Redefining “waiting”

Controversy has made its way to Islands of Adventure with a particular piece of news that doesn’t seem to be rubbing everybody the same way….

The Ride Queue for Reign of Kong is Under Fire from Sceptical Critics and Guests Alike

Why you ask? Universal has given the public some new information regarding the caves and caverns that make up the new rides queue system: it will have scareactors hiding within its dark corners.

Our first glance at the Kong queue scareactors!

So you may ask yourself “well why is this controversial?! That actually sounds fantastic” Well, it is. But….it’s also not. On the surface this sounds like a good time AND an incredibly new and unique waiting experience, but not everyone goes to Universal Studios to get scared. As a matter of fact, from November to mid-September, NO ONE is expecting to get scared there.

Those That Call This A “Bad Move”

I understand you readers are all onboard with this idea, and trust me we at HHNU are too, but stick with me here and it may make sense despite how great of an idea it is.

Imagine bringing your 6 year old son to Islands of Adventure. He has been so excited for the new Kong ride and hasn’t stopped telling his parents about every new detail and every new construction photo. There you are, ready to enter the attraction for the first time. You’re walking through the cavernous corridors with other eager guests and suddenly a tribesman pop out of a dark corner. Your son is now crying and has soiled himself. Not only now is he no longer interested in going on this ride because it’s apparently incredibly scary and can no longer trust any of it, but now the vacation is ruined and the money seems to have been wasted now. Imagine the backlash guest services will recieve.

Does Universal really want their guests dreading entering for fear of being startled?

Another issue may arise with certain guests regarding the actual appearance of these scareactors. Depending on who is in their family bloodline, they may know a few native tribespeople…..somehow, and find the very depiction offensive.

But All Problems Have Solutions

Whether you are for or against it, there are steps Universal can take to remedy this set of potential guest relations nightmares.

Universal can, and likely will, train this group of actors to only scare a certain set of people, of certain age ranges and certain attitudes, while avoiding other particular groups of people. We already know that scareactors are a lot smarter then we give them credit for and have eyes that can tell the difference between every kind of guest and what will scare them. They can easily avoid those particular guests that will definitely have a problem with being scared while waiting in line for a seemingly harmless ride.

They have also added a disclaimer warning guests of “Live Interactions in the queue” in an additional effort to properly advise guests. Can’t say they didn’t warn them.

Then there’s the fact that we’re talking about a ride queue here. Guests will certainly not be flowing through these queues as swiftly as they would through an HHN haunted house. They will stop and go as you would expect from any line. Scareactors will have more time to scan these guests and really get an idea of who would definitely be okay with being scared. People talk while waiting in line for a ride. The actor can easily get an idea of many people’s attitudes and how seriously they take things. If they definitely seem like a snoody park goer that complains a lot, they would definitely ignore them and wait for someone who seems to be the life of a group and cracking jokes.

Are you for or against having scareactors lurking in a ride queue? Do you think this will last, or will Universal get smack for it and eventually have to get rid of the actors? Let us know in the comments!