By: Michael DeLuca, ’29
Staff Writer
Universal Studios Florida and Walt Disney World Florida are two of the most famous and most visited theme parks in the world. Both are so committed to their themes that, from the moment you take your first step in, you are transported to an otherworldly place. The rides are the best in the world, with outstanding themes that can make you feel like you aren’t really on earth, but rather flying through the galaxy in the Millennium Falcon, traveling through NewYork City with Spiderman, or flying on the back of a banshee in Pandora – the list goes on. Because these two theme parks are so amazing, it brings up the question: which is better?
Deciding on which theme park is better usually takes some personal preference. If you are a Harry Potter and Marvel fan, well, then Universal Studios will obviously be your favorite. But if you’re a Star Wars enthusiast or love Avatar, then Disney will obviously be your choice. Other things that you may take into account are whether you like intense thrill rides, slow moving rides, or maybe even nostalgia. For this article, I will focus only on the regular parks with normal rides, not the water parks at each resort. I will judge which theme park is better based on the following: rides, family friendliness, and fast passes (Express Pass and Lightning Lane).
Rides
The reason most people travel from all around the world to go to these theme parks is for the rides. The rides are not just your ordinary roller coaster or spinning rides that you’d see in a fairground, but one-of-a-kind works of art. In fact, both theme parks spend years designing rides to make sure they are worth every penny.
The rides at Universal Studios are often much more intense and thrilling than the rides at Disney, including five large roller coasters: The Velocicoaster, The Hulk, The Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket, Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure, and the new Stardust Racers. These roller coasters are fun, fast, and exhilarating. In fact, the Velocicoaster is the fastest ride in Florida, reaching 72 miles per hour. However, if crazy fast roller coasters aren’t really your thing, Universal also has about 15 screen-based rides. Although many of these are very well made, there are some downsides such as possible motion sickness and need of refurbishment for outdated rides like Fast and Furious Supercharged and The Simpsons Ride. Additionally, Universal has three exceptional water rides to offer: Dudley Do-Rights, Popeye and Blutos, and Jurassic Park River Adventure. Despite the limited options for water rides, these are great for getting you drenched and offering relief from the blazing Florida sun. Overall, Universal Studios has some very enjoyable rides, and while it doesn’t have as many as Disney, most of the Universal theme park rides are unique and offer a one-of-a-kind experience for its guests.
Disney World also has some amazing rides. In fact, some say they are the best in the country. If you are looking for fast roller coasters similar to the ones at Universal, then you will be happy to know that Disney also has a number of high speed roller coasters, although they only have one ride (Rockin’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith) that goes upside down. Disney does not have nearly as many screen-based rides as Universal, but that may actually be better, considering the fact that many people prefer animatronics and real props over screens. While the screens are captivating, most people would rather go on a ride where you see two life sized AT-ATs from Star Wars than see a dragon from Harry Potter on a screen. That being said, Disney does have two screen rides that are a very different style than the ones at Universal: Avatar Flight of Passage and Soarin’ Around the World. In these rides, passengers are seated directly in front of the screen, allowing them to feel like they’re really flying. Another difference between the parks is that Disney has more slower moving rides, which can be just as amazing for visitors as a big roller coaster or screen-based ride. Attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and Navi River Journey are great if you want a nice, slow moving ride that makes you feel like you’re in a whole new world. Additionally, Disney has four water rides to help you cool off from the Florida sun: Pirates of the Caribbean, Frozen Ever After, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and Kali River Rapids. However, in terms of water rides, Universal is the clear winner, as they get you significantly more drenched than those at Disney. Like Universal, Disney also has some rides that are outdated, but Disney doesn’t feel the need to get rid of them because they are so nostalgic and iconic to the parks.
Overall, both Universal Studios and Walt Disney world have so many amazing rides that are worth coming from all across the world to see, but based on the information above it is clear that Disney has slightly better rides. Due to it’s great moderation of rides, and that their rides are just slightly better, Disney wins the rides category.
Family Friendliness
An important factor to consider when planning a trip is how the vacation spot will appeal to the entire family. Universal Studios has a lot more rides intended for teens and young adults, with intense rides like Velocicoaster and Escape from Gringotts, which are not really made for young kids. Universal does have a decent amount of attractions for younger riders, but not as many as a family with young kids might want. Families looking only to ride the attractions catered towards younger kids would definitely be repeating rides multiple times over their trip. Universal does offer a much easier system for navigating the parks, and has a much shorter walking distance from the deluxe hotels to the parks, making hotel access and breaks from the park much easier.
In contrast, Disney World definitely has a lot more rides intended for younger children. Disney offers slow moving rides for very young kids, and fast kid-friendly roller coasters for those who may be too young to ride huge roller coasters like Expedition Everest. Although Disney is more difficult to navigate than Universal, and not as easy to get from hotel to park, Disney also offers so much more for families. Disney has amazing shows that are super entertaining for children, incredible fireworks shows every night, parades, and meet and greets. In conclusion, it is clear that Walt Disney World is the more family friendly theme park, therefore it wins this category.
Fast Pass
As you can probably imagine, super popular rides at these parks can sometimes have lines that last hours, which is why it is crucial for these parks to have fast passes – a pass that you pay extra money for that gets you into a different line that moves a lot faster than the normal one. At Universal these are called “Express Passes.” You can obtain purchase these separately, or they come for free if you stay at one of the three deluxe hotels. The Express Pass works like this: you walk up to any ride, they scan your Express Pass, and you’re allowed into the express line, that simple! There are only a few rides that do not accept Express Passes, but the majority do. Disney, on the other hand, has a much more complex system. Disney’s fast passes are called “Lightning Lanes” and they can only be obtained via purchase. Lightning Lanes have a tier system where some rides are tier one and others are tier two (Animal Kingdom does not have any tiers). You can book two tier two rides and one tier one ride. After you have ridden a ride you had a Lightning Lane for, you can go on the app and book another ride, although you can only do those that are available. Disney also has a select few rides that do not accept Lightning Lanes. As you can see, Universal’s system is a lot easier to navigate and obtain, which is why they will be winning this final category.
The winner?
In conclusion, Universal only won the “fast pass” category, while Disney won two categories: the “rides” and “family friendliness,” therefore Disney is the better of the two parks in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, both of these theme parks are amazing in their own ways and both will be an incredibly fun vacation. But when you put them head to head, Walt Disney World is slightly better.
The Hawk 
I would say that Universal is the better option but it does completely depend on the target audience since one park shifts towards teens and young adults while the other leans towards children. But Disney World is also much more harder to navigate than Universal making it more complicating and frustrating at times. Universal is also more action based while Disney on the other hand is a laid-back place to soak up the environment. In all great paper though.
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I love this! I personally have not been to Universal Studios, however, I have heard wonderful things about it. I think Disney definitely reaches the target audience of families and has wonderful experiences other than rides as well! Hopefully I will have the chance to go to Universal soon. Thanks for your input!
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I have been to both Disney World and Universal Studios and I would agree with you that Disney is better as an overall theme park. I feel like Universal Studios has more experience areas like the Harry Potter world but Disney has more rides with nostalgia and an overall better experience through the 4 major parks and everything new that they have been upgrading recently. But I agree that everybody may have a different opinion on this and the winner flips back and forth very often.
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i have been to both Disney and Universal and I also believe that Disney is much better overall. I had such a good time on both theme parks but Disney definitely has some good rides and lots of good food. I also love how there is 4 different parks with different experiences for each one. I do believe that both park are so much fun but Disney is definitely better in my opinion.
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I completely agree with the article about the strengths and weaknesses of each individual park. Although I do think that the weakness of Disney’s outweighs the weaknesses of universial. I believe that universial is better but that could be because it it more targeted towards teens. Great article overall, good way of presenting evidence.
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Personally experiencing both theme parks, I agree with your conclusion. Disney is a more well-rounded park providing rides for everyone, and allowing your family to enjoy the park together. On the flip side, Universal is a fantastic, mystical place to be, but its rides don’t compare to Disney’s. In my opinion, both have amazing stores to purchase merchandise, but they also have fun snacks to munch on when you start to have enough fun at the parks. Overall, the parks are a very fun time, no matter where you go, but Disney takes the win.
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I have been to both Disney World and Universal studios. I have also preformed in both places. I agree that Disney is better. Both parks were extremely fun, but Disney has better food and has rides for all ages. In Universal, the rides were more thrilling and targeted to an older age range. This article highlights the best of both places!
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I think that Universal is better but that is because my personal preference on the rides that they have. Both parks are good but it all comes down to what kind of rides you like and if you like the Disney themes more than Universal.
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I have been to Universal and Disney and overall, I agree with you that Disney is better. Both parks have lots of fun aspects but I enjoy going to all of the different parks at Disney and I think it’s a lot more family friendly.
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I think Universal is better for teenagers and older kids as better rides. The Harry Potter world is awesome.
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I think that both theme parks are fun but I like Universal better because it has more intense rides. Disney I think is geared towards younger kids. Overall a well written article.
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I would say that Universal Studios is better because they have the better rides and appeals to teenagers more
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Great article! You clearly break down each category in a fair way, and your comparisons make it easy to understand why Disney comes out on top. I especially liked how you explained the differences in ride style and family appeal.
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I have been to Disney world but not universal but I heard that universal as better rides for kids that are teens then Disney where the rides are majority for kids under the age of 12.
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I like Universal more because they have the better rides and appeal to teenagers more than Disney
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I have only been to Disney world but I heard that Universal has better rides for kids my age than Disney world
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This article is very efficient in comparing the two theme parks. Personally, I have only been to Disney World, but if I were a random person deciding whether to go to Universal or Disney, this would be the perfect reference material. To me, this article helped me observe Universal’s strengths in more depth. After reading, I’d love to take a trip to Universal in the future.
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I have been to both Disney World and Universal Studios and I agree with you that Disney World is better overall. Both parks have unique aspects to them, but Disney world offers more family friendly and less thrill options which makes it better choice to go to over Universal. Although Universal is a great option for teens who enjoy thrill rides, Disney World is more targeted for all age groups and has more activities to enjoy.
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I personally have been to both Universal and Disney and I would agree that they are based on preference for which one is better, but in my opinion I would have to go with Universal as being the better park. Only because it’s good with teens and sometimes younger kids, for the most part I just think that Universal appeals more to a wider variety of ages than Disney does, and I feel like Disney just has the same things, and it can get extremely boring after being there for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I think both are great and adults and children should get the chance to experience both.
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The article does an amazing job of presenting the facts on each theme park. I completely agree with the article’s description of each parks strengths and weaknesses. It describes in great detail the offerings of each park and gives a overall summary that Universal contains rides that are more intense and enjoyed more by older and more mature audiences, while Disney has the slower and more “kid friendly” rides. I can partially attest to this conclusion made by the article as I have been to Disney World when I was way younger and the rides could not have been more better for someone who was my age. I feel as if I would be more gravitated towards going to Universal at my current age as it has many intense rides which I gravitate towards at every single theme park I visit. After reading this article it has given me thoughts of potentially taking a trip to universal sometime in the future.
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I have been to both Universal and Disney World, and I agree that Walt Disney World is a lot better. Universal definetly has more fast and exciting rides, but Disney has many rides that range for kids to adults. Disney has more of a ride for everyone than Universal does. Disney is also much more of a bigger park, with the 4 separate parks Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. There is just so many more options and it is a much better place for kids. Although in terms of transport, I would say Universal has a much better transporting system. There are many Disney hotels that include a shuttle, but you have to wait in line, then go on the 15-20 minute drive to the park, then wait longer to get into the actual park. But with Universal there are many hotels which are very closer to the park. I do agree with this article, I think Walt Disney World is better than Universal Studios, but they are each better in their own ways.
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After living near and gone about 20 times to each i say Universail for more grown ups and Disney for the smaller children, both good. Cheers
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