From the far reaches of Universal and beyond

[Cinderelley]

Ah yes, the old "politically correct" strawman. Because Disney realised that implying that the protagonists in the ride were sexually assaulting women was not a great idea on a child's ride they are making a policially motivated change to the ride. If the notion of "political correctness" and the fact that everyone likes to have a go at it didn't exist nobody would even have noticed.
I rode the Jungle Cruise two weeks ago. The attendant had a gun. Has something since happened that I'm unaware of.
So Disney can't make R-rated movies? Why not? WDW is family oriented, their animated movies are either family or child oriented so why can't they release adult-oriented movies (and under a different name for goodness sake)?

I have to disagree. I noticed the change, and then I found out why. In fact, it had never even crossed my mind that the women were being "sexually assaulted" in the old version. I can only speak for myself, but it didn't have anything to do with having a "go" at political correctness.

Also, if it is perfectly OK for Disney to make R-rated movies, then it's perfectly OK to have pirates chasing women around in PoTC.

[mcjaco]

As for your questions, I've been to:

Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Little-A-Merrick-A
Mount Olympus
Cedar Fair's Valleyfair
King's Island
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld San Diego (stay classy)
DLR
WDW
Universal Studios - Hollywood
Universal Studios - Orlando
Islands of Adventure
Indiana Beach
Santa's Village
Kiddieland

Disney far surpasses all of these parks in most if not all things. Food, ride quality, customer service, lodging, etc. Does Universal have some things that it does better? Absolutely. It's a thrill park geared toward the 18-32 demographic, so there's really now way to compare the parks against each other. They're all different.

[bshaw96]

Well, I don't bash Universal or SeaWorld or any of it, but my first love is Disney. Can't really explain why, just something about the "atmosphere". It sounds cheezy, but the whole place is just magical. It brings our family closer together. It's more relaxed.
That being said, I'm not a die hard planner as others, and when I do plan a Disney trip (the centerpiece ) I always try to tack on 2-3 xtra days for non Disney parks.
I like Seaworld, petting the dolphins, and the Shamu show. It's neat. But when you're done there, you're done.And I'm usually done within a few hours.
Now Universal is neat, and fun, but has more of a "theme park" feel. We have fun, but it's more like a day back home at the local amusement park. Although I must say I absolutely LOOOOVE Dudley Do Rights Ripsaw Falls and the Poseidon Adventure. I'd go there just to ride those 2 rides alone.
So I don't bash other parks, but when planning a longer vacation, it'll always be Disney. Seems there's always something new to discover.

Let me add, the "magic" I feel is not from childhood memories or anything. The only time I went before going with my own husband and kids was as a teenager, on July 4th, 200 degrees with 300 percent humidity and wall to wall people. That WAS NOT magical =(