Universal Has Started Charging $2 for Some Ride Lockers

[RustySpork]

If you are packing all that carp you need a stroller to put it in and just park the stroller while you ride.

They should just move to Orlando and leave the stuff in their trunk like the rest of us did/do!

 

[raven]

So If you have ponied up for a wand you have to pony up to store it whilst you ride ..
Nice move UNI .

Wands easily fit into those small lockers, as do most cups and other items that are normally stored in pockets.

$2 must be a deal breaker for a lot of guests, from the way it sounds in this forum, but they are also the ones that don’t mind coughing up $12 per Butterbeer for their whole family.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

Wands easily fit into those small lockers, as do most cups and other items that are normally stored in pockets.

$2 must be a deal breaker for a lot of guests, from the way it sounds in this forum, but they are also the ones that don’t mind coughing up $12 per Butterbeer for their whole family.

But it isn't just $2. It's $2 per ride .

 

[lebeau]

If you are packing all that carp you need a stroller to put it in and just park the stroller while you ride.

I have seen a lot of folks claim they are going to do exactly that. I think the old system was preferable to creating a stroller parking lot.

 

[RustySpork]

But it isn't just $2. It's $2 per ride .

Only if you need a particular size. Easy to get around that though. $10 a day at the front of the park, $15 for the largest. It takes 10ish minutes to get from the far side of Universal to them, and 15 at Islands. Send large packages to the front of the park, to your room, or buy them at the end of the day.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

Only if you need a particular size. Easy to get around that though. $10 a day at the front of the park, $15 for the largest. It takes 10ish minutes to get from the far side of Universal to them, and 15 at Islands. Send large packages to the front of the park, to your room, or buy them at the end of the day.

Or just don't buy merch.

 

[lebeau]

Wands easily fit into those small lockers, as do most cups and other items that are normally stored in pockets.

$2 must be a deal breaker for a lot of guests, from the way it sounds in this forum, but they are also the ones that don’t mind coughing up $12 per Butterbeer for their whole family.

That actually supports my point. When we go, we stay at a deluxe hotel and drop a lot of money on food, lodging and souvenirs. We know we're paying a premium and we're fine with that. I'm willing to pay inflated prices because for the most part, I don't feel like I am being nickel-and-dimed at Universal. The extra money buys me the kind of stressfree vacation Disney no longer offers (at least not at a price I can afford).

$2 is a drop in the bucket relative to what I spend on a Universal vacation. I'll spend $2 in Orlando without blinking an eye. It's the principle of the matter here. I don't expect Universal to ding me repeatedly with some annoying fee. I have already paid admission. I should be able to ride any ride in the park without having to pay an additional $2. They created this issue with their "no loose items" policy and shrinking the size of the standard locker. The solution should not be to collect additional fees from guests.

There are many ways to work around this new policy. Guests will take up more of the small lockers. They may bring strollers to use as pack mules. I have even heard of people planning to padlock their backpacks to a pole. For me, the simplest solution will be not to buy as many things in the park as we used. When we used the lockers, it was always to store souvenirs. Universal has just provided me a disincentive to spend money in their parks. I doubt that was their intent, but it is the end result.

I will also reconsider those $12 Butterbeers if this policy remains in place. Just one guest out of many. I doubt Universal will notice my drop in spending. But if enough other people react the same way, they will notice that.

 

[lebeau]

Or just don't buy merch.

The simplest of all solutions. I didn't really need those souvenirs anyway.

Universal is saving me money all over the place!

 

[RustySpork]

Or just don't buy merch.

MOAR FOAR ME!

 

[lebeau]

MOAR FOAR ME!

You're going to buy more merch to compensate for everyone who reduced their spending? Good luck with that. You're going to need a lot of lockers.

 

[RustySpork]

You're going to buy more merch to compensate for everyone who reduced their spending? Good luck with that. You're going to need a lot of lockers.

Obvious /s but I have a runner and a large trunk. I'll be fine!

On a more serious note, a few dozen people may stop buying merchandise in protest I doubt UO will even notice.

 

[lebeau]

Obvious /s but I have a runner and a large trunk. I'll be fine!

On a more serious note, a few dozen people may stop buying merchandise in protest I doubt UO will even notice.

You could be right. If the policy changes, we'll know you were wrong. My guess is, the policy won't change. My policy won't either. I'm all about futile gestures.

Lord knows Disney has tried to alienate their customer base and they keep coming back and spending in record numbers. Why should Universal be any different? I stopped going to WDW, but I'm sure they haven't missed me.

 

[RustySpork]

You could be right. If the policy changes, we'll know you were wrong. My guess is, the policy won't change. My policy won't either. I'm all about futile gestures.

Lord knows Disney has tried to alienate their customer base and they keep coming back and spending in record numbers. Why should Universal be any different? I stopped going to WDW, but I'm sure they haven't missed me.

I'll be fine with being wrong if it turns out that I am.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Wands easily fit into those small lockers, as do most cups and other items that are normally stored in pockets.

$2 must be a deal breaker for a lot of guests, from the way it sounds in this forum, but they are also the ones that don’t mind coughing up $12 per Butterbeer for their whole family.

Butterbeer is what, 4 bucks if you don't get a souvenir cup? Also, it's not right to compare optional food and souvenir purchases with mandatory lockers. Also, it's $2 per ride.. Also what will your response be when they inevitably start charging $1 per locker for the small lockers?

For those who don't know, the new lockers they have installed at most rides, which replaced the old thumbprint lockers, have small lockers that are significantly smaller than the standard old ones. Perfect for storing phones. Not so great for bags, purses, backpacks, and larger merch.

I'll agree that if they never charge for the small lockers then this isn't that big of a deal. But it seems very likely that it will happen at some point. One of the biggest complaints Universal gets is for their frustrating locker setups. So far, most have just accepted it because it was done in the name of safety. But, once you start charging for lockers that you're forcing people to use, it stops being about safety and is now nickel and diming sleaziness.

 

[lebeau]

Butterbeer is what, 4 bucks if you don't get a souvenir cup? Also, it's not right to compare optional food and souvenir purchases with mandatory lockers. Also, it's $2 per ride.. Also what will your response be when they inevitably start charging $1 per locker for the small lockers?

For those who don't know, the new lockers they have installed at most rides, which replaced the old thumbprint lockers, have small lockers that are significantly smaller than the standard old ones. Perfect for storing phones. Not so great for bags, purses, backpacks, and larger merch.

I'll agree that if they never charge for the small lockers then this isn't that big of a deal. But it seems very likely that it will happen at some point. One of the biggest complaints Universal gets is for their frustrating locker setups. So far, most have just accepted it because it was done in the name of safety. But, once you start charging for lockers that you're forcing people to use, it stops being about safety and is now nickel and diming sleaziness.

If they start charging $1 for small lockers, they will have a revolt on their hands. That would very clearly be about soaking their guests for a few extra bucks.

I don't actually believe that is Universal's intent. My guess is this started off with the best of intentions. I could be wrong but I imagine their goal was to make the lockers more efficient in response to complaints about the old set-up. Shrinking most of the lockers meant the larger ones were in short supply. Supply and demand dictates that to control supply, you add a fee. I get all that. From a business management standpoint, everything they did made perfect sense.

I would say they failed to consider the guest response, but clearly they knew this wouldn't be a popular policy. They made the change with no announcement right after the holiday weekend. Bad form in my book. They should have warned guests this was coming so they could adapt their behavior before being asked to pay $2. Anyone who was taken by surprise has a very legitimate complaint.

 

[RustySpork]

If they start charging $1 for small lockers, they will have a revolt on their hands. That would very clearly be about soaking their guests for a few extra bucks.

I don't actually believe that is Universal's intent. My guess is this started off with the best of intentions. I could be wrong but I imagine their goal was to make the lockers more efficient in response to complaints about the old set-up. Shrinking most of the lockers meant the larger ones were in short supply. Supply and demand dictates that to control supply, you add a fee. I get all that. From a business management standpoint, everything they did made perfect sense.

I would say they failed to consider the guest response, but clearly they knew this wouldn't be a popular policy. They made the change with no announcement right after the holiday weekend. Bad form in my book. They should have warned guests this was coming so they could adapt their behavior before being asked to pay $2. Anyone who was taken by surprise has a very legitimate complaint.

I suspect they did measure and calculate the guest response and decided it was worth the potential loss of some guests just as they did when they elected to remove water from the freestyle machines. To your point, controlling the supply is very important.

 

[Rob562]

Since the supply of large lockers seems to be a major factor in this decision, what other options might there be to police their use? Some way to weed out people using a large locker when a small would do?

How about something like "they're free to use, but you have to see a TM for a voucher and show them that what you need to store *won't* fit in a small locker"?


-Rob

 

[trr1]

Well, I actually was with my friend's son who was making fun of me for wearing "grandpa" shorts, the short story is his iPhone flew out of his pocket on the Hulk never to be seen again. I wear shorts that secure everything but what the kids are wearing isn't very secure. I haven't had a problem with a watch or a wallet.

half the time their shorts are not and are half way down their bottoms

 

[raven]

Butterbeer is what, 4 bucks if you don't get a souvenir cup? Also, it's not right to compare optional food and souvenir purchases with mandatory lockers. Also, it's $2 per ride.. Also what will your response be when they inevitably start charging $1 per locker for the small lockers?

For those who don't know, the new lockers they have installed at most rides, which replaced the old thumbprint lockers, have small lockers that are significantly smaller than the standard old ones. Perfect for storing phones. Not so great for bags, purses, backpacks, and larger merch.

I'll agree that if they never charge for the small lockers then this isn't that big of a deal. But it seems very likely that it will happen at some point. One of the biggest complaints Universal gets is for their frustrating locker setups. So far, most have just accepted it because it was done in the name of safety. But, once you start charging for lockers that you're forcing people to use, it stops being about safety and is now nickel and diming sleaziness.

No one is forcing anyone to use the lockers. Just be wise. Don’t bring your entire home with you. What can’t you live without for 8 hours when visiting a park? You can always leave it with a non-riding guest or place your items in a pack (which are allowed into those rides). Let’s remember that only a small amount of rides at Universal have the no-loose-items rule too which is due for your safety. A few extra minutes while planning your day can easily remedy this.

 

[raven]

No one is forcing anyone to use the lockers. Just be wise. Don’t bring your entire home with you. What can’t you live without for 8 hours when visiting a park? You can always leave it with a non-riding guest or place your items in a ***** pack (which are allowed into those rides). Let’s remember that only a small amount of rides at Universal have the no-loose-items rule too which is due for your safety. A few extra minutes while planning your day can easily remedy this.

Ha! Fannie is a bad word in this sight I guess.