WHEN 42-year-old Dong Xiaobin tried to log on the website of Universal Beijing Resort for some tickets at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, he failed. “I tried to purchase tickets to visit on Monday with my family, but the website was too busy,” Dong said. In fact, Dong was already half-an-hour too late, as tickets for visits Sept. 20 and 21, the first two days after the opening of the resort, had been snapped up within 30 minutes of going on sale. “The tickets vanished like vapor on the resort’s own app and at authorized tourist agencies,” said Dong, who now has to make other plans for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Actually, Universal Beijing Resort had to issue an apology Wednesday night after its website and app crashed multiple times due to a surge in traffic during first-day ticket sales. The resort’s statement said that “abnormalities” occurred in the ticketing system while conducting real-time inventory updates for the Universal Express Pass, resulting in problems with the confirmation of orders. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by this situation,” it said. Tickets for Universal Beijing Resort officially went on sale Tuesday, however, many of its general admission and VIP packages for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Day holiday and beyond quickly sold out. Likewise, the Universal Express Pass — a premium ticket that reduces attraction wait times — also sold out through Dec. 11. The resort said its ticketing system has experienced an unprecedented amount of traffic, and that peak orders are continuously setting new records. The resort went on to clarify that it is proactively handling and confirming orders for its remaining inventory, while closely communicating with relevant platforms to provide “corresponding solutions as soon as possible,” and working with the platforms to deal with related issues. The influx of traffic caused Universal’s official app and website, as well as other popular ticketing websites and apps such as CTrip and Alibaba’s Fliggy to frequently crash Tuesday. Many frustrated internet users have been complaining that the official app is still slow and unresponsive. Meanwhile, others have claimed that they successfully placed orders for the Universal Express Pass via authorized retailers Tuesday, only to discover that those orders had been canceled without explanation. Still, others lamented the fact that unless they could purchase the Express Pass, they would cancel the trip altogether due to the expected long lines for attractions. Fliggy, the online travel booking platform from Alibaba Group and an official ticketing partner of Universal Beijing Resort, also issued apologies and solutions for canceled orders. It said it had consulted with the resort and will refund all compromised orders plus an additional 30 percent of the total purchase amount as monetary compensation. It also warned there are very few fast passes available and will be unable to satisfy demand. The long-awaited opening of the resort, which involves an investment of more than 40 billion yuan (US$6.2 billion), has been gathering increasing attention since last month, when the timetable was announced for its trial operation, as well as ticket prices and its opening date. The biggest backlash came after it announced the price of admission tickets, with some costing more than 700 yuan. Jointly owned by the Beijing government and Comcast NBCUniversal, the resort in suburban Beijing will charge entry prices ranging from 418 yuan in the low season to 748 yuan during peak seasons, which includes some public holidays and most of the summer holiday period. The tickets for the opening day are priced at 638 yuan. The pricing scheme, which the resort said is “in line with market conditions and industry practices,” has prompted complaints. “Because most likely I’ll only have time to go on special days, such as the National Day holiday, this price does not work for me. It’s too expensive,” said one person on Weibo. People also complained about the high price of food and entertainment in the park. “I can accept the ticket price, but food and other stuff inside the park are so expensive that I can’t afford them,” another wrote. In a menu posted online, prices for a meal at the resort range from 68 yuan for a bowl of noodle at Mr. Ping’s Noodle House to 298 yuan for a portion of baked lobster. However people have shown huge interest to the new park. According to Qunar, an online travel service provider, searches for hotels near the resort increased more than sevenfold by 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. Bookings for flights to Beijing on days near the opening increased by more than 200 percent in the past week compared with the previous week, according to data from Fliggy, Alibaba Group’s online travel booking platform. Located in Beijing’s suburban Tongzhou District, the highly anticipated Universal Studios Beijing is the brand’s fifth theme park globally and features seven themed lands. There are a total of 37 rides and attractions, 24 shows and performances, 80 restaurants and 30 retail stores throughout the park and its adjacent Universal CityWalk Beijing. （SD-Agencies） | 