Universal vs Disney Pricing

[mountainjourno]

Personally, I think the key to enjoying a trip to Universal is to avoid making comparisons to Disney. It’s something I have trouble doing.

We absolutely LOVE the Harry Potter areas. I mean - they are truly immersive, top notch, beautifully created and so much fun.

The rest of Universal though, I kept inadvertently comparing to Disney. So many attractions seem to want to be like Disney (for example, their plume ride) but when compared to the Disney equivalent (ie Splash Mountain) it comes across as very substandard. Ditto for their shows, jerky 4D attractions, and rides. It’s like Harry Potter world was created by an entirely different company (one as good, if not better, than Disney).

We’ve been twice with the kids now; once when they were around 9/10 years old and once when they were 15/16 years old. We stayed at the Portofino Bay so had the Front of the Line passes and extra time at Harry Potter. Each time, the kids loved HP but then wanted to return to Disney (as each time we also had DVC bookings and Disney passes). That’s despite the fact that the kids have already done Disney so much that I would have expected them to prefer staying with something different.

But again - it’s the comparison. If Universal were in Canada and nowhere near Disney, maybe we wouldn’t have compared and enjoyed it more as a result.

[brp]

Originally Posted by Jay324

I always love your posts, respect your opinion but in this case it just seems that a cash reservations for a short extended weekend at a Deluxe Disney resort with hotel and tickets is just too much money for the premium over Universal (or really just too much in general).

Fair enough. I'm really just looking at the park ticket angle and not as much the accommodations in my view, and that's not your complete picture. Since we have DVC, I just never think about cash room stays. Adding that all together, I do see what you're saying.

Cheers.

[DVCQUEEN]

Disney has always been more expensive than Universal. I’m still sitting on tickets from US 12 years ago, we are not park people, but DVC is our vacation home.

That’s why we purchased DVC. DVC will save us money on a vacation that is rarely discounted. US offers good deals most times of the year as do most other attractions and cruise lines. DVC is in proportion with other lodging, the ticket prices etc are not.

DVC made Disney vacations more affordable for my family, discounted cash will always work for everywhere else. To me it’s not an either/or, it’s a do what you like and can afford.

[BWV Dreamin]

Originally Posted by DVCQUEEN

Disney has always been more expensive than Universal. I’m still sitting on tickets from US 12 years ago, we are not park people, but DVC is our vacation home.

That’s why we purchased DVC. DVC will save us money on a vacation that is rarely discounted. US offers good deals most times of the year as do most other attractions and cruise lines. DVC is in proportion with other lodging, the ticket prices etc are not.

DVC made Disney vacations more affordable for my family, discounted cash will always work for everywhere else. To me it’s not an either/or, it’s a do what you like and can afford.

This!!

[Goofygrl]

Originally Posted by Brian5581

Enjoy!

Unfortunately can’t make a similar comparison for my own purposes because nothing about the Universal parks has interest to me aside from Harry Potter. Riding rides for rides’ sake just doesn’t do it for me. I need to care about whatever the ride is themed towards. I know others feel far differently.

Also having spent an evening visiting friends at City Walk I much prefer Disney Springs.

Did enjoy my limited time wandering about around Portofino Bay, so can definitely see the resort experience being favorable.


All that said, definitely worth giving a try if so desired. Even I will likely do so for a couple days at some point soon, just in addition to my Disney time rather than in place of.

I love the Jurassic Park area. The River Adventure is great. And the ET ride in the studios. Those are two of my favorite rides anywhere. And they do some fun shows such as Blues Brothers on the street. And Men In Black attraction. And growing up reading the Sunday comic section I enjoy the Toon town area of IOA. And their water rides are great and worth riding and getting wet. Other than Splash Mt at Disney I don't find any of Disney's worthy of getting wet. Dudley Do Right is another one from my childhood. Seuss Landing is enjoyable to see. Monsters Café in the Studios and The Mummy roller Coaster. Oh yes, and that Harry Potter stuff too.

[ermindy1133]

Originally Posted by Goofygrl

I love the Jurassic Park area. The River Adventure is great. And the ET ride in the studios. Those are two of my favorite rides anywhere. And they do some fun shows such as Blues Brothers on the street. And Men In Black attraction. And growing up reading the Sunday comic section I enjoy the Toon town area of IOA. And their water rides are great and worth riding and getting wet. Other than Splash Mt at Disney I don't find any of Disney's worthy of getting wet. Dudley Do Right is another one from my childhood. Seuss Landing is enjoyable to see. Monsters Café in the Studios and The Mummy roller Coaster. Oh yes, and that Harry Potter stuff too.

I grew up with Dr Seuss. I can still literally quote lengthy passages from Horton Hatches the Egg, Green Eggs and Ham, the Lorax, etc. So I enjoy just strolling through Seuss Landing, taking it all in.

[carl sweat]

we love universal in my family, but we've never been to uni without going to disney. usually 4 days at uni 7 at dis. it helps us being dvc for rooms at dis. we always stay at hrh at uni and that is a little pricey, but location for us is worth it. there is still an off season at uni and our worry is that one day soon it will always be as crowded as disney, so for now we enjoy it every chance we get. sorta like sometimes i like a coke, sometimes a dr pepper, sometimes moonshine. dis and uni, same but different.

[carolina_yankee]

Originally Posted by Jay324

It is no wonder every time I am at a Deluxe Disney hotel they just seem so empty (and I have another thread coming on the emptiness at BWV which was incredibly strange for a DVC resort). Yes, people are going to Disney in droves but are they staying at the Deluxe resorts?

I'm not sure this is true. Disneyland is empty this summer.

Touringplans.com has reduced crowd levels for all of WDW and for each park at least twice in the last 3 months for our upcoming August trip.

For reasons we can only guess at since we don't have access to date, it may well be that people aren't going to Disney in droves, at least this summer.

Dirk

[erikthewise]

Originally Posted by ermindy1133

I grew up with Dr Seuss. I can still literally quote lengthy passages from Horton Hatches the Egg, Green Eggs and Ham, the Lorax, etc. So I enjoy just strolling through Seuss Landing, taking it all in.

"I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent!"

[ermindy1133]

Originally Posted by erikthewise

"I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent!"

“Sighed Maxie, a lazy bird hatching her egg.
I’m tired and I’m bored and I’ve kinks in my legs.
From sitting. Just sitting here day after day.
It’s work! How I hate it!
I’d much rather play! I’d take a vacation. Fly off for a rest if I could find someone to sit on my nest. If I could find someone, I’d fly away. Free! Then Horton the elephant passed by her tree...”