u/mister_waj

I'm sure a lot of you may be more versed on this than I am, but I'm really curious. I love Intamin. It's one of my favorite roller coaster manufacturers (Favorite rides: Velocicoaster, Hyperion, Kondaa). Whenever I hear Intamin referenced in conversations pertaining to Legacy Cedar Fair, Six Flags or even the Busch Garden parks, I quite frequently hear people say Intamin isn't reliable. If that is truly the case, why is it almost the go to for one or the leaders of the industry, Universal for their coasters, and many European parks (probably proximity)?

So I've heard a considerable amount of conversation regarding this new Maleficent coaster in the new villain's land in various Disney and non Disney related forums, some coaster forms. The general consensus is that people are starting to think from the presenters language, that this coaster will be Disney's Velocicoaster so to speak, as far as thrill level. Personally, I doubt that. Looking at the proof of concept, the rock work and the ride vehicles reminded me quite a bit of Taron at Phantasialand in Germany, a park and a coaster I love. I feel like that coaster could be Disney's sweet spot for max thrill without being too much; It has punchy launches, airtime, and some lateral forces with no inversions and fantastic sense of speed. A solid step above cosmic rewind and Hagrids. What do you all think? Do you think Disney is going to go for it with this coaster and do a ride with that magical thrill ride height requirement of 52 inches? Me...it's a solid no.

So we always hear references to Disney adults but never Universal adults. Does Universal have that type of fandom? I love Disney but I love Universal more. I find myself at Universal 3 to 4 times out of the year and I'm in Maryland, but the minute I walk thru Disney's gates after having not been for 2 or 3 years, my friends jokingly call me a Disney adult.. Are people who frequent Universal parks just considered lovers of theme parks? Do you think it has to do with the nature of the attractions at the Universal parks and the IPs? When I go to the parks, sometimes I go all out with my Ravenclaw robe or most recently at Epic Universe with my Mario shirt and hat. People see pictures and it's all in good fun, but the minute I put on ears, even if that is all the memorabilia I might be wearing, I'm a Disney adult.

This was being discussed in another forum that I frequent not on Reddit. I tend to agree with this but I still would like to hear your own thoughts. I know there are layers of subjectivity when it comes to these types of discussions but it's all in good fun! To preface this I'm a coaster enthusiast thru and thru but I love Disney and Universal equally amongst my other parks domestically and abroad.

like the title says, I'm a theme park nerd that likes to listen to quarterly business calls from Six Flags, Comcast and Disney about the park operations because I find it interesting. Comcast recently had their 2nd quarter call and Disney their 3rd. Comcast basically said in theirs that Epic is still strong and in demand for attendance, but overall the ENTIRE Orlando market is softening for demand... Disney comes back and says wrong, our attendance is up 3 percent and we are doing better than our competitor.

I've heard people say so many different things about their experience in the parks for several months regarding crowds. Those of you that follow this side of the industry, do you think the divide is really that wide between the two giants in the Orlando market? I know for one or two years, Islands of Adventure surpassed Epcot in attendance according to the TEA... I just don't see why the companies wouldn't be anything but forthright in these type of earnings calls...

Trip report here. Just finished our trip in Orlando. I want to preface this by saying that this was my first ever experience in a Universal park. I've never even been to Universal Hollywood. I know, I know... I did 4 days of Park hopper at Universal and 4 days of park hopping at Disney, but this is a Universal forum and I'm only going to talk about that.

Islands of Adventure:

This and Epic were the two parks I was looking forward to the most but enjoyed the least. I was actually shocked at the lack of entertainment in this park. No theaters, no shows. what? The two shows I did see were in Hogsmeade and they were mediocre. I also didn't see a lot of roaming characters or character meet and greets. The meet and greet I did do was the Velociraptor encounter which I LOVED!!!! Disney would never lol..

The Theming at Islands was quite good, especially with Hogsmeade. I see how people say Hogsmeade laid the groundwork for themed and immersive lands moving forward. The interactive wand activities were a blast.

Food: Unfortunately this is another place this park lacked. My partner and I are foodies, so we purchased a lot of food items throughout the park. We only enjoyed food at three locations; Confiscos (I think I spelled that incorrectly), Mythos (AMAZING), and Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. I did want to add that the butter beer ice cream and soft serve in Hogsmeade and Diagon alley have become my favorite ice cream flavor!! Too bad they don't sell it commercially.

Rides: Velocicoaster is the best coaster I've ever been on in my life!! Wow!!! Hagrids, I ended up liking more than Cosmic Rewind, Hulk reminded me of a coaster at Magic Mountain that I haven't been on in years!! I enjoyed it but it wasn't my favorite. Spiderman was excellent!! its on my list of favorite dark rides. I can say as far as rides it's really where this park shines, but is SEVERELY lacking in entertainment which to me places it low on my list as it being an overall complete theme park experience.

Overall Islands is a very well themed and immersive park, but the lack of entertainment and streetmosphere, and things for people who don't want to ride rides is what made us enjoy it less!

Universal Studios Florida:

Loved this park, from the parade, to the shows, to the food, to the store options, and walk thru experiences, so many roaming characters, and the met and greets. I think I liked it more than Hollywood Studios. If all of this was at Islands of Adventure, it would have made that park amazing amazing instead of just going from ride to ride....

Rides. I know the park is criticized quite a bit on the simulator screens but I didn't mind them. I thought they were done well. I ADORED ET. it reminded me of Peter Pan. I also LOVED Men in black. It reminded me of buzz light year. The mummy was an amazing themed coaster experience, and it looks like they are building another amazing coaster to the Fast and furious franchise. Speaking of which, The fast and the furious ride was the only one at the entire park that I didn't like. Did they rush that attraction? Forbidden Journey Queue is one of the best themed queues I've ever seen. So elaborate. Sensational was a great nighttime show.

Shows: Bourne Stuntacular has joined my list of favorite theme park shows of all time. Like how did they do that lol

Epic Universe:

The theming and immersion of that park is number three on my list of all the parks that I've visited for theming and immersion after Tokyo Disney Sea and Shanghai Disney!! Wow. As far as the United States, Epic takes the cake for making you feel like you are literally in that world from the food, to the characters, the music, everything. I don't know what to say about this park. The food was as good as Epcot. The rides fell so well rounded. Everything in the park isn't throwing you around or spraying you with water like the other two parks.

Rides: Battle at the minsistry is a world class attraction. Monsters unchained is a world class attraction. I absolutely LOVED Donkey kong (favorite game as a kid). I think I spent 2 hours in Super Nintendo world playing the games. I wish the people mover was longer in that land. Curse of the werewolf, loved it stardust racers, another coaster that took me out. I was being thrown out of my seat left and right!!! it was amazing, but due to the intensity, we just chose to ride each side once during the day and once at night.

Shows: Both were fabulous, and the untrainable dragon show is also on my list of new favorite shows in a theme park.

Extras: I met this cute bear, but I'm not that familiar with his back story but I'm always down for a meet and greet.

Toothless meet and greet was just as magical as any meet and greet at Disney if not more.

Overall I loved the Universal Orlando resort. Disney really has some competition down there. Is Universal Hollywood as good as Universal Orlando?

The one thing I missed is photographers. I'm used to seeing one every 20 or 30 feet lol. Is that not a thing at Universal? Also the app. None of my ride photos and videos came to my phone? Can I contact support about that?

Thanks for reading.

Hey everyone. This is how I rank the 7 Disney and Universal parks from my least favorite to favorite park in Orlando. I enjoy all of them and get different things from each, but I still prefer some over others. Tell me what you think and how you would rank them yourself.

7. Animal Kingdom.

8. Hollywood Studios.

9. Universal Studios Florida.

10. Islands of Adventure.

11. Magic Kingdom.

12. Epcot.

13. Epic Universe.

Hey everyone. This is how I rank the 7 Disney and Universal parks from my least favorite to favorite park in Orlando. I enjoy all of them and get different things from each, but I still prefer some over others. Tell me what you think and how you would rank them yourself.

7. Animal Kingdom.

8. Hollywood Studios.

9. Universal Studios Florida.

10. Islands of Adventure.

11. Magic Kingdom.

12. Epcot.

13. Epic Universe.

I participate in a lot of online forums for roller coasters and amusement parks. I'm a hard-core coaster enthusiast. Whenever people ask the question "what's the worst amusement parks in the US" Disney always dominates the forums. I will see comments from "overhyped" to "dirty" and "rude staff" to "not enough rides" and so on. I get that Disney isn't for everyone, but this coaster enthusiast can at least acknowledge that their staff are well trained in hospitality, and they have industry leading ride operations and capacity as well as customer service. I've never experienced a "dirty" Disney park or rude staff or anything of the sort. Yes, I know it's expensive, I know the rides aren't the most exciting, but those things alone don't make it bad. I feel if you are going to a Disney park expecting your world to be rocked you didn't do your homework and it may be a waste of money. I don't know, just wondering what others think. Why the vitriol from the coaster community for Disney...

I have been going to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for years, and I ALWAYS walk past the Celtic Fyre show completely ignoring it. I was never a fan of the name of the show, so I always thought it was going to be something cheesy so I never went. I went last night and WOW! Ive seen A LOT of theme park shows and entertainment, and Celtic Fyre is now up there for me! It's like one of the 5 best theme park shows I've ever seen..Never judge a book by the name on the cover. Now that I think of it, the name isn't that bad LOL!

To preface this, in general I'm a roller coaster enthusiast. I've been on 705 roller coasters in North America, Asia and Europe. It's been my thing for so many years, but the more I go to Disney and Universal, especially in the states, the more I'm starting to become a hardcore theme park fan and the more difficult it's becoming to go back home to my brick and mortar amusement parks and accepting the eneffeciencies, apathetic staff, poor operations, ride down time and more. My home park is Kings Dominion in Doswell VA. It's a beautiful regional park with great rides and decent vibes, but it's just becoming difficult for me to really enjoy it after I'm done riding the coasters.. I can just walk around and sit in Epcot, The Magic Kingdom or Epic Universe all day, without feeling like I have to do anything at all. I'm just think writing. Sorry everyone. Lol. I'm starting to feel like I'm falling out of love from my first love, the coasters! Lol. I know I'm being overdramatic. Thanks for reading.

Sigh. This is my 3rd day back at the park and the 3rd day Pantheon isn't up and running. I know things happen, but I still can't help feeling disappointed. I like the other rides in the park, but I LOVE Pantheon. Oh well. I guess I'll have better luck next year.

So my partner and I are both big roller coasters enthusiasts.Been on over 700 roller coasters worldwide. I'm also a big Disney and Universal fan, been to all the parks worldwide. My partner loathes Disney parks, but he's never stepped foot in one. I don't know how someone can dislike something they have never experienced, but anyways, We just finished an 8 day trip in Orlando, 4 days at Universal and 2 days of park hopper at Disney. I didn't tell him about that part lol. So we were walking out of Hollywood studios after we watched Fantasmic at the end of our second day and he says to me "ok yeah...I get it...I think I'm a fan now". Lol. We are both out of town UOAP holders, I have a pass to Disney and he doesn't. Today, I'm in the process of planning our Halloween Horror nights trip for October, and he yells, make sure you plan some days for Disney as well... I knew he would like it. Personally, I never met anyone who loved Universal that didn't also like or love Disney.

What I expected to be a day full of downtime and large crowds turned out to be one of my best theme park days of the year!!!!

-Met Captain Cacao after waiting 5 minutes.

-Waited 15 minutes for Hiccup meet and greet.

- Didn't wait long to meet Mario.

- danced with some stilt walkers celebrating the 4th

- 14 Zen rides on Stardust racers

- on and off Battle at the ministry using single rider in 20 minutes. Decided to ride it again to see the entire queue when it was posted 45 minutes and waited 25 minutes.

- walked onto monsters unchained.

- ate in each land

- currently jamming out to the DJ around the cosmos fountain.

- a brief delay with bowsers challenge loved it!

- Donkey Kong up and running most of the day minus the weather delay.

Such a great day!!! Now back to jamming with the DJ lol

So I was at the parks yesterday (7/3) and had an issue which needed resolution at guest services and we were chatting it up. I had asked him if he thought the split between Comcast and NBC Universal would impact the parks and he confidently said yes, and then said "with exception of the roller coaster, construction has been paused." I don't know how accurate that is or if Universal would share that type of information with line employees but he seemed pretty confident when we discussed it. I wasn't able to get any additional information because there were people in the line...I should probably take it as a grain of salt. What do you all think?.

Has anyone been to Epic recently and saw that Toad or Donkey Kong were greeting guests? Just curious. Me and my 2 sons who are big fans will be there next Wednesday.

I'm going to great adventure tomorrow for the first time this season. How have the operations been? Are there any shows as of yet? I heard El Toro was on just one train for a while. Is that still the case? Just want to know what to expect.

Hello. Anyone going to Kings Island this weekend. I actually have a flight scheduled to come into Cincinnati to visit Kings Island and I'm concerned about the park in the rain. This will be my first trip to the park. My question is how does the park handle rain? Will they close everything? It doesn't seem that this weekend will be a wash out but weather channel does say rain throughout the day.

Hello. Can you please watch, like and comment on my latest theme park vlog? I would really appreciate it.

Hello everyone. I was just thinking about upgrading to Disneys top annual pass and it got me thinking about Universal. I'm not a Universal pass holder yet but I love the parks. Currently have a pass at Disney. When Epic is finally added to the Premier level pass, what are your guesses to what the overall cost might come out to? I can easily see it matching Disneys pass even with one less park. Thoughts?