Okay, I need to start this thread off with a few disclaimers, since I know the resident UOR PR department here will be on this like flies on you-know-what.
I am not a Disney fanboy who hates Universal. I actually love Universal, though I have been upset with decisions they have been making post-Diagon Alley. A few years ago, when WDW was at it's lowest and most stagnant point, you could find me singing praises of UOR all over this forum. After Wizarding World premiered, they were doing refurbishments and improvements left and right, and for several years the attractions were always in incredible condition and it was rare to ever see a broken effect. Please don't try to counter-argue me with some example from Disney like "what about the yeti!!" because WDW has always had its own share of ride maintenance woes, but you can't deny that they are constantly refurbishing and polishing the parks themselves. I'm just comparing UOR to itself circa 2010-2015-ish. Also, to further prove that I'm not biased toward Disney, I will add that SeaWorld Orlando always looks very clean with good upkeep, and is downright beautiful, despite their attendance and revenue woes.
Ok, so now that that's all out of the way... UOR is a mess.
Let's start at the parking garages. Yeah I know they're just parking garages, but they're disgusting. The whole structure is, all the way to Ctywalk. The floors are completely stained with grime. The ceilings are covered with cobwebs and mildew. The signs are faded and dirty with burnt out lights. The garbage cans are often overflowing - in the morning, meaning nobody changed them overnight. Not a good first impression.
The walkways. Yeah, you might say "who cares about the ground?" But Disney and SeaWorld care, because the ground is 1/3rd of your field of vision most of the time. Every. Single. walkway at Universal is some combination of the following: cracked, cracked and poorly patched up, stained with grime, faded, or extremely scuffed up (because they bafflingly choose to paint the ground in some areas which looks extremely tacky). Once you notice this, you will not be able to un-see it. If you quote me saying that SeaWorld and Disney are like this too, I absolutely positively promise you that they are not and I'm not above taking a bunch of pictures of the ground to prove it
Facades and surfaces everywhere are faded, dirty, and need polishing. Everywhere. It's honestly as if Universal never polishes or power washes or touches up anything because so many areas look completely used and beat up and have clearly not been attended to since 1990/1999, respectively.
Actually, you know what? I could keep going on about the look of the parks, but honestly it still doesn't bother me too much because I've never thought they were pretty parks. USF is the ugliest park in Orlando and both parks are kind of a hodge-podge of clashing aesthetics. However, where Universal used to shine above the competition to make up for this was their attraction upkeep. Some time shortly after Potter opened in 2010 and lasting until at least 2015, there was a clear push to make sure every attraction was in great show condition at all times. It rivaled Disneyland in their upkeep of effects. Sadly, this no longer seems to be the case, and the problem is getting worse every time I visit.
I just visited tonight, for example, and almost every. single. attraction had multiple major show issues. It's reached the level of their pre-Potter days when the park was in a rut and everything was neglected. Half of the effects out on Forbidden Journey. Blown speakers and bad projectors all over Men in Black. Non-working animations on ET. Hogwarts Express cabins smelly and dusty. Multiple broken effects on Mummy. Half the audio missing on Jurassic Park (a ride that just came back from refurbishment). No audio or headlights and broken queue effects on Hulk (not to mention a filthy queue). Water vortex out on Poseidon's Fury (the only thing that really makes the experience worth it). Squealing ride vehicle on Simpsons. Blown speakers throughout Cat in the Hat. Ugly faded giant banner on Rockit, which badly needs a paint job.
The only attractions that looked and felt like they were in tip-top shape were Spider-Man, Gringotts, and of course the news guys, Kong, Fallon, and Fast.
So, what is happening? I kind of don't understand it. The resort is making more money than it ever has and revenue and attendance keep increasing each year. Are they stretching themselves too thin? How do you go from being a near perfect experience and topping yourselves several years in a row to being as bad as it was when the resort was failing?
I posted this rant because I want Universal to be great. I want to feel the enthusiasm I had after Potter when they seemingly had endless momentum for improvements and were killing Disney in the ride upkeep department.
I am not a Disney fanboy who hates Universal. I actually love Universal, though I have been upset with decisions they have been making post-Diagon Alley. A few years ago, when WDW was at it's lowest and most stagnant point, you could find me singing praises of UOR all over this forum. After Wizarding World premiered, they were doing refurbishments and improvements left and right, and for several years the attractions were always in incredible condition and it was rare to ever see a broken effect. Please don't try to counter-argue me with some example from Disney like "what about the yeti!!" because WDW has always had its own share of ride maintenance woes, but you can't deny that they are constantly refurbishing and polishing the parks themselves. I'm just comparing UOR to itself circa 2010-2015-ish. Also, to further prove that I'm not biased toward Disney, I will add that SeaWorld Orlando always looks very clean with good upkeep, and is downright beautiful, despite their attendance and revenue woes.
Ok, so now that that's all out of the way... UOR is a mess.
Let's start at the parking garages. Yeah I know they're just parking garages, but they're disgusting. The whole structure is, all the way to Ctywalk. The floors are completely stained with grime. The ceilings are covered with cobwebs and mildew. The signs are faded and dirty with burnt out lights. The garbage cans are often overflowing - in the morning, meaning nobody changed them overnight. Not a good first impression.
The walkways. Yeah, you might say "who cares about the ground?" But Disney and SeaWorld care, because the ground is 1/3rd of your field of vision most of the time. Every. Single. walkway at Universal is some combination of the following: cracked, cracked and poorly patched up, stained with grime, faded, or extremely scuffed up (because they bafflingly choose to paint the ground in some areas which looks extremely tacky). Once you notice this, you will not be able to un-see it. If you quote me saying that SeaWorld and Disney are like this too, I absolutely positively promise you that they are not and I'm not above taking a bunch of pictures of the ground to prove it
Facades and surfaces everywhere are faded, dirty, and need polishing. Everywhere. It's honestly as if Universal never polishes or power washes or touches up anything because so many areas look completely used and beat up and have clearly not been attended to since 1990/1999, respectively.
Actually, you know what? I could keep going on about the look of the parks, but honestly it still doesn't bother me too much because I've never thought they were pretty parks. USF is the ugliest park in Orlando and both parks are kind of a hodge-podge of clashing aesthetics. However, where Universal used to shine above the competition to make up for this was their attraction upkeep. Some time shortly after Potter opened in 2010 and lasting until at least 2015, there was a clear push to make sure every attraction was in great show condition at all times. It rivaled Disneyland in their upkeep of effects. Sadly, this no longer seems to be the case, and the problem is getting worse every time I visit.
I just visited tonight, for example, and almost every. single. attraction had multiple major show issues. It's reached the level of their pre-Potter days when the park was in a rut and everything was neglected. Half of the effects out on Forbidden Journey. Blown speakers and bad projectors all over Men in Black. Non-working animations on ET. Hogwarts Express cabins smelly and dusty. Multiple broken effects on Mummy. Half the audio missing on Jurassic Park (a ride that just came back from refurbishment). No audio or headlights and broken queue effects on Hulk (not to mention a filthy queue). Water vortex out on Poseidon's Fury (the only thing that really makes the experience worth it). Squealing ride vehicle on Simpsons. Blown speakers throughout Cat in the Hat. Ugly faded giant banner on Rockit, which badly needs a paint job.
The only attractions that looked and felt like they were in tip-top shape were Spider-Man, Gringotts, and of course the news guys, Kong, Fallon, and Fast.
So, what is happening? I kind of don't understand it. The resort is making more money than it ever has and revenue and attendance keep increasing each year. Are they stretching themselves too thin? How do you go from being a near perfect experience and topping yourselves several years in a row to being as bad as it was when the resort was failing?
I posted this rant because I want Universal to be great. I want to feel the enthusiasm I had after Potter when they seemingly had endless momentum for improvements and were killing Disney in the ride upkeep department.
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