Theme Parks & Shopping Districts Reopening General Thread

[Tbad556]

I was there Friday. It wasn’t very busy, but it was the worst we’ve seen mask compliance in the parks thus far. I think guests are feeling more lax now and it’s not good. It was still only some individuals not following the rules, but it felt like we saw more of them throughout the day than usual.

And that's my main concern. It's not like I'm on some anti-Universal tirade or anything. I'm dying to get back (especially since I'm actively paying for my annual pass monthly still ), but it also seems like guests are only going to get more restless and capacity has to be taken seriously with factors like that. I'm just not here for the "There is no war in Ba Sing Se" esque narrative about these problems lol.

It's also just a bad look in general outside of COVID concerns that guests are complaining on Twitter that they waited 2+ hours just to park and then couldn't even get in, but I digress there.

 

[Magic Feather]

The only place that I have heard where mask usage hasn’t slipped is inside Disney’s parks (definitely not counting Disney Springs, and I’ve heard mixed reports on the resorts).

It’s a troubling trend that really worried me in situations with extra crowds like weekends, and especially holiday weekends as we are seeing play out.

It’s near impossible for me to be able to defend how Universal has handled this weekend (and even most weekends).

 

[Tristan]

I'm just not here for the "There is no war in Ba Sing Se" esque narrative about these problems lol.

Nice reference

 

[shiekra38]

The only place that I have heard where mask usage hasn’t slipped is inside Disney’s parks.

lolz

 

[Jerroddragon]

Honestly, IMO, it’s on them a lot.

Yes, it’s a holiday weekend and people want out but Universal (+ all the parks) has the capability to lower the capacity to a point that’s manageable for the TM’s they wanna pin the responsibility on.

Unfortunately though, like any multi billion dollar conglomerate, money > safety. It’s just more uncomfortable looking to watch in this current climate.

It's not just them to blame, its on them, the people going and unions.

Like don't like the work conditions and they are unsafe this is why you pay into a union, they are not doing their job by allowing CMs to work like this. Universal is letting too many in and too many think its safe to go on a busy weekend. Its on many factors and since the government refuses to aid those without work Universal is not a bad guy for allowing people to work and pay their rent.

 

[Tbad556]

It's not just them to blame, its on them, the people going and unions.

Like don't like the work conditions and they are unsafe this is why you pay into a union, they are not doing their job by allowing CMs to work like this. Universal is letting too many in and too many think its safe to go on a busy weekend. Its on many factors and since the government refuses to aid those without work Universal is not a bad guy for allowing people to work and pay their rent.

Uh, what? The issue we're discussing is at Universal and they do not have a union. None of this is the TMs' fault. They're working incredibly long hours right now (typically full park day shifts) and dealing with insane crowds & unruly guests during a pandemic. They have no control over the conditions.

And I can't agree with going, "Welp, times are hard so we're just going to throw safety to the wind". Everyone acknowledges that the parks are in a tough spot, but it doesn't excuse the poor execution of safety and crowd control currently.

 

[shiekra38]

It's not just them to blame, its on them, the people going and unions.

Like don't like the work conditions and they are unsafe this is why you pay into a union, they are not doing their job by allowing CMs to work like this. Universal is letting too many in and too many think its safe to go on a busy weekend. Its on many factors and since the government refuses to aid those without work Universal is not a bad guy for allowing people to work and pay their rent.

Is this thread about to go political? Oh hell yeah!

Before we talk about UBI you should all watch this video, it's a good documentation of what happened. If you're looking for a visual

 

[Nick]

It's not just them to blame, its on them, the people going and unions.

Like don't like the work conditions and they are unsafe this is why you pay into a union, they are not doing their job by allowing CMs to work like this. Universal is letting too many in and too many think its safe to go on a busy weekend. Its on many factors and since the government refuses to aid those without work Universal is not a bad guy for allowing people to work and pay their rent.

I've worked at Universal for years and there's no unions to speak of. That's the way they want to keep it, too. I feel unsafe, have gone to everyone possible to try and let people know and honestly am in a position where I just don't know what to do anymore or if I even want to continue working there (which is why I feel comfortable posting this). Things are bad and there's little support for TMs so you are completely off-base and don't know what you're talking about when it comes to unions because there are none.

 

[Allison]

It's not just them to blame, its on them, the people going and unions.

Like don't like the work conditions and they are unsafe this is why you pay into a union, they are not doing their job by allowing CMs to work like this. Universal is letting too many in and too many think its safe to go on a busy weekend. Its on many factors and since the government refuses to aid those without work Universal is not a bad guy for allowing people to work and pay their rent.

Ummm...I’m ngl I’m kinda stumped for a response to this. Definitely don’t know what to make of the Universal is a “bad guy” comment, however they’re also the same company who’s continually putting their TM’s at risk because of their own shoddy business choices. So, if you wanna defend them here, I think we just have to agree to disagree.

As @Nick and @Tbad556 said, they have no unions at Universal so, to me, that puts a lot more responsibility on the higher up’s to take better care of their employees, and with the weekends full of crowds (with this current one seeming to be the worst) unfortunately it looks like they’re not doing well in managing that. Hopefully in order to take better care of everyone (both TM’s and whoever decides to visit), they’ll seriously consider lowering the capacity again or implementing a reservation system.

 

[Disneyhead]

Pretty sure Universal's take on the whole thing is, as of Tuesday the spring dries up. They wanted to grab as much cash as possible before the dry spell. They knew they didn't have the staff they needed to pull off the holiday weekend because of the recent lay offs, but hiring for 3 days doesn't make any sense. They went for it and plan on just doing damage control/mea culpa after the fact. And pray no outbreaks are traced back to the parks.

 

[Scott W.]

Pretty sure Universal's take on the whole thing is, as of Tuesday the spring dries up. They wanted to grab as much cash as possible before the dry spell. They knew they didn't have the staff they needed to pull off the holiday weekend because of the recent lay offs, but hiring for 3 days doesn't make any sense. They went for it and plan on just doing damage control/mea culpa after the fact. And pray no outbreaks are traced back to the parks.

At least they have an ace up their sleeve with the JP coaster announcement if they need it.

 

[Teebin]

Zeus striking down the departing guests with poor mask etiquette...

 

[shiekra38]

Pretty sure Universal's take on the whole thing is, as of Tuesday the spring dries up. They wanted to grab as much cash as possible before the dry spell. They knew they didn't have the staff they needed to pull off the holiday weekend because of the recent lay offs, but hiring for 3 days doesn't make any sense. They went for it and plan on just doing damage control/mea culpa after the fact. And pray no outbreaks are traced back to the parks.

My thoughts exactly. The "after Christmas" rush should be rather interesting...at least they have time to plan

 

[HandsomePete]

My thoughts exactly. The "after Christmas" rush should be rather interesting...at least they have time to plan

At least the Buy a Day, Ruin the Park for Passholders promotion ends Dec 24.

It just blows my mind that 6-8 100+ minute waits is where the line gets drawn for capacity. It’s a worthless product when you can only go weekends but have to be there at rope drop to actually do anything.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I've worked at Universal for years and there's no unions to speak of. That's the way they want to keep it, too. I feel unsafe, have gone to everyone possible to try and let people know and honestly am in a position where I just don't know what to do anymore or if I even want to continue working there (which is why I feel comfortable posting this). Things are bad and there's little support for TMs so you are completely off-base and don't know what you're talking about when it comes to unions because there are none.

Like I said I'm sorry to hear it, I just am not going to put all blame on Universal. The site is acting like Robots are flooding in with no Free will, its on Universal, the upper staff, government and since they have no unions upper staff.

I know many don't want to hear it but if this kinda behavior is unacceptable to you and other then don't support them by going and find a new job ASAP. Because the leadership of both Companies and the Government will not correct this behavior "you" (who ever is reading this) has to be the change you want and can't just post on here you dont like it. You want change be the change and don't support it.
I just thinking people being like "universal bad" is making it a black and white issue which its not (at least how i see it)

Also I do want people to get I know what its like to be working somewhere with bad management, I found something better and left and it took a long time to get there so my advice is if your in a bad spot, start looking and don't stop until you find somewhere you shine and feel valued. You never want to go back to some job that doesn't do that ever again

 

[Legacy]

Like I said I'm sorry to hear it, I just am not going to put all blame on Universal. The site is acting like Robots are flooding in with no Free will, its on Universal, the upper staff, government and since they have no unions upper staff.

I know many don't want to hear it but if this kinda behavior is unacceptable to you and other then don't support them by going and find a new job ASAP. Because the leadership of both Companies and the Government will not correct this behavior "you" (who ever is reading this) has to be the change you want and can't just post on here you dont like it. You want change be the change and don't support it.
I just thinking people being like "universal bad" is making it a black and white issue which its not (at least how i see it)

Yeah... I don’t think you understand the economics of Central Florida right now. If you need a job to live, you don’t give up the only job you have or can get.

 

[Tbad556]

It just blows my mind that 6-8 100+ minute waits is where the line gets drawn for capacity. It’s a worthless product when you can only go weekends but have to be there at rope drop to actually do anything.

Not disagreeing about the limit for capacity being irresponsible, but just wanted to throw out that from everything I've heard, attractions have been overposting like crazy for weeks/months, so it was likely not actually that many rides over 100+ min waits

 

[shiekra38]

It just blows my mind that 6-8 100+ minute waits is where the line gets drawn for capacity. It’s a worthless product when you can only go weekends but have to be there at rope drop to actually do anything.

Maybe this weekend, next weekend will probably be a different story

 

[Mad Dog]

Not disagreeing about the limit for capacity being irresponsible, but just wanted to throw out that from everything I've heard, attractions have been overposting like crazy for weeks/months, so it was likely not actually that many rides over 100+ min waits

Yes, Touring Plans was doing some actual line testing during these past busy Universal weekends. They found that the line times were being posted about 20% higher than the actual waits. TP had an article or two on that and have adjusted their expected wait times on their TP lines app accordingly.

 

[Tristan]

Like I said I'm sorry to hear it, I just am not going to put all blame on Universal. The site is acting like Robots are flooding in with no Free will, its on Universal, the upper staff, government and since they have no unions upper staff.

I know many don't want to hear it but if this kinda behavior is unacceptable to you and other then don't support them by going and find a new job ASAP. Because the leadership of both Companies and the Government will not correct this behavior "you" (who ever is reading this) has to be the change you want and can't just post on here you dont like it. You want change be the change and don't support it.
I just thinking people being like "universal bad" is making it a black and white issue which its not (at least how i see it)

Also I do want people to get I know what its like to be working somewhere with bad management, I found something better and left and it took a long time to get there so my advice is if your in a bad spot, start looking and don't stop until you find somewhere you shine and feel valued. You never want to go back to some job that doesn't do that ever again

Economy is trash right now and unlike California, Florida has one of the lowest unemployment rates with only like 275? (If I remember correctly) so you can't quit the job and live off that money. It's horrible to know that people go to work fearing for themselves and other but they don't have a choice. I bet people would love to switch jobs but can not right now.