Originally Posted By dshyates Spirit, I agree 100%. If you really want to be blown away with the level of service, spend one night at the Portofino Bay. Be sure to visit the "quiete pool". You will fall down laughing at the "Disney Difference". Then take the water taxi over to The Hard Rock Hotel for a fantastic meal at the Palm Restaurant. <a href="http://www.thepalm.com/Orlando?gclid=CPno68zZzqgCFQla7AodTBMhiw" target="_blank">http://www.thepalm.com/Orlando...odTBMhiw</a> Or just stay at Portofino Bay and eat at Bice. <a href="http://orlando.bicegroup.com/" target="_blank">http://orlando.bicegroup.com/</a> Palm Restaurant, Bice, and Emeril's 2 restaurants are Universal Orlando's 4 most high end restaurants. And I would put all of them in the same quality level as California Grill. I had lunch the other day at Emeril's Orlando with another LPer. Maybe she will jump in and give her opinion. I was very impressed that even at lunch we had 3 waiters working our table. The food was great. My App. was New Orlean's Barbecue Shrimp w/ Patite Rosemary Biscuit($8). Entree: Emeril’s Fried Chicken, Collard Greens, Sweet Potato Biscuit, and Smoked Pecan-Honey Butter ($16). And the coolest part was like a pompas dork, I 4Squared my location on facebook and a "mobile coupon" for a free Acia Berry/Pom Martini popped up on my phone. I showed it to the waiter and got the free drink. COOL!! It's sort of like Disney's RFID thing with all the heavy lifting being done by Apple/AT&T.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>Golf IS important to many people. As is water activities. And trailer camping. And water parks. And all the other stuff that you simply can NOT find at any other theme park resort save WDW.<<< And soon DLP (we already have 27 holes and golf, the water park is coming), and Efteling, and Europa Park, and Port Aventura. Maybe the only one in the US, but we have a few in Europe. Granted, WDW started it all.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<But Universal is an amusement park, not a theme park. >> Okay...before I get into the points I want to make on this great topic, I just HAVE to address this nonsense. There's just no way you've been to either IoA or USF if you truly think this. There's just no way. There's no way you've been on Revenge of the Mummy, Terminator 2 3-D, The Horror Makeup Show, Jaws, Disaster, Men in Black: Alien Attack, The Simpsons Ride, walked through Port of Entry, ridden The Amazing Adventures of Spider-man, Pop-eye and Bluto's Bilgerat Barges, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Cat in the Hat, or even been anywhere remotely near the Wizarding World of Harry Potter if you truly think Universal isn't a theme park. Preposterous.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I meant and boating. We have water sports at DLP in the summer. We also have an ice rink (which I do not belive WDW has) and tennis.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <<Anyone arguing that most likely never saw it during the glory days.>> <<There's just no way you've been to either IoA or USF if you truly think this. There's just no way. There's no way you've been on Revenge of the Mummy, Terminator 2 3-D, The Horror Makeup Show, Jaws, Disaster, Men in Black: Alien Attack, The Simpsons Ride, walked through Port of Entry, ridden The Amazing Adventures of Spider-man, Pop-eye and Bluto's Bilgerat Barges, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Cat in the Hat, or even been anywhere remotely near the Wizarding World of Harry Potter if you truly think Universal isn't a theme park. Preposterous.>> Wow, accusing me of never having visited EPCOT Center and never going to Universal.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper Now, on to my main points. No, when considering Universal Orlando at a resort level, it does not match Walt Disney World. Not yet at least. But they are working towards it with the addition of a water park on property and a mini-golf course. Will they ever match in that respect? Doubtful, but Uni doesn't have anywhere near the room that WDW has. Not giving them an excuse, just stating a fact. But looking away from that, and going to the core product of both resorts, which is the theme parks no matter what the DVC pushers say, Universal is in the lead, and at least neck and neck with WDW. They have world class, genre defining attractions built in the last 10 years that WDW fanbois would wet themselves to have in their parks. Their food, even quick service, is light-years above WDW's in quality. They have sit down restaurants in the parks where you pay less for an entree than at a WDW counter service. But you know what separates Universal from Disney is that they freaking try. This summer they're putting on concerts featuring 6 BIG names included with park admission, while Disney charges for "parties" where the only perks are candy and some cookies with different music for fireworks. That alone shows me Disney really doesn't give 2 craps about their guests and giving them the best possible experience in the theme parks.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Wow, accusing me of never having visited EPCOT Center and never going to Universal.>> If you actually think Universal isn't a theme park, you've either never been there, or are extremely biased against Universal, yes.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<But don’t start claiming Uni is the superior resort because it just plain is not!>> I likely won't have time to get back this thread before the weekend, and who knows just what wild and wacky directions it will take by then. But you can't compare WDW's offerings to UNI's IF you go horseback riding, play multiple rounds of golf, parasail, ride in a race car or want an on-site water park (although you may want to wait for UNI's 5/19 announcement on that one). Sure, Bob and Willow's retirement fund wins hands down. What you can compare is the basics, the very core of visiting a theme park, entertainment district, resort hotel or dining locale. Things that range from freshness and technology to cleanliness to quality of service to value for the $$$ paid. All those are very fair. And those are all areas where, frankly, -- with some of EPCOT and DAK (although far, far, far less than just 2-3 years ago) excepted, UNI is beating WDW. I see some posts saying this is all about simply the best meal I've dined on in 2011 (and one of the best I've ever had in O-Town, period). No, it's not. That's a convenient way of dismissing the point. And I absolutely would tell people in 2011 who have 'done Disney' multiple times, that if they want an O-Town vacation they should center it around UNI/IOA and SW/Aquatica and if they have time/desire do, perhaps, 2-3 Disney days. Yes, I have changed (because it always has to be about the individual, not the product) ... and so has WDW. The thing is, WDW hasn't changed for the better. And so many fans are fooling themselves because they desperately want it to not be so. Anyway, more when I can get back to this ... but please carry on. Look forward to reading your thoughts and opinions.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<But you know what separates Universal from Disney is that they freaking try.>> OK, said I was done, but caught Hokie's post ... and the above is pretty much the heart of the matter. UNI is trying to give guests the best possible product (certainly failing sometimes) but WDW is trying to give guests the absolute least it can. BTW, the above is a verbatim quote from a well-respected industry exec who doesn't have a pony in the race (that means he done don't work for either Disney or UNI).
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo A friend of mine recently went from the UK to Orlando on vacation. She stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and went to USO, IOA, Aquatica, Sea World, and Holyland (she is a Religious Education teacher). She said it was a much better and cheaper vacation than when she last went to WDW and is "likely to not bother with Disney again". For the Disney fan in me, it broke my heart. For the theme resort fan in me, it told me not all hope is lost.
Originally Posted By fkurucz ***<<But Universal is an amusement park, not a theme park. >> Okay...before I get into the points I want to make on this great topic, I just HAVE to address this nonsense.*** I tend to agree. Six Flags is an amusement park. USF and IOA are most definitely theme parks.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Agreed, the theme may not be to your taste, but they are definately theme parks.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper "According to various good people, if what they are saying is announced by UO, all of you will be very happy."-BriMan, the owner of Orlando United and someone who is pretty well connected. I cannot wait for May 19.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I think Tower of Terror, Soarin', Mission Space and Expedition Everest are the equal of anything Universal has. Mission Space may not appeal to many, but when it comes to ambition, use of new technology, etc it is hard to beat. I also happen to think it's a damn fun ride. Universal has one relatively small "land" that is exquisitely detailed... Harry Potter. WDW has an entire theme park with that level of detail... Animal Kingdom. I know you get tired of my "familiarity breads contempt" remark, but it is true. You no longer notice how the incredible attention to detail of the Animal Kingdom truly transports you to the areas represented. You take it for granted and then moan about something as trivial as Disco Yeti. But I won't waste my breath. It is like trying to convince a birther that Obama was truly born in the United States.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney I only saw about half of IOA on our trip last October, as we only spent a day there and were focused primarily on Harry Potter. But it wasn't all great. The Dr. Seuss area was in pitiful condition --- filthy and in desperate need of paint. At WDW, Mickey's Toontown Fair area wasn't at all impressive either though. Glad to see it's closed and will be revamped into the new Fantasyland. We also went to the Jurassic Park area, which was nice, but the ride wasn't near as much fun as Splash Mountain. My kids liked Camp Jurassic, but no more than Redwoods Creek challenge at DCA. I did really like the entry area to IOA, and would have loved to have had another day there to go to Universal.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I think Tower of Terror, Soarin', Mission Space and Expedition Everest are the equal of anything Universal has.>> I'll agree with Tower and Space, but not Everest or Soarin. <<Universal has one relatively small "land" that is exquisitely detailed... Harry Potter. WDW has an entire theme park with that level of detail... Animal Kingdom.>> No doubt. But USF also has ton of exquisite details, not to mention Seuss Landing, Jurassic Park, and Port of Entry in IoA. <<You no longer notice how the incredible attention to detail of the Animal Kingdom truly transports you to the areas represented.>> No doubt. Animal Kingdom has amazing details and theming. But it has basically no substance backing it up. <<You take it for granted and then moan about something as trivial as Disco Yeti. >> The yeti is far from trivial. He's still shown all all the Travel Channel specials. He's hyped and focused on in all of them. And he's been hanging there dormant for 3+ years. Thinking the yeti is trivial is really a mistake.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<The Dr. Seuss area was in pitiful condition --- filthy and in desperate need of paint.>> As in October 2010? No way. They completely repainted the place last May. Look spectacular in July and this January.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<Mission Space may not appeal to many, but when it comes to ambition, use of new technology, etc it is hard to beat. I also happen to think it's a damn fun ride.>> I just don't understand the love for Mission Space. You sit in a centrifuge looking at a screen - to me, it's basically the Gravitron with a tv monitor in front of you. Yes, I get that there is some sophisticated technology behind the experience, but it just doesn't translate into that amazing of an experience for me. And compared to the attraction that it replaced, it's just a one-trick pony. Horizons utilized dozens of different effects and technology to create an amazing 15 minute journey into the future - Mission Space uses one effect for about 3 minutes. For me, there's just no comparison.
Originally Posted By 999HAUNTS As I duck to dodge the rocks that will possibly be thrown my direction, what ever happened to just going somewhere because it is fun? Do comparisons always need to take place? Or is the concern that maybe some folks are paying a fortune to go to WDW, when they could possibly get more bang for their buck somewhere else? Just wondering.
