Universal Orlando makes metal detectors on three rides permanent

Oh, the horror!

They should spin it in to a positive and put charging cables in all the lockers.

kip099 said:

There are going to be a lot of unhappy people in an hour long line for Hulk if they don't have their phones...

This could be part of the theming. Angry people in line for the Hulk. What better way to experience what it's like to be Bruce Banner?

But that also leads to the distinct possibility of other Banner-related...incidents...happening in queue.

This is the sort of decision that makes people decide not to come back. It won't hurt them in the short term, but longer term, people who are aggravated, inconvenienced, and annoyed by it will take it into consideration when deciding whether to return next year.

Or has UO decided, like Busch Gardens Tampa, that it doesn't matter because 99% of their customers aren't planning to come back any time soon anyway?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I don't know. In a country where people have been, for years, aggravated, inconvenienced and annoyed by the not overly competent TSA, this may seem a minor inconvenience to many.

That is probably true at least to a certain extent. But when it comes to air travel, customers of all airlines must go through the "fun" of TSA. And for many trips, airline travel is either a necessity or very close to one. If you are going to travel by air, you have to deal with TSA. If you are looking for theme/amusement parks, you can go to non-Universal parks and avoid the metal detector hassle.

Considering how many times a week I have to explain to a customer at the box office that, having picked up their tickets an hour in advance of the show, they are allowed to leave the building and can even walk around the neighborhood....

I just don't think metal detectors at a few rides will be much of a deterrent for most travelers.

I hope this policy doesn't start spreading to more parks. I always wear zippered pocket shorts or a zippered pocket jacket to a park for my keys, wallet and phone because I don't trust velcro or button pockets. Besides having to wait in line at the metal detectors, I don't like the idea of not having my phone with me. I usually take solo trips to local parks and in the past have needed to have access to my phone for work reasons. Leaving it in a locker for 30+ minutes would not have been good. This wouldn't stop me from returning to Universal all together but makes me want to go back less since I am not a fan of the parks to begin with.

To be honest, when it comes to Universal Orlando, I'm there for Harry Potter amazingness and Seuss Landing, so metal detectors on a few rides there wouldn't bother me much.

By and large I just don't think these detectors will have much impact one way or the other.