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2. There's more to innovation than just ride design

Universal is often seen as the risk-taking, tech-savvy company in Florida, while Disney is often portrayed as something of a lazy dinosaur. There are good reasons for this, obviously, but those characterizations are also a bit misleading. While Disney may not be as far on the cutting-edge as Universal with its ride technology, it has been innovating the guest experience in other ways.

Disney's FastPass, which debuted in 1999, was one of the first ride-reservation systems in the country – a concept that expanded far beyond simply Disney, and was soon copied in some capacity in every theme park in the country ... including Universal.

Now, Disney's made the shift to FastPass+ as part of their much-maligned MyMagic+ initiative, but while the implementation process has been rocky, I've found it to truly be revolutionary – and, more importantly, I've found it inspires a lot of interesting questions about where the technology may go in the future.

Visiting Disney feels like visiting a theme park in the internet age – even with the copious bugs present in MyMagic+. Universal, on the other hand, is largely the same experience it has been for ever. A more pleasant one, complete with more attentive team members and more interesting attractions, but a similar experience nonetheless. Disney's been looking at how to improve the guest experience by eliminating things like hotel check in, room keys, and lengthy turnstile waits. It would behoove Universal to put the same level of care they put into their attractions into updating this experience on their property as well.

1. It's not all about technology

If you ask 10 guests at Walt Disney World which attraction is their favorite, you'll likely get 10 different answers. Sure, some might respond they prefer the Tower of Terror, Test Track, or Dinosaur. But, others might say Pirates of the Caribbean. Space Mountain, or the Haunted Mansion.

The lesson there is that a ride doesn't have to be the most modern and state-of-the-art attraction in order to be beloved. And that's a lesson that Universal hasn't really taken to heart.

I can only speak for myself, but while I adore Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey's innovative use of ride technology to tell a story, I find the story rather muddled and hard to follow. In fact, for me, the time spent in the queue, touring Hogwarts castle, is of far more interest than the actual ride itself. That area is so rife with detail, that I get a little disappointed when I have to leave to board my “enchanted bench” – a concept that feels about as hastily thought up as one can.

Just because new technology exists, that doesn't mean it's automatically the best way of telling a story. Disney, even now, builds attractions this way. One needn't look much further than New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom to see its new The Little Mermaid attraction – a simple, slow-moving omnimover ride, the kind Disney has been making in some form or another since the 1960s.

There's so much that's great about both resorts, and they each have unique strengths and weaknesses. Thankfully, in this new era of aggressive competition between the two, those strengths and weaknesses have become rather glaring, and there's ample opportunity for both entities to improve in new and exciting ways. As always, it's not about which resort is better – both are wonderful – its about how both can become even greater than they are now.

But, with this competition seemingly far from slowing down, we're in for a lot more improvements in the coming years. Let's be thankful for that.

 
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Comments

More options, more healthy food, more menu items for people with special dietary needs

The main thing Universal can learn from Disney is the way they treat their guests. Universal has atrocious customer service and most of the employees obviously have no interest in enhancing your experience, whereas everyone from the parking attendants to the princesses in Disney are very good at the very least faking that they have a vested interest in your 'magical' day. It really makes so much of a difference, especially when a theme park trip can very easily turn from a fun day into a tiring and expensive ordeal under the wrong circumstances

Really? I think this is just your silly imagination. Most people at Universal work or have worked at Disney. So they are the exact same people. Absolutely no different.

Granted the rides have more safety concerns than at Disney so you might be told "no you can't do that, it isn't safe" more often. But that's about it. Make friends with a Universal Team Member and they can make your day 100x's better than disney could by having the ability to save you money and/or time in various different ways. I was never given the opportunity to save a guest money and time at Disney.

Make friends with a Universal Team Member? How about you go on vacation and receive uniformly quality customer service regardless of who you are or who they are?

Having spent plenty of time at both resorts, you can't compare the quality of the service at the two. You just can't. To say that most of the team members at Universal used to be Disney Cast Members. Used to be. Could any of this conversion be due to some current Universal hires not living up to the Disney model?

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