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

MizMissy;2464559 wrote: I just wanted to say Not Boring At ALL! Thank You and I LOVE IT ... but ... I love a good spreadsheet! :thumbsup:

1DisneyNut;2464571 wrote: I was reading the above posts discussing the estimated attendance figures and the statistics of the trip advisor ratings (which is pretty interesting btw)

Glad I'm not the only one who appreciates a good spreadsheet. :thumbsup:

I figured that was how they ranked the parks. The issue is, though, that people can review one without having been to the others, but that doesn't make one inherently BETTER. I prefer rankings based on a combination of factors having been taken into account, equally across the board. That is why I don't put much stake in these kinds of opinion surveys.

NJGIRL;2464572 wrote: This is not a ranking of attendance. It is a ranking of customer satisfaction. I am not sure how anyone can say it is wrong. It is an opinion of many travelers, not just people who are loyal to Disney. No one can make someone like Disney the best if they feel different.

I would argue that the attendance is people voting with their feet. I mean if people are so satisfied with IOA then why is their estimated attendance half of what the Magic Kingdom's is? We all know that there are not 18 Million unique visitors to the Magic Kingdom each year, which must mean there are allot of satisfied customers making repeat trips.

Speedy1998;2464633 wrote: I would argue that the attendance is people voting with their feet. I mean if people are so satisfied with IOA then why is their estimated attendance half of what the Magic Kingdom's is? We all know that there are not 18 Million unique visitors to the Magic Kingdom each year, which must mean there are allot of satisfied customers making repeat trips.

The fact that IOA's attendance has grown significantly since 2010 shows that people ARE voting with their feet... IOA has not lost any of the attendance increases from 2010/2011, and continue to bring in more guests each year...

Universal had one heck of a boost last year, with only half a year of Diagon Alley open... Should see another significant boost in 2015...

Let's also not forget, Universal has been playing from behind for many years... so being slightly off (or even actually in reality passing DHS) attendance wise, within a 4 year time frame is one heck of an accomplishment...

Attendance is also based on brand. The Disney brand is huge. Everyone knows it. Disney World is a part of Americana. It's one of those places "everyone" has to visit. So of course Disney is always going to have the higher numbers. Disney is entrenched in our lives almost daily. Much more than Universal ever will.

This is why I don't think attendance numbers are the best way of determining the "best park".

BrerGnat;2464629 wrote: I figured that was how they ranked the parks. The issue is, though, that people can review one without having been to the others, but that doesn't make one inherently BETTER. I prefer rankings based on a combination of factors having been taken into account, equally across the board. That is why I don't put much stake in these kinds of opinion surveys.

Yep, opinions can be a bit crazy. Especially on the bad reviews. People rate things down for several reasons. Several "terrible" reviews on Orlando theme parks complained about the hot July weather. :sun:

AgentC;2464643 wrote: Yep, opinions can be a bit crazy. Especially on the bad reviews. People rate things down for several reasons. Several "terrible" reviews on Orlando theme parks complained about the hot July weather. :sun:

Yes, I have seen those. Also the ones that complain of the crowds and lines.

DonaldDuck1117;2464640 wrote: Attendance is also based on brand. The Disney brand is huge. Everyone knows it. Disney World is a part of Americana. It's one of those places "everyone" has to visit. So of course Disney is always going to have the higher numbers. Disney is entrenched in our lives almost daily. Much more than Universal ever will.

This is why I don't think attendance numbers are the best way of determining the "best park".

EXACTLY - People right now have a perception based on a brand that has been online since 1971 - and quite frankly, while Universal had a great set of parks, its the last 5 years where they have really put the foot on the gas.

Like someone said, satisfaction is important... not just attendance. If you now are torking off 25% of your attendance because things aren't working, or current value isn't there, or the parks are so crowded you can't do what you want to do - you leave with a bad taste in your mouth that impacts future business.

You can coast for a while on the past - but eventually it will catch up with you.

This is why we have stressed that Disney needs to up their game. Universal is here for the long run.

Competition is good for ALL of us. It keeps everyone on their toes...

John;2464646 wrote:

You can coast for a while on the past - but eventually it will catch up with you.

This is why we have stressed that Disney needs to up their game. Universal is here for the long run.

Competition is good for ALL of us. It keeps everyone on their toes...

This is exactly how I feel. Disney is coasting and Universal is hungry for the win. I don't have brand loyalty (even in my everyday life). I go for the biggest bang for my buck and right now that's Universal. Competition is good for all of us...waiting for Disney to start putting some effort into it.

NJGIRL;2464666 wrote: This is exactly how I feel. Disney is coasting and Universal is hungry for the win. I don't have brand loyalty (even in my everyday life). I go for the biggest bang for my buck and right now that's Universal. Competition is good for all of us...waiting for Disney to start putting some effort into it.

The race is long, but hopefully WDW delivers sooner than later with $3B announced for investment to DHS, Avatar Land pending for AK and another $350M to $400M earmarked for MK (as discussed on these boards). I agree that competition is good. Hopefully it will yield good results (and innovative ideas) for WDW.

baldburke;2465115 wrote: The race is long, but hopefully WDW delivers sooner than later with $3B announced for investment to DHS, Avatar Land pending for AK and another $350M to $400M earmarked for MK (as discussed on these boards). I agree that competition is good. Hopefully it will yield good results (and innovative ideas) for WDW.

I hope so too. I want Disney to deliver. I don't like them being so stale. The more they compete with each other the bigger and better attractions we get as consumers. :thumbsup: I just think right now and for the past few years Disney hasn't tried too hard to keep the parks fresh.

I personally think Avatar is the wrong theme the film was made ages ago imo it wasn't a great film either
I hope I am proved wrong but I think if they were going to take a theme the hobbit / Lord of the rings would have been better , better characters and story and more scope even a Pixar themed area would have been better to challenge universal and Harry potter...always thought that AK were missing a trick and not using the beloved jungle book as a ride or an area

RAIDER;2465504 wrote: I personally think Avatar is the wrong theme the film was made ages ago imo it wasn't a great film either
I hope I am proved wrong but I think if they were going to take a theme the hobbit / Lord of the rings would have been better , better characters and story and more scope even a Pixar themed area would have been better to challenge universal and Harry potter...always thought that AK were missing a trick and not using the beloved jungle book as a ride or an area

It's not the story Disney was after with Avatar... it is the visuals of Pandora... Imagine the landscape of Pandora, all lit up, brought to life... Imagineering will do this right... just as JK and Warner Brothers made sure Universal Creative got Potter right, Cameron will make sure WDI gets Pandora right...

DizneyFreak2002;2465509 wrote: It's not the story Disney was after with Avatar... it is the visuals of Pandora... Imagine the landscape of Pandora, all lit up, brought to life... Imagineering will do this right... just as JK and Warner Brothers made sure Universal Creative got Potter right, Cameron will make sure WDI gets Pandora right...

DisneyFreak2002 like I said I hope I am proved wrong and your right.. It will be great if Disney get back in the game ..it's such a shame after seeing universal raising their standards so much that Disney do as well.

RAIDER;2465527 wrote: DisneyFreak2002 like I said I hope I am proved wrong and your right.. It will be great if Disney get back in the game ..it's such a shame after seeing universal raising their standards so much that Disney do as well.

I have a feeling, once D23 begins and ends, many people are going to be impressed with what we see and hear regarding Pandora as I suspect and expect Avatar to be what Disney heavily promotes for WDW... The only thing I'm MEH about is Soarin (2.0) Over Pandora...