The Ride Experience
Though there are a multitude of reasons why I go to the parks—the smells, the sounds, the team members, the atmosphere—my first love is for the rides, and Universal Orlando Resort has some of my favorites. But if you’re like me you’re wondering, “How do you even begin to social distance on a roller coaster?” Somehow, Universal pulled it off.
The new procedures start not in line, but in the locker area. While these cramped areas usually get crowded on a busy day, team members now direct guests one at a time to locker stations in order to stow or retrieve their items. This method actually seems to work more effectively than the alternative.
Onto the queues, stickers were clearly placed on the ground ever six feet reading, Please Stand Here - Stay Healthy - Keep 6 FT (2M) Distance. While the line for temperature checks was a nightmare, all of the ride queues promoted social distancing and moved pretty well. Guests were considerate to keep their distance from other parties. While most attractions utilized their usual queues, rides such as Minion Mayhem and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure were strictly open to Virtual Queue. (That’s right; it looks like Hagrid’s finally got that Virtual Queue up and running, if only a year late.)
When approaching the ride vehicle, you will (as usual) tell the ride operator how many people are in your party. This is even more important than usual, as you will only be seated with members of your own party. That’s right—even if you’re a single rider, you will get a row to yourself. To add to the safety of riding, there is always a row of distance between you and another party. So, you can rest assured that you will have a row to yourself and an empty row behind and in front of you. Though these safety precautions are necessary, be aware that this did slow down operations. With fewer guests on trains, be ready to wait for your rides.
In addition to promoting social distance on ride vehicles, team members dispensed hand sanitizer to every rider prior to riding. For 3D rides, glasses could not be found in regular bins, but were handed out by ride attendants directly before riding.
Currently, guests are required to keep their masks on during rides, which only seemed to be a challenge on roller coasters such as Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, where my mask definitely wanted to fly off my face. (Also—be aware that the masks will fog up your 3D glasses.)
The ride experience was when I got the purest feeling of that Universal grandeur. No more Please Stand Here signs or hand sanitizer stations or temperature checks. All the changes can feel foreign and jarring, but on the rides it’s just like old times. Universal has prepped well on their end so you can be swept up into the story of the ride. This is what makes it worth it. This is what makes it Universal.
The Dining Experience
Perhaps even longer than ride wait times, however, were wait times for dining. Both restaurants and kiosk-style eateries had long lines that spiraled into the midway. The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, for example, had a massive line just to enter and be seated. This is because restaurants in the parks, much like other restaurants in Florida, have to operate at a reduced capacity. Universal is currently seating guests spread out with at least a table between any two parties.
As for walk-up locations, lines looked longer than they were. With guests keeping the six-foot distance, these lines were intimidating—no one wants to wait twenty minutes for a churro—but in my experience these lines moved quickly and weren’t nearly as bad as they looked.
The only other oddity to note here is the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. These are a crowd favorite at the park, spots where guests can fill up their Universal-brand cups for free throughout the day, but one could imagine the nightmare of germs they cause. Universal did still have many of these stations open, but with significant precautions taken. For one, there was only one Freestyle machine at every kiosk. So, all other machines in the area were shut off. In addition to this, every Freestyle machine was manned by a Universal team member who wiped off the machine’s touch screen after every single use. It seems like more trouble than it’s worth to keep these Freestyle machines open, but Universal has chosen to go the extra mile here.
So—Should You Go?
In my experience at Universal’s opening day, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the amount of precautions the park was taking in order to keep their guests safe. In addition to prioritizing safety, the park executives and team members are working around the clock to be sure it still feels like Universal, from the thrills to the atmosphere.
Though I was impressed by the new guidelines and standard of excellence, this was admittedly hectic experience. People were antsy to return back, and who could blame them? But this made for a bit of a jarring day at the park. The temperature check process was a nightmare, operation times were expectedly high, and with no reservation system, Universal will undoubtedly be turning guests away from their gates in the days to come. It might take a while for them to settle into a new normal, but I for one am excited to watch Universal continue to innovate as they’ve done in the past.
The most important thing to remember is that some of these guidelines will change. Having gone to a preview day, I’m aware that I was one of the guinea pigs for these new procedures. As Universal continues welcoming guests to their parks, they will adjust as needed in the constantly-shifting nature of this pandemic. With each passing day and smiling guest, Universal will find their footing. With each mistake they make, they will find a solution.
How do I know that? Because they always have.
Comments
Lots of great information; thanks! A quick comment that applies not just to Universal but anywhere that temperature checks will be done. Whether you're in Florida or Las Vegas or California, if you're entering a park during summer months your temperature is likely to be elevated just because of the heat you're exposed to. I'm not sure how any theme park will deal with this or how they'll manage turning people away who may have a temporarily high temperature caused by heat exposure as opposed to having one because they may be symptomatic.