loading area in their 10 mins - this means that standby people are held outside as once in that same queue it will only be 10 mins - so instead of spending something like 25 minutes in the marvelously detailed Indy queue area, the standby folks get to stand around outside in the temple courtyard area for 15 minutes and then, along with the FP folks, dash quickly through the Indy queue flashing past the falling roof, rope pull and film room effects without a lot of time to enjoy them.
Originally Posted By Bob Paris 1 Which doors are we talking about here? Are they the big wooden doors near the JRD safety film? First time I went through that queue I was with a friend who used to work at DL and he told me, "Kong is behind those doors". For a nano-second, I believed him!
Originally Posted By DlandDug There are actually two sets of doors just before entering the caverns with the bats, one on each side of the queue. They mask the perimeter road that circles the park. The attraction show building is outside the perimeter, so during after hours, both sets of doors can be opened up to allow traffic through. Note also that all the barriers in that area are easily removed.
