3 times extra-impressed with Universal as a whole

bumbershoot

DIS Legend
Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
69,750
forgive the wordiness....


We were at Universal Dec 10-13. Loved it. Stayed at Royal Pacific on the Club level (thinking we'd save money on food/water by doing it that way).

3 things have stuck out in my mind; they are about both resort and park.


1.
I'd read that Ripsaw Falls was NOT size friendly. So I discouraged my hubby from riding, as he is sensitive and doesn't like people staring as he gets onto rides (there was a bad BAD incident at California Adventure's Mulholland Madness), and I knew he probably couldn't ride. Once DS and I got up there, I knew he couldn't. DS and I rode 2 or 3 times in a row (it was already raining, we had ponchos, why not?).

The last time, as we left, I noticed that there's a "practice" log before you go into the queue. I called DH over to see. The TM there noticed what I was saying, and gave DH tips on what seat to go for, how to get in, etc. DH tried, but it wasn't going to be possible. The TM had gone back to the line-start, and we were walking away. The TM then actually trotted over to us to give us the suggestion of DH asking to ride in the ADA log. It's a bigger seat with more area to ease yourself down in, and since it was a very light day (cold and raining) there wasn't likely to be competition from those who truly need the log (of course if there had been, DH would have waited!).

DH decided to try, and went back up with DS. The TM had also mentioned that the log comes around every 5 minutes, so even if he just missed it, there wouldn't be that long to wait. They just missed it. But...it finally arrived, hubby was able to get in, and he was able to ride Ripsaw!

We put in a kudos for that TM, for going above and beyond, and we got a letter back thanking us for the thanks. :)


2.
DS lost his brand new Harry Potter wand. We'd left the room with it, walked down the hall, grabbed breakfast to go from the Club lounge, walked to the elevators, and got to the bottom floor when he realized it was gone. Maybe 5 minutes had passed from leaving the room. We left our dreams of getting there at Early Entry opening, and started scouring the areas. Club lounge scoured, room scoured, elevator scoured, hallways peered at. I went to the front desk to ask, they got me on the phone with Lost and Found, of course it hadn't been turned in. I went back up to the room, where I started to look...was so tense about this (it's not the $30, it's the principal of DS losing things...this is NOT the first time he's lost a souvenir within days of buying it) that as I bent to look somewhere on the floor, I tweaked my back, ugh. As I was standing up, the phone rang.

A fellow guest had turned it in (this did not happen at Disneyland when he lost his build your own lightsaber!). It got to the front desk, and they remembered me. Before it hit L&F, because I'd given my info and because the Club people had also called down my info, the Front Desk people called up to the Club level, and the Club people called us. WOOOOO! So that's a kudos for the guest (who had already checked out!) and all the staff that cared AND remembered us (it had only been 15 minutes, but still, they didn't have to think about us long enough to remember us).

3.
Club level food was nearly useless to us, and housekeeping didn't change a fluorescent lightbulb that I left a note about (it was fine for a few minutes, would start flickering horribly for 10 minutes, then would go OUT entirely).

When we got back, I got a survey in email about my stay. It asked about any problems, etc etc etc. I mentioned those things. Filled it out *last night*.

This morning, I got a reply. Apologies for the lightbulb, and thanks for understanding why the housekeeper probably hadn't replaced it (b/c it was fine for the moments she or he would have been in the room), and they'll look into it. A thanks for the comment on the food, and they'll look into being able to meet requests a bit more (we are vegetarian, while their food, for the most part after breakfast, was most definitely not). When we stay in the future, please call this number so they can better help us.



All in all, I was VERY impressed by the responsiveness and attentiveness of the staff there.

When we went back to WDW (which we loved as well), hubby started noticing a glazing over thing that the CMs there would do if you talked a second too long. They'd just tune out entirely. The TMs at Universal didn't do that. I'm the same talkative person- I talk too much and about trivial things...but the TMs stayed focused (which let them be able to remember me, like with the wand) while the CMs didn't.

Just a nice thing.

We were impressed! Far more than we expected to be (and we expected to enjoy it). :goodvibes
 
Thanks for the report. Universal TMs always get such a bad rap for being rude and uncaring. It is nice when someone reports back with concrete proof that they really are a great bunch of workers!
 
Glad you had a great time, and its nice when you get good vibes from TMs and staff at the resort.
 

forgive the wordiness....


When we went back to WDW (which we loved as well), hubby started noticing a glazing over thing that the CMs there would do if you talked a second too long. They'd just tune out entirely. The TMs at Universal didn't do that. I'm the same talkative person- I talk too much and about trivial things...but the TMs stayed focused (which let them be able to remember me, like with the wand) while the CMs didn't.

OMG I know exactly what you're talking about. :laughing: At WDW, they sometimes don't even make eye contact with you when you ask a question and shout the answer like they're saying it to everyone else. :laughing:

And sometimes they're nice in a way that doesn't sit well and it almost seems rude. I don't know how to explain it. Are they trained to do this?

Anyhoo, I always have the BEST service at Universal and I'm glad you got some too!
 
I'm glad you had a good experience OP.

I wish they had cared about our experience when we stayed at RPR last summer. We had so much static in our phone that I had to use my cell phone to call down to the front desk about it. They blamed it on a thunderstorm, but it lasted the whole 24 hours we were in the room. I also paid for internet, but even after an hour on the phone(my cell phone again) with their tech people, they couldn't figure out what was wrong. It wasn't my laptop, because neither mine nor my son's laptops would go on the internet there, even though they were fine at the Radisson the night before and our EI condo for the whole next week. Lastly, I was told we would be able to get into WWOHP during our stay. It was the day before the official opening. Turns out, you had to have a special ticket that day, which we weren't told about when we booked. I spoke to the front desk(politely) about these problems when we checked out and they asked us how our stay was. All I got was a quick "Sorry you had problems".

Needless to say, I won't spend $300 for one night there again. I loved the closeness to the parks and the FOTL perk, but we spent the next 7 days in a spacious EI condo for less than twice that amount.
 
Oh torinsmom, I'm so sorry you had that experience. :(


Reminds me of our checkout from AKLodge...she asked how our stay was, I told her we likely wouldn't stay there again. She asked why, then proceeded to not listen. And to blindly defend. Ugh.


For whatever reason, with Universal, doing that survey really seemed to do the trick!
 
Thanks for the report. :)

We have always had great service at Universal and sometimes I want to pinch myself when some tell me that I'm wrong. I'm not.
 
Wonderful report! Really heartwarming.

We had the same impression of Universal. Clean parks, nice people. Almost every interaction we had with TMs was really top notch. I was very impressed. Heck, the TM in Ollivander's shop even even went out of his way to help my son get picked for his wand!

Only once in our week there did we run into a less-than-perky TM, and she was still doing her job of running the cash just fine. She wasn't rude, just depressed. Afterward we speculated over whether she was feeling ill, or just regretting her career choices. :rotfl:

We had some great conversations with TMs all over the parks. Lots of them mentioned working for Disney, as well.
 
Oh torinsmom, I'm so sorry you had that experience. :(


Reminds me of our checkout from AKLodge...she asked how our stay was, I told her we likely wouldn't stay there again. She asked why, then proceeded to not listen. And to blindly defend. Ugh.


For whatever reason, with Universal, doing that survey really seemed to do the trick!

Yes, I was very honest on the survey too, but nothing. Maybe they saw I only stayed one night and it was my only stay there and figured I wasn't worth the trouble? A call to express their concern would have been nice and I wouldn't have left such a bad taste in my mouth. We WILL return to Universal---love the parks---but we won't spend money on their rooms again.
 
Yes, I was very honest on the survey too, but nothing. Maybe they saw I only stayed one night and it was my only stay there and figured I wasn't worth the trouble? A call to express their concern would have been nice and I wouldn't have left such a bad taste in my mouth. We WILL return to Universal---love the parks---but we won't spend money on their rooms again.
Glad to hear you will return to the parks. :thumbsup2

BTW...the onsite resorts are not owned or operated by Universal...just letting everyone know.
;)
 
Not a regular to the Universal boards, but starting to do a little research for a possible summer trip. What does "TM" stand for? I know CM at Disney is "castmember", but this one is throwing me.
 
TM means Team Member.

I thought they're the same....employees at a theme park with different moods.
 
Glad you had such a wonderful time at Universal. We have always found every TM we have came across to be ultra friendly and very helpful if we ask for any help or information.

And we have found exactly the same at RPR...........staff are wonderful and we can`t sing their praises enough. I have never felt so at home in a hotel before :thumbsup2
 
Thanks for posting! It is nice for someone to share the good! :goodvibes

I agree that I have really never had a bad experience at Universal. Honestly, the TMs are one of the reasons we have started going to Universal over WDW.
 
Sounds like a great trip! I've never understood the negative points of view about US/IOA-RPR was terrific-an actual hotel,the boats to the parks are great-captains are personable and professional-food is SO much better than at Disney-clean parks-cutting edge technology-I could go on.And CityWalk is what DTD would LOVE to be!;)
 
Thanks - team member....shoulda figured that one out!

We're not sure on the timing, but are looking forward to visiting Universal again. We're all big HP fans at my house - so that is a must.

We've stayed several times at the Hard Rock Hotel - have always had great rooms and excellent service. Glad to hear they are stepping it up a notch in the parks as well. :goodvibes
 












Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE


New Posts





DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom