All Together Now: "Hi, Shelby."
I live in Florida. Loving theme parks is a (financially) deadly habit to have. Luckily, I have acquired tickets/passes/whatever to most of the theme parks, so I can enjoy them whenever I'm able to! In the last 5 years, I've been to: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Magic Kingdom, Disney's EPCOT, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens. I have actually worked at all three major corporations: The Walt Disney Company, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. I know the ins and outs of theme parks, I know how to enjoy them. Wanna learn?
 |
| Cinderella's Castle at Disney's Magic Kingdom |
Step One: Know The Difference
Theme parks are different from Amusement Parks (the Fiance and I had this conversation last night). Theme parks offer the whole experience, you step through that turnstile at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and you are immediately immersed with African music, wildlife, plants, and even smells. You walk into an amusement park and you hear screams from the roller coasters and someone offers you popcorn. There's a huge difference. Take, for example, Disney's Magic Kingdom... They have separately themed lands within one park. These lands include: Main Street, U.S.A. (all the best shopping and dining), Adventureland (Pirates, anyone?!), Frontierland (from Tom Sawyer to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), Liberty Square (The Haunted Mansion!! And The Hall of Presidents, honestly not that fun), Fantasyland (when you think Disney, you think of this area), and Tomorrowland (Space Mountain and more). Mickey's Toontown Fair has recently been closed down to begin an expansion of Fantasyland! You walk into one of those lands, and immediately the music changes. The Cast Members are wearing different 'costumes', speaking differently to you. You are immersed into an entirely different world. A world of total awesomeness.
 |
| Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom |
Step Two: One Day Per Park
Do not roll your eyes at me! I'm so serious, here. Unless you have been to the park more than twice, limit yourself to one park per day. You will not enjoy the rides, shows, or attractions when you're racing from Space Mountain to Pirates of the Caribbean because you have to get to Animal Kingdom at 2, otherwise you won't be able to see the Lion King show and the park will close. Seriously, chill out for a moment and think about this. I know your vacation is limited... Most Americans only put aside 4-5 days for vacations. I would suggest doing one of each of the major parks. Do one Disney park, one Universal, and one SeaWorld. I know how difficult it is to only do one Disney park. I, myself, made the mistake of doing multiple parks in one day when I first began going. Me and my friend would race from bus to bus trying to get all of our favorite rides in one day. That's completely crazy and should be completely avoided at all costs.
 |
| Waterfall at SeaWorld Orlando |
Step Three: Slow It Down
My favorite memories of theme parks are the days when me and my Fiance would go and just walk around. I understand that tourists and out-of-state guests cannot enjoy the parks like that because they are time-limited, but please, make sure you have a little bit of time each time to sit on a bench and just take it all in. If you race to be the first person on a certain ride, you're missing the entire experience of walking into the park. Tourists tend to overlook the landscaping at parks, I've noticed. I used to be guilty of that. I went to Universal today, actually, with Bonnie, and our awesome friend, Amie, and we were waiting in line to get Lemon Slushies (not kidding, the best thing that Universal/Islands of Adventure have to offer... Besides the Green Eggs & Ham Sandwich), and Bonnie and I talked about plants we saw in a pot nearby. It's not often you stop and notice little things like that, and they had these beautiful purple daisies and other wonderful mix plants inside. Theme parks do a lot of work on their landscaping for it to be just right, for YOU, the guest. Which leads me to my next point...
 |
| "Believe" show at SeaWorld Orlando |
Step Four: It's All About You
You just spent $5,000 on your family of four to enjoy the Florida theme parks. You see that Cast Member over there ready to take your order? Yeah, you're giving them their paycheck. That Universal Team Member leading you to your seat on the Hulk? Yeah, you helped them pay their Cable bill. Without you, the guest, there is no theme park. None. You are the reason they have a show called "Pets A'hoy!", you are the reason for the "Believe" show. You. You. YOU. You have the control (within reason, c'mon). If a Team Member treats you badly, tell them, if they don't try to correct the service, immediately tell a supervisor. Disney is all about Guest Service, all the time. They have Magical Moments, and Guest Recoveries. They're doing it right. Now, Universal and SeaWorld have guest recoveries, too, it's not fair to leave them out. Today, at Universal (won't use any names, don't want anyone fired because of me), I bought a bracelet that I was having engraved. The bracelet was $13. I told the woman what I wanted engraved on it, and she engraved it on the side, not centered, and it looked horrible. I told her I didn't like it and that I wanted her to re-do it. She gave me a funny look and tried protesting. I had none of it. I grabbed another bracelet and had her center it. She did, but was angry about it. I wasn't going to pay $13 for something I wouldn't love. $13 I could have spent elsewhere. $13 could have bought me a cup at Disney. $13 could have bought me a stuffed Shamu at SeaWorld. And usually, team members know this, this lady did not. Theme parks will do almost anything to keep you with them. They want you on their property, spending your money on their food, their lodging, their parks. They don't want you to leave. You have them wrapped around your little finger. Milk it! Milk it for all it's worth!!
 |
| Cinderella's Castle at night |
That's it... For now. Eventually, I'll get around to doing another post about specific parks, rides, shows, and attractions. But, I would love to know what you think of this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment