Three Days at Universal Studios and 10 Things We Learned

After our long planned vacation was canceled because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, we did the logical thing and booked three days at Universal Orlando Resort and hit the road for the four hour drive from our home in Savannah, Georgia. 

We traded in Kauai for Krakatoa and Hanalei for Hogsmeade. 

And when it came time to pick our music on the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster at Universal Studios, our children selected Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive. Yes, worse things can happen than having Universal’s incredible parks as your back-up plan. 

These are difficult times. People are suffering. And our decision to go to a theme park during a pandemic, in Florida no less, was an easy one. The parks are open! Our family philosophy throughout the pandemic has been to do what’s allowed while obeying any laws or rules. When the beaches opened for exercise only, we went. When masks were mandated, we masked up. We haven’t attended church since our chapel closed in March. We wash our hands, but do not want to live our lives in fear.

In addition, we work in the themed entertainment industry and there are several attractions that we wanted to experience, from the longest ride name in the history of the industry to the biggest LED screen ever deployed in any theme park attraction. Needless to say, we had a blast on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (try saying that 5 times as fast as you can) and The Bourne Stuntacular’s screen was jaw dropping (more on that later). 

We call these visits “hashtag research.” 

We also wanted to support an industry we love because themed entertainment has been hammered by COVID-19.  

And so we went. 

The following Top 10 shares what we learned from our three days at Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay:

• 10. Social distancing in ride queues is actually quite nice. We loved the extra space. And other than one or two young children who were so excited to ride that they nearly ran through our legs, people stood on the blue lines as directed. Oh, and pandemic or not, TapuTapu™ at Volcano Bay is by far the best queuing technology we’ve experienced. 
• 9. Travel light! If possible, leave your backpack or purse at home. Waiting in line for a ride is one thing. Waiting in line for a locker because of social distancing requirements is quite another. This is probably true whether there is a pandemic or not, but embrace the small fanny pack for your phones and you’ll be able to skip almost all the lockers. According to my hip daughter, fanny packs are back in.
• 8. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure was made for a pandemic. As each motorbike and sidecar are more than six feet apart, this signature attraction appears to be running at full capacity. Other rides, such as The Incredible Hulk Coaster, are not with only 16 riders per train, taking the ride from a stated capacity of 1,920 per hour to approximately 960. Even with thinner crowds, the wait was longer than expected. 
• 7. Groups are better. Over three days, we only saw one single rider. The best way to improve your speed through the rides is to go as a family or close group of friends (yes, yes, we know that defeats the purpose of social distancing but people who live together should ride together). We had five in our group. 
• 6. The pandemic can destroy the illusion when you see actors wearing masks or special effects simply don’t work because of social distancing. Some guests looked confused and disappointed when they walked right through the elevator on Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts and realized it actually didn’t take them to another level within the depths of the Wizarding Bank. “Wait, what?” A number of pre-shows were simply dark. You miss a lot of emotion when characters like Shaggy are masked up. Other times, the mask gave away an effect, such as in The Bourne Stuntacular when there were times the only way you could tell the real actors from the ones on screen was by who was wearing masks. And about that screen...WOW! We all know that LED screens are changing our industry, but the Bourne LED screen at 130 feet in width is breathtaking and will force others to embrace the technology in even bigger ways. Going from Bourne to the Gringotts ride made its 3D projection screens look dull in comparison. 
• 5. Speaking of those masks, we clearly aren’t the only ones who hate them. Wearing a mask in the August Orlando sun isn’t fun. However, we felt worse for the Universal employees who have to wear these masks while working and do it with a smile (you can’t see). While we saw a few cheaters, most everyone complied. Oh, and the temperature checks were quick and painless. However, it is best to get your check at an on property hotel before arriving at the park.
• 4. Food and water are your friend. The best way to get a respite from those hot masks is to sit down for a meal, grab a drink or go on a ride that will get you wet. Masks soaked in water are harder to breathe through so once you get on any water ride, you can take them off. We love water. Although we didn’t use them, there are also several U-Rest Areas where guests are allowed to remove their masks while still social distancing.
• 3. Volcano Bay is not only the best water park our family has ever experienced, but it was liberating to remove those masks and enjoy all of the water rides. However, you had to keep the mask wrapped around your wrist because if you wanted any food or drinks, the mask had to come back on for ordering. We recommend buffs over surgical masks as they can be quickly wrung out. You also must wear masks as you enter and exit the waterpark. 
• 2. The crowds are clearly down. This was a weekend in August. The parks should have been slammed. However, because there were fewer people in the queues, the midway and paths were more crowded than you’d expect. To us, it felt like the crowds you get on a good day in November or February.
• 1. There’s a touch of sadness in the air. While we had fun and there were plenty of smiles to go around, you can’t help but feel sad when you drive down I-Drive and it’s empty. You can’t help but think about the thousands of people still unemployed when you see an entire hotel complex across the street temporarily closed. It’s depressing to look out your hotel window and see stacks of recliners lined up next to an empty swimming pool. The parks are only open from 9 to 5 or 10 to 6 so you know there are still thousands still furloughed who usually work till after midnight. 

However, there is hope.

Universal, like a lot of other theme parks around the world, is working very hard to ensure a safer experience for guests. We all are learning how to balance working through a pandemic. In the themed entertainment industry, everyone has lost business. Spending three days at Universal Studios will give you hope that things will get back to normal.

Butterbeer is still delicious.

Churros are still addictive.

And I still feel woozy stepping off The Incredible Hulk Coaster. 

—Geoff Thatcher started working in the themed entertainment industry as a teenager and today is Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Creative Principals. He’s also the creative director of www.ask.buzz and author of The CEO’s Time Machine.