The thing about the tram is that in the middle of winter is it's super packed and very annoying. I just take p-dog up and go through the tunnel if I want to get to mineral or if you want to hit the ampitheater and all the other popular spots you can just get there from Pdog anyway.
Brighton has sick terrain and if you are into any sort of slackcountry/backcountry skiing you'll love it way better there. There are a select few slack spots that the Bird has (pagan, White Pine, Twin Peaks) and that's really it. Brighton has some awesome stuff in the rock gardens and Wolvy is just right over the hill. I don't suggest going up there if it is your first year out here though, that could easily turn into a bad situation.
One thing that absolutely pissed me off to no end this year was the massive amount of people in little cottonwood. I was getting very very sick of having to spend 4 hours to travel 25 miles. Brighton on the other hand was usually empty and still gets almost as much snow. Also everything you could want to hit is tracked if you don't time it right at the Bird.
Basically Bird is full of tourists and has lots of idiots around. Yet there are a ton of good/cool people at the Bird. Brighton has less idiots and some awesome locals that shred and are super friendly. You're much more likely to meet someone at Brighton who wants to show you around then someone at the Bird who won't give you the time of day. Not saying there aren't chill people but per capita Brighton takes it.