UOR looking very rundown

[lebeau]

It reallllly frustrates me to see them p---ing away the improved reputation they built for themselves from 2010-2015. The parks are looking the worst they've ever looked. The attractions have a plethora of show issues. Three mediocre rides in a row, capping it off with one of the biggest turds of an attraction ever made. I can't believe this is the same resort I was singing praises for just three years ago.

It's probably pretty obvious at this point but my family's experience does not align with yours. From my point of view, you are wildly overstating the situation. There is room for improvement, but the parks were nowhere near the worst they ever looked in my opinion.

Subjectivity is a funny thing. I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle.

 

[JoeCamel]

It reallllly frustrates me to see them p---ing away the improved reputation they built for themselves from 2010-2015. The parks are looking the worst they've ever looked. The attractions have a plethora of show issues. Three mediocre rides in a row, capping it off with one of the biggest turds of an attraction ever made. I can't believe this is the same resort I was singing praises for just three years ago.

You keep harping on this to the point of hyperbole " The parks are looking the worst they've ever looked." and it is not a common experience or opinion. Time to let this dog die dude.

 

[Tom Morrow]

That might be subjective. Maybe the parks have always looked kind of run down and I'm just now noticing it? I fully admit I scrutinize theme parks harder than most, and maybe I was turning a blind eye to it because they were doing such a substantial amount of improvements and quality control for a few years. But if you decide to be observant when you visit and you will see some things I am mentioning here. Especially the walkways and how bad almost all of them look. Once you notice that, you will not be able to unsee it. I don't expect everyone to do it because I know you want to enjoy your time there.

But what isn't subjective is the fact that for several years the UOR attractions had impeccable upkeep and you would rarely see an effect out or hear a busted speaker. But currently, the attractions are full of show issues to a degree that is on par with their slump in the mid-late 00's. If they continue to let this slip, then they have no category of upkeep in which they do better than Disney.

And again, this is not a "Disney is bettar!11" thing. SeaWorld Orlando is a beautiful park (and I don't even like it that much) and is very clearly cleaned and touched up more than the UOR parks.

 

[lebeau]

That might be subjective. Maybe the parks have always looked kind of run down and I'm just now noticing it? I fully admit I scrutinize theme parks harder than most, and maybe I was turning a blind eye to it because they were doing such a substantial amount of improvements and quality control for a few years. But if you decide to be observant when you visit and you will see some things I am mentioning here. Especially the walkways and how bad almost all of them look. Once you notice that, you will not be able to unsee it. I don't expect everyone to do it because I know you want to enjoy your time there.

But what isn't subjective is the fact that for several years the UOR attractions had impeccable upkeep and you would rarely see an effect out or hear a busted speaker. But currently, the attractions are full of show issues to a degree that is on par with their slump in the mid-late 00's. If they continue to let this slip, then they have no category of upkeep in which they do better than Disney.

And again, this is not a "Disney is bettar!11" thing. SeaWorld Orlando is a beautiful park (and I don't even like it that much) and is very clearly cleaned and touched up more than the UOR parks.

I appreciate that you are being reasonable that this is a matter of opinion. Perhaps your view of the parks was too rosy a few years ago and is too dim now? I am going through my vacation photos preparing to write my trip report and I am on the lookout for anything looking "rundown". Maybe I wasn't observant enough? Maybe I was having too much fun to notice the deterioration. But here's the thing. Out of hundreds of pictures taken over the course of a week, I haven't found a single thing that looks bad at all.

When I was there, I noticed some faded paint, broken effects, etc. I didn't take pictures of these things. I would prefer that everything was perfect all the time. But I also saw lots of maintenance being done, so it's not like Universal is just letting the place rot.

I randomly selected a picture from the photos I am uploading. I dunno, man. It looks fine to me. Not perfect, but definitely not rundown.

 

[JT3000]

While I'm not sure this is the worst the parks have ever looked, or how one could even make such a judgment barring photographic memory, certain rides and areas have definitely seen better days. Unfortunately we will likely continue to see less-than-stellar upkeep as their capital expenditure goes elsewhere. It's the old Disney strategy of swiftly expand and ignore everything you already have.

I randomly selected a picture from the photos I am uploading. I dunno, man. It looks fine to me. Not perfect, but definitely not rundown.

That building is noticeably cracking in several places.

 

[Tom Morrow]

While I'm not sure this is the worst the parks have ever looked, or how one could even make such a judgment barring photographic memory, certain rides and areas have definitely seen better days. Unfortunately we will likely continue to see less-than-stellar upkeep as their capital expenditure goes elsewhere. It's the old Disney strategy of swiftly expand and ignore everything you already have.

Ok, I admit I don't know for a fact that this is the worst the parks have ever looked, but they are looking noticeably more worn lately. I really don't want them to slip into the slump that Disney was in from 2008-2015-ish but I can't help but fear that that is where they're headed.

That building is noticeably cracking in several places.

Haha... you're right, it is. You can also see some large cracks in the walkway, very representative of the walkways all over the resort. Also, (I'm not trying to be smug here lol), that water effect was also broken on my most recent visit. These are good representations of what I'm talking about here. Does the place look like a total dump? Certainly not. I like to do photography at the parks as a hobby, and I can certainly take beautiful pictures at Universal. But when you look away from the big attention-drawing centerpieces that Universal likes to use, you start to notice the cracks (literal and metaphorical). They are abundant.

 

[lebeau]

That building is noticeably cracking in several places.

Like I said, it's not perfect. If you inspect the picture, you can find flaws, but they don't jump out at most tourists. I am seeing things in the picture I didn't notice when I was there.

Is it rundown? Not in my book. Ideally, I'd like them to fix some of these things up. But of all the lands, I imagine Cartoon Lagoon is getting the least love.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Concrete cracks over time no matter what you do if you have a large slab of it. You can put score lines in or expansion joints or whatever and it will crack down the road. Not easy to fix cosmetically unless you rip the whole piece out and pour a new piece. That's not really worth the effort. Just an FYI.

There are very, very few cracked walkways at WDW. Like, it's one thing they still excel at. You frequently see them roping off a small square of walkway because they repave them often.

I can not stress this enough. The walkways in Universal look awful and they’re easily the ugliest thing about the resort.

 

[sonoma15]

There are very, very few cracked walkways at WDW. Like, it's one thing they still excel at. You frequently see them roping off a small square of walkway because they repave them often.

I can not stress this enough. The walkways in Universal look awful and they’re easily the ugliest thing about the resort.

Didn't Universal just repave a bunch of them? Don't know how the walkways could've cracked already.

 

[OG Runner]

I would not worry too much about some cracks in the walkways. The items I see as more concerning are the rides and
buildings. In lebeau's photo you can see how the water affect is dripping down the building and cracking the facsade.
When I was walking to Rip Saw Falls, the ride was leaking down into the queue, which had you look up to rusted bolts.
These types of items give the park a more rundown look. I mean have you ever looked at the walkways in Dinoland, in
Animal Kingdom. Disney has made those walkways look distressed since the section opened, intentionally.

 

[JoeCamel]

There are very, very few cracked walkways at WDW. Like, it's one thing they still excel at. You frequently see them roping off a small square of walkway because they repave them often.

I can not stress this enough. The walkways in Universal look awful and they’re easily the ugliest thing about the resort.

Didn't Universal just repave a bunch of them? Don't know how the walkways could've cracked already.

I would not worry too much about some cracks in the walkways. The items I see as more concerning are the rides and
buildings. In lebeau's photo you can see how the water affect is dripping down the building and cracking the facsade.
When I was walking to Rip Saw Falls, the ride was leaking down into the queue, which had you look up to rusted bolts.
These types of items give the park a more rundown look. I mean have you ever looked at the walkways in Dinoland, in
Animal Kingdom. Disney has made those walkways look distressed since the section opened, intentionally.

Many of the walkways are themed. Just like C&H sideshow they have crack like structure added.

 

[monykalyn]

There are very, very few cracked walkways at WDW. Like, it's one thing they still excel at. You frequently see them roping off a small square of walkway because they repave them often.

I can not stress this enough. The walkways in Universal look awful and they’re easily the ugliest thing about the resort.

You haven't been to Disney Studios lately then? They are just now getting around to fixing the terrible concrete in front of Jedi theater leading to str Tours- course that's now caused a horrible traffic jam as it's all ripped up and causing a detour through Olaf queue.
My point is- when you look you see the bad. To me It's a small world looks horribly shabby (just really pay attention to the platforms the dolls are on- dirty, faded, seams showing, and light bulbs out in many many areas).

 

[Tom Morrow]

I would not worry too much about some cracks in the walkways. The items I see as more concerning are the rides and
buildings. In lebeau's photo you can see how the water affect is dripping down the building and cracking the facsade.
When I was walking to Rip Saw Falls, the ride was leaking down into the queue, which had you look up to rusted bolts.

Yeah, I know the look of the walkways isn't too important, but when nearly every area has numerous cracks, and the buildings and structures have cracks, rust stains, and are dirty and faded, it just all adds up. On top of this, the attractions have more show issues now than they have in the past 8 years.

Many of the walkways are themed. Just like C&H sideshow they have crack like structure added.

I know, I'm not complaining about the intentional cracks.

You haven't been to Disney Studios lately then? They are just now getting around to fixing the terrible concrete in front of Jedi theater leading to str Tours- course that's now caused a horrible traffic jam as it's all ripped up and causing a detour through Olaf queue.
My point is- when you look you see the bad. To me It's a small world looks horribly shabby (just really pay attention to the platforms the dolls are on- dirty, faded, seams showing, and light bulbs out in many many areas).

I actually haven't been to DHS in quite a while. I'm waiting for Toy Story Land. I went to DAK the other day and, because of this thread, decided to look for things that need attention. The queue and loading area for Dinosaur is pretty scuffed up and dusty. You can see a layer of dust on the Earth globe and the pipes. On Everest, there's the hair band issue and the snow at the top is pretty dirty, grimy, and faded looking and the trains are scuffed up. So I'm not just nitpicking Universal, but other than that I couldn't find too much to note at DAK.

 

[monykalyn]

Yeah, I know the look of the walkways isn't too important, but when nearly every area has numerous cracks, and the buildings and structures have cracks, rust stains, and are dirty and faded, it just all adds up. On top of this, the attractions have more show issues now than they have in the past 8 years.

I know, I'm not complaining about the intentional cracks.

I actually haven't been to DHS in quite a while. I'm waiting for Toy Story Land. I went to DAK the other day and, because of this thread, decided to look for things that need attention. The queue and loading area for Dinosaur is pretty scuffed up and dusty. You can see a layer of dust on the Earth globe and the pipes. On Everest, there's the hair band issue and the snow at the top is pretty dirty, grimy, and faded looking and the trains are scuffed up. So I'm not just nitpicking Universal, but other than that I couldn't find too much to note at DAK.

I love DAK-my favorite of all the theme parks in Orlando-so the EE stuff drives me nuts!!! And I agree-DAK does seem to be the best kept up park (aside from EE-and I believe there are already multiple threads on that LOL!)

And I understand the wanting better for the parks too...frustrating isn't it

 

[Rowlet]

My boyfriend and I went to UOR last year. It was his first time ever going to UOR (been to WDW countless times, though). He and I both felt that UOR looked run down and unpolished. The Potter areas looked great, but everything else just kind of had a "we haven't cared much" feel. This was literally a year ago, so I can imagine how worse it must have gotten. Such a shame because I do feel UOR can provide an amazing experience, one I experienced very well during the 2010-2015 years.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I'm thinking it's a combination of these things:

1. They have not increased their maintenance and upkeep budget to account for the annually growing crowds.
2. They are and have been so focused on expansion that they have neglected what is already there, aside from Potter, their crown jewel.
3. They have reached a level of success they have never seen before and have scaled back on upkeep because the pencil pushers are saying "you don't have to try as hard now."

 

[Rowlet]

I think it's a combination of #1 and just simple age of some of Universals attractions. Something like Rip Saw Falls would have to be literally rebuilt to fix everything. That's an old attraction .

Rip Saw Falls looked tragic. Plus no AC in the queue - we were dying.

 

[OG Runner]

Rip Saw Falls looked tragic. Plus no AC in the queue - we were dying.

The funny thing is, I really like the ride. My GF and I rode it for the first time, in May. We were not even off of the ride and
she wanted to go again, so we did. A fun ride, that needs some sprucing up.

 

[lebeau]

The funny thing is, I really like the ride. My GF and I rode it for the first time, in May. We were not even off of the ride and
she wanted to go again, so we did. A fun ride, that needs some sprucing up.

It's a shame they never finished the original concept for the ride. It was supposed to be quite ambitious. The ride vehicles consisted of two logs instead of one and would have been split in half by a ripsaw before going over the falls (thus the name).

How cool would that have been?

What we have is the result of a slashed budget and a rushed schedule. Still a good flume ride, but a shadow of the ride's true potential.

 

[OG Runner]

It's a shame they never finished the original concept for the ride. It was supposed to be quite ambitious. The ride vehicles consisted of two logs instead of one and would have been split in half by a ripsaw before going over the falls (thus the name).

How cool would that have been?

What we have is the result of a slashed budget and a rushed schedule. Still a good flume ride, but a shadow of the ride's true potential.

You are right, that definitely would have been cool.