Why I made the switch to Universal Orlando

[Jrb1979]

I just came back in February from both Disney and Universal. The issue with Universal is their CM. My goodness, they are really bad in general. Like local fare bad.

Also, most rides are simulators, kind of boring.

My kids did not enjoy Universal. Hopefully Super Mario World will be good. however, they should get their CM trained better.

Velicoaster and Hagrids are two really good rides. Forbidden Journey is good too.

 

[fairestoneofall]

We have been fortunate enough to go with the Military Salute tickets and to stay in Shades of Green on most of our trips. Even those tickets have tripled in price.

The Universal offers for military are amazing. We've already talked about visiting there instead because we can get much more bang for our buck.

It makes me sad because I have always loved WDW. But, the pricing and the hassle are starting to outweigh everything else. It's just too much.

 

[DaviVascaino]

Velicoaster and Hagrids are two really good rides. Forbidden Journey is good too.

This time I have been only to Universal Orlando, not Island of Adventure. Yes, harry porter was great. And that was it. Minions was meh, and the rest is just ok.

 

[Jrb1979]

This time I have been only to Universal Orlando, not Island of Adventure. Yes, harry porter was great. And that was it. Minions was meh, and the rest is just ok.

It's unfortunate that the Mummy is still closed. It's another great attraction. Islands is the better park of the two.

 

[dreamer17555]

Things that moved the needle to universal for our family? The ability to get APs (not just renewals). My DD just started the DCP and our family looks at 7 months as way too long without many visits but Disney took APs off the table for us out of state folks so to Universal we all go!

And with us goes our hotel dollars (we like staying onsite so now will stay at the fantastic Loews hotels for cheaper than Disney equivalent), food, and spending money (we love merch!). I know Disney won’t miss us at this point (parks are crazy crowded) but at some point? They just might.

 

[bryaalre]

My family usually does a big trip every three years and we have always included at least 2 days at Universal in order to do the parks. My wife is not a big thrill ride person and this past trip skipped the second day, as Universal is just not a fit for her. She loves Harry Potter World but can see both lands in the first day.

Over the past few outings, i have started to feel Universal parks feel a bit lackluster. Parts of Universal Orlando feels run down and could use a touch up, as well as to many rides in that park focus on screens.

I'm super excited for Epic Universe but I'm afraid that once Epic Universe gets up and running, Universal Orlando park will be overlooked and forgotten. IMO, if not for Harry Potter, Universal Orlando would feel like a park ready to close its doors for good. I know they keep adding attractions there but Fast and the Furious and Jimmy Fallen are both terrible.

Once Epic Universe opens, I don't see us adding a third day on to Universal so that we have a day in each park. Rather, i see us keeping the two days and just skipping Universal Orlando.

I would love Disney to respond to Epic Universe with a new park of their own but I know that wont happen.

 

[karen4546]

My first trip to WDW was in July 2012. We stayed at POFQ. So hot, so crowded! Our party consisted of myself and my 3 teenage daughters.

We had a great time despite the the crowds and heat. We hit the parks at early entry or rope drop and stayed for the extra evening hours. Go go go.

my next couple of trips in the following year we’re simila except the weather.

fast forward to 2017/18 most of my trips are with the husband and I But we have had a couple of trips with our adult children and grandchildren-staying at AKL.

we fell in love with AKL and started spending more time enjoying the resort.
in 2019, we bought DVC direct AKV. We have since stayed at many of the DVC resorts and are not park open to close as much but we on our vacation in May 2022, we did spend more time 8n the park because we took our youngest grandson For his first trip.

thankfully, our vacations are mostly pre paid due to DVC and AP and are only OOP for food and flights but I can understand how many people would want to spend their money elsewhere.

I have been to Universal and LoVE HPW. i would visit again, but when I go to WDW, I am in the Disney bubble and everything is just a bus, skylines, monorail, boat ride away.
park reservations are not much different than planning FP+ I don’t really care for the park hopping after 2 rule because sometimes we hit AK early and have lunch at a different park.

for some people, WDW is a one and done. For us, we enjoy the resort, the parks, the entertainment, the shopping, sometimes the food, the festivals, and so much more.

Is WDw our only vacation destination? No. Am I happy with the price increases? No, but WDW must raise prices to keep up with inflation and to continue to provide a great vacation destination.

OP, I understand the frustration and there are many things that I am not happy with at this time-lack of daily house keeping, no TiW card, no dining plan, park hopping after 2, no room service, no Magical Express (tried Mears and not a fan), and probably a few more issues.

 

[Beer Me]

I love universal but it isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison to Disney. I can spend 7 days at Disney, never leave the property and still feel like there is more to do. My family has a great time at Universal but we can do everything we want in three days max.

That being said I’m more likely to visit Universal in the foreseeable future but it’s not in place of Disney. I would tack it on to a beach trip or something.

The new gate will change the equation for sure which will be interesting.

 

[jimmymc]

Universal also has WAY more thrilling rides than anything Disney offers. One of my friends has a Universal AP and not a Disney one because they offer more intense coasters than Disney does (she also has zero nostalgia for Disney parks).

The cost to benefits ratio at Universal is also much better for their annual passes. You can get in the parks every day, no reservations needed for $440, plus their passholder hotel rates and discounts are usually better than Disney's.

 

[AUBDis]

DH and I (no kids) have had a WDW AP for almost 10 years. We're out of state so we try to get down there 6-8 times a year and would always stay on Disney property...until last year. We decided to give Universal another chance, had a blast, and ended up becoming passholders there, too. Now we split our visits between WDW and Universal and mostly stay on Universal property because they have better passholder rates. My heart will always belong to Disney and I miss all the time we used to spend there, but I feel like we get more out of our vacations now.

 

[rasclautmangos]

Visiting Universal with express passes was SO much more of an enjoyable experience for my family. I LOVE Disney, and have been going almost every year since I was a child, but my trip to Disney the other week felt so hectic. Especially with an autistic teen. I have no intentions of going back anytime soon. The only issue is that Universal feels like a 4 day max trip for me before it gets old. That's just me though. The rest of the family would probably be happy to stay a whole week.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I can spend 7 days at Disney, never leave the property and still feel like there is more to do. My family has a great time at Universal but we can do everything we want in three days max.

Well consider if you're just looking at 4 theme parks to 2 theme parks if you feel 3 days max at Universal double that it would be 6 days if they had 2 more parks to explore. Seems to me you're just about even with Disney. Take out 2 parks from Disney you're at 3.5 days. I know I know not actual math here but just that I'm the same way that we spend about 3 days at Universal but that's 3 days with 2 parks. We used to spend 5 days at WDW with 4 parks although this last trip we did 6 days+1 extra with our CM friend getting us in but that's because we had a wedding at the parks and specific reasons to spend more than our normal amount of days. For 2 of those days we weren't in the parks open to close because we had wedding stuff going on and a large gap 1 day where all of us took naps due to the wedding lol.

 

[tink2424]

I think you really hit the nail on the head with the fact that a Disney vacation doesn't really hold the same value that it used to. I think if Disney just raised its prices but kept the rest the same (Dining plan, Magical Express, etc.) then people wouldn't be happy but would understand. Those who could still go would still get the same value for going. Right now there is very little reason to stay on site as you don't really get much of anything for staying on property. When the recession hits Disney is going to get slammed. Maybe I will go then when they are trying to woo the customer back...

 

[jarestel]

I suppose if all one wants to do is go to a theme park, then any of them would be an acceptable alternative. I like Universal and Busch Gardens and Sea World and all the rest but they never touched a chord with me the way DisneyLand, and later DisneyWorld did. Having visited Disney more than 100 times, I just couldn't ever see myself going to Universal or any of the others more than a time or three. Been there, done that and though quite nice, I don't see any reason to keep repeating the experience.

Not to say that Disney hasn't been challenging over the last few years or so. I certainly understand the points being made, but for me Universal isn't an acceptable substitute for a Disney vacation.

 

[OfCourseTheresAlwaysMyWay]

For me, it's Halloween Horror Nights. Over the years, Universal Orlando during September and October has come to feel like "my" event at "my" park. Nothing else at Disney compares.

As someone visiting from California, I also love that you can walk easily between parks. I'm used to that with Disneyland and DCA. It also can't be overstated how much better and how much better of a deal the Universal hotels are. The water park is also newer and bigger and easier to access than a bus that comes once in a blue moon.

Speaking of buses, I have never waited longer than 5 minutes to go the parks and 10 minutes to get back. That's a real plus over Disney.

 

[scorpioears]

Disney is INSANE!! I have two boys and we are planning on going august 2023 but good heavens its going to cost a lot. It will be our first trip as a family of 4 and first for my kids who will be almost 6 & 3 and a half by then. The only reason I'm not annoyed yet with the insane prices is because we are not the family who will go every year- we're more like every 3 or 4 years (wahhh) but my husband would NEVER spend 5/6k a year. I hope something changes becasue i would love to take my boys more often.

 

[karen4546]

I mean, if you’re ok with the increase that’s fine, but this statement is simply not true and borders on absurd.

It borders on absurd to believe that inflation and cost increase won't happen at WDW, or any other business for that matter.

I don't know what you fee is "untrue" about my statement.

A loaf of bread has gone up percentage wise much more than admission, food, etc @ WDW. Fuel costs are through the roof and that causes increase in goods and services.

Just to make myself clear though, I am not a liar nor am I absurd. AND.... I said I am not happy with the increase in prices.

Hopefully you meant to quote someone else and not to call me an absurd liar.

 

[loves to dive]

I think each place offers something for different types of people. I'm a Disney person and always stay in the bubble. I've tried Universal twice (I'll admit the last time was probably before they even had their own resorts) and tried to enjoy it but just didn't. My son was around 8 or 9 the first time we tried it, he loved roller coasters and I could ride them (didn't like them but rode them) back then. I don't think there were two parks that time. We spent one day there, had two day tickets (on the front end of a Disney trip) and couldn't figure out what to do for the second day so just went to Disney early. Fast forward to the 2nd trip, years later and my son was now an adult. We stayed in a hotel right across the street from the gates. Again, I don't remember if they had two parks yet at the time but we bought a one day ticket to whatever they had. My son still enjoyed roller coasters and I could still sort of tolerate them so we rode them. This was before Harry Potter opened. We spent maybe 3/4 of the day there and left. After that we said not again. There just wasn't enough to hold our attention. Now, neither one of us can ride roller coasters, he has nerve damage in his spine and even some of the tame coasters at WDW hurt and I get a headache even on EE. That puts a lot of the rides at Universal out. Neither of us enjoy 3D rides. So, other than visiting Harry Potter just to see it, there wouldn't be a lot we could do at Universal.

We have been going to WDW since the early 80s. Has it changed? You bet. The advantage of having been going so long is all the "perks" that so many people hate having lost, weren't there to start with. The dining plan came along early but it wasn't free, and let's face it even when it was advertised as free it wasn't. You paid rack rate for your room and your tickets. In all my years of going, I've never paid rack rate for a room. A lot of the perks that were offered later on, we didn't use. We drove so didn't need Magical Express, we are not planners so after the paper fast passes, we rarely used them. We have never made ADRs in advance, always day of (and still do). We stayed late in the parks sometimes but it was usually because the park was open late, not because of the late hours for park guests.

I'll be the first to admit things were a little better in the before times, but frankly, things were better everywhere in the before times (pre-Covid). I'll also admit it seems a lot more crowded then the before times and there are less "magical" CM's then in the before times. I'm willing to wait it out for another year or two while things readjust before making a decision to go less though. I do have a out of state, expensive as all get out, AP right now and won't be renewing it. But, that is only because I'm at an odd place in my finances in that I'm in between working full time and getting Social Security, thus I will be living off savings for the next year. It doesn't make sense to renew my AP when I'm pretty sure there will only be one trip next year. After I'm on SS (which will be paying me almost as much as I made working the last few years) if they start offering the out of state AP again, I'll get one.

 

[Pickles516]

It borders on absurd to believe that inflation and cost increase won't happen at WDW, or any other business for that matter.

I don't know what you fee is "untrue" about my statement.

A loaf of bread has gone up percentage wise much more than admission, food, etc @ WDW. Fuel costs are through the roof and that causes increase in goods and services.

Just to make myself clear though, I am not a liar nor am I absurd. AND.... I said I am not happy with the increase in prices.

Hopefully you meant to quote someone else and not to call me an absurd liar.

It’s a weird jump to make it to “liar” from me saying your statement isn’t true. Saying WDW *has* to increase prices to keep up with inflation is ridiculous.

 

[cfoxga]

UO and WDW definitely cater to different groups. Many people like both, but others have a preference. We made several trips to WDW when our daughters were young, back when the original FastPasses were available. I'd run around all day gathering FPs so we didn't have to wait in line. We had autograph books filled with Princesses. We stayed inside the Disney bubble and it was expensive, but a lot of fun.

Once the kids hit ages 8 and 10, they discovered Harry Potter. We watched all the movies and my oldest read the books. So we went to UO and fell in love. That was 5 years ago. We got APs and did 2-3 trips per year. It was so much cheaper than Disney; deluxe resorts were around $200-250 with the APH rate during peak seasons. And we love the theming of the resortts/rides. We haven't gone back to Disney since.

As others have mentioned, things have changed in the last 6 months. APH rates are now hard to get for peak seasons, and rack rates have gone way up. So $200-250 per night is now $500-$700, which is what I consider "Disney Pricing". We've been so spoiled by EPs and short walks to the parks/CityWalk, that I don't think we can go back to the value resorts.

We'll take a break from UO after our passes expire (we have one last trip in October). My wife really wants to visit Magic Kingdom, so maybe we'll splurge and do one WDW trip before the kids are too old to hang out with their parents...