Earlier this week, we reported live from a Passholder Preview for Universal Studios, which became one of the first major American theme parks to reopen to the public after a months-long closure.
When we attended the Passholder Preview, we experienced some glitches with the Universal app, leading to issues with both the park’s Virtual Line, as well as their mobile ordering system. Today, we’re coming to you live from the grand reopening to the public, with updates on how the park looks after two days of previews!
We will continue to update this post throughout the day, so make sure to check back for updates!
Parking
We got to the Universal garages around 7AM, two hours earlier than park opening at 9AM. By that time, there was already a line to get in.
While they slowly started letting people in at 7:30AM, the line didn’t really start to get moving until 8AM.
Once inside the garage, there was an attendant parking every other row, which moved swiftly.
Temperature Check
While there had been a bit of confusion with parking, the health and safety screening was quick and efficient, and we got right through our temperature screening and bag check.
Park Entrance
Surprisingly enough, the line at the turnstiles wasn’t too long!
However, the line for getting tickets was quite a bit longer!
Since the park is operating at limited capacity, we were told by a team member that, if either park is filled to capacity, they will let people know at the turnstile which park is full, and as people leave, more will be able to enter in their place.
For entry, they are still not scanning fingerprints, and instead checked tickets and ID.
Virtual Line
They started letting people into the park around 8:40AM, a little prior to park opening. We were able to grab a Virtual Line pass for Hagrid’s Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure which, like at the Passholder Preview, is only operating with a Virtual Line.
Currently, the only Virtual Lines are greyed out, meaning you aren’t able to get them until the park officially opens at 9AM.
The first ride of the day we went on was The Incredible Hulk. The locker line was the same set-up we saw for the Passholder Preview, where there was one line for putting your bag away, and one for picking up your bag. For both they ask that only one member of your party go.
When we went to check out what we should get for our second Virtual Line, many options were already unavailable.
We were able to grab one for Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon. Currently, you are able to get Virtual Lines for a group up to 8 people, and can get them from either Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure, no matter which park you are in.
Each person is allowed two Virtual Lines at a time. If you go to make a third, you will be met with this screen.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Hogsmeade
On our way to Hogsmeade, the park was surprisingly quiet. Toon Town, for example, was completely empty.
On our way to Hogsmeade!
Surprisingly enough, while Hogsmeade definitely had more people, it was still not at all as crowded as it had been for the Passholder Preview
Similar to earlier in the week, the big crowd was for the Hagrid’s Virtual Line, though even that was not quite as long as it was for this time on Wednesday.
Mobile Order
Along with the Virtual Line, mobile order was one of the most troublesome issues with the Universal Orlando app when we went for their Passholder Preview.
We went to the Three Broomsticks for breakfast, where we were seated at a table and asked to mobile order from there. Then, a team member asked for our order number and name, and we were told they would bring us our order when it was ready.
To help guests, there were also signs at each table indicating what is needed for mobile order.
For guests that do not have a phone to be able to use this system, you will be seated and one guest from your party will be brought to the register to order and pay. The same goes for guests that would like to use cash to pay, or are using the Universal Dining Plan — a team member will assist you.
Virtual Lines
We did encounter one new issue with Virtual Lines that we had not seen earlier this week — what happens when a ride you have a Virtual Line for breaks down. It happened for us today for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
When the ride broke down, we got a notification that we’d be receiving a One-Time Express Pass, which can be used at select attractions.
We were then able to book a second Virtual Line, and keep the One-Time Express Pass for a third ride.
When Hagrid’s did reopen, we were able to use our One-Time Express Pass to get on.
Just like they were for the Passholder Preview, a team member is still making all guests use hand sanitizer prior to boarding the vehicle.
We also learned after the ride that Rider Swap is still available!
You can read more about Universal Studios’ Rider Swap here!
Three Broomsticks for Lunch
While Three Broomsticks was fairly quiet for breakfast, the line had definitely increased a bit by lunch.
Guests are still being encouraged to mobile order at their table, however, we’d recommend mobile ordering ahead of time and then clicking “prepare food” once you have been seated.
While the line was a bit longer, we were seated within just a few minutes, with a far shorter wait than we had experienced on the Passholder Preview day.
Within thirty minutes of getting in line, we had our Cornish Pasties and Pumpkin Fizz!
Read more about the crowd levels at Universal Orlando for reopening day here!
Mid-Day Crowd Report
While we waited for our lunch, we checked out the current wait times on the Universal Orlando app. As a whole, wait times were very low by this point mid-day.
Most rides that didn’t have Virtual Line were anywhere from five to 25 minutes, with Hogwarts Express one of the longest at 40 minutes. The longest lines were for shows, which makes sense considering their low capacity levels.
We went on the Hogwarts Express to get to Universal Studios Florida. Currently, the ride is one of the longest waits of the day for a couple of reasons.
For one, mid-day is when most people switch parks. Another reason is the limited capacity. For Hogwarts Express, every party is being given their own cabin.
Read more about our experience with the One-Time Express Pass at Universal Orlando here!
Universal Studios Florida
Over at Universal Studios Florida, crowds were also low!
The line for The Mummy was nonexistent.
And we also got on Fast and Furious: Supercharged very quickly, which was not the case for the Passholder Preview!
From there, we headed over to The Simpsons area of the park.
One difference over here came when Florida went into Phase Two of their reopening yesterday — beer is now available at Duff Beer!
The location had markers like the rest of the park, telling guests where to stand to maintain physical distancing.
The credit card machine was also being wiped down between each guest, with a new guest for each pen to use for their signature.
And then we got our (very refreshing) beer!
Along the way, we also ran into a few characters! While not the character-palooza of yesterday, we did still see Marilyn Monroe out performing.
Over by the Transformers Ride, there was also this great photo op with Megatron.
This minion was cracking us up. As you can see, all the characters are either featured on a stage, or behind barriers so that spatial distancing can be enforced.
Beetlejuice was also back out again! Unlike earlier this week, he was wearing a face mask today.
Read more about the characters we’ve seen at Universal Orlando!
Another new feature today were guide maps that have the social distancing guidelines for the park listed.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Diagon Alley
Over at Diagon Alley, crowds were still pretty low.
A performance of The Three Brothers was going on.
Each of the performers wore face masks, as the performance did not allow them to continue keeping spatial distance from one another.
We also checked out Ollivander’s, where we were told the “wand choosing” ceremony was being split up by party. That means that if you were a party of one, you’d have a guarantee of being the “chosen” one!
Universal Studios Florida closed at 5PM, so from there, we hopped on the Hogwarts Express to head over to Islands of Adventure!
Back at Islands of Adventure
With two hours left before closing, they were already closing up the “extended” line section for Hagrid’s!
And we managed to get this shot of the wonderful team members working in Hogsmeade. Couldn’t have been a better way to end the day!
Read more about our Passholder Preview experience at Universal Orlando here!
Will you be visiting Universal Orlando now that it has reopened? Let us know in the comments below!
Universal Orlando
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Can you describe the experience that people with disabilities might receive? We would be traveling with someone in a motorized wheelchair.
Why were so many virtual queues not available so easily in the morning with little crowds?
Hi David! We were told by team members that they have the ability to turn the Virtual Line on and off as needed. When we went earlier this week for the Passholder Preview, they sometimes turned off the Virtual Line when there wasn’t enough of a wait time in place to warrant it.