7 Things Disney Should Learn from Universal’s Opening
Universal Orlando Resort opened recently, and its health measures are mostly positive.
As the competition, Disney’s paid close attention to what Universal has done.
Here are seven things Disney should learn from Universal’s reopening.
Faster Park Entry
Due to Coronavirus measures in place, Universal’s entry process is mercurial.
Guests must stand in line to pass a temperature test before entering the park. Then, they must stand in line for bag inspection and park admission.
Some guests have mentioned a wait of five minutes or less to enter the park. For others, the process has taken 45 minutes.
At Universal, the temperature checks go quickly unless a long line has formed. It’s the other two areas where there’s room for improvement.
Disney must find a solution that protects the health of guests and cast members without creating line bottlenecks.
After all, those are dangerous, too. Streamlined park entry is a must.
By the way, if you plan to go to Universal while waiting for Walt Disney World to reopen, I have a pro tip that is the opposite of what I ordinarily recommend.
Don’t go at Rope Drop. Wait a couple of hours to avoid the rush. The park’s still empty enough that you’ll get to do everything you want.
Pop-Up Shows
Universal is hosting an inordinate amount of quick-hitter shows right now.
The Blues Brothers, Marilyn Monroe, Dr. Seuss characters, and Potterverse presentations have all returned with the parks.
Disney has announced that it won’t host any events that cause crowding, which is smart.
However, Universal’s shows have found the perfect balance of entertaining guests without violating social distancing rules.
I hope Disney will carefully examine what’s working so well at Universal and adopt similar strategies.
At Shanghai Disneyland, some shows returned only a few days after the park reopened. I doubt that Walt Disney World will move at that pace.
So, park planners must settle on ways of entertaining guests without causing crowds.
Since Magic Kingdom is the most popular theme park on the planet, this challenge is especially tricky.
How can the Dapper Dans put on a show without causing a violation of social distancing?
I suspect that Disney will take to the sky by placing performers at unapproachable heights.
After all, that’s a strategy in place with Storm Troopers at Disney Springs right now.
Drink Mistakes
If you’ve read MickeyBlog any during the pandemic, you know all about the dangers of Coronavirus hot spots.
Many hands touch the same spots in these places, causing the potential spread of droplets that may lead to COVID-19 infection.
Disney already has a problem in that the company chose fingerprint scanners for admission ticket verification.
Well, Universal didn’t have that problem, but the company’s stumbled onto another one.
About 10 years ago, The Coca-Cola Company unveiled Coke Freestyle machines. For me, it was love at first sight.
With these machines, you can pick from dozens of potential flavors and then refill your own drink.
The invention is elegant and robust…except during a pandemic.
Coke Freestyle machines utilize touchscreen monitors, which guarantees that you’re touching something that dozens of others have already fingered.
Universal Studios added Coke Freestyle machines a few years ago. To my abject horror, those drink systems are still in place after reopening.
I’m not joking when I say that I thought there was a zero percent chance of that. I cannot imagine a theme park operator deciding to do this.
I mean, there’s a Salsarita’s at the bottom of my hill that unhooked its Coke Freestyle machine in mid-March and hasn’t brought it back yet.
Universal needs to behave as wisely as, you know, Salsarita’s. Even if they don’t, Disney must be better.
If the company hasn’t already mothballed its Coke Freestyle machines, it should do so now.
U-Rest Areas
Okay, I just dinged Universal for what I consider a poor decision. Now, I want to praise the park for a brilliant one.
Face masks and temperature checks are required to enter Universal Orlando theme parks. There are designated "rest" areas throughout the parks where you can remove your mask. You'll also need to social distance. pic.twitter.com/nJAfdR5WwC
— Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) June 4, 2020
When Universal returned, it introduced U-Rest areas.
Currently, the parks have face mask requirements in place, ones likely to stay through the end of the summer.
Many guests are understandably concerned about wearing masks on hot Florida summer days.
At U-Rest areas, Universal encourages guests to relax and take their masks off in a safe setting.
Park employees monitor these areas and clean them frequently. So, you’re safe before, during, and after a U-Rest visit.
Even better, the next person is safe, too.
U-Rest Area at Fear Factor queue. To dare the Covid-19 virus. 😁 pic.twitter.com/BWNjLSbIev
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) June 3, 2020
This idea is so good that Disney absolutely must employ it, too.
Mask Enforcement
Speaking of masks, there’s a concern I’ve had all along.
Disney trains its cast members to excel in customer service. They’re the gold standard in the corporate world.
In fact, Disney hosts seminars and conferences wherein it details how it achieves such exemplary customer service.
Walt Disney World will require face masks at its theme parks, just as is already the case at Disney Springs.
I struggle to envision cast members as enforcers about face mask requirements.
At Universal Studios, employees obviously have the green light. I’ve watched several instances of workers reminding guests to put on their face masks.
Disney needs something like this, too. Sadly, some guests will ignore the protocols in place, and someone needs to get them to honor the social contract.
Annual Passholder Perks
Nobody had any idea about how quickly guests would return to theme parks.
So, Universal officials tried to coax their most loyal fans to come back.
Universal is currently offering several annual passholder perks to reward/incentivize these customers to return.
The idea has seemed successful thus far. The annual passholder preview days were nearly as crowded as the first day that the park officially reopened.
To a larger point, this business strategy is a thoughtful gesture.
Going outside is scary to a lot of people right now. A special treat for doing so seems fitting.
I sincerely hope that Disney does the same. The company’s faced a slew of negative headlines over its indecisiveness with annual passholders.
A few extra perks would demonstrate that the company regrets any previous mistakes. After all, it was an unprecedented time, and they were doing what they could.
Avoiding Physical Bottlenecks
Anyone who has visited Universal knows that the parks have layout issues. Several narrow paths push guests together, which is scary during a pandemic.
I’ve noticed countless instances of this problem already and am a bit surprised that Universal didn’t have a strategy in place.
The park’s current setup is the same one that was there before the pandemic.
Universal’s clearly hoping that guests can figure the problem out on their own, and that’s…not great.
At Disney Springs, cast members have already drawn lines to show the proper walking paths.
The parks will need something similar. Otherwise, they’ll face the same struggles as Universal.