Ouch, but I have to agree that Orlando is a shared market today.... when I was child a trip to Orlando was referred as "Going to Disney".... I don't think that's the case anymore, I'm pretty sure many people are referring to their Orlando trip as "Going to Universal" too.
Yep, staying on property at Universal is a special experience. What really accentuated that thought for me was when I stayed on Disney property during last Fall's vacation. I missed Universal so much I made two unscheduled day trips. They were fun, but nowhere the special experience of staying on site at Universal for the vacation.... Now, vacationing at Disney doesn't really seem to matter whether you stay on site or not. There's not much special feeling to being on site at WDW since everything is a long travel distance away, and their hotel resorts aren't as good as Universal's for the money charged.
Actually I like WDW. Otherwise I wouldn't spend two weeks vacationing there at times. What I don't like is their management philosophy, which has caused a deterioration in the Disney experience. But, though I like WDW and enjoy it, I find that, for me, the Universal on site vacation experience is superior. Universal on site is relaxing, leisurely, good hotel resort value, Express passes for the Deluxe resorts, easy walking or boat transportation to the Parks & CitiWalk, attractions that better reflect my tastes, and constant new attractions. While I have fun on my Disney vacations, and I do enjoy all four parks & two water parks, I find it hard to relax due to the constant traveling, ridiculous amount of planning you need to do for parks, rides & meals, even though I stay on site. So I return from my vacation tired and worn out, whereas I'm renewed when I return from a Universal vacation. Also, I'm constantly disturbed at the really poor value of the Disney resorts when you compare cost & amenities to Universal. Bottom line: I like Disney. I love Universal.
What I find interesting is that the "Disney Kids" from the '70s-'89 are preferring the Universal product to the modern Disney product. I find more "Disney Magic" at UOR than at Disney's Magic Kingdom.
For Universal, even if their attendance is flat for the summer up to two weeks ago, now with Sapphire on line & the other 4 hotels apparently filled to the max, revenue may increase decently since Universal makes a lot more money from people that stay on site than they do from local & Disney day trippers. So it's going to be interesting to see what the revenue percentages are once the third quarter (July, August, Sept.) fiscal results are in when it's published in November.
Considering the market conditions, Universal is having a good summer.
Universal has also introduced the variable pricing structure. But it mainly changes single say ticket prices, right? Would this really have that much of an effect on summer park attendance?
Yeah, I see that. When I went to Disney for two weeks in Oct. 2015 rooms were scarce and the parks over crowded. It was like summer, only it had good Fall weather.
I pretty much stopped going to Orlando during summer years ago.
I can understand that. I would never go to Orlando in the summer. Too much hot rainy humid miserable uncomfortable weather. Not to mention overcrowded parks and over priced hotels....... Late April, May, late Sept.,October...that's me.
