Subject:
|
LLC trip report 10/19/02 (long)
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.legoland
|
Date:
|
Thu, 24 Oct 2002 01:07:51 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
5928 times
|
| |
|
|
In the tradition of the Las Vegas trip reports I so enjoy reading, here is
my past trip to LLC:
This past weekend was the first day of Brick or Treat, so I went down to LLC
for a look-see. I finally took the plunge and signed up for the Ambassador
Pass when I first got to the park. I figured since my Primo pass was going
to expire soon, I might as well take advantage of the situation. LLC will
deduct the cost of the Primo pass from the cost of the Ambassador if you
upgrade before the Primo pass expires. Total cost to upgrade was about
$890, so I told my wife LLC was having a sale. ;)
When I got the Ambassador pass, the employee handed me my new card and a
parking pass. The parking pass looked used, with creases and a
snot/glue-like substance smeared across one side. I asked for another
parking pass, since this moment was somewhat special to me. She acted all
put out by my request, stating that she'll have to find someone with the key
to get the passes and tried to scrape off the gunk. I politely insisted and
told her I'd be back later to get the pass, so there was no rush.
Second stop, went to the Big Shop. Wandered around a bit and saw the Gungan
patrol on sale for $6. Asked a salesperson if anything else was on sale and
he said no, though technically I did find a couple of Soccer sets on sale as
well. Perhaps those sets have been on sale for so long that they no longer
seem as if they are on sale. There was nothing else of interest at the Big
Shop and I think there was only one other customer in there while I was
there. Sad that on a Saturday that LLC would be this empty.
Went up to the Castle area for Brick or Treat and found that it didn't start
till 2 PM! Since the park closed at 4:45, that's very little time for Brick
or Treat. Dunno who thought B or T should only be less than 3 hours, but I
was certainly bummed out. I figured I'd take lunch and went to the diner by
the Technic rollercoaster since I'd never been there before. Found that the
diner was closed as they are redesigning it to make it more popular. So I
walked around the park and went to the Garden Restaurant. Got a grilled
cheese kid's meal, mostly to get the kid's cup (does anybody else collect
these things?), but the sandwich was pretty good. Handed over my Ambassador
pass for the discount and the cashier told me that only Primo and Block
Party pass were good for the meal discount. He had to go to the manager to
learn that an Ambassador pass also qualifies. The kid's cup was Jack Stone
(ugh, what next, Galidor?), but I do make a point of getting the cups
everytime I go there.
I kept going through the park and got to the Clubhouse. Took a look at the
bulk brick selection and didn't see anything special. Went to the tables
and started looking through the pieces there. Who puts those pieces out
anyway? I think a good 10% of the pieces were just minifig heads, most of
which were an evil adventurers head. Nobody was able to make anything
desireable from the parts selection. Saw some kids just stacking heads on
top of each other. Sad, sad, sad. It's like LLC just doesn't care enough
to vary the piece selection at all. Rather it was just whatever bulk piece
of the day they had left over.
Went to the restaurant next to the kid's race track. Saw that they had a
kid's cup that I did not own, so I got another kid's meal there. Got in
line to check out and the cashier abruptly, and without explanation, left
after taking the person in front of me. So I sat down, ate my chicken
nuggets (couldn't tell if there was actual chicken in there, or if it was
just straight batter since the pieces were so small), and waited for the
cashier to come back. I think this is the worst designed restaurant in the
park. The fact that I could just walk in, get my food, eat it there, and
walk out without ever paying, makes it seem to be irresponsibily designed.
Though by and large, most people at LLC are quite honest. In fact, I saw
someone's cell phone and digital camera sitting at an unoccupied table.
Paid for my meal and the cashier took my word that the leftover bits of the
second kid's meal was from another restaurant.
Went back to Castle Hill, saw exactly one family waiting in line for Brick
or Treat with 30 minutes to go till 2 PM. Figured I'd try a ride but I
avoided Spellbreaker, the closest ride. LLC should rename it Nutbreaker
since if you are not ready the ride will lurch forward and forcefully slide
your crotch into the pommel. To quote Cartman, "Aw, your breakin' my balls!"
After spending 10 mins. to ride the Technic coaster (most of the ride lines
were disturbingly short), I got back to Castle Hill with 20 minutes to go
before 2:00. Well, in that 10 minutes I squandered, the line grew all the
way around the corner. It seemed the entire park as waiting in line for
this. Again, why did they devote just 2:45 minutes to Brick or Treat? That
ensures the line will always be long and many people left before it even
opened or were put off by the line size. Plus it was pathetic to see kids
running around the park all day with empty trick or treat bags.
After about an hour (20 mins for it to open, 40 mins in line) I finally got
what I was after. The whole purpose of my trip: the Brick or Treat
Halloween Duplo brick. This year it is yellow and has the familiar ghost on
one side and the new vampire on the other.
The trip was a total dud shopping wise. Nothing new or unique. Nearly
nothing on sale. This was the first time I didn't spend any money on Lego
on a trip to LLC. Trips past, I'd spend several hundred on Lego, but there
was really no reason on this one. So I went out to other stores. Picked up
30 more Final Duel IIs from Target and 3 Republic Gunships from Discovery
Stores. The two employees that helped me at the Discovery Store reminded me
of what the employees at LLC used to be like. They couldn't wait to help
me. They were nearly painly chipper, going so far as to praise my shopping
choices. LLC employees used to be like this. Several employees would stop
me during my trip through the park and ask how my day was. They'd try to be
as helpful as possible and fulfill my every request. They were cheerful and
upbeat. Now it's just another park filled with vaguely disgruntled teenaged
employees. Throughout my day only one employee bothered to smile at me. I
had to ask several employees about when Brick or Treat started before I got
my answer. Overall, LLC's customer service seemed to have faded like so
many of the bricks in the park.
Jimmy
|
|
Message has 1 Reply:
5 Messages in This Thread:
   
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
