Top 10 Stories in 2023 from Universal Orlando

[Brian G.]

Universal Orlando was filled with notable moments in the past year; so let's take a look at the Top 10 Stories from 2023.

Top 10 Stories in 2023 from Universal Orlando

Another year is in the books! Highlighted by the opening of Minion Land as Universal starts to shift focus to getting the Resort ready for the upcoming Epic Universe theme park, Universal Orlando was filled with notable moments in the past year. So let's take a look at the Top 10 Stories from Uni

www.insideuniversal.net

 

[Nico]

Man what a year. And 2024 will only go up. It’s a good time to be a fan.

 

[Jerroddragon]

#11 Park Maps are no more, a sad day

 

[IzzyB]

#11 Park Maps are no more, a sad day

I told my kids to each grab a map as then they have one for awhile until a new area opens up. They love looking at maps and deciding what to do and since Universal is new to them I knew a map would be helpful.

 

[GAcoaster]

That was quite a year, but I can't imagine what 2024 will look like!

 

[Mad Dog]

My wish for the New Year: All of the Execs. involved with the decision to get rid of maps and rely on their shaky app., end up getting transferred by the end of 2024, after an unexpectedly soft attendance year again. Maybe a bit mean spirited, but I hate these mgt. trends I've been seeing. Universal is becoming more Disney, business wise, than Disney is.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

My wish for the New Year: All of the Execs. involved with the decision to get rid of maps and rely on their shaky app., end up getting transferred by the end of 2024, after an unexpectedly soft attendance year again. Maybe a bit mean spirited, but I hate these mgt. trends I've been seeing. Universal is becoming more Disney, business wise, than Disney is.

As long as they avoid some sort of "Individual Attraction Express" system we should be fine... right?

Watch Universal sell souvenir park maps to drive increased revenue. Similar action to a few years back when they started to charge separately the lanyard and the pouch that it used to come with for free.

 

[Mad Dog]

As long as they avoid some sort of "Individual Attraction Express" system we should be fine... right?

Watch Universal sell souvenir park maps to drive increased revenue. Similar action to a few years back when they started to charge separately the lanyard and the pouch that it used to come with for free.

Perhaps they hired a ton of terminated/laid off WDW employees that are now setting the agenda.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Perhaps they hired a ton of terminated/laid off WDW employees that are now setting the agenda.

Hiring from WDW might not be the worst idea, but so far nothing has paid off yet. I hope 2024 is a year where they finally address issues while attendance is down.

 

[Jake S]

Hiring from WDW might not be the worst idea, but so far nothing has paid off yet.

I feel like I've seen multiple people point to Universal hiring the former head of food and bev at EPCOT as a positive development. But I'd defer to others on whether or not that's true or having a meaningful impact (though the QSR food has really improved over the past several years imo).

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I feel like I've seen multiple people point to Universal hiring the former head of food and bev at EPCOT as a positive development. But I'd defer to others on whether or not that's true or having a meaningful impact (though the QSR food has really improved over the past several years imo).

There's definitely been an emphasis on improving food at the resort... but theirs ops haven't changed much yet. Mardi Gras F&B this year was also a letdown for me, not many great options, and price points were much more expensive than at the WDW festivals.

 

[Jake S]

There's definitely been an emphasis on improving food at the resort... but theirs ops haven't changed much yet. Mardi Gras F&B this year was also a letdown for me, not many great options, and price points were much more expensive than at the WDW festivals.

Yeah, I had the same experience. It seems there is better food (and more variety) than in years past, but operations remain a sore spot whether we're talking about attractions, food, whatever.

 

[Mad Dog]

They seemed to have lost that special Universal touch they had before covid. 2024 shapes up to being an important year whether they'll get their act together. Perhaps Dreamworks, a new Parade, and a new Lagoon show will help to get the mojo back. Wish they'd get the pre 2021 'guest is important to us' philosophy reborn.

 

[IzzyB]

As long as they avoid some sort of "Individual Attraction Express" system we should be fine... right?

Watch Universal sell souvenir park maps to drive increased revenue. Similar action to a few years back when they started to charge separately the lanyard and the pouch that it used to come with for free.

I mean honestly Uni was the first to do paid express. Uni and Disney both had free FP system and then Uni made theirs paid first.

Honestly I am all about the saving the trees and making park maps something you have to ask for not just there for people to grab and litter all over the park. HOWEVER, I would be more for this if they made an app that was user friendly. My issue is that Sea World and Uni both have awful apps that are hard to find things and don't have all the functions they need to fully replace the maps. Sea World you can still ask for a map, I had to ask for the food and beverage one and the Howl O Scream, because even though they said they were both in the app I couldn't find them to save my life. And I work in technology, I really should be able to figure this stuff out and if I can't, then I feel most GP wouldn't be able to.

I feel Disney was a better app when I used it last. But I also haven't used it in 2 years, so I can't really talk about it. But it did seem the most user friendly of the 3. For one I know Disney you could be in a park and only get information on that park more easily than Uni. I am not heading over to Volcano bay, I don't even have passes to it, please stop listing water slides in my ride list. I also thought they had directions to rides (which SW also has but is VERY glitchy). But in the past 2 years they could have made their app worse lol

 

[Jake S]

I think the Disney apps are significantly better in the United States compared to their Universal counterparts. That’s true for things like making reservations, mobile ordering and checking wait times. Obviously, your mileage may vary.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I mean honestly Uni was the first to do paid express. Uni and Disney both had free FP system and then Uni made theirs paid first.

Honestly I am all about the saving the trees and making park maps something you have to ask for not just there for people to grab and litter all over the park. HOWEVER, I would be more for this if they made an app that was user friendly. My issue is that Sea World and Uni both have awful apps that are hard to find things and don't have all the functions they need to fully replace the maps. Sea World you can still ask for a map, I had to ask for the food and beverage one and the Howl O Scream, because even though they said they were both in the app I couldn't find them to save my life. And I work in technology, I really should be able to figure this stuff out and if I can't, then I feel most GP wouldn't be able to.

I feel Disney was a better app when I used it last. But I also haven't used it in 2 years, so I can't really talk about it. But it did seem the most user friendly of the 3. For one I know Disney you could be in a park and only get information on that park more easily than Uni. I am not heading over to Volcano bay, I don't even have passes to it, please stop listing water slides in my ride list. I also thought they had directions to rides (which SW also has but is VERY glitchy). But in the past 2 years they could have made their app worse lol

Disney's apps are far superior with getting information you need and knowing that's its fully up to date to reflect latest information. Problem with the WDW app is that there's soo much information on there that it gets overwhelming.

 

[Nico]

I would hope a new app will be dropped in 2024.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I would hope a new app will be dropped in 2024.

That seems to be the plan, similar to Japan's update a few months back. Even with an app update, I still question how updated it will be as that still seems to be a pain point at the resort regarding operating hours, showtimes, general park info.

 

[IzzyB]

Disney's apps are far superior with getting information you need and knowing that's its fully up to date to reflect latest information. Problem with the WDW app is that there's soo much information on there that it gets overwhelming.

I will say SW had show times up to date, but their wait times estimates are horrible and their special events I can only guess are so buried no one can find them since I never could figure it out lol

Universal I am just hoping for some kind of saved settings for your account, that would go a long way in helping their clunky app.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Universal Orlando was filled with notable moments in the past year; so let's take a look at the Top 10 Stories from 2023.

Top 10 Stories in 2023 from Universal Orlando

Another year is in the books! Highlighted by the opening of Minion Land as Universal starts to shift focus to getting the Resort ready for the upcoming Epic Universe theme park, Universal Orlando was filled with notable moments in the past year. So let's take a look at the Top 10 Stories from Uni

www.insideuniversal.net

Great article as always--hopefully we see a Hollywood version of this article brought up with the happenings that occurred around the studio and the park.