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[cdh]

We are considering a trip to Universal and I have a few questions...

What time does the park open for people staying in Hard Rock Hotel?

Can you order online for most of the restaurants or do you have to go inside and order?

How long are the lines with express passes?

Is it relatively safe in terms of Covid? We wouldn’t eat in restaurants and would avoid any rides that are inside (like Minions). Any suggestions on ways to make it safer? We have been living in a bubble for almost a year. We are 44 and 50 year old non smokers with normal BMIs and no known health problems....which puts us at the end of the line for vaccines. Does being at the end of the line mean we are likely safe from severe covid?

 

[macraven]

Early entree for onsite hotel guest, is one hour before park opening

I went last October and staff enforced social distancing
and for all to wear masks in the parks

 

[cdh]

Early entree for onsite hotel guest, is one hour before park opening

I went last October and staff enforced social distancing
and for all to wear masks in the parks

Thank you for the reply. I recently read a few threads where posters mentioned that the parks were opening earlier than their scheduled times and people were getting in really early. I’m glad to hear that they are enforcing the rule that people wear masks.

 

[cdh]

Some of the restaurants have mobile order , some don’t. Although I’ve heard the mobile order has a lot of technical issues.
I’d recommend wearing N95 masks since they filter over 90% of the air versus about 40% filtration from cloth masks and the standard blue masks just to have more piece of mind. I went to the parks in august and december and felt safe. Id wait until you get there to see how the lines are to determine if you should get express passes because you can add them day of.

Thanks so much for the reply. I have some N95 masks that I bought from a local home goods store and I’m hopeful that they work well. They’re not as cute as some of the character masks but I think they‘re safer. We aren’t buying the express passes, they are free with the room. This will be our first trip to Universal.

 

[gumbypee]

You have to wear masks starting in parking garage when you get out of your car, all in CityWalk, and all in parks. There are a couple outside mask-free areas for a break but they are marked. There are lines on the ground for lines so people will stay 6 feet away - most ppl abide by them fairly closely. I did mobile ordering for quick serve places. not sure about sit down dining options but you may not want to sit inside.

 

[TommyJK]

... and would avoid any rides that are inside (like Minions).

Just noting this comment. I'd say about 1/2 of their rides/attractions are indoors, including many of their very best attractions. Spider-man, Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey, Harry Potters Escape from Gringotts, Hogwarts Express, Transformers, Men in Black, Revenge of the Mummy, Minions, ET, Kong, Jimmy Fallon, Fast and Furious, Cat in the Hat....

Just giving fair warning that if you think for sure you will avoid any rides that are indoors, you're going to be chopping out 1/2 the attractions and many of the best ones.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

Is it relatively safe in terms of Covid? We wouldn’t eat in restaurants and would avoid any rides that are inside (like Minions). Any suggestions on ways to make it safer?

They're doing pretty good with inside rides; skipping rows or plexiglass in between.

The one place I was disappointed with was the Bourne Identify show... it's a great show, but they recently stopped skipping rows for some reason, only leaving 6 feet left and right of you, not behind and in front of you, and the show is about 20 minutes long. All other places we've felt safe.

 

[keishashadow]

Is it relatively safe in terms of Covid?

Define “safe”, we all have our own interpretation.

Visited end of September, felt ‘semi’ safe in the parks until we encountered crowds in the bottlenecks that tend to form in HP area, etc.

no issue with their Mobile order on app, same as with WDW, be prepared for process to possibly take nearly twice as long during popular dining times though.

I pro-actively cancelled our after Thanksgiving trip

This year, early May, July, September & the same Thanksgiving time period is penciled in

We are 44 and 50 year old non smokers with normal BMIs and no known health problems....which puts us at the end of the line for vaccines. Does being at the end of the line mean we are likely safe from severe covid?

With all due respect, probably something you should discuss with your doctor/health department advisories.

nobody knows yet with 100% accuracy where the efficacy will wind up re the various vaccines, nor, if they will work against whatever variants pop up. Hope springs eternal!

We are playing it by ear and are flexible to modifying/cancelling our plans. It’s all a matter of risk tolerance and whether any government shutdown would be mandated. (Highly unlikely I’m guessing in FL based upon the current state administration’s policies.)

My suggestion is to think long & hard on it, & even then be sure to book everything cancellable good luck

 

[cfoxga]

Last Year, we cancelled several trips (Mar, Jun, and October) because of Covid. We finally decided to go over Thanksgiving for 8 nights. With the reduced crowds and most people following the rules, we felt safe enough to go again in mid-Feb. I'm expecting larger crowds this time because of additional onsite hotel space, so we might end up back at the resorts for longer beaks in the afternoon.

Overall, I'd say that Universal did a much better job than our local shops and restaurants in Georgia. But we all have different risk tolerances...

 

[cdh]

Thank you all for the replies. I’m sorry for the delay in responding I had some trouble logging into disboards a couple of days ago. I think we have decided to delay our trip because of some of the things that you all have mentioned. I just have serious covid fatigue....but if half of the rides are indoors then we would probably miss some of the best parts of the park. I guess we will try to go in a few months.

 

[TommyJK]

Thank you all for the replies. I’m sorry for the delay in responding I had some trouble logging into disboards a couple of days ago. I think we have decided to delay our trip because of some of the things that you all have mentioned. I just have serious covid fatigue....but if half of the rides are indoors then we would probably miss some of the best parts of the park. I guess we will try to go in a few months.

I hear you. Covid fatigue is really getting to us too. But I don't think we'll need to hold out that much longer. With the vaccines rolling out I'm hoping that things will continue to get much better in the next 3-6 months so just a little longer to hold out. And Universal will still be there and get closer to getting back to normal too.