2023 Holidays at Universal Orlando (Nov 17 - Dec 31)

[Allison]

Blaming disabled people has to stop. As a person with invisible disabilities I can't believe that a member of staff would make such comments. I'm not letting this go until apologies are made an appropriate action taken. Disabled people aren't the reason that lines are long. They're not even in the top 100 reasons.

FWIW, my only travel party consists of my disabled family member that needs to use a disability pass (and my best friend is paralyzed) so while I genuinely understand how upsetting it can be to feel singled out, and I know I can’t speak for @Clive I really don’t believe his intentions were to single out disabled people any further.

There are many alternative methods that can be used to utilize shorter wait times all over the parks, and I’d hope that it can be understood that a discussion can be had about that topic without reverting to being ableist which I don’t believe was the intention behind that comment.

 

[darkridelover]

FWIW, my only travel party consists of my disabled family member that needs to use a disability pass (and my best friend is paralyzed) so while I genuinely understand how upsetting it can be to feel singled out, and I know I can’t speak for @Clive I really don’t believe his intentions were to single out disabled people any further.

There are many alternative methods that can be used to utilize shorter wait times all over the parks, and I’d hope that it can be understood that a discussion can be had about that topic without reverting to being ableist which I don’t believe was the intention behind that comment.

Wrong!!!! His intentions we're very clear. He made it known that he was SO inconvenienced that people needed accommodations that he had to leave the line. The quote was,

"There were periods where I waited fifteen minutes without movement (I ultimately bailed) due to groups with a guest assistance pass showing up one after the other and being immediately admitted. If that's continuing this year, I think an alternative needs to be worked out."

The feeling of being inconvenienced by people with disabilities is text book Ableism. And he was completely wrong on the facts.

The people with disabilities were in line before him. If they weren't disabled and waited in line, his wait would have been exactly the same. They didn't hold up the line or make it longer. They got in line before he did. But his ableist perception is that they were able to cut the line in front of him and that Universal needs to do something about that. That is inexcusable The fact you're on staff and Brian liked your post excusing the offensive and factually inaccurate post from your fellow staff member says a lot about how Inside Universal feels about disabled people.

Where is the accountability????

 

[Mad Dog]

That's always been a touchy subject since there's those who are legit and deserve a disability pass, and those that game the system and bring a community along with them. Disney has wrestled with this problem over the years also and had to modify their system a number of times due to system abuse. What is a shame is that there are some who play the system and ruin it for those who are truly in need of a disability system....I don't believe Clive was referring to legit disabled people. To think there isn't some gaming of the system is just being naive since the parks wouldn't be continuously changing their systems to try to fix the problem and still take care of those that really need the disability pass.

 

[darkridelover]

That's always been a touchy subject since there's those who are legit and deserve a disability pass, and those that game the system and bring a community along with them. Disney has wrestled with this problem over the years also and had to modify their system a number of times due to system abuse. What is a shame is that there are some who play the system and ruin it for those who are truly in need of a disability system.

That's an ablelist straw man argument. When it was pointed out to Clive that they did wait and got a return time, he doubled down on his statement saying

"It's possible they did receive a return time and come back later, but The Problem remains the same: Because only one group can meet with The Grinch at a time, the line will not move at all if multiple groups with access passes arrive within five to ten minutes of each other."

Again stating that people who need accommodations are an inconvenience to him. They are "The Problem". That is ableism.

 

[pmorosin]

I didn't see a mention of disabled people or people with special needs. That got angry in a hurry.

 

[Clive]

It's clear that my posts upset you, @darkridelover, which was of course not my intention, and for that, I apologize. I am glad you spoke up about they made you feel, and I hope you'll hear me out, because the last thing I (or anyone) wants is for you to feel unwelcome here.

My comments are not intended to suggest that we eliminate the guest assistance pass or single out folks using it. It's to call attention to a massive capacity issue with the Grinch meet and greet and the resulting operational problems, as we were talking about the length of the queue. The current arrangement - or at least whatever was happening last year - was simply not sustainable.

When capacity for any experience is that low - in this case, just one Grinch to meet with each group for several minutes at a time - any sort of priority situation, whether granted through a VIP tour group, Universal Express, or a guest assistance pass, is going to make the standby line significantly longer. There's no getting around it. As I mentioned in my original post discussing this, I think they need to work out another solution that benefits everyone, such as adding a second chamber (or even more chambers). That way, those who need the guest assistance pass can still get the accommodation they need, and lines for the meet and greet in general will drop to more tenable levels.

Moving forward, I'll make more of an effort to add more context to these discussions, as I don't want to unintentionally ostracize or make anyone feel uncomfortable.

 

[darkridelover]

It's clear that my posts upset you, @darkridelover, which was of course not my intention, and for that, I apologize. I am glad you spoke up about they made you feel, and I hope you'll hear me out, because the last thing I (or anyone) wants is for you to feel unwelcome here.

My comments are not intended to suggest that we eliminate the guest assistance pass or single out folks using it. It's to call attention to a massive capacity issue with the Grinch meet and greet and the resulting operational problems, as we were talking about the length of the queue. The current arrangement - or at least whatever was happening last year - was simply not sustainable.

When capacity for any experience is that low - in this case, just one Grinch to meet with each group for several minutes at a time - any sort of priority situation, whether granted through a VIP tour group, Universal Express, or a guest assistance pass, is going to make the standby line significantly longer. There's no getting around it. As I mentioned in my original post discussing this, I think they need to work out another solution that benefits everyone, such as adding a second chamber (or even more chambers). That way, those who need the guest assistance pass can still get the accommodation they need, and lines for the meet and greet in general will drop to more tenable levels.

Moving forward, I'll make more of an effort to add more context to these discussions, as I don't want to unintentionally ostracize or make anyone feel uncomfortable.

I appreciate that Clive. Thank you

 

[Jwhee]

I’ve noticed that the NYE hours have been posted. They’ve changed a few times over the last few days, most recently landing with both USF and IOA closing at 1am

If I recall in recent years only the studios have stayed open late. Will be interesting to see if these hours stick, and if they do something special at Islands (fireworks!?)

CityWalk currently listed as midnight, previously 1. Last year it was listed as 1 but stayed open until 2

 

[IzzyB]

That's always been a touchy subject since there's those who are legit and deserve a disability pass, and those that game the system and bring a community along with them. Disney has wrestled with this problem over the years also and had to modify their system a number of times due to system abuse. What is a shame is that there are some who play the system and ruin it for those who are truly in need of a disability system....I don't believe Clive was referring to legit disabled people. To think there isn't some gaming of the system is just being naive since the parks wouldn't be continuously changing their systems to try to fix the problem and still take care of those that really need the disability pass.

I will say as someone who has had to use the guest pass at all parks for two different kids of mine, it does get abused and I don't know that any park has a solution for it. I did think Uni had a better solution than Disney but I won't speak of it as I don't want to allow more abuse of the system. But I have flat out seen guests call it a fast pass and at Disney grab it from the true disabled person and go on the ride without them which is absolutely not allowed at Disney (it is at Uni when the child is disabled due to their child swap program). This was not a disabled child though so even at Uni this wouldn't have been allowed. Maybe picture ID for that type of abuse? I am not sure. But it is in fact abused. I also overheard things in the lines to know it was 100% abused.

However, how both parks do it, the people coming into the ride and riding it were in front of you because they came to the ride and got a return time. Not sure if it is all done by paper still at Uni or if they have gone electronic like Disney. But either way they were in front of you and you would have had to wait it that same amount of time if they were not disabled. So I think the parks have figured it out. However, what they figured out can be really hard on disabled families. I know it was a challenge for my daughter because her issue was heat, but Disney did help us out and solve my issue. So again the parks are trying to balance out the abuse with the people who really need it.

In this case it just seems Universal had poor planning. A single character meet and greet was not smart, they need more chambers.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I will say as someone who has had to use the guest pass at all parks for two different kids of mine, it does get abused and I don't know that any park has a solution for it. I did think Uni had a better solution than Disney but I won't speak of it as I don't want to allow more abuse of the system. But I have flat out seen guests call it a fast pass and at Disney grab it from the true disabled person and go on the ride without them which is absolutely not allowed at Disney (it is at Uni when the child is disabled due to their child swap program). This was not a disabled child though so even at Uni this wouldn't have been allowed. Maybe picture ID for that type of abuse? I am not sure. But it is in fact abused. I also overheard things in the lines to know it was 100% abused.

However, how both parks do it, the people coming into the ride and riding it were in front of you because they came to the ride and got a return time. Not sure if it is all done by paper still at Uni or if they have gone electronic like Disney. But either way they were in front of you and you would have had to wait it that same amount of time if they were not disabled. So I think the parks have figured it out. However, what they figured out can be really hard on disabled families. I know it was a challenge for my daughter because her issue was heat, but Disney did help us out and solve my issue. So again the parks are trying to balance out the abuse with the people who really need it.

In this case it just seems Universal had poor planning. A single character meet and greet was not smart, they need more chambers.

Removing DAS from the conversation for just a second, there's enough demand for the Grinch to offer 2 rooms. Also, they need to add umbrellas to the queue, I know it's "winter" but the sun is still brutal.

The Universal DAS is pretty ancient compared to WDW. For it to work at WDW, the person whose name is under it needs to physically attend the attraction, at Universal it's easy to just give it away (or sell) to someone else. WDW is also much more convenient as you don't have to physically walk to the attraction to get a return time, all through the app.

 

[IzzyB]

Removing DAS from the conversation for just a second, there's enough demand for the Grinch to offer 2 rooms. Also, they need to add umbrellas to the queue, I know it's "winter" but the sun is still brutal.

The Universal DAS is pretty ancient compared to WDW. For it to work at WDW, the person whose name is under it needs to physically attend the attraction, at Universal it's easy to just give it away (or sell) to someone else. WDW is also much more convenient as you don't have to physically walk to the attraction to get a return time, all through the app.

If the wait for a M&G is above 30 to 45 minutes it needs a 2nd if not more. Disney doing the multiple without you realizing it was genius and should be repeated for all popular ones.

I haven't used Uni's for 10 years as it was when my son was alive. So I didn't know if they upgraded or not. I know Sea World hasn't as I saw someone use it the other day and it was all paper. But they did have restrictions on it, so when you went they determined what rides you could ride at guest services and only those were listed to allow return times. You also had to go every day so selling would be harder.

Last time I used Disney you did have to go to the ride but it was linked to your band. So then it couldn't be sold. But I had employees help us out so we didn't have to go to the line since heat was a real issue and going to the ride with my child and then back was not good. Glad you can now reserve within the app. My daughter's issues were temporary for about 16 months so I don't use the passes anymore, so my last visit to Disney we didn't need a pass.

I will also say the real abuse I saw was at Disney and before they changed it. While I hated the change I understood it based on the things I saw. I did see way less abuse once they changed the system.

 

[GAcoaster]

 

[Brian G.]

Accio Christmas! It's the 2023 holiday season and The Holidays are back at Universal Orlando!

READ MORE:

REVIEW: The 2023 Holidays at Universal Orlando

Accio Christmas! It's the holiday season and The Holidays are back at Universal Orlando! The tradition continues as all the Universal Holiday favorites are returning this year; including Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, with “The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle” nighttime show

www.insideuniversal.net

 

[Crypt Keeper]

 

[Jdentel]

Um. No. On so many levels.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Yeah, they need more meet and greets for the Grinch

 

[Brian G.]

Yeah, they need more meet and greets for the Grinch

Most of the park was pretty tolerable today - save for Grinch.

So yea - they may need to look into doing something about it.

 

[Jdentel]

Is there any Santa meet and greet other than the Ultimate mega tour?

 

[SeventyOne]

Credit to Manheim Steamroller, they are consistent. I first saw the same show as last night--same set list, same video of his daughter, same jokes--when my friend's kid was in a stroller next to me. He's 12 now.

Undeniable talent, especially the Grinch performers who sell their character even in formalwear, but this is the exact opposite of Mardi Gras and HHN which feel new and fresh every year.

 

[Mad Dog]

Um. No. On so many levels.

and this was a low crowd week too. Better fix it for later in Dec.