The Biggest Challenges We Faced At Our First Day Back at Universal Studios!
Now that we’ve visited Universal Studios for the Annual Passholder preview, we’ve gotten a feel for what to expect in a newly reopened theme park!
Universal Studios
A lot has changed since Universal closed its gates in mid-March. And while some of the new policies went off without a hitch, we experienced a few hiccups with others!
First off, we’ve gotta give these guys some credit for expanding the virtual queue options and implementing so many new health and safety policies in a short period of time. However, we DID notice a few things that could use a bit more ironing out!
Social Distancing Challenges
We noticed that it was difficult to maintain distance from other guests in some parts of the Universal theme parks. For instance, there are two URest Areas at each theme park and one at CityWalk where guests can temporarily remove their face coverings. But, these mask-free zones aren’t equal in size, which caused some challenges.
Central Lagoon Park URest
While most of the U-Rest areas provided ample seating, the Port of Entry URest in Islands of Adventure is only a small, sectioned off space with a few tables and chairs. This made it a bit of a tight fit, and the area could quickly become overcrowded if a large number of guests chose to utilize it.
U-Rest Area
Some lines were also noticeably difficult to maintain distance from other parties. This was a challenge in the Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure queue — the line was so long that there weren’t enough ground markers for folks to know how far apart they should stand.
Line for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
Will your face mask fly off on a Universal rollercoaster? Find out here!
Once we got closer to the entrance of the ride, there were social distancing markers on the ground, but we encountered another issue — because of the back-up, our virtual line QR codes actually disappeared before someone could scan them. Being the ever-so-diligent screenshotters that we are, we had saved a screenshot of our reservation before it was lost, so we were able to show that instead — which goes to show why we recommend taking screenshots of your reservations as well!
Check out six things that really surprised us about Universal’s opening day here!
Universal’s Virtual Lines Are Glitchy
With so many new features being added to Universal’s app all at once, it seemed to be struggling to keep up! We noticed that some of the Virtual Line attractions weren’t showing up on the available rides page, but when we clicked on each attraction’s page, ride times showed up.
Escape From Gringotts
Keep in mind only some of the rides are offering virtual queues, while others still have standby lines — and some are a combination of both! Rides that offered both a virtual and standby queue had another layer of complexity — for example, Escape from Gringotts didn’t have any reservations times available in the app, but it DID have a 10-minute standby line!
Click here to learn how to make a reservation using Universal’s new virtual line system!
Mobile Order Seemed Extra-Confusing
But our woes with the Universal app didn’t stop there! When we tried to place a Mobile Order for lunch, the app didn’t recognize our location. We received an error message that said we needed to be inside Islands of Adventure to place our food order — even though that’s where we were standing!
Universal Mobile Order
And just like we experienced with some of the rides, a lot of restaurants had big back-ups. We noticed long lines at almost every dining spot in Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure. Once again, there weren’t enough social distancing markers on the ground for guests to reference.
Mobile Order Pickup Line at The Hopping Pot
Some guests were also confused about which line was for Mobile Order. At The Hopping Pot, there was one small sign informing folks the line was for mobile order pick-ups only — but it was located at the front of the line!
Butterbeer Ice Cream
Many guests didn’t see it and waited in a much longer line than necessary.
Check out these 6 things we learned at Universal’s reopening that will be useful to know when Disney World reopens!
And the seating arrangements were a bit confusing as well. At Richter’s Burger Company in Universal Studios, we asked a team member how seating would be managed. We were told that parties will be seated first (which could prove difficult since there are fewer tables available due to social distancing) then orders will be prepared as the tables are filled. There seemed to be a lot of confusion as to WHEN you should place your mobile order — before or after you were seated.
The Three Broomsticks Mobile Order Line
So at some restaurants, guests could be instructed to sit down first, and THEN place their order since all locations might not have a designated Mobile Order pick-up area. At others, you might be instructed to order before you can enter to get a table. Be sure to ask a Team Member before waiting in a line you might not need to wait in!
Read more about the challenges we faced with using Universal’s mobile order here!
While we did notice some impressive successes in the new health and safety policies, it seems there are still a few wrinkles to smooth out. We look forward to letting you know if things work a little better (or not) tomorrow when Universal Studios reopens to the general public! Stay tuned for our live coverage beginning first thing in the morning!
See photos from our stay at one of Universal’s newly reopened hotels here!
Did you attend Universal Studio’s Annual Passholder preview? How did you feel it went? Let us know in the comments below!
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