Maybe it's time to Boycott Universal

[momof3disneyholics]

From my first hand experience of working on the rides at Universal this is what I saw. I worked at Seuss last summer and at One Fish, Two Fish I think the ride wait time would have been alot less if there was no express. The reason why is if I am pulling half my guests from every rotation from Express and half from the regular line then that makes the line alot longer for those guests that are waiting in the regular line. The express line at that ride almost never goes down, so there is always a long wait. So, if the wait time was 15 mins without Express, it would bring it up to around 30 mins with Express. That is just not fair to those little kids that get all the way up to the front and they have to wait longer because we have to pull from Express. Another problem that I have with Express was that so many people think that it means immediate access. So on the rare instance when I didn't have anyone in Express and I would go ahead and click the next group of people in and someone would walk up with Express, they would get mad because they would have to wait two more cycles since there was one already loaded and one clicked through for the next cycle.
Because Universal tells the guests that they will have a 15 minute or less wait with Express that creates problems too. When I worked at MIB, we would load one side regular and one side Express so it would be two cars for the regular line and two cars for the Express line When Express got backed up we had to load 3 cars for Express and 1 car for Regular until Express got caught up. Now who is that fair for?

 

[phamton]

We were there on Xmas eve and arrived around 7:40 for a 8am park opening.


So in a nutshell, we saw/rode:

Snow White
Peter Pan
Winnie
Space Mountain x 2
Buzz x 2
Stitch
TTA
Train ride
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mtn Railroad x 2
Aladdin
Jungle Cruise
Tiki ROom
Pirates
Philharmagic
Hall of Presidents (BORING! lol)
Xmas Parade


That was our big downfall in our day at Universal. By the time we got into the actual park it was 10:30 and we waited a minimum of 20 minutes to get on everything. We were there from 10:30-7ish and only saw/rode 7 things.

Christmas eve is not near as busy as New years Eve. This was what Slacking rode on NYE without express pass:

"Doom
Spiderman
Hulk
Cat in the Hat
1 Fish
Dragons Fire
Dragons Ice
Flying Unicorn
JPRA
Popeye
Poseidon
Mummy (x2)
Jaws (x2)
MIB (x2)
Fear factor
Earthquake
Barney
BTTF
ET
T-2
Horror Makeup
Jimmy Neutron
Shrek
Twister"

He rode 27 rides on New Years Eve. It can be done if you arrive early and go against the crowds. I won't even commit on your opinion on the line themeing at ET and MIB. If you would have said the queue in BTTFwas a rat maze, I would have agreed with you there.

You are saying that all the wait times are longer, yet people are riding more rides in a day.

OK, one more time and I am done. You will ride more rides and your total wait time for the day is less with express/fastpass. But the rides that you can not get fastpass for are now longer because others have fastpass.

In your first example, you have a total wait time of 320 minutes for 10 rides. Average wait time of 32 minutes.
In your second example, you have a total wait time of 435 minutes for 12 rides. Average wait time of 36 minutes.

This isn't math class. I didn't set down with a calculator today. I typed it out fast just to give an example of short wait time for fastpass rides and long for those you couldn't use fastpass for.

How exactly did the second day end up with an extra 115 minutes available?

See above. Let's do it a fun way with no math : Say you get 30 fastpasses and ride 30 rides with no wait but the one ride you can't get fastpass on for the day is now 4 hours long and you don't want to miss it.

It's almost like you are arguing two conflicting points. On the one hand, you are trying to say that FP makes overall wait times longer. Then you turn around and say that the waiting is part of the theme park experience and everyone should be willing to wait in long lines. If the first is true, the second doesn't make any sense since you'd do more waiting with FP.

Waiting can be fun if it is 30 minutes but it is soooo not fun when it is 2 hours. Not conflicting at all.

If the wait for rides was 30 minutes, that wouldn't be a big deal. I've only been to WDW once, but I spent plenty of time in DL both pre and post fastpass. Obviously this is all anectdotal evidence from both of us, but I remember plenty of times pre-FP when we waited 60 minutes or more for rides like Space Mountain.

I understand and agree. I gave a made up time frame. I've been in the summer when lines could be over an hour also before fastpass and other times in the off season when everything was a walkon. I was a big fan of fastpass but have changed my opinion after looking at some ride stats. Express takes time as the passes need to be read or scanned, the people directed to the correct line. Sure it is only seconds per person but it adds up over the day. Several rides devote one half of the cars to express (such as MIB and Mummy). Get rid of the express and the standby time is cut in half.

I really am done here as I am sure I am not making any difference in people's views. All I can hope is that it has given you something to consider.

 

[phamton]

double post

 

[momof3disneyholics]

OK, one more time and I am done. You will ride more rides and your total wait time for the day is less with express/fastpass. But the rides that you can not get fastpass for are now longer because others have fastpass.

You're never done and you know it.

 

[macraven]

what........the fake doors........???


what happens if you touch/push them???


i have only gone the single rider or fotl on this ride.

it is tremendously kewl and i go on the ride , get off the ride, get back in line for the ride........yada yada yada.


now i will have to go thru the regular line to see what i missed....

i loved that movie.....tommy lee jones was soooooo good and whats his name was also...jk will smith, gotcha there....


if you can't post on the thread of what happens with the doors, can you pm it to me?

and here i thought i knew that ride and learned something new.

 

[macraven]

to the mom that worked seuss last year.....hey, i bet i saw you and didn't even know it. i go on that ride at least 5 xs in a day.....even spent time on in during hhn. i adore that ride.

i hear ya when you say it is a 15 minute wait for express.
you have to keep families together and still take guests from express line and regular line.

for some reason i get behind a family that has an expired fotl key and they want to argue its really valid. those are the times i wish i was in that other line............

it is just awful when a park guest wants their way and will not listen to the employee..........i am there to enjoy the rides. i do not like it when patrons try to insult the workers. it has happened, i have observed it.
the employees work for a living just like you do, give them a little more respect and less grief over the line situations.


anywho..........i think seuss is sooooo kewl..

 

[Slacking]

A couple random points-

Yes I rode 27 rides/shows om NYE eve. That doesn't even include 30-45 minutes I spend listening to and enjoying the U. of Wisconsin and Auburn U. college marching band (they were in town for a bowl game and both bans performed at the park)

About the queues: sure, MIB has a few empty and blank white walls, but it looks just like the MIB HQ in the movie. Plus there are a few great sights in that queue and the elevator gag at the beginning is great.

Also, the ET queue is one of my favorite queues anywhere. I LOVE the forest scene the emandering queue going through the forest. Also, I have to admit, I love the smell!

 

[phamton]

what........the fake doors........???


what happens if you touch/push them???

One door says something like "Fingerprint removal" . When you try to open it it looks like an electrical charge going off and makes the ZZZZ sound of being electrically shocked.

The other door says "Vacuum" or something like that. When you try that door it makes a swoosh sound like the sound of air being sucked into a zero atmoshere room.

 

[macraven]

One door says something like "Fingerprint removal" . When you try to open it it looks like an electrical charge going off and makes the ZZZZ sound of being electrically shocked.

The other door says "Vacuum" or something like that. When you try that door it makes a swoosh sound like the sound of air being sucked into a zero atmoshere room.

 

[Laurabearz]

awesome smiley!

Totally!

 

[macraven]

maybe slacking will like that smilie better.


all my tags came from the universal boards

 

[jenniferm]

Most of our waiting time for MIB was spent outside in the rat maze part. yes, the interior stuff was cool (loved the aliens in the break room)but for the most part we were outside with nothing to look at except the 'guards' with their guns. We seemed to move through the interior stuff pretty quickly.

ET was ok, but we heard the alien's spiel over and over. Plus, we were very disappointed with the story line/set up for this ride. It just wasn't what it could have or *should* have been, in our opinion. No problem if you disagree, I just don't understand why people are getting bothered by my opinion of those two ride queues.

There are bad ride queues at Disney too, but we weren't talking about Disney. BTMR was just a rat maze too but I only waited about 20 minutes for that one.

 

[jenniferm]

Momof3disneyholics--What a bummer that people were rude to you when you worked the rides. We loved using FastPass, but we never understood it to mean that we would be granted 'instant access' to the rides. Our second time riding Soarin', we had to wait about 15 minutes or so even with the FastPass. Didn't bother us and we were glad to wait 15 minutes rather than the 75 for the standby line.

I guess some people think that everything should stop for them because they have the Fastpass. I would have been nice to you if I was in your line.

 

[phamton]

Most of our waiting time for MIB was spent outside in the rat maze part.

Oh, OK. I understand now. I have never waited in the outside queues. They are seldom open when I go to MIB. I have seen them open during busier times but I never got in line there. When the line is long, I just head for the single riders line. So yes, I do agree that the outside queue is a rat maze. I still love the queue in ET especially the forest smell.

 

[SimonV]

Let's try to keep this post on topic, folks, and not make personal points about other posters. I think there is a very important issue to comment on here, over the future (or not) of the UE system, and I do believe it could have a very negative impact if regular guests are excluded from the UE system at the expense of on-site guests. I know I would rather use UE/FP and do more rides in a day than spend more time in queues, the majority of which are pretty dull. Yes, there are some very clever things to see/watch/touch in queue lines, but only a few would make an hour's wait (or more) tolerable, IMHO. Universal need to be honest with people over the UE system - if it's only going to be for resort guests or those paying extra for UEPlus, they should say so and take the machines away. It would be easy to see how guest dissatisfaction would arise from an apparently discriminatory system, especially when they still trumpet the UE system as equal to Disney's FP (whether or not Disney discontinue FP is not the issue; it is available now for ALL guests). When Universal have two such great parks with so many unique attractions, it would be sad to see them slip up on this issue.

 

[phamton]

Let's try to keep this post on topic, folks, and not make personal points about other posters. I think there is a very important issue to comment on here, over the future (or not) of the UE system

Sorry, Simon, but I don't believe I have ever seen you post here on the Universal board, but I may have missed it. Just as on the UK board (where you do post), we go off-topic as most of us have been posting here a long time and are friends. I personally think that this "important issue" about the express pass has been discussed to death. Universal is not Disney and can choose to do away with express or keep it. We as the public can choose to go to Universal/Disney or not. I have said my piece on my feelings about express and will be participating on this thread only to answer other questions such as the secret doors on MIB, etc. even if it does seem to be off-topic. You and others are free to continue the express pass discussion even though the title is about boycotting Universal.

ETA: After re-reading my post, I came out a little snarky. Just as the refillable mug debate will never be resolved, I see the same thing with this express pass discussion. Those who like it will never be convinced that it is good thing that Universal could do away with it. Those of us who feel that express and fastpass were a mistake to begin with will never be convinced that it should be reinstated. Universal, for whatever reason, has not chosen to announce either way whether the removal is permanent or temporary. It would be great if they did, especially for travel guide authors such as yourself to have that information so you could inform your readers but unfortunately, Universal has not made an announcement either way. We are all free to express our concerns to Universal directly via Guest Services but in the end, the decision is theirs to make.

 

[macraven]

hi simonv........i just checked out the click it on your siggie for the books you have to sell. i asked this on another board, tell me about the conversion of pound to dollar.........in other words, how much is the first orlando book cost in $$ that you have for sale?

this is like family here and when we get together, we all yak......and we have met many new friends on the thread, a few from across the pond joined us here and are quite delightful people.

of course we get off the thread topic.
if someone posts a boycott universal on the universal boards, we all take a quick look see. we stated our opinions then have moved on with other topics.
with eye catching threads, you get lots of questions.
the ones of us that post here frequently feel obliged to answer and help the newbies out.

in fact, you could through out a disney question here and most of us would try to answer that one as well.

about the future of express pass, i dunno, and i dunno care........when i go and if i have to stand in a line for a bit, i do.

i agree with slacking and phamton on this one, if there is a long line, bypass that ride, go to another and then you can always circle back to the one you passed up.

i haven't seen any threads about your books.
are there any threads presently going in the cb or other forum on them?

 

[SimonV]

Hi there Phamton. Absolutely no offence taken, don't worry. I was just a little concerned the OP, who I felt had opened a legitimate debate on the value, or otherwise, of the UE system was being hi-jacked for posting perceived anti-Universal sentiments. I certainly don't read it like that, and I felt there was some unnecessary hostility generated as a result. As a Mod elsewhere, it is sometimes hard to gauge the level of healthy debate of another board's regular community, hence my comments may have seemed off base.

As only an occasional poster on these boards (it is probably 4-5 months since I last looked in; I used to spend more time on the UO/SW Boards a few years ago, but extra work and extra traffic on the UK Boards means fewer visits here!), I wasn't aware this topic had become old hat; we have had a bit of Brit's Guide reader feedback just recently expressing surprise at the apparent demise of UE for non on-site guests, and I am trying to ascertain exactly what the situation is. We have seen the machines covered up recently, but it was on relatively quiet days, as Disney are also liable to do, so it came as a shock to hear the whole system was out of use (unless you are staying on-site or but the UEPlus) during the busy Christmas/NY period. Having looked further down the Board, I can see there are a number of similar threads and the debate has, indeed, been long and well-discussed. It is also probably the last thing you want to see cropping up again but I still feel the OP has a valid point asking whether the loss of the UE system for general guests would make people stay away. I certainly feel it would be a retrograde step, but I also hear your arguments, too. I am currently trying to find out from Universal what the official word on UE is, as our readers certainly need to know, and it is frustrating that people (especially paying customers) can be left in limbo like this.

My personal feeling is it would be invidious to create a two-tier system of park guest (i.e. those who qualify for UE, and those who don't), and it is monstrously unfair to make something like this ONLY a paid-for service (UEPlus) when it has been free up to now. To be expected to pay as much as an extra $120 (for a family of four) for a day at the park, just to cut 3-4 hours off your queuing time seems WAY too much. However, if the majority of park guests DO buy UEPlus, then they create even more queues than before! With my cynical head on, it looks like a mere money-making exercise; i.e. the new owners have looked at where they can create extra revenue after a year of falling attendance and decided they can squeeze Joe Public for an extra $120 a time. Not good PR, and not good for long-term viability, as there will certainly be others like the OP who are profoundly turned off at this tactic and who will not return. Hopefully, there is still someone left at Universal with enough experience to tell them the only way to increase attendance is to provide something new and substantial. There have been so many marketing failures in the last 10 years or so, they don't need another fiasco like this.

(OK, stepping off soapbox now - apologies for the long diatribe!)

Macraven, for some reason Yahoo.com doesn't stock the up-to-date (i.e. the 2006 edition) of the Brit's Guide so it can only be purchased online right now through yahoo.co.uk. The cost, with international shipping (a rather hefty £6.98 for 6-10 days delivery) currently works out at £16.07, which, at today's conversion rate of £1/$1.76, would make it $28. You might like to contact yahoo.com to see if they can get stocks of the 2006 version, with cheaper shipping, but I honestly don't know why they only seem to stock last year's version! For some feedback on the books, please click on any year-by-year edition on the amazon.co.uk website as we do seem to get a fair few reviews each year (most of them positive, I'm happy to say!).

 

[mark&sue]

We are from UK and are DVC members but still like to go to Universal. (I too am a public sector worker but for the local authority in the housing department)

Last year 13 of us (including 6 children and 2 seniors) had booked up for two weeks at Holiday Inn International (booked up before our family had bought into DVC). My DH and my friend's DH bought us two nights at the Hard Rock Hotel for Christmas presents. The third husband could not afford it so we bought them a night for the husband's 40th Birthday. This way you get to spend a couple days there and use FOTL passes while on a two week trip without having to pay to stay at the resort for 2 weeks. 2 weeks on site at Universal is probably too much anyway!

We just booked up direct from UK. We had Universal APs and could get a discount but only for our room, not the other two families.

I loved FOTL passes and would probably in the future tag a few days at the end or beginning of our vacations at a Universal hotel.

I am not sure I would like to go back without it unless on a quiet day.

Today the $ is something like 1.76. I have been checking like mad as my DVC annual dues are due.

I can't understand how if everyone (unlikely but just a scenerio) bought Express passes sure it would not work.

BTW If you go to Alton Towers, Chessington or Thorpe Park on a quiet day you will not need to use the fastpass system. We love these parks and go every year. We have stayed in Alton Towers hotel three times and I hear they are building a Chessington hotel too.

Sorry to go off topic (and to be so long)



Susan

 

[SimonV]

Thanks for the heads up, Phamton. It's sad when people have to take things too far (and it's also hard to keep up with Board events when they are so busy these days - I can still remember the early days of the DIS when I could check all of the boards in the course of a day. Not any more!!)