But, I’d like to point out, that’s exactly what Diagon Alley is in the books. A crowded area with many little shops.
I gotta side with @rebeecky on this one…WWOHP is incredibly immersive. It isn’t 100% true to the books/movies, but the same can be said about everything at Disney… Is it perfect? No. but it raised the bar so much that Disney was forced to ante up and then try to raise the stakes.
I agree with this, whole-heartedly. I remember how weird it felt at Universal when one of the shop workers was talking to another co-worker about something they were doing later after work. You’d never see that kind of thing at Disney. It was such a little thing, but reminded me I’m not in a whole new world, but just a nicely decorated theme park. 
Thank you for that input! That makes perfect sense. So it’s more of an overall “Disney” immersion than a specific movie immersion. It’s the “bubble”. I can totally understand that.
I think you and I just have different understandings of what “immersive” means. Buying a souvenir in and of itself is never immersive. Buying it in a themed shop, using it to recreate spells from books and then looking around and feeling that you have actually entered the movies because the theming is so accurate IS immersive.
Funny, I feel like I get more of the “Disney level of service” at Universal these days. I have felt this way for the last couple of years. Every time I go to Universal I am amazed at the level of service and some of the free “extras” I experienced at Universal. The most obvious example of this was a private AP Q&A session with the creative director or the houses and the creative director of the scare zones. This was free to AP holders and also gave us early access to one of the houses during HHN.
I feel the same way. I have never been disappointed with service at Universal and have always felt special.
I guess the main thing for us at Universal was the access to different characters for photo events. At Disney you have to stand in a big line and wait while at Universal the line will only get so big before they cut it off. They then tell you to come back in 30 minutes and the character will be back again. Still love WDW though. The feel is just so much different. Someone said they feel like their back in the bubble and I agree. For some reason the magic is just not there for me in Universal. Now at Voodoo Donut, that’s a different thing. 
Time to weigh in.
The Disney vs Universal debate is as tedious as the Mac vs PC debates we used to have in the 90s. But as this is me, I have to speak out anyway.
It is true that there are aspects of UOR that are a bit trashy. I don’t like City Walk. It’s loud and irritating. There’s something low rent about it. And some of the parks themselves. There are places where you can see the outside world — Disney would never allow that.
One night I found myself in Diagon Alley at close. Uniformed guards aggressively ushered us out, totally destroying the magic. We were not there, we were in a fake street and it was time to leave.
I’ve yet to have a good meal at UOR. Not that I’ve tried very hard to find one.
So, you know, I’m not a mindless cheerleader for the place.
BUT
WWOHP is the single most impressive and immersive “land” in any theme park I’ve ever been to. Its imagineering beats anywhere in WDW hands down and it’s not even close. OK, it’s a bit close. But it still wins.
Hogwart’s Castle is breathtaking. As is Cindarella Castle. Maybe that’s a tie. I dunno. It’s tricky. The projection shows at each are awesome, too. A tie. Except it’s easy to find a decent spot, including at the last minute, at UOR to see the show than it is at WDW. Because they run it more than once a night.
Hogwart’s Express is an incredibly clever idea, superbly executed. There was a moment when I was in King’s Cross station when — honest to God — I thought I was in King’s Cross station. It’s that faithful to the real thing.
(Frozen) Butterbeer is the greatest drink ever created. I don’t care that it gives me an ice-cream headache every time I drink it. It’s worth it.
Just when you thought WWOHP couldn’t get any better, they built Hagrid’s. It beats all WDW rollercoasters hands down. And don’t you dare try to mention EE and think I’m going to agree with you.
There’s a lot of moaning about the number of screen-based rides at UOR. Get over it. You can find rollercoasters everywhere. I’ve never experienced anything like Spider-Man before. It’s mind-blowing. And Kong. And — yes, I’m going to go there — F&F. It’s fun. The line is richly themed. The first part of the ride is kinda lame, but the main event is cool. People don’t like it because they’re spoilt and entitled and jumping on the “let’s trash F&F” bandwagon.
What about Jimmy Fallon? The whole concept and execution of it is amazing. Who thought up such a thing? And the virtual queue system works so well. The wait is pleasant and interesting. You get to sit down in a large, air-conditioned area and look at stuff.
Visiting UOR is just so easy. You get yourself an Express Pass and then you spend the day doing whatever you want whenever you want. And, if it rains, there’s a huge movie theatre right there. You can walk to everything. No months of planning.
I have an AP for UOR. Because it’s actually affordable.
Now, yes, UOR doesn’t have the history that WDW has. There is something magical about the Magic Kingdom. Main Street — which, by the way, is literally a parade of shops, so don’t be having a go at Diagon Alley for being the same thing, and what do you think Epcot and SWGE are if not shopping malls — is stunningly beautiful and impressive.
And you’ve got COP and Tiki and HOP and all that clever stuff. And PM. And HM. And the wildly overrated PP. And Splash and the not-as-good-as-at-other-Disney-parks Space Mountain.
And the monorail and the Contemporary and GF and WL and AKL and the Skyliner and WS which, despite being a mall, is a pretty one to walk round.
And, well, lots of good stuff.
And loads of expensive upcharge events and nightmare IT. And insane planning requirements. But fantastic cast members, except the ones hustling for tips.
Look, UOR and WDW are both awesome. The dullest people on God’s clean earth are the WDW obsessives who won’t even consider trying UOR out of nose-cutting-off spite. Yeah, it’s younger and brassier. But WWOHP is Every Bit As Good As Anything Disney Has To Offer.
If those don’t impress you, you’re dead inside.
Hear, hear! I also love both parks. Just for different reasons. 
I regularly saw this kind of conversation between CMs at Disneyland Resort when I had an AP when I was visiting regularly (2012 - 2017).
You can also enjoy the wand show without buying a wand. Yes, parents of kids who are “wanded” will most likely end up purchasing the wand for the kid, but anyone can view the experience. My family of 5 adults did the wand ceremony in 2017 and never purchased a wand.
At SW:GE, the lightsaber building experiences is $200. Yes it includes the lightsaber but you are obligated up front to purchase it. In addition to being over 3x as expensive as wands, lightsabers don’t interact with anything in GE either.
I have been told that in the eyes of some both articles are worth the cost. Now I don’t happen to think so say the man that went out and bought a Banchee for $70.
Now, that would make me angry. I’ve been very fortunate in that I have had the exact opposite experience, both in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. On the Diagon Alley night in question, the security even periodically jumped into our pictures and joked around with us, but quickly got out of the way so we could get clear shots as we slowly made our way out at our own pace.
We didn’t even see any security guards back there in August. I’m sure they’d have turned up eventually.
I love everything about this post! 
Muggals!
At the hotel Everyone at AOA has been friendlier, but I got way way way more for the money at Cabana Bay, and it’s not like the workers at Cabana Bay were rude or anything. Just not as out and out friendly. Cabana Bay definitely won my heart.
not sure how you can walk through Diagon Alley and not feel like it is immersive? Granted, it is the only immersive area in UA besides the castle area IMO
I think immersive comes down to personal preference.
I love Port of Entry at IOA. How the background music starts has you approach the ticket area and the ground under your feet changes to reflect that you are leaving CityWalk and entering a new adventure. The details in the buildings aligning the streets in Port of Entry are absolutely as good as Main Street IMO. Then the lagoon opens up in front of you. It’s fantastic and one of my favorite views in a theme park.
I love Main Street at DL park in Anaheim for the same reason. You walk through the train tunnel and you are transported to another place outside of the real world. There are horses pulling trolleys, omnibuses, the DL band, characters strolling by, the Dapper Dans singing and all the stress ofthe security lines and congestion outside the park goes away. However, the MK main street doesn’t make me feel the same way. It’s always seems crowded, there’s less atmospheric entertainment and we are always rushing off to a FP or dining reservation. This vibe carries through to the rest of the park. I love
7 DMT, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Big Thunder, Splash, but the park itself always feels like a theme park to me. The walks are congested, other guests always seem stressed out, kids are crying. It’s not a place I want to spend time in when not riding or dining. That said, I do love riding the resort monorail around the 7 Seas Lagoon or taking a boat to one of the hotels.
I really enjoy Epcot because there is so much to do that isn’t a ride. I love spending time in the Seas pavilion, wandering World Showcase, taking photos of Spaceship Earth across the lagoon.
Most people see AK as a very nice zoo. For me, it is the most immersive theme park. Upon setting foot in the Oasis, I feel completely transported to another place. I can wander through AK for hours on the trails without going on a single ride. I love all the AK rides, but I also love the atmospheric entertainment, the fantastic shows, wandering the trails and chatting with the CMs at the exhibits.
I originally didn’t like Pandora as a land (I liked both rides) because it felt like a theme park with some very nice scenery. We visited in June 2017 about a 2 months after it opened after all the blogging about how it was amazing and came alive at night. It was okay during the day, but too congested to be enjoyable. It was not impressive at night to my family. It was even more crowded and the bio luminescence ground had been worn down already. It started growing on me in last May when I visited and it was less congested. It wasn’t until my most recent trip in September, that I really got to experience Pandora at night in all its glory. I exited Flight of Passage right around sunset; the whole land looked beautiful from that slightly elevated position.
My mom and I also made an impromptu visit to SW:GE on the same September trip. We didn’t think that we would have enough time originally, but ended up arriving early for our trip due to Hurricane Dorian. We got to experience it during Extra, Extra Magic Hours and had really low crowds. Waited about 20 minutes for Smuggler’s Run and walked into the Cantina right after. It was all impressive, but it didn’t feel like we were transported to an alien planet the way WWoHP made us feel like we were really in the Wizarding World. It felt like a really well done theme park land. The queue for Smuggler’s Run was fantastic, the ride meh. We both wish we had gotten more time in the queue. We were rushed right through the chess room, would have loved to stop and take in all in for a couple of minutes. Olga’s has fantastic visuals, but was way too organized to feel like a hive for villainy and scum. I expected the CMs around the land, MFSR, the cantina to be in character; they were not. Disney had touted up how this was going to be a thing. The TMs in WWoHP always feel like part of the story so we had high expectations here. The CMs were completely focused on performing their job to move the guests through the land, ride, cantina. This is completely understandable for opening week. I am sure WWoHP was the same way when it opened. I am optimistic that this aspect will improve as everyone becomes familiar with daily operations. I was also disappointed by the lack of walk around characters in SW:GE. I think we saw one the whole time we were there (granted we were only in the land for a couple of hours). I didn’t get a chance to go in Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities. There was a line and my mom was getting antsy and wanted to move on to other things. My dad and sister will be joining us in this coming May. We will be returning and doing all of the things again (and hopefully ROTR). For now, WWoHP is superior to SW:GE for us.
Fandom Disclaimer: My mother is a casual fan of both HP and SW.
I am a serious HP fan so serious that when I first heard HP was going into a theme park, I was unhappy.
For SW, I am more than a casual fan, but not a serious fan. I am interested in the expanded universe of SW (I really enjoyed the animated Clone Wars TV series), but not so emotionally attached to it that I get upset if things are done differently.
I also love everything about this post, specially the relevant xkcd 
I have absolutely no Disney, Universal or Orlando planned, and will probably only go again if it is close to some work trip. But I continue to hang out in this forum every day just to follow these conversations 
