Run down and dirty

[glo]

ok, I love, love, love Disney World (go almost every year), but I have to agree, that US/IOA is catching and up has some better rides and theming. Disney needs a ride like Spiderman. That is super themed. They can do it, but they haven't and IMHO they need to. AK is not the huge draw and after going on the few rides there, you don't go there every year. Disney needs to get some new life and adventure into their parks, if they want to keep up. They also need to disperse their crowds better, instead of building more hotels and keeping the parks the same, add more to the parks so it is not so crowded. Epcot needs some new life as there are closed pavillions that are sad to look at. Mk is perfect it is nostalgic, but the other parks need an infusion to draw people back over and over.

 

[Darcy03231]

we were just there last week and even my hubby commented on how clean it was. we have been there atleast a dozen times and he said that he thought it was the cleanest it's ever been. saying that however, i went into a few bathrooms that weren't so clean. maybe a better job could be done in a few bathrooms but i can only imagine that's the hardest place to keep clean.

I was there last week too. I thought the same thing about the bathrooms. I will say that we were at Universal too and noticed everything there was exceptionally clean too, even the bathrooms. I can't imagine how hard a job that must be.

 

[Darcy03231]

To each their own. While I haven't been to U.S. it just seems to be more of an amusement park, not the vacation experience that WDW is.

How can you comment on a place that you've never been to before? US/IOA had great theming and rides. In fact, my teens prefer it over WDW. We were just at US/IOA last week and spent most of our time there and only one day at WDW. It is as much of a vacation experience as WDW, just a different one.

 

[christa112]

Want to see dirty go check out Sesame Place!!! Disgusting!!! The urine smelling water slides were enough to make my skin crawl!!!

 

[melly]

How can you comment on a place that you've never been to before? .

The pixies told them

 

[Feralpeg]

I don't get. Every couple of months, there is a thread similar to this one. People fight over whether Disney or Universal is better. Why? What does it matter? If you like Disney better, that's great. If you like Universal better, fine. Liking one or the other doesn't make you a better or worse person. There is no sin in liking one over the other. Liking Universal does not make a person disloyal to Disney. I work for Disney. I love Disney. I love Universal. Why must we fight over something so silly. Disney and Universal do not fight. They have a very good relationship in Orlando. Maybe we could all take a lesson from these great companies and stop the insanity.

 

[JLTraveling]

I'm sorry to sound like a doubting Thomas, but, I have doubts. Serious doubts.

I've had bad experiences of all kinds, from bad janitorial and maintanence standards to surly employees to no parking to broken stuff in my resort rooms to waiters disapearing for 20 minutes at a time when there were no other customers in the restaurant, at both WDW and Universal. But I've never had a trip to either place that was as consitently bad as what you described above.

I've been to Universal once or twice a year since 1990, and I have never seen ANY of the issues you listed go to the extremes you described. I've never seen anything even close to any of those extremes. My most recent experiences at Uni were in 2008; I went to Uni twice - once in May for 4 days, and once in December for 1 day. All of my following observations were fully valid as of December 2008:

* Parking has never been a problem for me at Uni, even when there are no TMs directing each car into place. I've never seen "mass confusion", though I have seen a few individual vehicles whose drivers seemed confused by the arrows that direct you where to go.

I have seen a few morons walking in front of incoming vehicles in the Uni garages, instead of walking in front of the parked cars as they should. But I've seen also that at every WDW park on every visit, every time I go, even with CMs yelling "PLEASE WALK IN FRONT OF THE PARKED CARS FOR SAFETY!" So I don't count that as a way that WDW is better than Uni.

* I've never experienced Uni wait times longer than the times on the boards. In fact, they're usually shorter. To be fair, I have never seen longer waits than the boards say at WDW, either, and the waits at WDW are also usually shorter than the boards say. So it's a wash.

* Where did you eat? What did you order? How crowded was it? What about it makes you say that it had no taste or presentation? I rarely eat at TS places in Uni, except Lombards or Mythos, but I've never seen any food in Uni - CS or TS - that I would have traded for a McDonalds meal. And in fact, all of my meals at both Lombards and Mythos have been nothing short of perfect.

Nor have I ever seen any eatery or restaurant, in either the Uni parks or resorts, that was as dirty as you describe. I have seen dirty tables in CS places, here and there, during busy periods, and floors that weren't clean enough to eat off of. But I rate the cleanliness of Universal in-park eateries and restaurants equal to WDW, and the resort and CityWalk restaurants are pristine. Stick to the floors? NEVER. And on all of my visits to Mythos and Lombards, both places were spotless, shiny, and darn near operating room sterile.

I've seen trash cans fill up and trays pile up sometimes in the CS eateries. But I've seen that at WDW CS eateries, too. Neither place has ever let it go to the extreme that you described, at least not in my nearly 20 years of visits.

If I ever saw a Uni TM or a Disney CM take dirty trays behind the counter and re-use them without at least wiping them down first, I'd be up in the manager's face immediately. I worked in fast food for many years in my youth, and I have very high standards when it comes to food prep and dining area cleanliness, and service, and I won't eat somewhere that I feel is not up to those standards. The worst CS place I've ever seen in the parks was actually at WDW - Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, in MK. I once sat at a table next to a wall, and the crevices in the wall nearly made me vomit.

* I see trash everywhere in both Uni and WDW. Briefly. Until a TM or CM comes along and picks it up. Trash doesn't last long in the World Showcase Lagoon or the IOA Lagoon, and it never builds up on the streets, walkways, planters, or anyplace else.

* Universal Orlando restrooms are as clean or cleaner than WDW on a consistent basis. I'm picky about restrooms, and the cleanliness and shininess of WDW's restrooms were one of the first things that charmed me on my first trip back in 1990. In those early days, Uni didn't match WDW's standards; but they do now, and they have since about 2003 or 2004.

* I've only eaten at the Uni Margarittaville once, in May 2008. I had about a 30 minute wait with no reservation. In busier times of the year, I can see what happened to you being believable, because I had the same thing happen to me at 'Ohana in December 2007; I showed up for my 1-person ADR 20 minutes early, and was not seated until 45 minutes AFTER my ADR time. I missed the shuttle launch - the only one ever scheduled during one of my 20+ Orlando trips - because I was sitting in the Tambu lounge waiting. But I didn't lose sight of the Magic.

All in all, the experience you described sounds very much like my last visit to King's Dominion in Virginia. Which is why I refuse to ever return to King's Dominion, a park which I visited almost every summer when I was growing up, and of which I have a lot of fond, warm memories. But I kicked KD to the curb when it went to pot, and would do the same to either Universal Orlando or WDW if they turned to junk in the same manner.

I agree with this entire post (except for the stuff about King's Dominion, because I've only been there once, several years ago, for part of a day, and was too busy trying to pack in a few rides to pay much attention).

I have had negative experiences at both US and WDW, although I have never experienced the ongoing list of horror stories described by the PP at either place. Having worked on the front lines at both (attractions/entertainment), I can't even wrap my brain around how that laundry list of things COULD happen. But to each their own, and who am I to argue with what someone claims happened. I'm just thrilled that I don't feel a blind, brainwashed loyalty to either company, and am able to enjoy them both freely.

 

[secretpantssam]

for some reason I read the subject and it's reference in the first post as a Wheel of Fortune answer...like a combination of run down and down and dirty. Why did it take me so long to figure out that is wasn't some sort of catch phrase I should know? "Let me give you the rundown and dirty!"



Also I can see why some people love Universal more than Disney. It has all the thrill rides and it is tons fun. I just like that special something Disney has that no other place has. The magic in the air, but it could just be I caught the Disney bug while some people are immune!

 

[bdiddy]

It's interesting you posted this because before we went on our trip our brother-in-law had been on a long weekend with his family and told my husband the exact same thing! He said how he thought it was dirty and old - especially Magic Kingdom.

We were like "oh, ok" but of course that didn't deter us at all. He couldn't have been more wrong! My husband and I even commented on how clean the place was and there were only a few areas that you could tell were older but nothing like he made it out to be.

 

[WillCAD]

I don't get. Every couple of months, there is a thread similar to this one. People fight over whether Disney or Universal is better. Why? What does it matter? If you like Disney better, that's great. If you like Universal better, fine. Liking one or the other doesn't make you a better or worse person. There is no sin in liking one over the other. Liking Universal does not make a person disloyal to Disney. I work for Disney. I love Disney. I love Universal. Why must we fight over something so silly. Disney and Universal do not fight. They have a very good relationship in Orlando. Maybe we could all take a lesson from these great companies and stop the insanity.

The problem is not those who like one or the other better, the problem is those who feel the need to trash and bash the one that they don't prefer, and irrationally can't see anything good in the one they don't prefer.

Posts about how every single aspect of the non-preferred park stink, how they're losing Guests constantly, etc. pop up in threads like this, then the other side feels the need to respond by bashing the first poster's preferred park, and on and on.

I prefer to list facts instead of emotions, though even my facts will naturally be colored by my own preferences, no matter how hard I try to stay objective.

But at least I try.

 

[TINK0998]

Maybe the "run down and dirty" was Haunted Mansion. She probably went just after they dusted..............

 

[LovesTimone]

Willcad,

I really don't appreicate your doubting "Thomas" comment.

I stated what happened to me on our last visit. Which someone asked for!
I had used a blanket statement as I did not want to get drawn into this who has the "bigger dog" discussion.This was my perception of the events of that day, and as they say perception is everything. I have been to US several times a year since it opened, and have enjoyed it in the past. I don't feel the need to defend myself by contuining this discussion.

All theme parks can have a bad day just like any of us. Basicly will all want to get away, relax, laugh and be with our families and friends, and make some memories.

 

[WillCAD]

Willcad,

I really don't appreicate your doubting "Thomas" comment.

I stated what happened to me on our last visit. Which someone asked for!
I had used a blanket statement as I did not want to get drawn into this who has the "bigger dog" discussion.This was my perception of the events of that day, and as they say perception is everything. I have been to US several times a year since it opened, and have enjoyed it in the past. I don't feel the need to defend myself by contuining this discussion.

All theme parks can have a bad day just like any of us. Basicly will all want to get away, relax, laugh and be with our families and friends, and make some memories.

I'm sorry you don't appreciate an honest appraisal of your comments.

I stated what has happened to me on my visits over the last 19 years. Which nobody asked for, but who cares? This is an open discussion of parks being "run down and dirty", and I added my experiences and observations to that discussion.

I prefer not to use blanket statements, since they can be misleading and inflammatory. Nor have I engaged in any "bigger dog" discussion; I did not cast either Disney or Universal as a "bigger dog". I stated my own perceptions of the Universal parks over the last 19 years of my visits.

I disagree that perception is everything. FACTS are everything, and since so many of your stated facts - almost all of them, in fact - differed so radically with anything I've ever seen at Universal, I stated what I have seen for 19 years in response.

There is no need for you to defend yourself, since I did not attack you.

Certainly, any park can have a bad day. But what you described is much more than a bad day, it's a complete breakdown of the entire service infrastructure of the park. I could believe any one or two of those things happening as isolated incidents at either Universal or WDW, but all of them happening in one day, at one park, is about as likely as spending a day in Washington and meeting all 200 Senators while walking the streets. Th unlikelihood of such an experience led me to believe that your perceptions were somehow colored and thus wildly inaccurate.

All I want when I visit the parks at either WDW or Universal is to get away, relax, be with my family or friends, and make some memories. And I've succeeded in that effort for 19 years, precisely because the WDW and Uni parks are so much better than anything you described in your post.

Even if I'm wrong, and your perceptions are 100% spot-on, my perceptions over the last 19 years are so radically different that I felt compelled to share them alongside yours, to give a more balanced view of both Universal and WDW.

 

[Cool-Beans]

If you like theme parks, you'll like both Disney and Uni.

If you don't, you won't.

Saying that one or the other is bad is just silly. They both have certain things that beat the other, but they're both great.