The parks were dead today...NOT

[MrNonacho]

Just got back from a quick visit to the parks. I was completely expecting to be one of a handful of people there today, based upon recent articles in the Sentinel and from the money-saving procedures planned, but to me it honestly seemed like any other Saturday prior to all this mess happening. At around 2 PM, Kong - yes, Kong - had a 30 MINUTE WAIT. I may be wrong but that seems to indicate that the parks aren't quite dead yet. The line was almost out of the building.

The crowds weren't mid-summer huge (Hulk had a 30 minute wait and Spider-Man had 45 with the singles line stretching out into the long exit hallway) but they seemed pretty respectable. I realize that Saturday is probably the busiest day of the week, but if the crowds continue to be at all similar to this I think there's a pretty good chance we'll see that cutback plan revised.

I never thought I'd be so glad to see a 45-minute wait for Spider-Man .

 

[MIB999999]

I do not mean to put a dampner on the news but some are concerned that when the employee appreciation days are over, which is tomorrow i believe, that the attendence will drop off. IMHO i saw a lot of non-employees there today so i am hoping for the best. I did get to ride blue dragon front row and i was the only one on the blue train. Just goes to show that the early riser gets the front row.

 

[MrNonacho]

I was unaware that there was any kind of special event going on, but the possibility did cross my mind.

I also went to Epcot, and there was quite a few more people there too. It was nice to see Test Track with a line again . I guess we just need to keep our fingers crossed.

 

[MIB999999]

Mythos and Confiscos were full to just look at then quickly. I guess a lot were employees. Thats fine by me, means they have good taste and judgement.

 

[chris mcfly]

Originally posted by MIB999999
IMHO i saw a lot of non-employees there today so i am hoping for

What does a Universal Employee look like, anyway?

 

[MIB999999]

well for one thing most of them were wearing universal employee badges!!!!. They were conversing with ride attendents like they work with them.
So i guess it was looks and actions.

by the way guest services looked to be cram full and some folks in there were not happy. I stopped by to compliment Chef Mark on the risotto of the day.

 

[Notatourist]

I don't know, Chris McFly, what does an employee of Universal look like?

 

[MrNonacho]

I just ran across this story. It's mostly about Universal's neighbors down the road, but there is mention of UO.

Even if IOA was only "half full" as they say, isn't that still a fairly decent number of people?

 

[robvia]

I agree.

My wife and I went out to dinner Saturday night 09/22/01. We live here in South Florida. We went to Ft. Lauderdale beach first as the sun went down. On the way we passed by the strip, and all the bars we're PACKED. The Elbow room had people practically overflowing into the street, the upper level was completely full. Just about every table (swing) at the outside Oasis restaurant was taken. Beach Place was also full as we passed by. At 08:30pm, we went back west to a restaurant called Alexanders, it's similar to an Outback. We had to wait about 45 minutes for a table, and this is at 08:30pm.

Everyone came back, the flag is at the top of the mast again. Now, let's see if the media has a positive story instead of the usualy doom and gloom.

 

[kellymonaghan]

This is all good news, and not entirely unexpected.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: There is no better place to celebrate the American spirit than an Orlando theme park.

 

[MrNonacho]

Something I forgot to mention..

As I made my way towards USF's gates a security guard offered me a free one-day pass, which I declined. He had a whole stack of them, and he was giving them away to quite a few people. Why on earth would Universal do this if they are having so much trouble making money?

 

[fboy9287]

a free pass? wheres mine?

 

[Tony M]

September has always been my favorite month to visit all of the Orlando theme parks. It is always the least busy of times to visit and in fact any of the months leading up to the holiday season at the end of the year are traditionally the least busiest to visit (IMHO).
With over a week for the world to settle back into whatever normalcy that it can resume given the uncertainty of future events, it almost appears that linking all of the Closures exclusively as a reaction to the tragic events of "9-11-01" seems to be a bit premature.
I can recall several of the listed closings occurring in previous years and without the coincidental timing with the tragic events of "9-11-01" and the worldwide layoffs/closures of other businesses, I could almost imagine that the list of Universal/IOA closings and Hour changes would go mostly unnoticed.
The economy had been teetering between recovery and despair and it did not need such a globally negative event to send it into a seemingly uncontrolled freefall.
But not to be uncaring or unnoticing of the suffering that thousands of families are personally experiencing, these tragedies occurred in a slow tourism time. The losses of attractions, their lessened operating hours and the loss of jobs could have been significantly higher had the timing of these events been such that they affected the peak months of tourism.
If the tourism industry (airlines, hotels, and theme parks) had to deal with these lack of guests in times when they expect maximum occupancy, we may have something more serious to talk about in the relationship between this event and it’s permanent affect on tourism and theme parks.
I send my thoughts and prayers to all of the families that have been affected by these tragic events and I hope that my mention of this topic does not appear to make light of the seriousness in which I regard their circumstance. I hope that talk of theme parks and the escape that they provide from the reality of life will help in aid in the recovery.
HAVE FUN

 

[BarryHom]

I was at BGT today and it had a respectable crowd. I was expecting a deserted crowd! Rhino Rally had about a 45 minute wait in the afternoon, which is pretty usual. Kumba and Montu had about a 15 minute wait, Scorpion had around a 10-15 minute wait, and the Python seemed like a walk-on. It seemed like a pretty standard September day.

 

[johare]

Doesn't Busch Gardens rely on local a little more than the Orlando parks do? Still good to hear that things are picking up though!

 

[Notatourist]

Think about it this way, weekend day compared to weekday-

The crowds are not there on the weekday, and that's where the problem lies

 

[MIB999999]

Originally posted by Notatourist
Think about it this way, weekend day compared to weekday-

The crowds are not there on the weekday, and that's where the problem lies

Sorry Notatourist, but i have to work thru the week to support my weekend IOA habit. If i was retired count me there thru the week though

 

[BarryHom]

If MIB999999 was retired, he'd be at the parks everyday!

 

[MIB999999]

What a life: Shooting aliens and eating Mythos