Has Universal Lost Its Way?

[Teebin]

I still don’t understand what it is that is wrong with park operations. What exactly aren’t they able to do that they should be able to do? In what specific ways is it causing issues with guest satisfaction?

 

[JungleSkip]

I still don’t understand what it is that is wrong with park operations. What exactly aren’t they able to do that they should be able to do? In what specific ways is it causing issues with guest satisfaction?

I'll just talk about my experience last week when I was there:

-Parking attendants either non existent or not even bothering to direct cars where to park
-Long lines at counter service restaurants running at 1/2 capacity registers
-Indifferent guest relations cast members on two different occasions
-At HHN there was 1 person working at Moe's and 2 severely overmatched TMs at Duff Gardens, leading to long lines and ridiculous waits just to get a beer.

Uni's Ops aren't terrible, but they sloppy and far too often disinterested. It isn't fitting for the world class resort they are

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I'll just talk about my experience last week when I was there:

-Parking attendants either non existent or not even bothering to direct cars where to park
-Long lines at counter service restaurants running at 1/2 capacity registers
-Indifferent guest relations cast members on two different occasions
-At HHN there was 1 person working at Moe's and 2 severely overmatched TMs at Duff Gardens, leading to long lines and ridiculous waits just to get a beer.

Uni's Ops aren't terrible, but they sloppy and far too often disinterested. It isn't fitting for the world class resort they are

I’d say inconsistent.

 

[Teebin]

Hmm. It is the first I’ve ever heard of the parks being understaffed or guest relations lacking empathy. Being understaffed can cause the latter.

 

[P@n!K_Sw1tC#]

At Disney, guests are treated like individuals. There's as much emphasis placed on making small magical moments as there is on a ride throughput or standard operating procedures.

Examples:
Cast Members stop to chat to guests often.
Cast Members are encouraged to make spontaneous magical moments.
Cast Members are proactive in handling guest situations.

At Universal, guests are defined as a population. The focus is always around what do to with the mass of people, rather than providing individual attention to the paying customer.

Examples:
Universal often uses a guilty until proven innocent approach with their security team. "We see (x) trend happening in our parks, therefore we will take action on everybody rather than identifying the problem"
Team Members are more focused on ride throughput and operational efficiencies rather than focusing on the guest experience as a whole (funny because they still can't get it right)

 

[Mad Dog]

IDK. I'm there 20 to 25 days a year and I've never yet had one negative experience. Quite the opposite. Cordial friendly staff that went out of their way numerous times to give us a special experience, food lines way shorter than WDW, shorter than WDW stand by & single ride lines for the times we don't have a deluxe hotel (Express Pass) booking. . In fact, we've received special over the top individual treatment that's prompted me to write congratulatory thank you letters to Bill Davis. I must be going to a different park I guess.

 

[P@n!K_Sw1tC#]

That's great, and I'm happy for you, but just because you had a good time and think that everything is fine doesn't mean you can dismiss people that call out the resort for their less than stellar experiences.

 

[JungleSkip]

At Disney, guests are treated like individuals. There's as much emphasis placed on making small magical moments as there is on a ride throughput or standard operating procedures.

Examples:
Cast Members stop to chat to guests often.
Cast Members are encouraged to make spontaneous magical moments.
Cast Members are proactive in handling guest situations.

At Universal, guests are defined as a population. The focus is always around what do to with the mass of people, rather than providing individual attention to the paying customer.

Examples:
Universal often uses a guilty until proven innocent approach with their security team. "We see (x) trend happening in our parks, therefore we will take action on everybody rather than identifying the problem"
Team Members are more focused on ride throughput and operational efficiencies rather than focusing on the guest experience as a whole (funny because they still can't get it right)

See, I don't agree with this at all. "Magical moments" are cutesy pie BS that come off as so fake. Disney's ops are the best because they are THE BEST at what to do with the mass of people. I don't need a CM talking to me about how magical my day is. I DO need them to know how to do their jobs and do them well.

Universal does fine with the "magical moments" stuff. They've glommed that off Disney just fine. What they lack is the ability to grasp their newly garnered crowds.

 

[MrRoamer]

I don't think they've lost their vision exactly I think they are taking their previous vision to the next level. They are still doing the whole ride the movies thing but they are expanding on it by making it bigger, more technical, etc. Now the queues are part of the experience, instead of practical effects they are using screens more often. On the whole there isn't a whole lot of difference between rides like Fallon and Twister, Disaster and Fast in the Furious, Despicable Me and Hanna Barbara. In the end you were still in one place with minimum amounts of movement to experience something, it just happens that more of that something may be screen based and/or 3d than practical.

I do think that there is something else on the whole that Universal that has changed. I don't mean for this to sound stupid which it probably will, but its the best way I can think to put it. It feels like a business now. The only place I have felt like I was in the Universal that I love and could do no wrong in the past several years was in the Barney show.

 

[Mad Dog]

That's great, and I'm happy for you, but just because you had a good time and think that everything is fine doesn't mean you can dismiss people that call out the resort for their less than stellar experiences.

... Just stated my experience and I go a damn lot.

 

[P@n!K_Sw1tC#]

Maybe that's part of it. I don't go as much as you do so I expect more out of my experience? I'm sure that's true for most people. Glad you enjoy it though!

 

[Brian G.]

Just wanted to chime in that my experience with Ops is about 50/50, but yeah - they need some working on to elevate the Resort.

 

[P@n!K_Sw1tC#]

See, I don't agree with this at all. "Magical moments" are cutesy pie BS that come off as so fake.

No, magical moments at Disney are when a cast member gets a specific assignment (task) from the CSD system to spend the next 15 minutes of their day finding a family and making them feel special. It's pre-planned in their labor forecasting tools. Ride Ops can do this by back-dooring people directly onto their attractions/whereas park services do this through their water art on the guest pathways. It's not always a voluntary action (although that's also encouraged).

Magical moments are threaded into the fabric of Disney's employment culture. They're designed to not only make the guest feel special but to also empower the cast members to take ownership of their role and exceed the expectations of their visitors. The essential duties of operating a ride or managing a shop are still maintained.

Universal does fine with the "magical moments" stuff. They've glommed that off Disney just fine. What they lack is the ability to grasp their newly garnered crowds.

Universal never instructs its team members to go above an beyond for the individual. They'll tell new team members that if little Timmy drops his ice cream cone you replace it free of charge, but they never encourage spontaneous acts of kindness towards their guests. It's purely operational.

 

[Andysol]

I didn’t realize that there was an issue with park ops.

Overall Ops issues (in both front and back of house) are the main reason I stopped going. I have a lot of theories on the why, but it’ll take a while for the cultural change that’s necessary in the parks to take effect.

I still don’t understand what it is that is wrong with park operations. What exactly aren’t they able to do that they should be able to do? In what specific ways is it causing issues with guest satisfaction?

I haven't had bad experiences either- and I go a lot, like @Mad Dog . But we are also a pretty "likeable" family- if that makes sense. We are chill, we're nice to everyone, we give everyone the benefit of the doubt, etc. and I find - in life - that comes back to you. If you're a jerk- or even if you are just indifferent, your experiences are usually equal to that. Giving off kindness begets kindness more often than not.
That said- I still feel those "magical" fluff moments that Disney does is more readily felt among the GP. Is it brainwash? Maybe. But I've gotten some incredible "magic" from both Universal and Disney- although in my personal experience the magic from Uni has come from the top and the magic from Disney has usually come from the generic CM. Disney does seem to try and get those "extra" experiences to the GP moreso than Uni.
As for ops- I don't mind either Disney or Uni's. I actually agree with @JungleSkip that I hate seeing people take advantage of Disney's pushover attitude- I wish they'd actually stand up to some people. Even Uni doesn't in most cases- I sat there and watched a family of 15-20 people get multiple disability passes (I think they needed 3 due to all their guests) because - coincidently the exact number of passes they needed- 3 - of them "had anxiety" from standing in line. Annoying doesn't even begin to scratch the surface on those a-holes.


Departing from Ops- which I don't personally see as a problem- mine is on the infrastructure stance. Everyone can knock magic bands- but Disney has it right. Even when they had a key to the world - it was just one card that did everything - they did it right. Universal is working on years now having more cards than one can hold- although they've finally got Express Passes on room keys- yet tickets are still separate. And if you aren't on-property, you cant charge to your room key (obviously). I long for a unified system and a day where an annoying lanyard is no longer necessary. Oh, and Wifi.

 

[JungleSkip]

No, magical moments at Disney are when a cast member gets a specific assignment (task) from the CSD system to spend the next 15 minutes of their day finding a family and making them feel special. It's pre-planned in their labor forecasting tools. Ride Ops can do this by back-dooring people directly onto their attractions/whereas park services do this through their water art on the guest pathways. It's not always a voluntary action (although that's also encouraged).

I was a Disney CM. I know how it works.

It's purely operational.

As it should be.

Departing from Ops- which I don't personally see as a problem- mine is on the infrastructure stance. Everyone can knock magic bands- but Disney has it right. Even when they had a key to the world - it was just one card that did everything - they did it right. Universal is working on years now having more cards than one can hold- although they've finally got Express Passes on room keys- yet tickets are still separate. And if you aren't on-property, you cant charge to your room key (obviously). I long for a unified system and a day where an annoying lanyard is no longer necessary. Oh, and Wifi.

IMO this is on the same level as Ops, though I will say Uni and Disney's wifi are equally pathetic. Constantly dropped from both the other week.

I think Uni's MagicBands are right around the corner, and after my experience with TapuTapu I say bring them on!

 

[Andysol]

See, I don't agree with this at all. "Magical moments" are cutesy pie BS that come off as so fake.

I was a Disney CM. I know how it works.

Having "behind the curtain" firsthand knowledge skews your opinion though. You see "Magical moments" as cutesy pie BS that comes off as fake- because you know it's fake and you know it's, as @P@n!K_Sw1tC# said, it is a preplanned task in their labor forecasting tools. It's as fake as it could possibly be. That's your opinion because that's your experience.
For the Millions upon Millions annually who don't share that experience, they don't see it as cutesy pie fake BS. And that's who they are impressing. Not former CMs who are familiar with the game.

 

[P@n!K_Sw1tC#]

As it should be.

Cool, so you have no problem with Universal running their operations like the TSA checkpoint at the airport. Got it, glad you're not in charge.

 

[JungleSkip]

Having "behind the curtain" firsthand knowledge skews your opinion though. You see "Magical moments" as cutesy pie BS that comes off as fake- because you know it's fake and you know it's, as @P@n!K_Sw1tC# said, it is a preplanned task in their labor forecasting tools. It's as fake as it could possibly be. That's your opinion because that's your experience.
For the Millions upon Millions annually who don't share that experience, they don't see it as cutesy pie fake BS. And that's who they are impressing. Not former CMs who are familiar with the game.

I was also a guest before I was a CM though. I never liked the incessant "Have a magical day!" every CM threw out like a robot

 

[Andysol]

I was also a guest before I was a CM though. I never liked the incessant "Have a magical day!" every CM threw out like a robot

Which means everything for your experience and absolutely nothing for everyone else's...
"I dont like this so it shouldnt be that way" is a terrible stance.

 

[JungleSkip]

Cool, so you have no problem with Universal running their operations like the TSA checkpoint at the airport. Got it, glad you're not in charge.

I literally said their Ops needs help. I'm the one that brought the conversation up. I just...what?

There's a middle ground between disinterested and cloying.