7/14-7/21 USF, IOA, VB Trip

eeg

Mouseketeer
Joined
Oct 17, 2019
Quick trip report on a trip we took to Universal Studios. We spent four days in the parks -- three at USF / IOA and one at Volcano Bay. Not intending to do a detailed report but mostly reporting on what it's like during Covid. (FWIW, we decided to visit Florida because (a) none of us is high risk or regularly associates with anyone high risk; (b) we stuck exclusively to resorts and theme parks were distancing and masks were enforced; (c) Orlando is not as bad as Miami so a lot of the horror stories in the news aren't all that applicable; and (d) we are able to self-isolate now that we are home so that we don't end up exposing anyone [although none of is appears to be sick, but of course don't want to asymptomatically spread anything]). Ironically, visiting the literal epicenter of the pandemic was a great relief from the pandemic because people in Florida didn't seem to be quite as obsessed as reporting about how awful Florida is as the rest of the country seems to be ;-). Other than masks and distance, it seemed pretty normal.

(1) We felt quite safe in USF and IOA. Masks are enforced, everyone was wearing them, and social distancing was enforced in lines. The parks are also so empty that it is not hard to keep distance from people. Overall I think Universal is doing a great job here.

(2) Crowds were extremely low. Most attractions were walk-ons; Hagrid's was the only one requiring virtual line but often you could get a return time for the same window you were looking at. It was awesome. I saw that earlier trip reports complained about food lines; that wasn't a problem for us so maybe Universal has worked out that issue.

(3) Volcano Bay was trickier. Very low crowds so that was very pleasant - we got prime spots an hour after park opening, and there were no waits for slides and rarely did you have to use the virtual line. People weren't wearing masks once they got settled, but masks were required in restaurants / stores and it was so light on crowds that it was easy to keep distance. There were line markers in place and employees enforced those line markers. My biggest complaint is that when we left for the day, because buses were running at half-capacity a HUGE line built up waiting for buses. Social distancing in the line was not great (there were markers but no one enforcing and because people tended to be in groups, the markers didn't end up being that far apart when people were in clusters), and there were a few people without masks and employees were not enforcing it. Because of the end-of-day line / bus experience, we opted not to visit a second day. We felt safer at the theme parks. If we had visited again, we'd have left at least an hour before closing time to avoid the crowd.

Overall we had a great trip. This was our first Universal trip and it was amazing to experience without crowds. I think as they increase capacity / more people visit it might get more difficult to enforce social distancing but during this slice of time it worked out great. Appreciate all those who shared their experiences and gave us the idea to go!
 
Thank you for your report. Great to hear all was as safe as you could be. I am arriving at the end of September, and hope to see low crowds too. And was interested as to tire VB visit, as I will be using the resort bus to get there too.
 
Thank you for your report. Great to hear all was as safe as you could be. I am arriving at the end of September, and hope to see low crowds too. And was interested as to tire VB visit, as I will be using the resort bus to get there too.
We were using the parking lot bus, not a resort bus. I don't know if those lines were a bit less crowded. I think unless you're staying at Cabana Bay there's no way to avoid some kind of bus to get there (not sure about other US resorts).
 
Ah. I hope so. I have been on pretty crowded back to resort buses and some early entry buses too. Hope all stay not too close to me.
 


Thanks for sharing your time at UO!

Sounds like it was great at the parks with limited waits.

I’m not into water parks but that had to be a bit upsetting when you were waiting for the bus at VB.
Not good that social distancing was not enforced!
 
Nice review, and yes a bit worrying about lack of social distancing. And it`s quiet right now. Goodness knows how they`ll deal with it when it gets busier. I feel for the TM who will have to enforce it.

Glad you had such a good trip overall though and glad you came back to tell us how you enjoyed it.....always good to hear!
 


Thanks for sharing your time at UO!

Sounds like it was great at the parks with limited waits.

I’m not into water parks but that had to be a bit upsetting when you were waiting for the bus at VB.
Not good that social distancing was not enforced!
Not super into water parks either but I must say Volcano Bay with no crowds was pretty dreamy until the bus saga! I would never go back with crowds.
 

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