Tired of all the complaining

[DaveOBrien]

I realize this is a dicussion board and everyone is entitled to an opinion, but has anyone heard anything complimentary lately? Whenever Earl or CoasterFev or IOA tech let us in on upcoming hours or whatnot, is seems they get beaten to death because someone dosen't like it. I'm just waiting to see a post on how the toilet paper in the parks is not soft enough. The powers that be can't please everyone all the time, although they try their best. The endless complaining about a 6 pm park closure or changing FOTL really makes me sad for a lot of folks who take this not as a business decision(which is what it is)but as a personal insult to themselves and their families. You can't always get your way. Sometimes things change on me at the last minute before I go someplace and guess what? I roll with the punches and make the best of the situation. I don't take it as an outrage that I can't have my afternoon swim because of an early park closure. If the park closes early, get up earlier. If you don't have time for a nap or swim in the afternoon because it dosen't fit into YOUR schedule, how is that Universal's fault? JUst once I'd love to see some compliments instead of complaining over these trivial matters. Man, if you're miserable on vacation, what are you like in real life going to work every day?

[CJ]

For someone so vocal about complainers, you seem to want to incite quite a few. If you can't think of something nice to say, then .... ;)

[h20jag]

Never tired of complaining here! (Hey, it's free)
Compliments? Sure, why not.... none of the food vendors short-changed me on my last trip. And the waterguns on the Popeye ride all missed me. It was a good day.
Tanks Universal!
Jim

[WebmasterBarry]

This thread appears to be leading into unfriendly territory, so I am giving one warning...please remain friendly and follow board guidelines. Otherwise, I will be forced to lock this thread.

Thank you.

[CPM]

I think part of the problem is all the changes. I think that people just want to see things stay the same for awhile, you book a vacation & you expect that what is said when you book will be there when you go. And as for getting up earlier just because the park hours change,well, to me & for a lot of people with families it isn't that easy or trivial. Sometimes when hours or policies change since booking you sort of feel robbed. You want to relax on vacation, not get up earlier, rush through a park because it closes early.I don't think anyone is lashing out on the individuals that posted the changes but yes, maybe at Universal or Disney.:rolleyes:

[lisag1]

Have to agree with you CPM. We have a young family and let's face it it is probably customers with children young and old who make up the majority of WDW and Universal guests. And I feel that a 6.00 pm closure is too early. Children get tired, it's a simple fact sometimes you have to take a break out of your busy day to let the children chill out. This is why a lot of people are voicing their opinions. With a 6.00 pm closure this is not possible. Also we aren't being able to see the park at night or the fireworks. I realise that the fireworks and parades are on at the weekend but it sure is going to be very very busy. Obviously the closing times are a business decision but please allow us, as customers to voice our disappointment.

Thank you.

[SnowWitch]

I'm sorry but I have to agree with the above posters when we booked our vacation at the HRH in Jan. we asked about park hours , we were told they weren't posted yet. No big deal , a few monthes later they posted closing times of 10 pm, a month later they changed them to 9 pm. That was still okay by the time we arrived it June the hours were 7 pm. My kids are older 8 and 11 so they can tolerate being in the parks all day, what really bothered me though...... we were in US around 5 pm and couldn't find a vendor still selling drinks. They had all closed down or were closing down , we were told to go to the front of the parks that the vendors were still open there. This was in June at 5 in the afternoon and around 95 degrees and 2 hours before pasrk closing. We left the park and went back to take advantage of the club level beverages. 7 pm in June was way to early of a closing time, mind you staying on property with FOTL access we still did everything we wanted many times over.I can however see the point of those with young kids needing a mid day break!

[DanG]

I like the toilet paper at USF because it is so soft.

:smooth:

[IOATech]

Thank you for saying what many have been thinking, Dave!

I have an example of this sentiment. An individual indicated that his happy thought was that the water guns on Me Ship the Olive missed him while on Bluto's. Wow, was there really nothing else to say? Do you know that we went one solid year dealing with the builder's issues on these water canons while they were constantly down, and then decided to rebuild them on our own and made them 100% reliable? Then we invented even more water effects there. We kill ourselves to provide an amazing experience for guests every single day because this is why we are here, and why we chose this trade.

Personally I have been insulted by several people here because of business practices that i must enforce for the good of the company, but each day I and many other professionals hit the ground running to provide the experience our company inspired about 80 years ago. Thanks again.

By the way, WE"RE pretty decent and easy to get along with at work, and roll with the punches.

[JessicaR]

Hi IOATech,

While I won't speak for others, I will speak for myself by saying that you and Earl and CoasterFEV and Notatourist (sorry if I omitted anyone else I am unaware that works there) are very appreciated by me. I am sure your jobs at times are thankless. As a whole you have added to the ultimate park experience that Universal supplies.
It is VERY evident you take pride in your jobs. Rightfully so! I for one am happy that you are here and hope to continue seeing your posts for a long time to come.
It isnt possible to make all the people happy all the time. Some people (NO I do not mean anyone posting here) can never be made happy so dont sweat it.
My thinking is that some people see this as a possible way to in their opinion give views that would make their experience better.That in turn would ultimately help Universal to continue to supply a product that will be in demand. I'm going back again and again and many others here do the same. Universal is doing a great job. Just my opinion.

I wanted to take a moment to personally thank all the people connected to these parks for posting here but above all for making my experiences grander!

Thanks again for all the wealth of info you all supply! Have a really sparkling day:)

[ripleysmom]

I agree completely. Instead of being happy that someone knows ahead of time what the deal will be, we get to listen to complaints.

If you guys don't like what USF is doing then complain to them. Not to the people who are trying to make your life easier and give you info. If you guys don't like what USF is doing then don't go!!

Like many of you I am disappointed that the parks will be closing at 6:00 while we are there but I'll get over it. I'll go to the pool afterward. As for FOTL, I'm happy to get one chance to go to the front. I would still stay there for that.

I also understand about frequent changes and guest expectations but it's thanks to this board that we even have expectations. I know if it weren't for this board I would never have known about FOTL. But you guys have to understand that they are 1) trying to iron out the problems and 2) USF is dealing with an economic downturn as best they can. Just be patient....

[robvia]

I'll also give a big THANK YOU to Earl, CoasterFeV, IOATech and the moderators involved here. This board is the best and has very little rumors.

I wouldn't take the bad responses personally. I and others are just trying to get our opinions heard, and in my view, I always feel that posting a response here may actually get to upper management and those involved in decisions. If this is not true, then let us know and we'll send more e-mails when we are not happy about something. Otherwise we post it and have a discussion. It may come across as "shooting the messanger" but please, don't take it that way.

The 200 foot height discussion was great, it cleared up alot of rumors on other boards (IE: IOA is getting a hyper next year).
Of coarse, I'm still hoping for a thrill ride in the future.

Closing hours and FOTL, yeah, I agree, too many changes during the year, we'll get over it.

When IOA starts to build a new ride, construction updates would be greatly appreciated, like you sometimes do with the new hotel.

Please keep posting, you guys rule.

[IOATech]

Thank you, on behalf of my colleagues and me. Personally I do take items from what I hear in this forum from real people to form decisions concerning my area of responsibility, and anywhere else I can impact. Your concerns and feedback make it inside regularly. We all do things for a living, those of us who pop up here do this work for more than a paycheck. There are many of us. We listen and act.

[Gail from Nova Scotia]

I agree somewhat with the original poster.It's OK to complain but not to get personal with any bad news Coaster FEV or Earl or IOA tech give us!!
I love clicking on this page and seeing a post from these guys (or gals!). I know I'll be getting good info from them.
Gail

[rob@rar.org.uk]

IOATech, I certainly don’t mean to “shoot the messenger” and have been careful to express my thanks to those people on this board who are able to provide reliable information. As you may have seen on the other thread, I felt that Dave’s comments were a little over the top in response to legitimate (in my opinion) concerns. Dave has now posted comments with a slightly different tone, which I think are a more considered response to the criticisms about reducing opening hours. I certainly don’t want to give guys on the frontline (or those who provide a good information service here) a hard time; I do want to provide genuine feedback on an important business decision. I hope that my comments can be taken in this spirit.

BTW, I thought h20jag’s comments were meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek (although it is very difficult to do irony and sacarsm on the internet!).

Regards

Rob

[DaveOBrien]

Wow, everyone's really nice now!! If only it worked like this in the real world every day...

[DaveOBrien]

Wow-everyone's so nice now!! It's nice to see and hopefully this trend will continue! My posts are never intended to start controversy, but sometimes occasionally do. I'm glad IOA Tech, Coaster FEV and Earl have a chance(should they choose to) to address an issue that I feel is very often overlooked.
Life's too short to always be complaining.


Many thanks,
Dave

[Notatourist]

IOA tech, one day you and I will be in the same room-hopefully, I will know to ask you if you are you.

And thank you, from one co-worker to another.

[Molokai Gram]

Mahalo to IOA Tech, Coaster FEV, Notatourist, and...who else is there...umm...oh yes, the senior staff member Earl ! We all really appreciate all the info you have given us. You have truly made our visits better. :bounce:

PS Knowing Jim, I can assure you, his post was meant to be funny. That is one of the reasons I enjoy his posts so much.
Aloha Jim. :wave:

[h20jag]

Yes, I was just being a sarcastic schmuck, didn't mean to ruffle too many feathers.
I know there's so much more to UO parks than meets the eye. The only reason the big machine runs properly is because of the dedication of the IOATechs, CoasterFEVs, etc. And I understand completely that they're contributing here strictly on a voluntary basis. I appreciate that just as much as I do the fabulous park experiences I've had every single time I've been.

One complaint though....nah, I shouldn't. OK, here goes....oh, forget it. (see, I can exercise restraint & play nice)
Jim

[larworth]

I second many of robvia's comments.

I often get a good laugh at the people who want to argue with you guys about the valdity of the information you provide (I hope you can laugh it off as well). A huge reason I frequent this board is because of your insight. I think you do a big service for Vivendi (boy that sounds funny saying that) by keeping things real, as they say.

I hope you don't take some of the frustrations expressed personally. Again, it is better that you see some of the irrationality that exists. These are really the reasons why some people make the purchasing decisions they do.

Also, if there is anything we can do to support you guys in continuing to create the great product that you have, please let us know. If we just knew what message we could send to corporate that might free up a couple of $$ for you guys to play with, we'd be more than glad to do so.

I could try to prod them into action by not attending, but I'm sure not gonna cut of my nose on that one. Really looking forward to my next trip in December and keep up the good work.

[Bob O]

Dave if your tired of the complaining dont read the posts that do complain. Ive complainded and never meant to take it out on the messengers and hope i havent. But when people spend thousands of dollars on a vacation of course they will be upset if they feel they arent getting their moneys worth due to changes they feel are wrong. And you should complain here and at universal because the squeaky wheel will get the grease.

[DaveOBrien]

Sometimes the complaining is hidden and you don't see it until the middle of the post. I'm complaining about the complainers whining about such things as "Well, if the parks close early they should reduce the price of entry" and other silliness like that, not honest legitimate beefs.

[Bob O]

Dave Obrien i agree with your post regarding the silly things complained about as you mentioned. And you probably werent posting about fotl access but i think people should complain when they feel a program is changed to their determent or the express system but dont attack people like earl etc. who are just doing excellant job by infroming us of changes, kind of like the old saying of dont kill the messenger. But if enough people complain to management something may be done about it but if you dont complain nothing will be done.

[Dznefreek]

Remember this phrase????????

<b><i>"Attractions and hours are subject to change without notice."</i></b>

It is written on every piece of literature that UO produces.

[jcl110]

I disagree with Dave.
I think that there are times when members of this community have legitimate complaints and have a right to vent them here.
We are all here for each other, and if someone decides to represent Universal here, they should understand that complaints as well as compliments may be directed toward them.
Patience is a virtue, and soft toilet paper may be important to some people!
:) .
Heres my complaint:
I didnt like the way some of the employees at Universal treated
my family when I was there a few weeks ago, but hey ! who am I to complain!

:D

[Earl]

One comment ... no one can or does represent Universal here. The company will only comunicate through it's normal channels.

[Dumbo5]

I am new to this board but will be visiting a lot in preparation of our 1st time to Universal in December.

As a Canadian I am always reading on the DIS site about the economic downturn in your country and how it is impacting the parks in Orlando.

At the same time there are great deals on flights and rooms.

Since going to Florida over the past 20 years I have seen the parks during offseason become as busy as the peak season used to be.

It now takes major planning to get around whereas we used to just fly down and it all fell into place.

So if the parks are busier than ever before how can the economy be the reason.

It seems to us that the expectations for park attendance must be too high.

I know this is based on observations at DW but just curious.

Have there been too many rooms open up for what the parks can accomodate?

The park admissions seem like a great value to us - we are amazed at what is included for the price of admission. We pay more here for any single event - concerts,WWF,etc.

We really appreciate everything that we do at DW. And I'm sure from what my sister tells me about Universal we will feel even more so at Universal.

So for all you that make this possible a GREAT BIG THANKS from my family.

[JessicaR]

Okay so I was wondering would it be too much to ask if it could be arranged to keep the parks open just for me one night late during my stay in August/Sept? That shouldnt be too difficult right?? Oh and while you're at it a small fireworks display the same night would be great too! I am TOTALLY kidding....just being silly:jester:

[MIB999999]

Originally posted by jcl110
[Heres my complaint:
I didnt like the way some of the employees at Universal treated
my family when I was there a few weeks ago, but hey ! who am I to complain!

:D [/B]
were you the ones that could not fit in the hulk seats????:D