Universal Kids Resort - Frisco, Texas

[themeparktribune]

I think it's wrong to assume any influencer, blogger, or theme park pundit is, in essence, in the tank for any particular company based off one or even a few reviews. That's not at all enough to even guess what their motivation is. Don't accuse someone of being a "shill" just because you disagree with one opinion.

However, if some content creator in this space never reviews anything unfavorably -- why wouldn't the audience reasonably question their perspective and what their motivation may be? There's no way I could trust a person that can never seem to say that something in a theme park isn't worth the money or just straight up sucks. We all could name some experiences in Disney and Universal that fit those descriptions. I also wouldn't trust anyone who reviews everything negatively either.

It sort of comes down to who you're serving through your content. To me, it should be about informing your reader, listener, or viewer and maintaining their trust above all else.

Now let's be very clear who is to blame for this environment in the theme park space: it's the fault of Disney and Universal and other theme parks.

We know, and all content creators know, that bad reviews and criticism do indeed get punished by PR reps. If that wasn't the case, and perhaps if media event access was only contingent on following and reach and nothing else, the audience could trust that each reviewer was being honest. But as long as someone is willing to play ball and say everything's great no matter what, this is our reality.

I think it would help if theme park content creators injected a level of journalism-style ethics into how they gather and present information, but I think that's enough time on my soapbox for now.

 

[Andysol]

UKR's biggest strength is its people. Universal had to staff this park without being able to pull experienced Team Members from Islands of Adventure or USF, as they did for Epic Universe. The kids they hired are pretty awesome.

Yes, they really did a great job with staffing. Everyone we encountered was super nice, helpful and felt like they actually wanted to be there.

The area certainly lends to that type of employee. It’s an affluent family-focused burb in Texas.

Even if they don’t like you they’ll still hold the door for you with a smile and give you a “bless your heart”

But, yes. I knew the TMs would be exemplary here. Universal does a great job with hiring and training and it’s noticeable the difference between them and say a six flags.

Curious- how are the ride operation/turnover times on something like the coaster?

 

[Jake S]

I think it would help if theme park content creators injected a level of journalism-style ethics into how they gather and present information, but I think that's enough time on my soapbox for now.

I agree with this, but what complicates matters here is that even if you pay your own way you can be trespassed from these parks if you piss off the wrong people. It’s an especially toxic form of access journalism, which is of course quite toxic in and of itself.

 

[themeparktribune]

I agree with this, but what complicates matters here is that even if you pay your own way you can be trespassed from these parks if you piss off the wrong people. It’s an especially toxic form of access journalism, which is of course quite toxic in and of itself.

That’s possible, but would take an especially vindictive PR staff and they’d be risking attracting more negative attention — and these are usually very risk-averse people. I’ve reported some unflattering stories and I only got some testy phone calls…and never being invited to media previews at certain parks.

 

[AustinT]

'The Flight Crew' on Youtube has about the best on the ground look under the lens of a local young mom with a child, who is also familiar with Disney/Universal parks. She gave a very fair look at everything, explained her biggest critiques (lack of shade/AC, lack of indoor rides, things needing more paint/color, etc), and ultimately concluded that she'd go back but not in the heat of the summer.



She also mentioned that the surface of a ride vehicle or two were so hot to the point they were painful and TMs were spraying water on them to cool them down. That's shocking to me. Universal never though this through or tested out how hot the seats could get being out in the sun all day? We're not even at the hottest part of the year yet. She also commented on the over-reliance of spinning rides and how it limited what she'd do with her kid but I guess when you think of cheap flat rides, most are spinners of some type.

I also noticed an indoor theater that wasn't open yet (said "coming soon" on the marquee) and I don't recall seeing that pointed out much anywhere else. If they got any kind of short movie in there, that would be a nice indoor attraction for people to escape the heat too.

 

[Brian G.]

I don't think we're supposed to post video links here, but 'The Flight Crew' on Youtube has about the best on the ground look under the lens of a local young mom with a child, who is also familiar with Disney/Universal parks. She gave a very fair look at everything, explained her biggest critiques (lack of shade/AC, lack of indoor rides, things needing more paint/color, etc), and ultimately concluded that she'd go back but not in the heat of the summer.

She also mentioned that the surface of a ride vehicle or two were so hot to the point they were painful and TMs were spraying water on them to cool them down. That's shocking to me. Universal never though this through or tested out how hot the seats could get being out in the sun all day? We're not even at the hottest part of the year yet. She also commented on the over-reliance of spinning rides and how it limited what she'd do with her kid but I guess when you think of cheap flat rides, most are spinners of some type.

I also noticed an indoor theater that wasn't open yet (said "coming soon" on the marquee) and I don't recall seeing that pointed out much anywhere else. If they got any kind of short movie in there, that would be a nice indoor attraction for people to escape the heat too.

Video links are allowed to be shared.

 

[tielo]

I think a reader or viewer can snif out a good, solid review at it is balanced. Patialy objective, seeing what is there, quality of execution etc., and personal experience, how they felt, what made them feel that way.
In my reactions I try to do the same, speaking partially from ignorance as I wasn't there at that moment as the review was there and tast.
As a content creator I'm sure you can see the "this sucks, you suck" comment and someone who actually is interested. Never let the first one discourage you, they are not your audience.

 

[SeventyOne]

I think it would help if theme park content creators injected a level of journalism-style ethics into how they gather and present information, but I think that's enough time on my soapbox for now.

I more or less agree with your entire post. But what you miss is that, traditionally, most Disney fans don't want that. They aren't after news, they're after a little hit of nostalgia dopamine until they can fully indulge on their return to the parks. But even the Sentinel has treated its theme park beat like a stepping stone to something else, happy to just regurgitate press releases and report on cupcake parties.

For a long time, Universal was different, but it was also such a small fanbase it didn't matter. Various forums, including at least three iterations of this one, were filled with even-handed critiques of every HHN house but very little leaked to the mainstream. As the parks have grown, and their fanbase grows more Disney-like, a lot of influencers are trying to sell "Universal" (especially because Disney was slowing down on updates for a while). Pixie Dust-coated reporting is all they know.

 

[Brian G.]

If you'd like to keep the conversation going, feel free to start a new thread. I think it's best we let this topic return to Kids talk. Thanks!

 

[HandsomePete]

This is the sort of park that will do better if they open in a relatively lean state and then make additions every single year, be that a mini parade or small ride or entertainment. As someone whose local park is now a regional one, I think people forget that WDW and now to a lesser extent Universal Orlando don’t need the shiny new thing to put on a billboard every year. Simply existing in a tourist destination is sometimes enough. My local didn’t add anything new this year and next year is looking grim since there are no shovels in the ground, so I’ll be dropping my pass.

Since the attendance forecast is kind of a guess, it would have been worse to have accidentally built 1992 Disneyland Paris But for Kids and Hot because then the place would be so buried in operating expense that it couldn’t afford to add new things you need to draw people back every year or even fix the 20/20 hindsight mistakes.

 

[Andysol]

I think people forget that WDW and now to a lesser extent Universal Orlando don’t need the shiny new thing to put on a billboard every year.

I don’t disagree with your post- they certainly need to have additions at least by year 2. But to this point- universal and disney still do try to have annual additions and often stagger their expansions across parks to have something every year.

It’s not just for attendance (which it is); but it’s more about keeping their name in the news cycle.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I get if this Holidays if the park doesn't do anything, its new.

But Next Holidays, you'd hope for like Trolls Halloween show at its venue, and also a Holiday dance party for Trolls. Along with a few characters like the Minions dressing up in Halloween Costumes, I've seen Puss in Boots have a little holiday cap he can wear. Just little things like that plus some extra themeing here and there

Also on Halloween, maybe it would not be allowed but feels like a perfect place to do a Oggie Boogie bash type event where kids can get candy and have some street partys with some DJs or something
Also for the Holidays you hope they have some Christmas lights up, like I said not this year but hopefully by year 2.

 

[tielo]

I get if this Holidays if the park doesn't do anything, its new.

But Next Holidays, you'd hope for like Trolls Halloween show at its venue, and also a Holiday dance party for Trolls. Along with a few characters like the Minions dressing up in Halloween Costumes, I've seen Puss in Boots have a little holiday cap he can wear. Just little things like that plus some extra themeing here and there

Also on Halloween, maybe it would not be allowed but feels like a perfect place to do a Oggie Boogie bash type event where kids can get candy and have some street partys with some DJs or something
Also for the Holidays you hope they have some Christmas lights up, like I said not this year but hopefully by year 2.

Spot on, seasonal events (I want to add an easter egg hunt with Hop) could have the news cycle and interest up.
I don't know how it's nowadays but in the past Universal would shower you with questionaries to improve their park and experiences. I think they will start doing that here too.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Spot on, seasonal events (I want to add an easter egg hunt with Hop) could have the news cycle and interest up.
I don't know how it's nowadays but in the past Universal would shower you with questionaries to improve their park and experiences. I think they will start doing that here too.

Even if they wanted to Dress the Minions up for Easter, its not a bad idea for a spring event and summer you assume will just be themed to cooling off like over in Japan