Beer bottles and gang fights not your thing?

[Thunder Kz]

After swearing not to go to Universal/IOA again following 2007's Horror Night experience, I unfortunately had to go to City Walk last weekend to meet some relatives. On the plus side, I'll say this, parking was free and Pat O'Brien's is a good time. The good ends there.

After using sonar to find a parking spot in the bat cave they call a parking garage, we began the mile long hike to City Walk. Fortunately, they have escalators and conveyor walk-ways. Unfortunately, a lot of them weren't working. Which, was great, because we got to fully-experience the ecclectic group of thugs and child hip hop wannabes who grace the area. I don't want to hear a group rendition of Akon being screamed, and I'm not old, but I am old enough to be turned off by constant yelling of swear words around a lot of little kids. Then, when we finally made it to City Walk, we were greeted by a fight over someone's "bit#$" and beer bottles all over the ground.

We enjoyed Pat O's, and there seems to be a lot of entertaining things to do at City Walk and the Universal parks. But, until they get the place cleaned up, I won't be going back unless I'm forced to. I won't even address Horror Nights, except to say I'm not a big fan of the Evil Clown dancing in blood, simulated adult acts in front of children, and religious insults.

So, Universal, given your proposed alternative, I prefer Nemo to Ne Yo, and I suppose "pixie dust and fairy tales" are my thing. Rant over.

 

[I-4Warrior]

I do agree with you... I very much enjoy the rides at the parks over there, and I do find CityWalk enjoyable, there is an air of Mad Max-esque lack of class in the patrons in the surrounding free areas (yes, to me worse than PI ever got). 08 was the first time in 10 years we didn't go to HHN because in 07, they horribly oversold the event which led to haunted house wait times of near 3 hours. People may complain about the current state of the Mouse, but they are light years ahead of the strategies used at the U.

I will say however, in regards to "adult acts in front of children", the U highly advises parents not to bring kids (going so far as to have announcements over the PA outside the gates), so if there is anything that offends them, that is the parents fault for not taking the warning seriously.

 

[kcnole]

I always laugh when I read these stories about how dirty and gang filled Universal is. I've been to the park tons of times over the past few years and the only time I've ever seen issues is at Halloween Horror Nights. CityWalk is always immensely clean, the parks are always great fun, and the CM's always great.

 

[TheDisneyMagic]

I always laugh when I read these stories about how dirty and gang filled Universal is. I've been to the park tons of times over the past few years and the only time I've ever seen issues is at Halloween Horror Nights. CityWalk is always immensely clean, the parks are always great fun, and the CM's always great.

I do have to agree with you there, I only visit the Universal parks maybe once in every 10 - 15 visits to a Disney park but when I do go to the Universal Parks, I can't complain about the way the upkeep is, they do a pretty good job. I have never seen these types of people hanging out there in areas such as the parking lot, maybe I am just lucky on my visits though.

 

[kcnole]

On almost every day its a perfect visit there. I can't say the same about HHN though and I don't know if I'll ever go back there. There's just way too many people stuffed into too small of an area and way too much alcohol being imbibed. I didn't feel that safe with HHN and I seriously wish they'd reconsider how they handle that event. However they make a killing off that event so unfortunately I don't see it changing.

 

[elabron]

After swearing not to go to Universal/IOA again following 2007's Horror Night experience, I unfortunately had to go to City Walk last weekend to meet some relatives. On the plus side, I'll say this, parking was free and Pat O'Brien's is a good time. The good ends there.

After using sonar to find a parking spot in the bat cave they call a parking garage, we began the mile long hike to City Walk. Fortunately, they have escalators and conveyor walk-ways. Unfortunately, a lot of them weren't working. Which, was great, because we got to fully-experience the ecclectic group of thugs and child hip hop wannabes who grace the area. I don't want to hear a group rendition of Akon being screamed, and I'm not old, but I am old enough to be turned off by constant yelling of swear words around a lot of little kids. Then, when we finally made it to City Walk, we were greeted by a fight over someone's "bit#$" and beer bottles all over the ground.

We enjoyed Pat O's, and there seems to be a lot of entertaining things to do at City Walk and the Universal parks. But, until they get the place cleaned up, I won't be going back unless I'm forced to. I won't even address Horror Nights, except to say I'm not a big fan of the Evil Clown dancing in blood, simulated adult acts in front of children, and religious insults.

So, Universal, given your proposed alternative, I prefer Nemo to Ne Yo, and I suppose "pixie dust and fairy tales" are my thing. Rant over.

Just out of curiousity, what constitutes a "simulated adult act" and "religious insult"?
What exactly are we talking about here? :shrug:

 

[disney4life2008]

The main difference between Disney Pleasure Island (former) and Universal City Walk is that there is a greater pull for locals AND college students. PI was getting kinda bad but still maintained the Disney safety that its known for (minus a couple of minor problems). Universal on the other hand, I agree with the OP on a couple of points.

1) The parking garage is a MESS!!! I dread parking in the garage then having to take a 30 minute walk or ride to City Walk then a 15 minute walk to get to the gate. Its messed up you have to walk through City Walk to get the parks. It is a HASSLE!!

2) When I went to Universal last December, the day time was fine. City Walk was of course regular tourist crowds, everything was clean. However, when I came out of Islands of Adventure and stepped into City Walk - I was SCARED! Here is an excerpt of a post I placed on here about my adventure at City Walk:

Islands of Adventure:

1. Definantly no Disney!!! Nothing major to report. Did not fit Dudley Do Rights water ride. Jurrasic Park was a fun water ride. Popyes Barge water ride- SOAKED!!!! Only do in hot day time weather!! Hulk- I passed but would have got on had I known how the seats were made. Otherwise, it was an ok day at Islands of Adventure.
2. City Walk.. OMG!!! LOCALS LOCALS LOCALS When the theme parks closed, I was scared for my life. No security no where and even though I am young, the young people there was acting horrible. Smoking illegal drugs, drunk.. it was bad.
3. We ate at Emeril Lagases resturant and the service was HORRID!!! The decor was nice but thats all. The wait staff seemed to be racist. It was evident that some people got advantage over others. My single glass of water has yet to be refilled to this day. While there, 2 waiters dropped food on the floor- though it was immediately cleaned up. The food was BAD!!! I had the steak- for $30, waste of money. My girlfriend had the seafood platter and her rice was not cooked and the seafood was lackluster. Nothing that we had expected from Emeril.

City Walk at night is no place for kids. And even more, I am 26 and scared. The amount of locals, illegal drugs that I saw was ridiculous. The theme park family crowds are forced to go through City Walk at the end of the day. The moving sidewalk areas are even worse, as the OP stated.

I will be returning to Universal during my January trip. But it is no Disney. I will only be spending 1 day out of 15 there.

 

[WDW 3]

I didn't find the CM's particularly friendly. We used a locker by the Hulk and when we went to get our stuff it wanted money. The CM working there punched a code and said "you've been here way over 45 min." What? it was less than 45 min. he popped the locker open without a word and walked away. Kind of rude, after implying we were the idiots.

 

[mcjaco]

1) The parking garage is a MESS!!! I dread parking in the garage then having to take a 30 minute walk or ride to City Walk then a 15 minute walk to get to the gate. Its messed up you have to walk through City Walk to get the parks. It is a HASSLE!!

It's set up the same way in LA. It's smart marketing. Get people funneled through stores.

Islands of Adventureefinantly no Disney!!! Nothing major to report. Did not fit Dudley Do Rights water ride. Jurrasic Park was a fun water ride. Popyes Barge water ride- SOAKED!!!! Only do in hot day time weather!! Hulk- I passed but would have got on had I known how the seats were made. Otherwise, it was an ok day at Islands of Adventure.

I guess trying out the test seat at the entrance of Hulk was too difficult. :lookaroun And it's Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. Did you actually go to the park, or are you making this stuff up?

We ate at Emeril Lagases resturant and the service was HORRID!!! The decor was nice but thats all. The wait staff seemed to be racist. It was evident that some people got advantage over others. My single glass of water has yet to be refilled to this day. While there, 2 waiters dropped food on the floor- though it was immediately cleaned up. The food was BAD!!! I had the steak- for $30, waste of money. My girlfriend had the seafood platter and her rice was not cooked and the seafood was lackluster. Nothing that we had expected from Emeril.

Really??? Racist? Good grief.

I will be returning to Universal during my January trip. But it is no Disney. I will only be spending 1 day out of 15 there.

And yet, you'll go back......

 

[krankenstein]

On almost every day its a perfect visit there. I can't say the same about HHN though and I don't know if I'll ever go back there. There's just way too many people stuffed into too small of an area and way too much alcohol being imbibed. I didn't feel that safe with HHN and I seriously wish they'd reconsider how they handle that event. However they make a killing off that event so unfortunately I don't see it changing.

I have to agree with kcnole. I used to have an AP to Universal (didn't renew b/c I couldn't make enough trips to warrant it). I've never had any of the issues people on these boards seem to find. It appears to me to mostly be attitude. If you go into Universal expecting your experience to be absolutely terrible, it will be. If you go into it understanding it is a totally different place that is of extreme quality. Universal is second only to Disney and even exceeds Disney in some areas, imo. If you use the seond attitude you will have a great time.

 

[TP2000]

[*]We ate at Emeril Lagases resturant and the service was HORRID!!! The decor was nice but thats all. The wait staff seemed to be racist. It was evident that some people got advantage over others. My single glass of water has yet to be refilled to this day.

Racist? Seriously? You lost me there.

As an upper-middle class white anglo-saxon protestant with blonde hair and blue eyes, I wish I could claim RACISM every time I have bad service in a restaurant and my water glass goes unfilled. Seriously, sometimes you just have a really bad waiter and the other table next to you gets bread and water refills and faster service than you do. Sometimes that table next to you getting the better service has people of a different race or color than you. Sometimes your table is ignored by a waiter. It happens to everyone regardless of how much melanin is in your skin cells. But to sit there in the 21st century and claim that the business is "racist" because of that is just rather sad.

Sometimes you get a bad waiter, or an entire restaurant just has an off night and has bad service. That's not called racism. It's called having a bad waiter.

 

[Timmay]

I have to agree with kcnole. I used to have an AP to Universal (didn't renew b/c I couldn't make enough trips to warrant it). I've never had any of the issues people on these boards seem to find. It appears to me to mostly be attitude. If you go into Universal expecting your experience to be absolutely terrible, it will be. If you go into it understanding it is a totally different place that is of extreme quality. Universal is second only to Disney and even exceeds Disney in some areas, imo. If you use the seond attitude you will have a great time.

Same here...I have never had one bad experience with drunks, idiots, etc. on Universal property. The same can not be said for WDW.

 

[MKCP 1985]

Oh, I don't think the issues are fabricated. They are very real. Many of us just choose not to complain about them.

I go to Universal parks expecting to have a great time, and usually spend one day per vacation on a combined two parks ticket. They have some awesome rides. Every time I go, there are a couple of unpleasant things that occur. Whether it is a sarcastic remark from a park employee, boorish behavior from park guests or unannounced broken down rides, there is always, without exception, something negative that occurs to remind me that "this isn't a Disney park."

I still enjoy the rides, but it is getting harder and harder to convince my wife to go back. We didn't hit the Universal parks this year at all, so I'm still waiting to see the new Simpsons ride.

edit: In view of the post above, I'll share my Universal Drunken Idiots story. Waiting in the queue for Dueling Dragons, a group of 4 or more college aged people got in queue immediately behind my family. It has been awhile so I don't remember if they were all guys or if there were some girls in the group, but all of them had two beers each to enjoy during the wait. So what? I have no problem with that. But they acted like drunken louts for the entire time in the queue, making inappropriate comments, using swear words in front of kids and belching loudly. There was no Universal staff anywhere around to correct the behavior, so we endured it until the split to fire or ice. I'm pretty tolerant, but that was by far the worst in queue experience I've ever had at any park anywhere.

 

[kcnole]

I go to Universal parks expecting to have a great time, and usually spend one day per vacation on a combined two parks ticket. They have some awesome rides. Every time I go, there are a couple of unpleasant things that occur. Whether it is a sarcastic remark from a park employee, boorish behavior from park guests or unannounced broken down rides, there is always, without exception, something negative that occurs to remind me that "this isn't a Disney park."

But here's the point. All of those same things happen at Disney. We just ignore it because its Disney. I've had CM's at Disney say rude things to me. I've seen horrible guest behavior (have you even been around the Brazilian tour groups or the cheerleaders?) I've actually seen the brazillian groups in the pools at night with topless girls and people making out heavily. Rides go down at every park all the time and they're unnanounced. They can't help when rides go down.

These same things happen every time I visit a Disney park. I realize that most of them are out of their control. Disney does their best to hire good CM's but occassionally some of them are having a bad day and take it out on the guests, Disney tries to control guests, but they can't monitor them 24 hours a day, rides break down. It happens. I just find it so funny that when these things happen at Universal its the horrible Universal, but when they happen at Disney they're given the benefit of the doubt.

Both parks have given me amazing times. Both have given me some less than stellar times. While I would still rank some of Disney's parks ahead of Universal, they're both very close. I still, as many times as I've been at Citywalk late, have never seen illicit drugs, gang activity, or anything like that. Maybe I'm just in the wrong place.

That said, we have had bombs go off at DTD and bus drivers kidnapped. I haven't heard of those things happening at Citywalk. Disney never has problems with guests or disgruntled CMs.

 

[hemloc]

The OP should definitely stay away from Six Flags parks, then...

I like to think of City Walk as an interactive version of The Warriors, hehe.... :animwink:

 

[krankenstein]

But here's the point. All of those same things happen at Disney. We just ignore it because its Disney. I've had CM's at Disney say rude things to me. I've seen horrible guest behavior (have you even been around the Brazilian tour groups or the cheerleaders?) I've actually seen the brazillian groups in the pools at night with topless girls and people making out heavily. Rides go down at every park all the time and they're unnanounced. They can't help when rides go down.

These same things happen every time I visit a Disney park. I realize that most of them are out of their control. Disney does their best to hire good CM's but occassionally some of them are having a bad day and take it out on the guests, Disney tries to control guests, but they can't monitor them 24 hours a day, rides break down. It happens. I just find it so funny that when these things happen at Universal its the horrible Universal, but when they happen at Disney they're given the benefit of the doubt.

Both parks have given me amazing times. Both have given me some less than stellar times. While I would still rank some of Disney's parks ahead of Universal, they're both very close. I still, as many times as I've been at Citywalk late, have never seen illicit drugs, gang activity, or anything like that. Maybe I'm just in the wrong place.

That said, we have had bombs go off at DTD and bus drivers kidnapped. I haven't heard of those things happening at Citywalk. Disney never has problems with guests or disgruntled CMs.

That's exactly what I mean...you just put it a lot more eloquently. :animwink:

 

[Timmay]

But here's the point. All of those same things happen at Disney. I've actually seen the brazillian groups in the pools at night with topless girls and people making out heavily.

Although, that is something you would be charged "extra" for at other resorts. Disney throws it in for free!!:sohappy:

 

[disney4life2008]

It's set up the same way in LA. It's smart marketing. Get people funneled through stores.


I guess trying out the test seat at the entrance of Hulk was too difficult. :lookaroun And it's Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. Did you actually go to the park, or are you making this stuff up?



Really??? Racist? Good grief.




And yet, you'll go back......

Thank you for critiquing my message. Yes I did go to Islands of Adventure (it was ok). Yes I did have a bad a experience at Emerils (im go leave it at that).

Yet, I will be going back to Universal Orlando (to Universal Studios and City Walk to a different resturant).

Thank you for the critique. :xmas:

 

[WDW Monorail]

Every time I have been to CityWalk, I have always had a good time. Never seen what some people have seen. I'm not saying that that sort of stuff does not happen, I'm sure it does but I haven't seen it.

I have also been to Emeril's a few times. The service was very good. The food was good but not outstanding.

 

[Foladar]

I always laugh when I read these stories about how dirty and gang filled Universal is. I've been to the park tons of times over the past few years and the only time I've ever seen issues is at Halloween Horror Nights. CityWalk is always immensely clean, the parks are always great fun, and the CM's always great.

Me too. I have an annual pass to Universal, and I've never seen these things either, unless someone mentions it about Halloween Horror Nights maybe. We've gone to the movies at CityWalk, numerous restaurants, and have no issue shopping there or sticking around until 1am. We recently moved up here too, and still no issues personally. Sometimes I think people just want an excuse other then "its not Disney" so they pick up every small issue, which btw, can happen any either park.