Theme park raincheck: would Disney ever consider?

[Tannerman]

It seems USH has raised the bar a little on rainchecks...

March 06, 2002
Universal Studios Hollywood's New 'Umbrella Policy'
Singin' In The Rain' Is a Glorious Feeling With World's First-Ever Theme Park Guaranteed Rain Check

PR Newswire

Universal City, Calif. — Universal Studios Hollywood removes the barometer from the theme park equation as it introduces its new "Singin' In The Rain" insurance policy to guests and becomes the world's first theme park to offer a guaranteed rain check.

Beginning immediately, all guests visiting Universal Studios Hollywood on a day when the park receives over 1/16" of rainfall will be offered a rain check good any time in the ensuing 30 days.

"Although our park is a great value, rain or shine, and many of our attractions are indoors and sheltered from the elements, a theme park visit is unquestionably more fun in good weather. By introducing our new rain check policy, we can guarantee our guests will have a great entertainment experience," said Larry Kurzweil, president and chief operating officer, Universal Studios Hollywood.

Featuring such unique and ground-breaking attractions as Terminator 2: 3D, Jurassic Park-The Ride, "The Nickelodeon Blast Zone," the world-renowned behind-the-scenes Studio Tour and opening this spring, the new "Special Effects Stages," Universal Studios Hollywood is the world's largest movie studio and theme park.

Universal Studios Hollywood (www.universalstudioshollywood.com) is a unit of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com), a part of CANAL+, the TV and Film division of Vivendi Universal, a new global leader in media and communications.

Not that Disney needs to over this sort of thing, but it's interesting that one park has gone this direction.

 

[YoHo]

How often does that much rain fall in florida? I have no concept of how much a 16th of an inch is.

 

[Tannerman]

This policy is for California.

 

[YoHo]

Ahh, misread. For SoCal it makes sense. I mean, Ask AV. They fear rain down there.
Currently, where I live, if it doesn't rain, we skip work and hit the bars.

 

[larworth]

Wasn't it not that long ago that if you bought a one-day admission to USH you got an annual pass? Giving someone a return ticket doesn't seem that magnaimous in that light, but sounds like a good marketing ploy.

A 1/16" standing moisture in Orlando. Would sweat count?

 

[mickey1010]

If it was Florida, they would give a rain check every day in the Summer due to the 10 minute tropical showers!

 

[All Aboard]

The true test of Universal generosity would be applying the policy to USF/IOA!

I did a quick scan of rainfall for SoCal at weather.com... I had no idea that it rained so little! I guess that old song was correct. ... but girl, don't they warn ya.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

I don't really see why this policy would need to be applied to WDW. There are almost no attractions that are closed due to rain. There are very few attractions which close due to thunderstorms. It rains for at least 10 minutes almost everyday during the summer and during those 10 minutes 1/16 of an inch is very common.

 

[YoHo]

I understand it for SoCal though and Disney COULD consider it. Forinstance, in DIsneyland, the Teacups have no Canopy and Small Worlds Que and loading area is completely outside.

 

[Another Voice]

I first heard about this a couple of days ago on a radio commercial they were running. It was bright, sunny and in the mid-eighties at the time. We had one day in February with measurable rain. Even latest year, the “horrible storms” that ruined the opening of California Adventure according to corporate spin amounted to nothing but six days of rain spread over two weeks. I think this is little more than a marketing gimmick.

Disneyland has a policy of closing early if the rains are heavy. Main Street doesn’t have any drains as a safety matter (no small kids falling through the grates) and has a tendency to collect water. And many of the attractions and queues don’t have a lot of protection from the rain either. Of course, attendance plummets at the slight hint of a cloud in the sky so it’s not much of a revenue loss.

The Disney-owned ABC television station out her (KABC-TV) has been hyping their “Doppler Radar 7000” for weeks out here. It’s been rather pathetic watching their news. The poor weather man stands in front of millions of dollars worth of equipment just to tell us there’s nothing going on. Occasionally they find a desert thunderstorm half way to Vegas, but it usually comes off as a kid at the science fair with the project no one wants to see.

Just always keep in mind that water which falls from the sky is evil.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Please-send that 1/16" of rain up my way. We are getting desperate these days--.
Don't think such a policy would do for Florida and agree that for S. Cal, it's mainly a Universal "gimmick" that they know they'll rarely need to pay up on.
Besides-rain (for me) usually means a better time geting on the rides!! Amazing how many people flee the parks at the first drop--.

 

[Chuck S]

Most theme parks in California don't have covered and air conditioned queue areas. When it rains there it rains all day, and rainy days are few and far between. Seldom would SoCal see a day that warrants these "rain checks".
We were there in early September (in fact we were stranded on Sept 11th), the weather was beautiful and it got so cool at night we had to buy sweatshirts.

Florida theme parks are designed for wet weather with covered queues, ponchos, and most folks are only a few steps from some type of cover at anytime.

 

[roymccoy]

That policy isn't going to cost Universal a whole lot of tickets. Us SoCaler's run from the rain like we're going to melt like the witch in Wizard of Oz. This policy amounts to something similar to the insurance you buy at the airport before you fly or a 1 in 680 million chance PowerBall lottery ticket. Funny about the KABC Doppler radar thing AnotherVoice was talking about...my wife and I watch just to see the weatherguy say "and let's see what's on the Doppler.....nothing?" They're even starting to make jokes about on the air. A few years back we actually had a weatherman from one local station get embarassed when it was reported that he would "tape" two or three days worth of weather reports all on one day and then have the station play them on the appropiate day. It actually worked pretty good for a long time...until we had a freak flash flood rain storm and he was taking about how sunny his drive was! Steve Martin did a parody of him in the movie "LA Story." My wife always thinks it's funny how the weather people on the nationwide newscasts will stand in front of SoCal and point to the rest of the country. We're a desert by the ocean...go figure!

Roy

 

[Conure]

Disney can't afford the loss of revenue due to rain checks for an 1/16 inch of rain. They get that much nearly every day during the summer. Besides, half the rides get you wet anyway, and you won't melt. Getting wet feels good when it's that hot all the time, and 1/16 of an inch is barely a ten minute rainfall.