Universal passholders get sneak preview
Early peek at theme parks’ reopening given Wednesday
Universal Orlando’s annual passholders grabbed an early look at the future of theme parks on Wednesday. They saw new ways of navigating the attractions, boarded rides with sanitized hands and posed for selfies while 6 feet away from the “Scooby-Doo” gang outfitted in face coverings.
The previews, which continue Thursday for passholders, are part of the buildup for Friday’s reopening of Universal’s parks. Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay water park have been shuttered since mid-March because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Wednesday’s visitors were greeted with new restrictions and regulations including temperature screenings, face-covering requirements and pleas to maintain distance between traveling parties. Theme parks around the world are implementing similar health and safety measures.
Eric Bratcher hardly noticed the mask on his face aboard Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster at Universal Studios. It’s hard to notice much of anything when you whiz by 65 mph.
Still, in the adrenaline-fueled fantasy of Universal, it was hard to escape the real world. Right before the ride, Bratcher saw a news alert on his phone about more coronavirus cases.
He wondered, “Am I doing the right thing?” by being back in the theme parks, he said.
Bratcher wanted to show support for Universal and for many of his friends who work at theme parks by coming Wednesday, he said. A slower start with just passholders and resort guests eased his mind, and he said he planned to stay away Friday, the day Universal opens to the general public.
Park operations have been tweaked for
the reopening. Several services are redirected to Universal’s official app, including meal ordering and securing spots in line for select rides.
Universal expanded its “Virtual Line” program to additional attractions, including Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and the Amazing Spider-Man rides at Islands of Adventure, and Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket and Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts at Universal Studios.
The reservations for the popular Hagrid ride went quickly Wednesday morning. By noon, despite the virtual-line approach, there was a long physical line that stretched into the neighboring Lost Continent section of the park.
Before rides, guests were required to sanitize their hands.
At the studios, parade units came by separately with dancers on board and wearing masks. A Marilyn Monroe-based show previously done on street level is on a stage in front of the park’s Pantages theater now. Characters from the “Scooby-Doo” cartoon stood on elevated platforms for photo opportunities in front of Mel’s Drive-In restaurant.
As visitors watched the Monroe show’s singers and dancers, one character urged onlookers to support the performers despite the face coverings.
“Can you do that?” he asked. “Say it with your eyes.”
The return of Universal means tourists are arriving back in town again.
Jennifer Fabbri left at 5 a.m. Wednesday for the 4
1⁄2-hour drive from Georgia to check into her Universal hotel before lunchtime.
She missed being able to visit Universal on a whim as a passholder. She hadn’t ventured out far from home since the pandemic.
“We couldn’t wait to get back here,” said Fabbri, an attorney.
It was an adjustment. Sometimes 3-D ride glasses fogged up from the masks, or the Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster sounded strangely quiet with half-empty trains running.
Fabbri said she felt safe. The crowds were light at Universal Studios Florida like they can be at an afterhours party, she said.
She was surprised that nearly everyone she saw wore a mask.
“I’m cool with it as long as we have cute ones,” Fabbri said. She and her 14-year-old daughter, Bella, wore homemade bedazzled face coverings. “If everyone wears their masks, washes their hands and does their thing — it will be fine.”
Some attractions and eateries were closed Wednesday, and Universal has said that will be the case when the parks reopen. By midday, guests were standing in spaced-out lines that extended out restaurant doors.
By afternoon, Islands seemed to be the more congested of the two theme parks, particularly in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area. Universal employees counted visitors manually as they entered and exited the Hogsmeade section.
A few visitors were frustrated by new park procedures that weren’t always clear and at times caused long lines that weren’t socially distanced. Around 10 a.m., people lined up in the parking garage, but no 6-feet reminder spaces were placed onto the ground until people got closer to the temperature check-ins before security.
The park’s pace felt different, at times. A guest might stand longer in the line for the ride lockers as employees orchestrated them in one-by-one than on the actual ride. The queue inside the Hogwarts Express station moved at a stuttering pace through the wide-open building.
Legoland Florida opened to the public Monday, and SeaWorld Orlando plans to reopen June 11. Walt Disney World has a two-phase schedule, with Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom returning to operation on July 11, followed by Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios on July 15.
At Universal on Wednesday, most visitors kept masks and facial coverings in place with temperatures in the low 80s on an overcast day. The parks sold Universal-themed masks, and some people wore Harry Potter-themed coverings, including one featuring the Marauders map and one with the phrase “The Muggle struggle is real.”
The mood seemed upbeat as people returned to Universal for the first time since March 16.
Their muffled screams could be heard from the roller coasters. As they climbed off, employees couldn’t see their smiles from under the masks.
There was literally dancing in the streets at the end of the Blue Brothers show, where the performers sing the “Shake Your Tailfeather” song. The lead singers (who arrived in masks but removed them for singing) joined another singer on stage.
“We missed you more than you know,” she said.