I am not so comfortable with adventure rides and have never been keen to visit such entertainment parks. The last I visited was Wonderla in Bangalore some 8 years back. However, as my kids have grown up now and can make the best use of these activities, we decided to visit the VGP Universal Kingdom (June month). We had earlier visited VGP Marine Kingdom and VGP Snow Kingdom which was a great experience. Professionally managed and guided, these were worth the money spent. I had the same expectations with the VGP Universal Kingdom. However, I only have a lot of disappointing experiences to share amidst a little bit of fun we had.
The park supposedly opens at 9:30 am. So we decided to go early to avoid the crowd at the billing counter and also to get a head start with the activities, especially the water sports. We reached there by 8:45 am and to our surprise and happiness, there were hardly a few people around. We stood in line at one of the counters. The salesperson arrived only at 9:30 am to issue the tickets, by then a huge line formed behind us. There is no option to buy the Aqua Kingdom tickets separately, which we preferred. We were the first ones to take the tickets and rushed inside the premise with the satisfaction of having achieved something great. As we clicked some photos and entered inside further, we noticed none of the rides were started. When enquired, one senior guy (probably the manager there), came and told me that the rides start only at 10 am. This was even though most operators were available there but chatting or doing some maintenance work on the rides. The manager then gave great advice to us - Why don't you visit the beach till then? We had no interest in going to the beach, that too by paying Rs 750/. I wanted to tell him that we dint come here to go to the beach. We had to keep waiting under the hot sun for them to complete all this work and start the rides, by then the crowd increased.
When the entry timings are from 9:30 am, can't they start giving the tickets from 9:00 am at least? Why wait till 9:30 am to gather more crowd and create inconvenience for all?
If the entry timings are from 9:30 am, aren't you supposed to keep all rides ready by then? No. They take their own sweet time in starting each ride.
The staff all are asked to behave rudely and aggressively I guess. Not even one has a smile on their face or keen to answer you properly. They respond as if they are doing a great favor to us.
We played a couple of adventure rides and then thought of heading to the pool. The kids were more interested in the water games and the sun was already burning us alive, it was around 11 am. To our surprise, we were told that the water games will open only at 12 noon as the cleaning is still going on. We were disappointed but had no option but to wait there in the lobby. At least we were happy that the pool is cleaned daily. We changed our dress to swimming attire (they have a large area for changing dress) and entered around 12:10 pm. The lazy river was opened first and then other activities were started one after the other. We started with the lazy river, however, the water had no force. We had to walk through it instead. Bored with it, we headed to other activities like slides, dance floor, and fountains. This was the best part of the trip and the kids enjoyed these activities. The best was the Kutralam Falls and the Slides. The wave pool works only at specific intervals (I guess around 4 or 5 times during the day), otherwise, it functions as a normal pool. However, the water was frothy, am not sure if they mix something for creating the bubbles effect ( or maybe for curing the water).
The aqua kingdom (water sports area) is open only at 12:00 noon. Why can't they open all activities same time? There may be some, who want to play only the water games or start with water games and then move to other adventure rides. Is this not a better way to manage the crowd as well? But no, you are forced to use the adventure rides and then visit the water games area. By then the crowd is more there as well.
The pool is not clean. I understand it's a large area and not possible to clean it completely or keep it out of leaves and other items which fly through the air. However, there were many insects and other creatures too in the water (the lazy river). Waiting for them to clean the pool made no sense.
While costumes are insisted on, after one point as the crowd increased, they had no control over the costumes and we found people in all types of dresses inside the pool. No one is asked to shower before entering the pool. You can imagine how it would be, especially after sweating so much, playing the adventure rides in the hot sun. In that sense, it's worth going straight to the water pool so that you at least get some quality time before the crowd spoils the water completely.
We spent around 2 hours in the aqua kingdom. All of us were so tired and thirsty. We wanted to buy some water bottles, however, none of the shops inside the park had water bottles. They ran out of stock already and only had Cola, Goli Soda, flavored milk, etc. We had some Goli soda (for some reason we think this is better than Cola right ?) We initially thought of having food at the restaurant inside the park but decided later to go out.
How can an entertainment park of this size and fame don't even stock enough water bottles? They should provide free drinking water for the customers instead. I felt this was their tactic to ensure people bought local food and sugary drinks instead which has better margins.
While we enjoyed the water games, can't say the same with other aspects. Overall it was a mixed trip, blame it on the heat and the pathetic service standards taking customers for granted. Once you pay the entry fee and enter the premise, you are at the mercy of these rude staff and outdated service standards. While they spend so much money to replicate these adventure parks and entertainment activities from other countries like Singapore or Dubai, they prefer to continue with the same poor standards of service. Well, we are Indians and who is bothered?
Some Tips based on my experience :
Don't recommend going to this place in the summer at all. Inspite of having several trees, there is no proper place or shade for people to rest around. Since it's a full-day trip, you will be drained completely by noon. Prefer going on a rainy or cloudy day instead. Aug - Feb must be an ideal period to visit.
No point in going too early. Better to go on a weekday instead of weekends to avoid the crowd.
Carry a lot of water with you and if possible some healthy snacks, they only provide junk food inside. As mentioned above, you may run out of water and will be forced to buy carbonated drinks or flavored milk items instead.
Universal Kingdom in itself has so many activities and games, for which you need a full day to complete. Hence, don't combine VGP Snow Kingdom or Marine Kingdom tickets with your purchase. Keep it for another day.
You need swimming attire (nylon clothes) to enter the aqua area. Else you will have to purchase one near the counter. While the cost is reasonable, there is a huge line, and its a chaos. Those who don't wish to enter the water can still accompany others and they don't need swimming attire.
P.S - VGP Universal Kingdom has several other adventure rides/roller coasters and play areas for the kids and adults to enjoy. We did not visit most of these and hence, were unable to comment on them. Am sure most of these rides are interesting and will be enjoyed by adventure freaks. As mentioned earlier, it's a full-day activity and be prepared for it, if you want to make best use of the money you pay for.
