What's my incentive to renew AP???

[nile455]

I've been an AP for a while now, and I just don't see any incentive to renew. What has Universal done as far as adding new things (mainly rides) in the last 5 years? Look at the Six Flags parks and the thrill parks of the midwest. While they are obviously inferior in terms of quality and cleanliness, they at least add a new major attraction every year, or close to it. Now look at USF. The Mummy was the last new thing they've gotten, and that was 3 years ago, and there are no plans for anything new. As for IOA, forget about it. What was it, SIX years ago when IOA added a new ride??

[ChrisFL]

IOA IS adding a new ride this year...the Seuss Sky Trolley, ok its not anything major but it IS a ride.

Universal added the Fear Factor live show...not my thing, not a major ride but it is something new.

Six Flags parks are much different, it's cheap and easy for them to add a new unthemed ride every year.

Unlike MGM and AK down the street, IOA was a complete park when it opened with more quality rides than both of those parks combined (at open)...they have added a few rides over the years, like Storm Force, the Flying Unicorn, and now the Seuss Sky Trolley in order to appeal to a broader audience which it needed to do.

I do think they should be adding attractions definitely, but that doesnt' keep me from going there.

[flatline]

value.

we pay close to $50.00 per month for our Busch Gardens/Sea World/Adventure Island AP's. WDW is another $700.00 per year. $300.00 per year gets us UO AP's with better discounts and perks.

plus, you're right in UO's back yard. we have an hour drive there and back. no, there hasn't been a lot of additions to either park lately, but the quality and variety of attractions that are there are superior.

that's my take on it.

[flatline]

I grew up stuck in between six flags great america and six flags st. louis. the last time I checked, an AP was around $50.00 per park, and parking ($15.00) not included, and no discounts of any kind in the parks. not to mention you have to live in the midwest to take advantage of those 'perks'.

consider yourself lucky and renew for $99.00 per year, or $179.00 for two years at a theme park complex that people from all over the world consider a vacation destination.

[F-L-A]

I've been an AP for a while now, and I just don't see any incentive to renew. What has Universal done as far as adding new things (mainly rides) in the last 5 years? Look at the Six Flags parks and the thrill parks of the midwest. While they are obviously inferior in terms of quality and cleanliness, they at least add a new major attraction every year, or close to it. Now look at USF. The Mummy was the last new thing they've gotten, and that was 3 years ago, and there are no plans for anything new. As for IOA, forget about it. What was it, SIX years ago when IOA added a new ride??

First of all, comparing Universal to a Six Flags park is complete nonsense, and you know it. How much thought and imagination does it take to plop down a new installation of unthemed twisted steel or a carnival quality flat ride?

Zero.

You want to know why they add something every year? There's your answer. Completely illogical to compare the operations of a cheap amusement park and a major theme park. And when it comes to new attractions, Universal hasn't been slouching nearly as much as you make it sound.

Men In Black - 2000
Flying Unicorn - 2000
Storm Force - 2000
Shrek 4-D - 2003
Jimmy Neutron - 2003
Mummy - 2004
Fear Factor - 2005
Suess Trolley - 2006
Universal 360 - 2006

That's 9 attractions in 6 years. And yes, there is more on the way. It's true that IOA is in need of a major attraction, but I'll personally take all of this over Six Flags garbage any day of the week. Maybe creative and well run parks with imaginative high-tech attractions aren't your thing?

[nile455]

First of all, comparing Universal to a Six Flags park is complete nonsense, and you know it.



Maybe you missed the part where I wrote: "While they (Six Flags) are obviously inferior in terms of quality and cleanliness..."

Obviously I am not implying Six Flags = USF. But my point is that these places at least try to give incentives to their APs by adding something every year, and no I don't consider record breaking roller coasters "garbage". I like theming as much as the next guy, but the thought of a brand new cutting edge roller coaster no matter how little theming it has, is at least SOMETHING and yes would entice me to keep coming back. Spiderman and Hulk are incredible, but I've seen them now every visit for six years. How about something new? You really think USF put a lot of time, thought, and $$ into that Fear Factor crap? That was their "big thing" for 2005? Please..


Universal hasn't been slouching nearly as much as you make it sound.

Men In Black - 2000
Flying Unicorn - 2000
Storm Force - 2000
Shrek 4-D - 2003
Jimmy Neutron - 2003
Mummy - 2004
Fear Factor - 2005
Suess Trolley - 2006
Universal 360 - 2006

Well I was one year off with Universal (I said 3 years, it's actually been slightly over 2). But how was I wrong about IOA? Last ride was 6 years ago, was it not?

Actually I can't rip on USF too much just because they added A LOT in 2004, with 3 major attractions. But IOA has not added anything since 2000, and come on the Seuss Trolley was supposed to open seven years ago. Will they ever "build" something new? Is there no more land to add attractions?

[F-L-A]

Yes, they will build something new. They intend to build something major at IOA in the near future. You have to be patient. Large scale attractions don't come that often. Look at the Magic Kingdom. Last major attraction? Splash Mountain in 1992. If that doesn't put it into perspective, I don't know what does.

I like theming as much as the next guy, but the thought of a brand new cutting edge roller coaster no matter how little theming it has, is at least SOMETHING

To a theme park, it isn't. That's not what theme parks are about. If they wanted to build that, they would. But like I said, theme parks and amusement parks can't be compared. Two very different philosophies.

[nile455]

Yes, they will build something new. They intend to build something major at IOA in the near future. You have to be patient. Large scale attractions don't come that often. Look at the Magic Kingdom. Last major attraction? Splash Mountain in 1992. If that doesn't put it into perspective, I don't know what does.


Actually since 1992 the Magic Kingdom has given us Splash Mountain, The Barnstormer, Legend of The Lion King, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, The Timekeeper, Mickey's Philharmagic, Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, Alien Encounter/Stitch... not to mention a complete makeover of Astro Orbiter and the entire land of Tomorrowland. Yes I realize some of these aren't "major" attractions, but you listed Fear Factor, Flying Unicorn, and Stormforce. Are those major attractions?

[ChrisFL]

I once posed about the issues of IOA on another message board...its much more difficult to plan any new attractions for IOA than any other theme park that I know of....why?

Well the first issue is space...there's not much...there are places in JP and between JP and Toon Lagoon...They could get really creative and take some other ways, but then there's issue #2

Issue #2 is actually IOA's greatest strength and weakness. The themed islands are so exacting that developing a new, unique attraction isn't easy because 3 islands are very specific. JP island HAS to have a JP themed ride pretty much, Marvel island HAS to have a marvel themed attraction, and the same for Seuss Landing.

Toon Lagoon and the Lost Continent are quite a bit more open in their theming.

So combining the lack of space and specific themes, you can see why it's not easy to just add a ride whenever they feel like it.

So why did IOA get built with such a lack of space? Back when IOA was being built, Universal had purchased 2,000+ acres of Lockheed Martin property in order to build up to 2 more theme parks. Unfortunately for several reasons they since have sold that land, and we're probably not going to see a 3rd gate. That leaves Universal Creative with making a new attraction for IOA, and hope whoever owns Universal this year will fund it.

[IMGONNABE40!]

It would be lovely to have new attractions, no doubt. I have been AP for about 3 years and have made several trips during that time. However, I do think of Universal more in terms of people from out of town visiting, more then the in town visitor. Six Flaggs amusement parks cater more to a local audience. So, I think the Six Flaggs need to keep it fresh to keep people coming back, while parks like those at Universal and Disney have a much higher turnover of guests, many who have never been there, or only go every couple of years or so. So, to a majority of the visitors, everything is new.

That's my take. And speaking of space--too bad IOA has all that wasted space devoted to their man made lake! I remember my first trip to IOA we were able to take a boat from one Island to the next. I guess that proved very cumbersome and they did away with that after a short time. I guess it is the water that gives Islands of Adventure its Island feel, but there would be the place for some rides, or a whole new "Island" right in the center of the park.

[flatline]

Actually since 1992 the Magic Kingdom has given us Splash Mountain, The Barnstormer, Legend of The Lion King, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, The Timekeeper, Mickey's Philharmagic, Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, Alien Encounter/Stitch... not to mention a complete makeover of Astro Orbiter and the entire land of Tomorrowland. Yes I realize some of these aren't "major" attractions, but you listed Fear Factor, Flying Unicorn, and Stormforce. Are those major attractions?

since you regard Fear Factor as 'crap', let's look at the jewels WDI has designed in this list.

AE shuttered to make way for SGE, which is absolutely horrible. Mr. Toad shuttered to make way for Winnie the Pooh, to sell more merchandise. 20K shuttered and an anemic playground resting there now. Timekeeper's gone to build whatever Pixar related attraction is about to come. Not to mention the destruction of Tomorrowland into Stitch/Pixarland.

I love Splash Mountain, and Philharmagic, but WDI's string of attractions built within the last 10 years shows just because it's new at WDW, doesn't mean it's good.

[Future Guy]

I think the $99 renewal price is incentive enough for me. Think of it -- it's almost half of what a new AP would cost. WDW "generously" gives about $10-$20 off their AP renewal. The Platnium Pass at Sea World and Busch Gardens gives a $50 off renewal discount. Universal has the biggest renewal discount that I've ever seen.

[JohnnySharp2]

We think the renewal price of $99 is excellent value for money and that's why we continue to renew our APs.

All the theme parks including WDW are in need of new attractions and IOA is certainly no exception to this.

[wilma-bride]

ITA with Johnny. As a UK visitor, very often when we take our 2 week vacation, we purcahse a 2 week 2 park ticket (available in UK only) for around £75 (about $140). This time we have purchased the 2 day 2 park tickets for $99.99 each, saving us $40. However, DH and I have another trip planned for February so on this occasion, we have purchased APs which, in the long run, will save us a fortune.

Although I agree that it would be great if IOA and US added more attractions, it would not deter me from visiting if they do not as, in my opinion, the attractions and theming (partiularly at IOA) are far superior to those at WDW (which, incidentally, we would probably never consider buying APs for, purely because of the price).

I tried to refrain from responding to this as it seems to be another WDW vs USF debate and I can't really be bothered with them, however, just wanted to point out that we think that USF offers great value with their APs.

[F-L-A]

Actually since 1992 the Magic Kingdom has given us Splash Mountain, The Barnstormer, Legend of The Lion King, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, The Timekeeper, Mickey's Philharmagic, Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, Alien Encounter/Stitch... not to mention a complete makeover of Astro Orbiter and the entire land of Tomorrowland. Yes I realize some of these aren't "major" attractions, but you listed Fear Factor, Flying Unicorn, and Stormforce. Are those major attractions?

No, and I never said they were. You expect major rides every year, and that simply doesn't happen at any theme park. All you did by creating that list of recent MK attractions was further prove my point. Not a single major attraction in years, and most of the new additions are just plain laughable. If Universal wants to take their time coming up with something of high quality, that's fine by me.

[Metro West]

We think the renewal price of $99 is excellent value for money and that's why we continue to renew our APs.That's why I continue to renew.

[macraven]

I grew up stuck in between six flags great america and six flags st. louis. the last time I checked, an AP was around $50.00 per park, and parking ($15.00) not included, and no discounts of any kind in the parks. not to mention you have to live in the midwest to take advantage of those 'perks'.

consider yourself lucky and renew for $99.00 per year, or $179.00 for two years at a theme park complex that people from all over the world consider a vacation destination.


i bought my 6 flags pass today / great america , and it was just over $100.
the price increases on tuesday for those aps.........

[macraven]

aps for UO is cheaper than 6 flags now.
and, with the ap you get some discounts.

for flags, it is nada on benefits...........

[nile455]

No, and I never said they were. You expect major rides every year, and that simply doesn't happen at any theme park. All you did by creating that list of recent MK attractions was further prove my point. Not a single major attraction in years, and most of the new additions are just plain laughable. If Universal wants to take their time coming up with something of high quality, that's fine by me.

I don't think it has to be a major e-ride attraction. But fact is, IOA hasn't added a new ride of any kind since 2000. Okay we're getting Seuss Trolley, a ride that was built seven years ago and will finally open in a couple weeks.

IOA has clearly lagged, this is a fact.

[flatline]

I don't think it has to be a major e-ride attraction. But fact is, IOA hasn't added a new ride of any kind since 2000. Okay we're getting Seuss Trolley, a ride that was built seven years ago and will finally open in a couple weeks.

IOA has clearly lagged, this is a fact.

it sounds like you're answering your own question. if you don't think $99.00 per year is worth it, simply don't renew. there's plenty of other things in Florida to occupy your time.

[goofy!]

I don't think it has to be a major e-ride attraction. But fact is, IOA hasn't added a new ride of any kind since 2000. Okay we're getting Seuss Trolley, a ride that was built seven years ago and will finally open in a couple weeks.

IOA has clearly lagged, this is a fact.

I don't think you should renew. It is obvious that you very much dislike the parks, so spend your $100.00 on something you really enjoy! No sense in spending money on something that causes you such disappointment and angst. :bitelip:

One less in line for us :banana:

[JohnnySharp2]

I don't think it has to be a major e-ride attraction. But fact is, IOA hasn't added a new ride of any kind since 2000. Okay we're getting Seuss Trolley, a ride that was built seven years ago and will finally open in a couple weeks.

IOA has clearly lagged, this is a fact.

I agree with other posters, do not renew if you do not enjoy the parks.

For me $99 is a fantastic price and we will return/renew every year.

We LOVE Universal :thumbsup2

[Future Guy]

aps for UO is cheaper than 6 flags now.
and, with the ap you get some discounts.

for flags, it is nada on benefits...........

Depending on which Six Flags park you buy your season pass, it could be anywhere from $50 to $80. The only benefit is that you have unlimited visits to all Six Flags branded parks. You still have to pay for parking and you don't have any discounts, unless your home park has some. Plus, you have to buy an additional parking pass with your season pass with most passes.

Besides, you can't ride Spiderman at Six Flags!

[macraven]

yea, what they said.


why would you buy a pass to a park you don't like??????

don't renew. just do a few days on the fla rate then if you want to go every 3 years or so.

the only reason i do the 6flags passes is because i am so close to it, less than a 20 minute drive from my driveway to their parking lot. i go for an hour or two to ride a few rides, eat funnel cake or cheese fries then come home.

for a real adventure, i go to universal every fall for a grand time !
completely and totally addicted to HHN.........

[macraven]

Depending on which Six Flags park you buy your season pass, it could be anywhere from $50 to $80. The only benefit is that you have unlimited visits to all Six Flags branded parks. You still have to pay for parking and you don't have any discounts, unless your home park has some. Plus, you have to buy an additional parking pass with your season pass with most passes.

Besides, you can't ride Spiderman at Six Flags!


i never knew some parks only charged $50 for a season pass. at great america a one day ticket is now $57.xx for one day. passes at GA are over $100 per person.

at mid america passholders get a discount. you show your season pass and get a 20% discount on food and merch purchases.

each park has different rules. mid america and great america are the only 2 i have ever been to.
great america has the wooden coasters (2), and stand up coasters and superman. other than that, its the same old same old.

i much prefer universal anyday. GA is a time filler for me.

GA = Great America park

[Future Guy]

I renewed my Six Flags Over Georgia season pass for $55. Season pass prices may have increased with the change in management, but usually, Six Flags season passes are around the same price as a 1 or 2 day ticket.

[macraven]

i just remembered something. i called my friend who renewed her great america pass last october during the last week of fright fest there.

she said there was a special that pass holders could renew their passes last october 05 for the 06 season for $75 + tax. she did that and saved a lot of money.


Great america is a large park with a water park attached to it.
but the way they are increasing is el stinko.

from $75 during the last week of oct 05 to $99 + tax this season up to may 29 nd then another increase on tuesday is crazy.

we have the only training station in the usa near us, Great Lakes naval base.
when the sailors get leave days, they all head out to the park and don 't bat an eye on the costs there.

last thursday my son and i went and had cheeseburgers, cheese fries and one large soda. it costs me $25. 60 for that.
i can't imagine how families can afford those costs when there is 5 or 6 of them going for the day.

you got a great deal on your 6 flags pass in georgia !

[Future Guy]

Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags Magic Mountain's season passes are now $70. Six Flags Over Texas season passes are $80, or $70 each for a family pack of 4. Still, none of these passes have discounts or free parking.

Food at Six Flags parks are usually overpriced and unappetizing. I usually eat at the Panda Express when I visit. It's usually safe to eat from a chain food company than the typical Six Flags slop!

Six Flags Over Texas had pretty good food, IMHO.

[nerdboyrockstar]

My incentive to renew is the different experiences I have at Universal and Islands. The rides are a blast and I love sharing them with friends. I've been a passholder for over 3 years and I find it difficult to see everything at the resort in the 2 or 3 days I usually allot myself.

I love the perks of being an Annual Passholder, especially the discounts... Mardi Gras always has at least 1 or 2 concerts which I have to go see (and Mardi Gras is FREE for Passholders), great discounts on Halloween Horror Nights (More than 50% off depending on the night you visit..).

I just got to experience the holidays at the parks for the first time last year and it was magical. I loved the Grinch show (which I've never seen), the Christmas music playing all throughout the park, the Macy's parade and floats.

Visiting with later park hours is great (I especially love Jaws and Dudley Do-Right's at night!).

I am looking forward to the Universal 360 Nighttime Spectacular and the High In The Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride. More Seuss magic for us big kids (I especially can't wait to ride it at night..).

I love Mythos and always have to eat there when I go (which is about every 2 months..)

I also think the price of the Annual Pass is great and I'll continue to return as long as they keep the experiences fresh by adding new shows and attractions as often as they can.

[S. C.]

I don't think you should renew. It is obvious that you very much dislike the parks, so spend your $100.00 on something you really enjoy! No sense in spending money on something that causes you such disappointment and angst. :bitelip:

One less in line for us :banana:
::yes:: ITA

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

try holidayworld in santa claus indiana. Every year the have been constantly growing since 1985. check out www.holidayworld.com


did I mention free soft drinks all day long. and reasonably priced food.



I thought I would mention this as an alternative instead of comparing.

26 dollar tickets at midwest credit unions.


not the level of universal but great anyway and affordable.

the annual passes are about 90 dollars. with food discounts

[hockey mom]

I have had AP's for my family of 5 for the past 4 years I did not renew them this year. My reasons are not the lack of new rides. While I do love certain things about these parks and feel the AP's do give great discounts I was very disappointed in many other aspects.

The first being the lack of fast passes for the general public. I don't think that after paying admission you should have to put out extra money to head to front of the line. We had major line delays- up to one hour- midweek this past week.
This is no way to enjoy the park.

All of these rides broke down for a time while we were in line- MIB, Ripshaw Falls, Hulk, Mummy had only one side operating, jaws didn't open till 11, One side of Duelling dragons(which we knew in advance), breakdancers are gone, Ghostbusters was a huge hit with us-now gone, and Bettlejuice is being rehabed, not quite what I was hoping for the price of admission.

The finger scan is a huge joke. The line to get in the park was just as long as some of the rides. I had a group of 7- 3 of whom did not have Ap's but a 3 day ticket instead. We went to IOA first- rode the Hulk then decided this park was to busy so went to Universal. The CM taking the tickets could not get any of these tickets to work, told us we must have gotten them mixed up, then had us resign our tickets to double check signatures. I really don't like being treated like a criminal.

My 2 days at Universal left a really bad taste in my mouth this trip. Will we go again- sure- but not nearly as often as we have in the past.

[F-L-A]

I don't think that after paying admission you should have to put out extra money to head to front of the line.

I agree. You shouldn't even have that option.

I see people on this board say this kinda thing increasingly often... How did these people ever survive a trip to a theme park before Fastpasses and Express were invented? :confused3 I'll never figure it out. Am I the only one who remembers those prehistoric times when the option of getting special treatment, whether you had to pay extra for it or not, didn't even exist? Sure feels like it.

[macraven]

F-L-A


yea, i remember those days when no machines were in the park.

and when they did start the express pass machines, we never used them.

we did not stay on site in the early trips and still saw it all.

[F-L-A]

Same here. I can see anything I want the old fashioned way, in any park, no matter how busy. The fact that I grew up going to the parks might help, but... Fastpass and Express do nothing but make people clueless about what to do in the occurence it isn't available. Like lost puppies.

[flatline]

I agree. You shouldn't even have that option.

I see people on this board say this kinda thing increasingly often... How did these people ever survive a trip to a theme park before Fastpasses and Express were invented? :confused3 I'll never figure it out. Am I the only one who remembers those prehistoric times when the option of getting special treatment, whether you had to pay extra for it or not, didn't even exist? Sure feels like it.

I agree, but it happened. WDW tried to innovate itself, and UO followed along. my gripe is UO just pulled the machines. no warning, no reason, in favor of 'you get what you pay for.' in WDW's defense (which I do sparingly) a ticketholder or resort guest or AP holder is still treated the same when it comes to FP's...for now.

I'm in favor of killing the extra queues and staffing and making a standby time the same for all. but it's way too late for that.

[F-L-A]

Not really. If they can get rid of the machines, they can get rid of the pay option. People will complain, like they already do, but it would be better for everyone. People don't realize how these extra lines affect a ride's hourly capacity. If you have a ride attendant who isn't very good at tending to both lines, oh boy...

[flatline]

Not really. If they can get rid of the machines, they can get rid of the pay option. People will complain, like they already do, but it would be better for everyone. People don't realize how these extra lines affect a ride's hourly capacity. If you have a ride attendant who isn't very good at tending to both lines, oh boy...

I agree, but try selling that to the resort guests hooked on the so-called 'FOTL' benefit. UO's created their own monster, and the quickest way to kill it was to pull the EP machines from the grasp of the ordinary parkgoer or AP holding local.

now we're seeing standby times of 60 minutes for an attraction like Spiderman by 10:30 AM. sure, we've been on it well over 100 times, but Johnny Resort Guest can do it 4 times in the same time period.

and I'm guessing the same resort guest isn't going to frequent the parks the same amount of times in the same year we are. but he's happy he bypassed the inflated standby time.

our reaction is 'why bother to even visit the park that we've ridden Spiderman 100+ times and wait an hour to do it?'

so honestly, we haven't been lately.

[hockey mom]

Same here. I can see anything I want the old fashioned way, in any park, no matter how busy. The fact that I grew up going to the parks might help, but... Fastpass and Express do nothing but make people clueless about what to do in the occurence it isn't available. Like lost puppies.

Actually I am not lost without "fastpass"- I would just like to have the same advantage as everyone else after paying admission. Our waits were close to an hour for over half the attractions and that makes it really hard to complete the park without getting really frustrated.

After paying over $700 for park tickets and close to $400 in food over 2 days it's sad to know that my only option was to wait in long lines or spend an extra 7 x how much is an express pass?. I just wanted to be on the same page as everyone else.

In WDW we do take advantage of fast pass for the rides that offer it and wait in line with everyone else for the rides that do not.

[F-L-A]

Actually I am not lost without "fastpass"- I would just like to have the same advantage as everyone else after paying admission.

It isn't an advantage everyone else has. They either pay for it or stay on-site. That's a minority of the guests in the park.

[DOOM1001]

What keeps me renewing is the $99 renewal price.Universal has made a lot of changes in the last couple of years, but IOA is basically the same park from when it opened 7 years ago except for the Storm Force tea cup ride and the jr coaster Flying Unicorn, they really need something new ASAP and nobody say anything about the Seuss Trolley ride, that's a kiddie ride. I have the Disney Seasonal pass and even if one park lags in making a new attraction there's almost always a new attraction on the way for one of the parks.

I have the platinum pass for the Busch parks which gets me into all the Sea World, Busch Gardens and their waterparks and I feel this pass is a much better value than the Universal parks, I've gone to the Williamsburg park which is awesome and they even get you free admission to Howl-o-Scream for the first 2 nights.They also send you gifts for your birthday like a free admission for the LUAU at Sea World, the Busch parks are NO.1 in my opinion at taking care of their guests.

Again the $99 is what keeps me renewing since it's like almost 1/2 price but lack of new attractions and doing things like taking out free Universal Express might not keep me around if things don't change!!!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[ChrisFL]

What keeps me renewing is the $99 renewal price.Universal has made a lot of changes in the last couple of years, but IOA is basically the same park from when it opened 7 years ago except for the Storm Force tea cup ride and the jr coaster Flying Unicorn, they really need something new ASAP and nobody say anything about the Seuss Trolley ride, that's a kiddie ride. I have the Disney Seasonal pass and even if one park lags in making a new attraction there's almost always a new attraction on the way for one of the parks.

so it's ok for Disney to "lag behind" in one of their parks, but not Universal?

[flatline]

I'm 36 and can't wait for the Seuss Sky Trolley, so I guess I'm still a kiddie. we're platinum passholders as well, and have never received birthday offers from the AB parks. the free admission into HOS is nice, though. benefit-wise, they're behind Universal, but ahead of Disney. Disney gives absolutely crap to AP holders.

[DOOM1001]

so it's ok for Disney to "lag behind" in one of their parks, but not Universal?

Listen I was the number 1 Universal fan for years but aside from some of the other things I mentioned it seems like they're not upgrading the whole experience.One example is Mardi Gras used to be several days a week a couple of years ago, now it's only saturdays, which means due to my work I couldn't make it the last 2 years.

I still think my favorite event anywhere is Horror Nights which is another reason I still renew, for the Discounts, but in my last visits things like waiting 40 minutes in a guest relations line since a family member lost their AP and the getting rid of free express just don't work for me!!

P.S I'll never get over getting rid of free Universal Express!!!!

[flatline]

but in my last visits things like waiting 40 minutes in a guest relations line since a family member lost their AP

40 minutes at guest services...really?

guest relations is at WDW.

[drj1950]

We bought ap for our family of three last week,we did this knowing the ride passes were gone but since we live in florida there would be many times to go during the year when lines would be short.On the other hand we were at both parks the last 3 days and it was a mess,we did stay on-site so we did bypass major lines,I'm sure the regular lines at the major rides were at least 45 minutes.At almost every ride it was mass confusion with people trying to figure out what line to enter in,on some rides no one was checking anything.I can not say if we will renew when it comes time I have to see how things shape up.