universal I of Adventure .. world’s top theme park

Sad to see, but WDW definitely isn't what it used to be.

Too many people hold Disney to impossible standings going to a site like tripvadvisor and complaining over silly things like the park not getting news things or small issues like the yeti not working lower Disney score. People own stupid ruin the value of trip adviser.

I agree Disney is held to a standard that is almost impossible to meet at ALL TIMES!!!! I am sorry there is no way IOA is above Disney.

So I completely disagree... Trip Advisor folks are equally harsh across the board.

If anything I think Disney fans tend to overlook most issues and if anything are more critical of other theme parks - so much so that its almost a blinder to reality.

Universal's properties are simply put, world class and this survey shows that the perception outside the Disney community is that they are certainly up to the challenge.

What I found sad is that the Studios, not Epcot is in the top 10. Maybe the executives and bean counters ought to wake up and see what the rest of us have been saying for a while. Epcot has been severely neglected for too long and needs some serious attention.

razor5002000;2464246 wrote: Too many people hold Disney to impossible standings going to a site like tripvadvisor and complaining over silly things like the park not getting news things or small issues like the yeti not working lower Disney score. People own stupid ruin the value of trip adviser.

Not sure how you can say that things people view as important to them (such as new things or the yeti not working) is stupid. That is what they expect out of their theme park experience and that appears to be what Universal is offering them. I have not been to Universal myself, but this obviously isn't a small minority that feels this way. If that is how a large majority of people feel their experience should be, then the company that wants their busines should cater to that.

John;2464259 wrote:
What I found sad is that the Studios, not Epcot is in the top 10. Maybe the executives and bean counters ought to wake up and see what the rest of us have been saying for a while. Epcot has been severely neglected for too long and needs some serious attention.

I have to agree with this sentiment. I really don't spend much time at HS, because there isn't too much there that I find interesting.

John;2464259 wrote:
If anything I think Disney fans tend to overlook most issues and if anything are more critical of other theme parks - so much so that its almost a blinder to reality.

I have to agree with John here, just because Disney doesn't win 'best' in some particular vote or ranking doesn't mean the voters were biased against Disney or the people doing the voting are idiots for disagreeing with us. The reality is that many people have an emotional connection to Disney that they don't have to Universal (that's why we all signed up here after all). So if anything, Disney probably gets more credit than they deserve in these surveys.

I love Disney, but it's crazy to not see what Universal has been doing and be impressed by their work.

John;2464259 wrote: So I completely disagree... Trip Advisor folks are equally harsh across the board.

If anything I think Disney fans tend to overlook most issues and if anything are more critical of other theme parks - so much so that its almost a blinder to reality.

Universal's properties are simply put, world class and this survey shows that the perception outside the Disney community is that they are certainly up to the challenge.

What I found sad is that the Studios, not Epcot is in the top 10. Maybe the executives and bean counters ought to wake up and see what the rest of us have been saying for a while. Epcot has been severely neglected for too long and needs some serious attention.

These were my thoughts as well.

We all do it; we go to a different amusement park or attraction and immediately start comparing it to WDW with great scrutiny.

IMO, it is tougher for other parks to get high ratings because we all scrutinize by comparing to memories of WDW from the past 20 years.

I think that these new ratings speak volumes in regards to what value and satisfaction visitors are now getting from WDW compared to other parks. The thing is, if you charge excessive prices, customers expect and demand perfection.

If you look at any of the travel ratings, you will see WDW has slipped over the past several years.

John;2464259 wrote: So I completely disagree... Trip Advisor folks are equally harsh across the board.

If anything I think Disney fans tend to overlook most issues and if anything are more critical of other theme parks - so much so that its almost a blinder to reality.

Universal's properties are simply put, world class and this survey shows that the perception outside the Disney community is that they are certainly up to the challenge.

I have to agree with John here. Especially about some Disney fans being harshly critical of other theme parks, even parks they've never been to, and seemingly oblivious to the fact that Disney has been slipping for years now.

I am no Disney basher. I have a deep love for WDW as a whole, not just the parks, but the resorts and restaurants as well. Anyone who knows me and my family know that we will always love Disney.

We are headed to the Orlando area in a few weeks. We are taking a Universal only trip because my family is more excited about all the new stuff Universal has to offer than having to plan months in advanced for attractions that we've all done countless time. We decided to add a night at Wilderness Lodge and dinner at Ohana before we head to Universal. When we discovered that we could leave to go a day earlier I gave my family the option of staying two nights at Pop Century instead of WL, skipping ohanas, and doing a park one day instead. Then heading to Universal for our 3 days of parks there. All three of them declined the offer. They are not interested in visiting a park with little to no FP. They said there aren't enough new attractions to justify the cost or time. They would rather spend our Disney time at WL relaxing by the pool and having dinner at Ohana's. They did express interest in maybe visiting a water park in Disney, but they honestly have no desire to step foot in a Disney park on this trip. A few years ago I never thought I'd hear those words come out of my mouth.......

I know we are only one family, but apparently there are a lot of folks out there that feel the same. At this point I 100% feel that Universal IOA can beat out MK in certain surveys. That doesn't mean that I personally prefer IOA over MK, but I can totally see how it can come out ahead. I am actually not surprised at all.

Eh, I'm skeptical of Trip Advisor in general. In particular, Universal Studios HOLLYWOOD is in no way better than Disneyland Park. Or Universal Florida. That's just ridiculous.

Well, I seem to be in the minority, but I agree that Universal has the best parks theme wise.

Good on ya Universal!! They have worked very hard, struck out on their own path and took chances to their benefit. LOVE the both of their parks and HP additions. :thumbsup:

I love WDW but I'm also not blind to the fact that Disney seems to be in 'cruise' mode. Lotsa entertainment cutbacks and I get less for my increasing prices each time we go there. I hope that WDW will get on track over the next few years, but that remains to be seen. And I'm not even going to comment on the "Frozen" overload that is currently happening . . . :sick:

We are huge Disney folks - have been for decades. But I'm not surprised that IOA is rated highest in the survey. There are others on the list that don't make sense to me, but they clearly make sense to others! Outside of RnR and TOT, DHS is a bit boring for me and would be our 4th of the 4 Disney parks. And while Discovery Cove is a very interesting day, it's not a place I need to return to every year or two like I would the Disney parks.

But everyone has their preferences and likes and dislikes. This list certainly isn't going to have us change our Disney vacation plans! And some years, our "Disney" plans include a day at IOA.

razor5002000;2464246 wrote: Too many people hold Disney to impossible standings going to a site like tripvadvisor and complaining over silly things like the park not getting news things or small issues like the yeti not working lower Disney score. People own stupid ruin the value of trip adviser.

Actually, Disney used to hold themselves to that standard... There was a time when Disney used to push the bar, be the leader... Now, well, not so much... People are finally realizing it... took a while, but Disney can no longer hide behind its past...

Goofeygal;2464251 wrote: I agree Disney is held to a standard that is almost impossible to meet at ALL TIMES!!!! I am sorry there is no way IOA is above Disney.

Disney is held to that standard cause they held themselves to that standard... Now the only standard for Disney is doing less while charging more, the bottom line means everything...

razor5002000;2464246 wrote: Too many people hold Disney to impossible standings going to a site like tripvadvisor and complaining over silly things like the park not getting news things or small issues like the yeti not working lower Disney score. People own stupid ruin the value of trip adviser.

Goofeygal;2464251 wrote: I agree Disney is held to a standard that is almost impossible to meet at ALL TIMES!!!! I am sorry there is no way IOA is above Disney.

I disagree with both of these statements. With the prices we pay everything in the parks should be in proper working order and we should expect new state of the art attractions instead of the underwhelming new Fantasyland. This survey just shows what I have been saying for the last few years. Universal is in it to win and Disney is counting on people that are so loyal to their company that they don't care what they are putting out anymore because these people will just keep coming back no matter what.

I use trip advisor for hotels when we travel and found them to be very reliable with their reviews......BTW Disney hotels are not rated at the top in Orlando and I couldn't agree more. Their prices are not a value for what you are getting IMO.