Theme_Park_Insider
07-03-2008, 11:10 AM
By Robert Niles: I enjoyed my trip to Orlando last week (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200806/809/), but that didn't keep me from finding these nits to pick:
1. Last week, the Universal Orlando crowd was dominated by three types of tourists (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=4214):
Brazilian teens
Overweight Americans
Sunburnt Britons
Seriously, is sun block illegal in the U.K.? Does no one there know how to use it? Do we need to set up a tutorial webpage on this?
2. Seuss Landing really needs a coat of paint. I failed you in not getting pictures of how badly faded the carousel and other buildings around Seuss Landing have become. (We did Seuss on the last morning we spent at IOA (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/reviews/universal's_islands_of_adventure/) and I'd already packed the camera away.) Fortunately, though, I noticed that the stanchions of the Seuss Landing sign appear to have been painted at the bottom. Color testing? They looked good, and I hope that Universal soon gives the rest of the land a fresh coat.
3. Too much of Dudley Do-Right just looks awful. I love the theme, gags and pacing of this ride, but too many sections of it look circa-2004-Six Flags bad. Again, fresh paint, or a new scheme that doesn't chip and fade so badly, is needed.
4. Is there no way to hide those "CineSpheres" during the day at Universal Studios Florida (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/reviews/universal_studios_florida/)? Man, do they kill the sight lines around the lagoon.
5. Why would an airport grant a concession contract to Chick-Fil-A? The chain famously does not operate on Sundays, due to its owners' religious beliefs. Now, I respect that, and defend their right to close on the day of their faith's Sabbath, as I would for any other business owner.
But airports operate seven days a week, and I think that airport authorities have a duty to their customers, the traveling public, to award contracts to businesses that will be open for all of those seven days. (It also ticks me off when concessionaires close hours before the last flights of the evening.)
The food court in Orlando's airport is already light on its diversity of options, and taking Chick-Fil-A away on Sundays makes it even worse.
6. Florida needs to adopt California's law prohibiting rental car companies from charging an "extra driver" fee for spouses. What a rip-off.
7. I kept my checked bags under United's 50-lb. limit. But if I had gone over by a few pounds, I would have been steamed to have had to pay a $100 penalty for the bag, while paying full adult fare for my 60-lb. child. Especially when some 220-lb. passenger with a 49-lb. bag did not. If oil keeps going up, I sense the day coming when airlines start weighing passengers.
8. I did the math, and figured that it would have cost us $505 for gas to drive for Los Angeles to Orlando and back in our Prius, at $4.50 a gallon. That's about what we paid per ticket in airfare.
9. There is nothing, repeat, nothing healthy to eat at a Cracker Barrel.
10. And finally... why do so many places serve bad, from-concentrate orange juice... in Florida?
More... (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200806/814/)
1. Last week, the Universal Orlando crowd was dominated by three types of tourists (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=4214):
Brazilian teens
Overweight Americans
Sunburnt Britons
Seriously, is sun block illegal in the U.K.? Does no one there know how to use it? Do we need to set up a tutorial webpage on this?
2. Seuss Landing really needs a coat of paint. I failed you in not getting pictures of how badly faded the carousel and other buildings around Seuss Landing have become. (We did Seuss on the last morning we spent at IOA (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/reviews/universal's_islands_of_adventure/) and I'd already packed the camera away.) Fortunately, though, I noticed that the stanchions of the Seuss Landing sign appear to have been painted at the bottom. Color testing? They looked good, and I hope that Universal soon gives the rest of the land a fresh coat.
3. Too much of Dudley Do-Right just looks awful. I love the theme, gags and pacing of this ride, but too many sections of it look circa-2004-Six Flags bad. Again, fresh paint, or a new scheme that doesn't chip and fade so badly, is needed.
4. Is there no way to hide those "CineSpheres" during the day at Universal Studios Florida (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/reviews/universal_studios_florida/)? Man, do they kill the sight lines around the lagoon.
5. Why would an airport grant a concession contract to Chick-Fil-A? The chain famously does not operate on Sundays, due to its owners' religious beliefs. Now, I respect that, and defend their right to close on the day of their faith's Sabbath, as I would for any other business owner.
But airports operate seven days a week, and I think that airport authorities have a duty to their customers, the traveling public, to award contracts to businesses that will be open for all of those seven days. (It also ticks me off when concessionaires close hours before the last flights of the evening.)
The food court in Orlando's airport is already light on its diversity of options, and taking Chick-Fil-A away on Sundays makes it even worse.
6. Florida needs to adopt California's law prohibiting rental car companies from charging an "extra driver" fee for spouses. What a rip-off.
7. I kept my checked bags under United's 50-lb. limit. But if I had gone over by a few pounds, I would have been steamed to have had to pay a $100 penalty for the bag, while paying full adult fare for my 60-lb. child. Especially when some 220-lb. passenger with a 49-lb. bag did not. If oil keeps going up, I sense the day coming when airlines start weighing passengers.
8. I did the math, and figured that it would have cost us $505 for gas to drive for Los Angeles to Orlando and back in our Prius, at $4.50 a gallon. That's about what we paid per ticket in airfare.
9. There is nothing, repeat, nothing healthy to eat at a Cracker Barrel.
10. And finally... why do so many places serve bad, from-concentrate orange juice... in Florida?
More... (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200806/814/)