We’re LIVE from Universal Studios Hollywood today for the grand reopening of the park! Disneyland opens in just a few weeks, but this is our first step inside a major reopened California theme park.

Today, we’re going to take a look at new procedures, crowds, and more!

We will be updating this post throughout the day, so be sure to check back.

Arriving at Universal Studios Hollywood

We made our way over to Universal Studios today, parked, went through the security and bag check…

…and made our way into the park!

Inside the Park: Social Distancing Markers, Crowds, and More

Want to do some shopping? The Universal Studio Store was open for all your souvenir needs.

In one area leading to the store, we found an entrance only sign. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to control the flow of traffic to maintain appropriate distancing, some areas have been marked as entrances only, while others are exits.

This is much like what has been done over at Disney World, although we did notice some changes at select stores for a period of time.

So, just be sure to look for those signs at stores, restaurants, and other locations throughout the park.

We also spotted a sign in the park with some specific dining rules. Eating and drinking are only allowed in designated dining areas at Universal Studios Hollywood. Everyone must wear their face coverings unless they are actively eating or drinking.

If you’re dining indoors, then you may only be seated with your same household in a single table. If you’re dining outdoors, up to 3 households may sit together per table.

Keep in mind that California has specific rules when it comes to theme park reopening guidelines as they apply to various things including queues, who may enter the theme parks, etc.

Click here to read about California’s updated theme park reopening guidelines.

In terms of the crowds, we certainly found areas in the parks where there was plenty of space…

…and pretty low crowds.

In certain areas, Universal Studios had placed barricades and signs directing guests to keep to a specific side of the walkway. This can help the flow of traffic and prevent guests from potentially crossing closely to one another.

Over at The Secret Life of Pets Off the Leash attraction, there was a sign directing guests to join the virtual line. This is another big thing you’ll want to look for throughout Universal Studios to make sure you’ve signed up for any virtual lines appropriately so you can hop on those attractions.

After passing by The Secret Life of Pets attraction, we roamed past some other spots in the park including the area near The Simpsons Ride…

…and Hogsmeade.

Then, we made our way to our first official ride of the day — the Studio Tour. There were a number of signs in front of the attraction regarding some health and safety measures and other requirements.

While in the queue, we spotted various social distancing markers…

…and various signs on the floor, showing guests where they should stand and reminding them to keep an appropriate distance from others. This is similar to what we’ve seen in Disney World and elsewhere.

From what we could see, it looked like guests were being loaded in every other row on the vehicles for the Studio Tour (just like what’s being done over at Pirates of the Caribbean in Disney World now).

Finally, it was our turn to go for our Studio Tour, and off we went!

Then, we made our way to Minion Cafe.

As we entered, there were more social distancing markers on the floor.

And we spotted some hand sanitizer at the entrance as well.

There were a few food options here, including some rotisserie chicken, loaded nachos, and more.

But we just HAD to grab the Felonious Float — which is made with a raspberry icee, banana frozen yogurt, banana candy, and whip cream.

Then, it was off to The Secret Life of Pets Off the Leash!

Here’s a look at some of the queue. A reminder that at California theme parks, according to the State’s guidelines, queues must be outdoors and indoor rides must be limited to no more than 15 minutes.

Again, we spotted some more distancing signs in the area reminding guests to keep 6 feet between their travel party and other guests.

Then, we made our way through the various areas in the queue and onto the ride!

The Secret Life of Pets ride is a new addition to Universal Studios Hollywood, and guests can now finally enjoy it!

After we rode the Secret Life of Pets ride, we continued our trip around the park and encountered more health and safety signs. These contained mask reminders and more social distancing reminders.

As the day continued, we started to see some longer wait times for some of the attractions.

Even at limited capacity, some of those wait times were getting quite long — particularly Jurassic World which was at a 2 hour wait.

We’ll continue our walk around the park and keep sharing more updates with you!

Remember, we’ll be updating this post throughout the day so be sure to keep checking in.

Click here to learn more about Disneyland’s reopening!

Have you ever been to Universal Studios Hollywood? Tell us in the comments!