What has a Universal/Ioa employee done to make your trip special

[sha_lyn]

2002 my sister and I took the kids to USO. It was my families 2nd trip. DD was 4.5. The yr beofre she rode King Kong and liked it. However this trip she freaked out. Didn't get loud, but cried, hid her head etc (but she still loved spiderman LOL). When we got off, the girl at unloading noticed that DD was upset. She started talking to DD, explaining that KK was just a robot. She asked DD if she would like to go look in the windows at the control booth. DD and I walk up the steps and looked in the window. One of the guys in the booth noticed us and let DD come in and sit down. He took his time talking to her about the controls etc.

 

[AlexandNessa]

At Nascar Cafe, my hubby and I like to sit at the bar. We chatted up one bartender, and I casually asked what year Dale Earnhardt died. He didn't know, but (unbeknowst to me) made several phone calls to find out and tell me! Also, since we're good customers (or perhaps just generous customers there), we have more than once been offered beers to go in a plastic cup on our way out, complimentary, of course. And, even though we only go to Universal 2-3x per year, a certain bartender at Margaritaville always remembers us and what we order.

 

[Mainebound]

I have a lot of great Universal "team member" memories, but the best was last year when my sons, then ages 4 and 6, got their photo taken with Spiderman acros the street from the Spiderman ride. Instead of just posing quickly and on to the next kid, he turned them toward him and knelt down and explained very seriously that he really needed their help in making the world a safe place. He said we all need to work together for a better world. Then he taught them how to make the Spiderman sign with their hands (this took a while for my 4 year old!). He was such a good actor, and he took his job so seriously, they totally believed they were with the real Spiderman.

They both have this picture on their bedstands a year later.

 

[Motherfletcher]

I have a bunch of good experiences at the hotels with upgrades and over the top amenities but at the parks my best memories are from the guys that work the turnstiles. Jim and Carmen always recognize and do their best to embarass me when we arrive before the park opens. We have been selected to open the park twice which is always a thrill for the kids. They always give us pins and express passes, etc.
Another great memory is from Jack who is a lead in Terminator. When my son sliced open his head on the door jam Jack was really nice and made sure we got to the doctor and got the stitches needed. He gve us a card that worked for FOTL the next day.

 

[GemmaPixie]

I just found this thread and it made me all happy. Thought I'd bump it up.


Here goes.......
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BUMP!

 

[riu girl]

1. One amazing person on this board who assisted us with our Universal holiday last December!!!!!!!!!!


2. Also, our last ride of the day was HULK. We planned it this way since we thought it would be DDs favourite. As we enter the line it breaks down. Does not open back up . Park closes 2 hours later, still no hulk. IOA staff were awesome and said if they were able to open it prior to park close they would keep the ride open until everyone who had been waiting could ride. Sadly, it did not. As we were walking away I heard one lady nicely complain to staff about how long they had been waiting. Staff member told her to go to guest services and get a free pass in order to be able to come back and ride it again.

Needless to say, I nicely told the same staff member about how DD also didn't get the chance to ride. He gave us his name and told us to go to guest serivces and tell them he sent us. We did and o my goodness they ended up giving each of us ( a family of four) a pass so we could come back to IOA any one day in the next year from 4 pm onwards!!!!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!! This December we will be back to finally ride the hulk.

3. DD is a special needs kid and tended to get very excited about each attraction since they were all brand new to her. Staff was very nice and just smiled at her. They didn't seem put out to see an almost 10 year old girl get as excited as a two year old would in Seuss Landing!!!

Best Florida vacation ever. Kids have no interest in going back to disney, just US/IOA!!!! This year we are going to try Seaworld buy one day get one free tickets plus our free 4 pm onwards ticket for a part day at IOA!!!! Can't wait.

 

[RVGal]

There are tons of examples from over the years, but here are some from our recent visit...

One of the days at the turnstiles, the lady assisting with tickets looked at DS2 in hubby's arms and said, "Give me a Hi-5 little man!" He, of course, grinned and slapped her hand. Then she noticed DS5 standing between hubby and me and she bent down to his level and said, "Give me a Lo-5 big guy!" He smiled and slapped her hand. (too often people overlook our older child and just fuss over the younger one, so this struck me as special) She also made a point of discussing Diego (DS2 had on his Go Diego Go shirt) and Shrek (DS5 had on his Shrek shirt) with them both for a moment. I'd say she spent less than 1 minute with us, but it sure started the day off great for us all.

When we ate at Circus McGurkus for lunch, the kids started getting fussy while waiting in line so I left DH to pay while I set off in search of a table with the little guys. We found a booth and, much to my surprise, DH was not more than 10 steps behind us with one of the ladies that was working behind the counter helping him carry the 2 trays with our food. She helped us get settled, took the empty trays, then asked, "Can I bring you anything for the baby? I can mash up something that's on the food table if you need it." DS2 is beyond the mashed food stage, but how sweet it was of her to offer!

Spiderman at the character breakfast (Confisco Grille) was amazing. He spent time with both boys... making sure DS2 was comfortable with him... making sure DS5 got a thrill from one of his superhero friends. He was one of the best characters I've ever seen at any theme park on any visit.

I could go on. It doesn't have to be anything big to make my trip special!