That's not necessarily a fair comparison though. Universal has always used a different tactic than Disney when announcing / opening rides. They start something -- like Transformers, say -- and work on it for several months without officially announcing anything. Information leaks, but there's no actual announcement of what's being worked on or when it will open. And then, maybe four months prior to opening, Universal announces that they're building a new Transformers ride and it will open a few months later. So everyone thinks, "Wow -- they cranked that thing out!", when in reality it took them a normal, longer amount of time to build the attraction.
I've always thought that was a brilliant strategy! People get to spend months speculating on what they're building and building up excitement, and once it's finally announced, the timeline between announcement and opening is really short.
Disney does the opposite, really. They announce new stuff sometimes before they've even broken ground. :: cough, cough -- Avatar -- cough, cough :: And
then they start work. So people wait, as plans change and things are added and subtracted and moved around, and by the time it opens it seems like longer than it was.
Something else to note re: Universal -- the stuff they're building right now are either pretty simple overlays put onto standard amusement park rides (Springfield) or copies of rides that already exist in one or more parks around the world (Transformers). Mine Train is an original in every sense, from ride mechanism to theming. It started well after the rest of Fantasyland started and it's a brand new type of rocking coaster. That's going to stretch the timeline.
