NEWS: Orlando's COVID-19 Oxygen Shortage Causes Universal to Severely Cut Water Usage

Due to the pandemic, the theme park industry has had to make quite a few changes.

There have been many health and safety changes!

Over the last year and a half, we’ve seen capacity limits, social distancing, face mask mandates, and more. Now, COVID-19 is affecting the parks in a different way — forcing them to cut back on water usage.

Due to a shortage of liquid oxygen, Orlando asked residents to begin conserving water in late August. Due to this request, Universal Orlando has now cut back on overall water consumption by 38%, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Volcano Bay Entrance

That 38% comes out to about 1.3 million gallons of water daily! To meet that goal, Universal has begun spot-cleaning the parks instead of hosing them down, reducing water usage in irrigation, and swapping to paper products in employee cafeterias to cut back on dishwashing.

Universal Orlando

The shortage of liquid oxygen is due to a rise in COVID-19 patients in recent weeks, causing the demand for supplemental oxygen to increase. And, across Orlando, water consumption still hasn’t declined to the desired level.

Universal’s Islands of Adventure

We’ll make sure to keep you updated on this story, so stay tuned to AllEars! We’ve got all the news from Central Florida and the theme parks that you need to know!