I was going to post this in the complaints thread but it was closed before I could.

Theme parks are a luxury that nobody needs meaning that Sea World is in the business of making people happy. I understand that shit happens, and people are going to complain regardless, but their marketing and communications are currently doing them no favours in regards to their outages. They have effectively gone radio silent about this after advertising for the last month through multiple channels that their rides would be open on 2nd. Its understandable that people are upset about this because their expectations have not been met. 

People will often develop an enlarged sense of personal entitlement when in a setting where they see themselves as as there to be served such as a theme park regardless of whether a problem is real or perceived, but that's just the business they're in. Luxuries require a sense of value and satisfaction. Considering how expensive everything is becoming, the park needs to prove that they're a reliable source of satisfaction otherwise guests are going to second guess their next ticket/pass purchase for something more reliable. Radio silence just isn't a good option when all eyes are on the park.

Some might argue that it's the guests responsibility to do their own research in these situations, but if I was Sea World I would scrambling to control the narrative as soon as possible considering that this project has seen almost eight public delays which wont leave people with much confidence. All it takes is one Daily Mail article with some bullshit headline like "Long delayed Wooden Coaster rickety after multiple breakdowns" to put the park in a really, really bad position. 

Edited December 6, 20223 yr by Guest 239

What else can SW do besides updating the maintenance page @Guest 239?

5 minutes ago, New display name said:

What else can SW do besides updating the maintenance page @Guest 239?

Make a post on their social media accounts, change their main website to correctly display that it isn't open, hold back on their advertising push (by that I mean, the advertisements that they can hold back on, like digital ones) til' it is operational again, offer refunds for families who already travelled to ride, etc.

Edited December 6, 20223 yr by Tricoart

Just now, New display name said:

What else can SW do besides updating the maintenance page @Guest 239?

post an update regarding the rides unexpected downtime saying that they are currently down to “enhance the guest experience.” They’ve posted updated such as Justice Leagues & Wild West’s sudden closure, Green Lanterns maintenance period, so they know how to do it and can easily do that. I’ve heard Leviathan is expected to be down for the next few days and reopen within the week, so an update should be posted as it’s not fair to heavily promote two rides as open as it’s misleading and false advertising. 

Just now, Tricoart said:

Make a post on their social media accounts, change their main website to correctly display that it isn't open, hold back on their advertising push (by that I mean, the advertisements that they can hold back on, like digital ones) til' it is operational again, offer refunds for those who travelled to ride, etc.

read each others minds.

Great suggestions above, but you probably don't even need to go that hard.

Just explaining to guests that there is a possibility it might not be open for whatever reason on the day that they visit helps to taper expectations. Currently most marketing material says "Ride Now" or "Now Open!" which some guests will take for gospel. Many don't understand the opening process and aren't privy to the process like us, so outlining that despite the public can get on the attractions that some things may be down to receive 'additional enhancements for improved guest experience'. 

This could easily go under the announcements tab on their website or within their app on the Sea World homepage. 

Isn't this what a maintenance page is for?  @Rivalsyou know it's down before they know it's down it seems, so why do you have to see it on Facebook too?

1 minute ago, Guest 239 said:

Just explaining to guests that there is a possibility it might not be open for whatever reason on the day that they visit helps to taper expectations.

Do any parks do this?

4 minutes ago, New display name said:

Isn't this what a maintenance page is for?  @Rivalsyou know it's down before they know it's down it seems, so why do you have to see it on Facebook too?

if the public are being hammered by announcements saying “open now” “ride now” ect, they aren’t going to go “let me check if it’s open.” I didn’t say i need to know as i already know through this website and questions i’ve asked to people not on this website, the paying public need to know. 

Edited December 6, 20223 yr by Rivals

11 minutes ago, New display name said:

Isn't this what a maintenance page is for?  @Rivalsyou know it's down before they know it's down it seems, so why do you have to see it on Facebook too?

Part of the issue lies in the fact that currently, the maintenance page says these attractions are closed. However you've got the themeparks.com.au website stating that Leviathan is open, whilst Trident says both it's open, AND it's closed due to high wind.

Visit Sea World's attractions page and you will find that each of the rides in question have a banner stating they're NOW OPEN, even though once you dive into the maintenance page, you see it's in fact closed.

If a guest makes it that far, it's safe for them to assume the attractions are open, and can't be blamed for diving further in.

VRTP's biggest issue is they can't manage to maintain the same messaging across multiple mediums.

You've also now got the offical socials account stating there is issues across the entire area, causing it to be closed this week, whilst still going hard across their digital channels stating it's all open.

Edited December 6, 20223 yr by Luke Beazley

They’re not even replying to comments on the posts on their page 😕 

 

Just like clockwork,

 

1 minute ago, Dean Barnett said:

They’re not even replying to comments on the posts on their page 😕 

 

They are for some comments.

 

Edited December 6, 20223 yr by Luke Beazley

Oh, you're a concerned citizen @Rivals  😂 (just joking) 

I agree the messaging on the maintenance page is slow and they need to lift their game on this otherwise what is the point of the page, if you can't rely on it.

@Rivals wants social media post, @Tricoartwants VRTP to hold back on advertising.  @skeeta wants full blown ads announcing why they have let us down.   Where does it stop?

 

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Dean Barnett said:

They’re not even replying to comments on the posts on their page 😕 

 

Maybe they are on lunch

Vortex has been open for ages now and suddenly it’s broken?

1 hour ago, New display name said:

now that the Atlantes is open

You sure about that?

Just now, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

You sure about that?

Did you ride it?

4 minutes ago, New display name said:

@Tricoartwants VRTP to hold back on advertising.

You asked, verbatim:

33 minutes ago, New display name said:

What else can SW do besides updating the maintenance page?

And I responded with many options of things that they could do. Not want, not need, could. And I made it clear I was specifically mentioning advertising that could be relatively easily held-back, i.e. digital advertising on websites & videos. Don't go making things up, that's what ruined the last thread.

Edited December 6, 20223 yr by Tricoart

Just now, Tricoart said:

You asked, verbatim:

And I responded with what they could do. Not want, not need, could.

You didn't have to make one up.

I said it in the other thread - the least they could do is pause the digital billboard campaigns - they can’t even say when the new area will be operational now 

4 minutes ago, New display name said:

Do any parks do this?

Technical rehearsals and soft openings usually help to taper similar problems with ride expectations. I see no negative in educating your guests and tapering their expectations. 

2 minutes ago, Dean Barnett said:

I said it in the other thread - the least they could do is pause the digital billboard campaigns - they can’t even say when the new area will be operational now 

Likewise with EDMS and Social Advertising.

Currently, they're trying to derail their hype train. But can't and shouldn't continue to push that it's open, as clearly this is not the case.

6 minutes ago, Guest 239 said:

Technical rehearsals and soft openings usually help to taper similar problems with ride expectations.. 

That was yesterday discussions.  

Today we are talking about, the rides are down and now nobody knows.  How do we fix it?  What should SW be doing now?

Edited December 6, 20223 yr by New display name

I wonder if they’re offering free return passes to people that have fell for the hype only to experience the park half closed 

Just now, Dean Barnett said:

I wonder if they’re offering free return passes to people that have fell for the hype only to experience the park half closed 

no.

2 minutes ago, Dean Barnett said:

I wonder if they’re offering free return passes to people that have fell for the hype only to experience the park half closed 

Ride ops were mentioning to take issues up with Guest Services when it was barely operational on the first few days, but according to various social media posts, they've been largely unhelpful. Which I can attest to, about a different yet somewhat attached scenario I went through.

Edited December 6, 20223 yr by Tricoart

Sure does sound like it’s a soft opening/tech rehearsal to me.

Shame they said it’s NOW OPEN!