Universal Kids Resort - Frisco, Texas

[Andysol]

I think there's been a lot of criticism on this forum and on social media that seems well warranted or understandable based on what people have seen and what photos have been shown. I don't agree with calling that "rage."

He clearly qualified what he meant by saying rage and specifically carved out a place for this forum. Yet here you are ignoring that completely.

We get it. You hate this park with every ounce of your existence. I usually stop following threads and seeking out more information about things I dislike. But different strokes for different folks, I guess.

 

[Diservations]

I think there's been a lot of criticism on this forum and on social media that seems well warranted or understandable based on what people have seen and what photos have been shown. I don't agree with calling that "rage." There have been bad reviews from people who were invited to the media event and those who have visited since.

Again, I said the discussion on this forum has been cool and not at all rage-bait. I also said legit criticism is great. I engaged in that myself. But people have gone over the line with me, and several people I respect, over a kids' theme park. All for providing a different perspective that doesn't resonate in their echo chamber.

So I'm not sure what point you're trying to drive home here.

 

[Brian G.]

I think marketing just messed up real bad here. Flying out Orlando and Hollywood-based theme park media and influencers to try out and film your already lower budget regional park, while it is obviously still-in-progress and laughably bare in theming elements was simply a bad move, and it's the reason why there is now a contingent of internet rubberneckers with no prior interest in the park heckling and hoping for another Starcruiser situation.

Again, just another failure of the broader corporation. There should have been much better coordination to ensure that when the media they invited to document and advertise the new park showed up, that the park would be in a presentable state.

The park is totally fine and some of the theming elements and offerings are legitimately great and well-done, but it's unavoidable that it has made a very rough first impression to most active theme park enjoyers online. That won't be a death sentence for the park obviously, but if that was always going to be true, then why bring media that is used to parks like Disneyland and Epic Universe to an incomplete kids park in the first place? There was a problem from first-principles there.

It seems like they wanted to target multiple audiences.

Most of the theme park folk who were invited had young kids, with only a few exceptions. They didn't just invite the usual Universal crowd. Channels like Dev, Pugh Two, and Mr. Morrow weren't there, and even the Mammoth Club wasn't there in their typical capacity but attended as a +1. There were also Dallas/TX-area media/influencers getting previews before and after the main media preview, and they brought in some well-known family influencers with national reach.

No, not every Dallas outlet went, just like not every theme park outlet went. Looking at the invite list as a whole, it feels like they curated the list based on the audience they wanted to reach (families with young kids, regional family creators, and a handful of established Universal voices).

I also don't think Universal expected this level of backlash.

 

[Diservations]

It seems like they wanted to target multiple audiences.

Most of the theme park folk who were invited had young kids, with only a few exceptions. They didn't just invite the usual Universal crowd. Channels like Dev, Pugh Two, and Mr. Morrow weren't there, and even the Mammoth Club wasn't there in their typical capacity but attended as a +1. There were also Dallas/TX-area media/influencers getting previews before and after the main media preview, and they brought in some well-known family influencers with national reach.

No, not every Dallas outlet went, just like not every theme park outlet went. Looking at the invite list as a whole, it feels like they curated the list based on the audience they wanted to reach (families with young kids, regional family creators, and a handful of established Universal voices).

I also don't think Universal expected this level of backlash.

Yes to all of this, especially the last point.

I feel bad for UKR's PR and marketing team. The park's opening timeline was crunched due to Bello Bay Cruise delays. The park needed more time before the reveal. I'm afraid no combination of media would have prevented the amount of criticism they've received.

 

[Tbad556]

Universal loves to open half-finished parks (hello VBay opening while under construction!). But once they settle into the late finishing touches, everyone forgets. I don't see why this would be any different. It kinda is what it is, unfortunately. If they're not even willing to delay the tiny park meant for locals rather than tourists, I don't think that we'll ever see that change with them.