Universal Kids Resort Hotel Booking Doesn’t Highlight Park Closures Enough

Universal Kids Resort is not a year-round theme park. Over the next calendar year, it will be closed for a total of 53 days, many of those falling in late January and early February. The Universal Kids Resort Hotel, however, is open year-round.

Staying at the hotel while the park is closed won’t appeal to everyone. It would for me. I’d happily book a room with a theme park view in January to see what’s happening. Universal has said much of the park’s maintenance would take place during its extended winter closure.

But not everyone is like me, interested in theme park construction and ride operations. Most people booking the Universal Kids Resort Hotel probably intend to visit Universal Kids Resort.

Closure dates are easy to miss

Universal does tell guests which dates the park is closed during the hotel booking process, but that information needs to be much clearer. Because people will most definitely miss it. And before you say, “Nobody would ever book a theme park hotel without checking whether the theme park is open,” yes, they would. I have faith.

When making a Universal Kids Resort Hotel reservation, guests first enter their check-in and check-out dates and party size. Clicking or tapping the date fields opens a large calendar modal where they can select their stay.

Beneath that calendar is a paragraph listing the park’s closure dates. That’s all the notice users get.

Nothing on the calendar itself indicates that the park will be closed on certain dates. A guest can select a stay that falls entirely during a park closure without seeing any visual warning.

After selecting a stay, the following screens collect personal and billing information. Those pages include cancellation and credit card guarantee policies, but there’s no mention that Universal Kids Resort could be closed during the visit.

The good news is that Universal doesn’t charge guests until they arrive in Frisco. So someone who books and later realizes the park will be closed can cancel without being charged, assuming they do so before the cancellation deadline.

I build websites for a living. The user experience is always on my mind. I can promise you that plenty of people will skip right over that paragraph beneath the calendar. Some of them will eventually realize their mistake and cancel. Others could arrive expecting churros and a dino coaster only to discover they booked a park-less stay.

A simple fix

Universal should note closure dates directly on the booking calendar. And if someone selects a hotel stay that overlaps with a closure, they should require an acknowledgment before allowing them to continue:

By checking this box, you acknowledge that Universal Kids Resort will be closed for part or all of your hotel stay.

I’d include that acknowledgment on the final booking page before users can submit their reservation, as well.

These updates would accomplish two things. First, guests know exactly what they’re booking before providing their credit card information. And second, Team Members are far less likely to have to deal with someone arriving at the hotel only to discover the park next door is closed.

Visit the Universal Kids Resort website to book your hotel stay.

Want to learn more about Universal Kids Resort and its seven themed lands? We’ve got you covered. Visit our Universal Kids Resort hub for everything available at the new Frisco theme park.