Anyone have no interest?

[CarrieMcClaine]

I have never had any desire to go to Universal. It has always looked very boring to me. Am I the only person to never go anywhere but Disney for all their vacations? The only time we've gone off property in Florida was to go on the Disney Cruise. A friend of mine went on a "once in a lifetime trip" to Florida and only went to 2 Disney parks. They also spent 2 days at Universal and a day at Sea World. I thought that seemed like such a waste of time and money. But maybe I am the crazy one!

[2infinityandbeyond]

I think for universal a big draw is Harry Potter. So I guess it’s more going to be fun if you are into the different worlds they created. I’m with you though, I will always focus more on Disney for sure.

[Peter Pan’s Shadow]

We felt that before we went. It’s not quite the Disney feel, but it’s very close. My family likes to do a 2 or 3 to 1 Disney to Universal ratio. It’s definitely worth a trip there and the Harry Potter stuff is better than a lot of sections at Disney for us. But Universal is very fun and we feel the rides match up very well with most of Disney’s rides. Plus they’ve been a lot easier to deal with the last few months.

[T music]

Harry pottery land has a very Disney feel . It’s definitely worth going to universal just for that at least once.

[danlb_2000]

If you love theme parks, then you should definitely try Unviersal at least once, if for no other reason then to visit Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We generally go to Disney every other year, and have gotten into a pattern of doing a split stay with Universal every other trip.

[JLThemeParkDude]

I love both Disney and Universal. In some ways, Disney beats Universal, and will probably always be a nostalgic favorite. No question Disney knows how to do things very well, and it holds so many memories for me. But you would be surprised at how many times Universal either matches or beats Disney. For example, I happen to think the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is one of the most well-themed areas of any theme park, maybe even the best, and its rides are uniquely innovative. I suggest giving all theme parks a chance to show you what theyve got, on their own terms .

[Wilderness_Explorer]

Up until recently I’ve had no interest. Watching live streams and vlogs has changed my mind. If I’m able to spend more than a week in Florida I think I’ll give it a chance for a day or two.

[TigerHeart]

I think i like disney more than universal disney has all the fun rides and characters

[pannm]

My family LOVES all things Disney. But, when we go to Disney, we are CONSTANTLY Going, Going, Going. It is busy from the second we get out of bed early in the morning until late every night. We take advantage of every second, every minute, every day. It is a very amazing vacation, but EXHAUSTING. We need a vacation FROM our vacation when we go there. And we love every second of it! We have tried to take more laid back, relaxing trips there- it NEVER happens. We are just not that kind of family. If we're spending that kind of money on the parks and experiences, we're using every second of those tickets to the fullest.

That being said, we also LOVE Universal. But, we love it for much different reasons. It is much more "laid back and relaxed" and not as rushed. We really enjoy the Harry Potter area, Jurassic Park area and the more relaxing "vibe". PLUS, it is much cheaper. A 5 day, 3 park ticket is $400. Annual passes for 2 parks are $300 vs. Disney's 5 day ticket being over $500 and AP's are well over $1000 (when they are being offered)...AND, the on site resorts are very nice. Not only are they very nice (for a lot less per night than equal level Disney resort!!!), we actually have the time to spend AT the resorts using the gorgeous pools. Also, transportation is a soothing boat ride. A lot of resorts at Disney get you to the park by bus- which (pre-covid days) was never really a great way to travel anywhere. Yes, it works and it gets you there, but those busses are usually PACKED (like I said pre-covid). But, they have other options now too that are helping for a more enjoyable transportation experience.

A lot of people have the idea that it has to be Disney VS. Universal. I don't look at it that way at all. They are two different types of vacations for my family and we love them both. If you don't enjoy a relaxing few hours at the pool each day, there are many other activities in the parks or in City Walk. It is definitely not boring for us. If you go into it thinking it's going to be boring, I think that's the kind of trip a person will end up having. Go into it knowing it's a different experience with different rides and shows different themes and know that different isn't always a bad thing. In fact, there's a lot of adventure in trying things that are different. We love it. We occasionally need a relaxing vacation that's also a lot of adventure and fun at the same time...that's what Universal has to offer. The rides and experiences are different, the shows are different and the 'vacation feel' isn't as rushed. And we enjoy that sometimes. Yes, we buy annual passes for Universal every 3-5 years- we do two trips to Universal while we have the passes and they more than pay for themselves. And we enjoy going both times! But, after both of those trips, we prefer to go back to Disney to change things up a bit. There's no way we will be purchasing AP's for Disney, because the cost difference when Disney DOES have them available for out of state people is outrageous compared to Universal. I wish they were cheaper!!! We'd be there all of the time!

There are for sure some great reasons NOT to avoid Universal. Some of their rides and experiences are for sure not found elsewhere! We really, really love the Harry Potter areas- it's quite the experience!!! We also enjoy Kong, Spiderman, Transformers, Mummy, Hulk, All of the Jurassic Park area (they have a brand new roller coaster opening soon!!!) ... Spiderman and Transformers have a different set up than most Disney rides.

[JLThemeParkDude]

A lot of people have the idea that it has to be Disney VS. Universal. I don't look at it that way at all. They are two different types of vacations for my family and we love them both.

Agree 100% !! All the theme parks (Disney, Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Legoland, etc.) have their own personality, and their own things to offer. It really doesn't need to be one versus the others. And I love em all!

[T music]

A lot of people have the idea that it has to be Disney VS. Universal. I don't look at it that way at all. They are two different types of vacations for my family and we love them both.

Agree 100% !! All the theme parks (Disney, Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Legoland, etc.) have their own personality, and their own things to offer. It really doesn't need to be one versus the others. And I love em all!

Completely agree with this, they all have there different things to offer you go to different ones for different experiences .

[AnimalKingdomFan79]

I do have an interest to go. The Harry Potter/Simpsons and some other areas seem interesting looking at the live streams of other YouTubers. The themeing of Universal is pretty good.

I know it's a different feel and different rules so it won't be that Disney vibe, but I wouldn't count it out.

[CH-GenX]

I loved Universal Hollywood (mid-90s). Never been to Orlando-my kiddos want to go to Harry Potter so it's not a an if but when.

[MrSlash00R]

Well, its certainly different - they purposely designed it to offer alternative experiences versus what you get at WDW. There isn't as much to do for kids but they have way more thrilling and cutting edge attractions, if that's what you're into.

Our family has split time for a while between WDW and UNI and we enjoy both. As the kids (and adults lol) have gotten older, we've gravitated to UNI more simply because we are able to bake in more relaxation time .. because there isn't as much to do overall. Consequently, we spend a couple full days at the resorts - something we've never been able to do at WDW since there is always another park to go to - so it ends up being a more "complete" vacation for us. Plus, the premium resorts at UNI are a much better value IMO than at WDW .. particularly if you're experiencing all of the amenities during your off days. The room rates at WDW premium resorts are now in the $600-800/range .. ridiculous (I know AKL, WL and a couple others are exceptions).

However, to simply brush UNI off as a lesser vacation is simply not giving UNI its due IMO. Yes, its different and the "magic" isn't there like at WDW .. but its still immersive, particularly in the HP lands, and quite frankly, is generally less busy and/or hectic for us on the whole - which we've enjoyed as the kids have gotten older. If you're after an exciting AND relaxing holiday, you might give it a try some time.

[melissa seegers]

me either

[CrinP]

Put me in any theme park and I'm happy, but Disney will always be my number one

[Liquid Ice]

I've been to both recently (Universal was June 2020, Disney was January 2021). The one thing that I'm a bit disappointed with for Universal is a lot of their rides seem to be the same style. The rollercoasters are great, and Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is a ton of fun. But I feel like a lot of their rides are just screens that you see things happen. There are some Disney rides like this but there is enough variety that you don't feel like you're riding the same ride with different screens.

Rides that feel very similar at Universal:
- Spiderman
- Transformers
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringrots
- Harry Potty and the Forbidden Journey
- Skull Island: Reign of Kong
- Jimmy Fallon
- Fast and Furious ride

Again, Disney has its fair share of screen based rides - but I feel like the majority of Universal Rides that aren't rollercoasters are screen rides, and they all have a very similar feel to them. It isn't just the screen itself I guess, but rather the rides all feel almost like clones of each other with different movies playing to theme the ride.

With that said, if you like Harry Potter, even a little bit - you need to go see the 2 Harry Potter based "lands". I don't really like Harry Potter much myself, but the themeing of the land itself is really well done and it was worth the trip just to see it - even if the rides were just OK (except Hagrid's, that ride is also well worth it!).

[Meridasmom]

I've never had any interest in going to Universal myself, with the exception of Harry Potter. We've made multiple Disney trips over the last 15 years and not once have we gone to Universal. We are dark to dark every day in Disney on every trip. We have a 9 day trip planned for October and there is 1 day that the rest of the family wants to use for Universal. I'm fine with going at least once, but honestly I could take it or leave it. I enjoy Disney that much.

[Brewbud]

We love Harry Potter so we like going to Universal. We used to have passes to Hollywood but have only been to Universal Orlando once. We discussed going to Universal maybe every third trip to Orlando. After Magical Express ends we might go more often. Magical Express just made it so easy to stay at WDW resorts. Now we may start splitting the stay between WDW and US.

[mansionlover]

I find Universal a nice change of pace from Disney World. In addition to the two Harry Potter sections, there are a number of fun rides. And then there are some streetmosphere acts like the Blues Brothers that are very entertaining. Universal is definitely worth trying out.

[Carrol Clark]

My husband and I always find it funny that Universal and Disney world are always compared, or in competition with each other. They are both exceptional at providing entertainment, and both have something for everyone. I love both, whilst I am a thrill ride fan and love the rides at Universal, my heart is always with Disney. I do personally feel that Disney is a feeling, it takes you to a place that no one can know about and can soften the hardest of hearts. I don't think Universal has to be that, I think it is perfect for what it does, and has its own unique qualities that keep me excited to get back there. We always visit both, but spend less time at Universal, purely because we stay on property at Disney, and do the day park to park ticket for Universal. I could never travel all the way to Orlando from Scotland and not ride Hulk, I dream about it!!!

[Dive Bar Casanova]

We're in the age where we turn the kids loose in the parks and go sit and enjoy ourselves. It's 1000% better for us at Disney Properties than at Universal.

We interact with Diz employees/Cast members on a higher level of warmth and humor and fun than the indifferent, cold blooded, mad at the world because their parents made them get a job, 13th grade, jr college student employee at Universal.

[LukeLovesDisney]

For me, the only reason I'd probably visit Universal is for Harry Potter - being a big Harry Potter fan it'd be cool to experience that world.

Last time I was in Florida (2008, ) 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter' was just a huge mound of dirt with wooden boards up stating 'Coming Soon' - but my sole intention of ever visiting Florida in the future is pure Disney

[Wilbur Robinson]

Never been to Universal before. We used to go to Seaworld & Disney together.. Seaworld is fine in it's own way, it has some interesting things to it. It's been so long since a visit to Seaworld, but the one thing I remember being a let-down was the food. I've never been there during a festival, but just plain old counter service seemed like a down-grade compared to Disney. It's been a while since I've went to SW, so it might be different now.

As a little kid I vaguely remember Seaworld having free soda and.. beer?

[SerranoPE]

I have never had any desire to go to Universal. It has always looked very boring to me. Am I the only person to never go anywhere but Disney for all their vacations? The only time we've gone off property in Florida was to go on the Disney Cruise. A friend of mine went on a "once in a lifetime trip" to Florida and only went to 2 Disney parks. They also spent 2 days at Universal and a day at Sea World. I thought that seemed like such a waste of time and money. But maybe I am the crazy one!

I used to think this way as well and at the behest of my son [who was about 17 at the time], we went. I have to say, I had a blast and liked it. We've gone a few times after as well. Nothing is Disney but if you go with an open-mind, you'll see that they do a great job as well. My son and I went one year and bought a 2-day ticket [got a 3rd for free] and we bought the express pass and we loved it. Ended up going back for that 3rd day since it was free and we were staying off-property at the Marriott Village before starting our on-property Disney stay. The food in the Harry Potter area is good and we also ate at a restaurant in Citywalk called Cowfish and that was good too. You should try it out sometime....find a deal and give it a go! If you don't like it, I owe you a Mickey bar!!