Yesterday, we showed you a sneak peek at a semi-reopened Universal Studios.
Universal Studios Resort
Well, today Universal has officially reopened to Annual Passholders and we’re reporting LIVE to see how some of the new health and safety regulations will work in a theme park!
Be sure to keep checking back as we will be updating this post throughout the day!
We previously shared our experience when it comes to parking at temperature checks when we visited CityWalk a few weeks ago.
If you have more questions about parking or temperature checks at Universal — click here!!
Since we were hotel guests, our temperatures were checked at the hotel and we were given a wristband.
Temp check wristband
Once you have this wristband, you don’t have to get checked again throughout the day (at hotels, CityWalk, and parks). The color of the wristband changes daily.
Read more about our reopened Universal hotel experience here!
Entering the Park
Today is an Annual Passholder preview but those Annual Passholders who chose to stay at a Universal hotel were allowed into the park an hour before everyone else (8AM).
Universal
Since hotel guests were allowed early access, prior to entering the park, team members ensure those entering were in fact hotel guests by checking for room keys. From here, we were directed to head to the normal park entry.
Wristband Check
They did not scan our fingers when entering the park. We simply scanned our tickets and went inside!
Entering Universal
Health and Safety Signage
We noticed that there is plenty of signage posted to remind guests of the health and safety requirements and suggestions.
Health Signage
Just like in CityWalk, there were stickers placed to keep guests separated in high traffic areas — like near this Hogwarts Express photo op!
Distancing Sticker
URest Areas
Masks are required in Universal Resort and we noticed several team members asking guests to keep their faces covered if their mask had shifted or they had moved it. Still, there are locations called URest Areas where you can remove your mask if needed.
URest Area Entrance
These areas do not have distancing markers but there is signage posted that asks guests to keep their distance from one another while they are removing their masks.
URest Sign
There are two URest locations in each park located in separated areas or unused show seating. These can be found at Central Park Lagoon and Fear Factor in Universal Studios and at Port of Entry Landing and Voyage of Sinbad in Islands of Adventure.
Voyage of Sinbad
Click here to learn more about the URest areas!
Virtual Lines
Universal is using a virtual line feature on more attractions in order to assist with social distancing.
Universal Virtual Line
At this time, the virtual line system is only available for select attractions although a team member did say that they would be adding more lines soon.
Virtual Line
You make your reservation and ride on the same day and do note that you need to be on property to select a virtual line time! This reservation can be made for up to 10 people.
We have two people in our party, and technically since accounts aren’t linked (like they are with FastPass+ in Disney World), we were both able to make separate virtual reservations for groups of two. So, it was almost like snagging two virtual line reservations at once.
Virtual Line
According to a team member, attractions without virtual lines will operate with a normal standby line. If the attraction does offer a virtual line, it will not have a standby line.
After we scanned our virtual line code on Escape From Gringotts, you still go into a line. On the ground are markers, so that guests will remain distanced. The stickers are spaced between eight feet and ten feet depending on the size of the queue.
Gringotts Markers
Throughout the day we did have some issues with the app for the Virtual Line. Sometimes we were unable to register for new lines when we should have been able to.
Virtual Line Error Screen
Click here to learn more about the Virtual Line system!
Lockers
Today, team members were sending one person to a locker from a party. The rest were asked to wait elsewhere.
Lockers
They handed us a ticket and told us which bay to go to. We opened and closed the locker with our park ticket or room key barcode.
Locker
There were makers set up outside of locker locations for guests to stand on as they waited to enter the locker area.
Locker Wait
Universal’s New Ride Experience
There have been some changes to the way attractions run AFTER you get through the altered queues, too!
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
We noticed that some attraction preshows were skipped to keep people from having to gather for too long. For instance, we basically headed straight for the ride for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts.
No Preshow
Of course, as you approach the ride vehicles, distancing is still in effect with more markers on the ground.
Distanced Queue
Escape from Gringotts typically has you grabbing 3-D goggles from bins. Today, the bins were empty and a team member was designated to individually hand out the goggles. Tip! It was much more comfortable to wear our goggles over our masks to keep them from fogging.
No-Touch Goggles
Prior to getting on the ride, a team member offered us hand sanitizer as well.
Hand Sanitizer
For loading, guests were grouped with one party per row and empty rows in between each party.
Spacing on Ride
Hogwarts Express
The Hogwarts Express also features a marked line to help guests with distancing. Team members are seating only one party per cabin on the train.
Hogwarts Express Line
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure remains as popular as ever. Even with a virtual line, the queue stretched all the way out of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Hagrid’s Line
The actual line queue does feature markings for distancing guests. Preshows were not available on this attraction either.
Hagrid’s Line
The team at Hagrid’s was not seating guests with empty rows in between. However, we did spot that team members were sanitizing each seat between riders.
Hagrid’s Loading Area
Mobile Ordering
Universal is encouraging Mobile Ordering for dining. You do have to be inside the park for Mobile Order to work.
Mobile Order Message
The app is pretty similar to Disney’s Mobile Order where you pick out what you want from a full menu in the app.
Mobile Order Menu
Then you’re given a pickup number to bring to the window.
Mobile Order
Mobile Order pick up is done with distanced lines using the markers. We noticed the pick-up line at The Three Broomsticks was pretty lengthy.
The Three Broomsticks Mobile Order Line
The Hopping Pot had two separate lines, standard ordering on the right and Mobile Order pick up on the far left.
The Hopping Pot
Meeting Characters
We did see a few characters out and about today, but all of them were meeting from a distance.
Dr. Seuss Characters
Spider-Man is ahead of the curve. He had a mask before he even needed one!
Spider-Man
Remember to keep following along as we report LIVE from Universal today!
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Thanks for the update! Any word on use of Express Passes for select hotel guests?
If you are a hotel guest, I believe that you still get Express Passes from staying at the premier hotels (according to the Universal website). So how does that work with the Virtual Lines? Do hotel guests get priority? Thanks.
Gregg, we had our team members on the ground check just now, and they were told Express Pass will be active and available on Friday of this week. Guests using EP will simply use that marked line.
Alex, what we learned on-site today is that Express Passes will be usable starting Friday, June 5. Those with Express Pass will use that designated line.
I’m curious if the parks were crowded at all and how much all these precautions slowed down doing anything.
Pris, they were not overly crowded, but the on-app ordering and virtual lines function were not consistently efficient. The lines function went down several times, and the lines for on-app ordering were prohibitively long in some cases.
Hey there, I saw up above that you mentioned that the standby lines looked further than 6 feet apart. That’s because they are. On the presentation that they gave the Economic Recovery Task Force, they had said that if the wait lines are 42 inches apart that there would be 10ft of space and if they are 43 it will be 8ft apart. Also they said they would be staggering the position of people in the line. Me and my parents are excited to be going next Wednesday through Saturday for my birthday!! We are going to drive over to Disney springs and go to Ghirardelli for my birthday!
Happy birthday, Coral!
Thank you Sarah!
What is the point of using the lockers? Are you not permitted to take your bag along on the ride? If not, what harm is there in keeping it with you?
Any issues with being able to get in the park? We have set day tickets but other than saying they’ve not had to turn anyone away, there’s no guarantee you get in. Doesn’t really make sense. Should be able to cut off ticket sales so they don’t oversell. Thoughts?
Dede, we can’t speak to Universal’s policies on that, but we haven’t encountered overwhelming crowds. My sister, who is a local, also has had no trouble with crowds on her many visits over the past couple weeks. I think Disney’s Disney Park Pass system is designed to prevent the uncertainty of “will I be able to get in or not”, but the practical application remains to be seen. Universal has chosen to go this route, which so far seems to be okay. Of course, we can’t speak to what might happen in the future.