danlb_2000
Premium Member
I'm going to detail out the differences between Universal and The Disney Way for you guys who just don't get it:
1. Disney answers the phones in a professional and happy manner and make me feel welcome and excited. I called Universal 7 times. Twice did they even answer with "Universal Studios." The other 5 it was either "Yeah?" or "Sup." or "What." or some variation thereof.
2. When I make reservations at Disney they talk about how good the food is or how much fun I'm going to have OR they actually personalize my plans by noticing I have a 5 year old girl and asking if she'd be celebrating or want anything special or notice its our anniversary etc. At Universal I made two dining reservations. Both were mishandled and lost. On one the guy actually said "When you want to eat? I said "Are all times available?" He said "Nah, You got 11:00 - 3:00." I said "3 will be fine." He said "You sure don't be calling back later with another time..." I said "3 is fine for me." He said "We got after 3 too." I said "You told me 11 to 3 were the times." He said "I didn't feel like opening more reservation pages and wasting my time if you were good with that....you still good, don't waste my time." At the end of the call he hung up and never took my name or anything. I had to call back.
3. I tried to make a package. They told me they couldn't answer any questions about hotels, that I'd have to call the hotel directly. I ended up buying AP's and asked what conveniences came with them. They sighed and said I got a discount on some stuff. I said "Is that all? "No, you can't come in the summertime either, it's blacked out." Since when does Disney black out dates for an AP? Since when do I have to pull teeth at Disney for AP info?!
4. They ALL told me September is their busiest month and I'd HAVE to have an Express Pass or I'd get maybe 2 rides in a day. I have read up on this and have yet to have anyone recommend an express pass..... of which you pay for and is tiered - unlike Disney!
5. When I finalized my purchase the lady said "You sure? Once I hit this button you will be charged a high premium for anything you want to change unless you write us a letter petitioning to be able to add to your package and spend more...at our discretion."" WELL, thanks for the Magical feels there Universal.
6. "How do I get there from airport?" "I dunno....."
7. And the final straw is the fact that not all hotels are uniformly treated and the poor people at Cabana Bay are denied grocery and pizza delivery services.
So does anyone see a pattern here? It contrasts totally with how Disney operates. Oh no doubt Disney is a business but Universal charges for everything has very limited customer service and rudely badger you into paying for more.
Again, I am sorry you had a bad experience but this is definitely no indicative of their normal level of service. You can find similar horror stories to this about Disney. No customer service is perfect.