Universal Orlando announces closure of child attractions for new "family entertainment"

I’m not arguing you shouldn’t walk at a park. I am arguing that the average child can’t handle a 17 mile walk very well, however I clearly had a warped view of how far back from the gate that area is. For reference in the past year my walks have been:

-16.5 miles: HHN average

-12 miles: WDW average

-11 miles: CP Halloweekends

-10 miles: Normal Universal Day

-9 miles: Normal Cedar Point

There is a big difference in the way I feel after 12 miles vs 16.5 miles and I know I have a high tolerance for long walks that most don’t have. But again, that area is closer to the gate then I thought.

Your average Vater can't handle a 17 mile walk very well, either. At Dollywood this year we didn't really plan our ride order at all which resulted in walking probably 3x as much as we should have. It was also stiflingly hot and humid and by the end of the day I was ****ing exhausted and my knee hurt.

SteveWoA:

God forbid you go to an amusement park and walk and get some exercise.

God forbid I want to maybe not destroy myself on day one of a week's vacation.

HHN is a weird experience. You walk a long way back and a long way back out to where you started only to do it all over again for the next house. It is exhausting in a way that a normal theme park day isn't.

My comment previously was not really toward the typical walking around a park as so much as those complaining about how far it is from the parking lot to the main gate... If that is your biggest concern for visiting a park, you may want to reconsider your hobby choice. A majority of what you do at any park is walk, so it's interesting to me that a few extra minutes of walking is a deal breaker on visiting a park.

And yeah, HHN trips are something else that's for sure. We just got back from a HHN Hollywood and Orlando combo trip (plus SFMM and BGT thrown in as well) where we put in just shy of 60 miles of walking in just a few days. Any typical park visit doesn't come close to the HHN madness of walking/standing, that's for sure. My legs will be throbbing at night, as well as my back (dusty bones these days!) especially by day 2 or 3... But hey, it's all part of the HHN experience, I guess!?

HHN is my favorite time to go but thank God it’s only one time a year!

SteveWoA:

A majority of what you do at any park is walk, so it's interesting to me that a few extra minutes of walking is a deal breaker on visiting a park.

I think you're oversimplifying it. It's not the act of walking I don't care for at UO, it's the time it takes. That's why I can't stand Magic Kingdom, which is walking and a vehicle ride. It's ten minutes from most points in the garages to the studio gate, assuming security is efficient and the moving walkways are actually moving. Ten minutes is annoying when arriving, it's extra annoying departing after a long day. I mean, that's the distance from CP's front gate to the Magnum queue, only in the UO case, you haven't passed dozens of attractions yet.

It’s no different a wait then other large parks with nearby parking though, BGT (if not in preferred parking,) BGW, Dollywood, SDC, USH, DLR, all have a 10 min trek to the gate. Heck arrive at the other 3 WDW parks in the afternoon and it’s a 10 min walk across the parking lot too. At least you have shops and feel in a place as opposed to a parking lot on your way to Universal. You also get moving walkways part of the way.

That simply isn't true. Using Google Maps...

• Distance from the middle of the UO parking garage (not counting vertical feet) to the USF gate is about 3,060 feet.
• Epcot, if you're parked at the back of the Wonder lot, which never happens, it's 2,800 feet. Usually you're in Discover/Create, which is 1,900 feet to the back. And I was there yesterday, it was five minutes at most.
• Hollywood Studios from the back of the Buzz lot, again, where you never park, is 2,300 feet.
• Back of the Yeti lot, where you never park at Animal Kingdom, 2,500 feet.

And whatever, it's not the number of feet as much as the perception. Frankly UO (and Magic Kingdom) feel worse because of the herd you have to travel in. I just don't dig it.

I'm embarrassed for even looking at that distance. I'm on hold on the phone though, so quasi-excuse.

Jeff:

And whatever, it's not the number of feet as much as the perception. Frankly UO (and Magic Kingdom) feel worse because of the herd you have to travel in. I just don't dig it.

This. With the stores and restaurants it feels like I haven't left the park when I did five minutes ago. When I leave a Disney park, I'm out. Even though the exit from Disneyland to the Grand Californian is short, it feels longer because of the Downtown Disney district walk.

I may 'oversimplify' the act of walking into an amusement park, but you folks figured out how to way overcomplicate it all. Comparing distances, perception and the modes of transportation to/from the main gate from the parking lot...

Just enjoy the fact you can go to a place, ride some fun rides, hang with friends and family and grab a beer or two while scarfing down some food if you wish. Regardless if you need to walk an extra few minutes, or not, to do just that.

SteveWoA:

Comparing distances, perception and the modes of transportation to/from the main gate from the parking lot…

It’s all to do with park design so it’s not that weird.

I just can’t think of a parking experience where I’ve ever thought “wow, that was exceptional.”

While I’ve never thought of a parking experience as exceptional, some park arrivals are, taking a boat ride to Citywalk from RPR, HRH, or PBR is exceptional, taking a boat ride from a resort to MK, DHS or Epcot taking the monorail to MK or Epcot, walking out of the Grand and into DCA is exceptional, or walking down the beach from Breakers to CP are all exceptional. Maybe it’s the novelty of not having to drive or ride a bus/tram but it’s one of the reasons I pay extra to stay at those places.

Went to UO with the family last spring and stayed at Aventura. From there, we had a little bit of a walk each day through an adjacent hotel to get to the water taxi, but security at that point was pretty painless and the taxi intervals were reasonable, so it worked out pretty well. And the taxis drop you off right in between the two park gates.

One time as we were walking out of the Aventura lobby the shuttle was right there waiting, so we decided to hop on just because. When we got to the drop off point at the garage and ascended the stairs, all I saw was a sea of humanity that seemed to stretch on forever. We immediately turned around to wait for a shuttle to take us back to the hotels so we could grab the water taxi. It probably cost us a little bit of time, but I could feel the stress starting to build in me just by looking at all those people in line in the garage.

I hadn't thought much about that, but yeah, because I always stayed at RPR, I had never entered via the garages until I moved here. I hated it immediately, and used valet with the best pass. But that boat ride, or the river walk, from RPR was nice. So maybe it isn't the walking or the time, it's the herd.

SteveWoA:

you folks figured out how to way overcomplicate it all

Are you new here?

Bakeman31092:

One time as we were walking out of the Aventura lobby the shuttle was right there waiting, so we decided to hop on just because. When we got to the drop off point at the garage and ascended the stairs, all I saw was a sea of humanity that seemed to stretch on forever. We immediately turned around to wait for a shuttle to take us back to the hotels so we could grab the water taxi. It probably cost us a little bit of time, but I could feel the stress starting to build in me just by looking at all those people in line in the garage

when I stayed at Sapphire Falls last year with my son, we took the boat ride over every morning and used the early entry a few days. Even with early entry, there was a sea of humidity built up back to the boardwalk/restaurants area when we exited the boats.

I remember my son laughing at all the grown adults at the front of the line running to the rides once the gates opened. People are nuts.

I see people waiting at the Aventura bus stop and want to walk over and tell them to walk or take the water taxi. I think most people figure it out eventually though.

ApolloAndy:

SteveWoA:

you folks figured out how to way overcomplicate it all

Are you new here?

I'm disappointed you didn't reference your own recent questions in the CB top 100 thread.

I was thinking of that while posting, but the short and punchier version hit better. I was also surprised someone else (Gonch, in particular) didn't beat me to it. That was teed up very nicely. Or am I overcomplicating this?

Or Maverick.