Universal Studios Hollywood Reopening April 16

[SailwiththeTide]

My first visit to a theme park in over a year and I was quite happy with Universal's effort. Going into the re-opening we all know there are levels of restrictions Universal does not control. Also we know they have a brand new ride a major update to 2019's new ride and the obvious growing pains of being closed for over 1 year. I was pleasantly surprised that everything seemed very well organized and the staff was at their best. Every red shirt, ride op and cleaning staff were very friendly. The signage and sanitization efforts were very good. I like the idea of sanitizing every time someone goes on a ride. The staff was cordial about reminding guests about masks and yes there were quite a few Maksholes everywhere. SLOP line was a mess but they did their best to space people apart and get the line organized. Again I don't judge the operations at this point because we all know what the limitations are. Rides are going to have long lines even at 25% capacity. I think they are doing their best and as restrictions get better we will see a better operating park. I felt safe and had a good time. I would recommend if people really want a good experience they should probably invest in Express for the near future. It makes a world of difference.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

The theory that simpsons and minions would spread out the crowd doesn’t seem to be working. Super busy today

 

[Clive]

They gotta stop with the loading every other row on these rides. They can't handle it, even with the reduced capacity.

It's telling that Forbidden Journey is getting along fine because it's just one party per bench.

 

[JawsVictim]

It seemed to work on Saturday, although I have no idea why today’s so busy. Lines never got that long.

I got a bonus day for next week thinking I’d be able to mosey on in around 3 PM and hit a few rides. Not by the looks of it!

 

[Jerroddragon]

It seemed to work on Saturday, although I have no idea why today’s so busy. Lines never got that long.

I got a bonus day for next week thinking I’d be able to mosey on in around 3 PM and hit a few rides. Not by the looks of it!

You should be able to to hit SLOP, the animal show, and one big ride and maybe squeeze in Silly funlands spinner or the potter coaster.

This morning was soooo nice, got in around 9:10 am and walked on JW basically 3 times, went on Mummy it took 10ish mins (could be faster but they are only loading one train at a time...come on Universal) and Potter was about 20 mins but the line moved quickly and looked like the story parts of the Q were turned off the picture frames were on but didn't see Harry and the gag which makes sense because you just walk through those sections for now.



Also what is it with people in these lines? EVERYONE wants to be up in my grill, like chill out you will get onto the ride just as quick if you stand in your area or more in my area...will not move anyone any quicker

 

[AlexanderMBush]

 

[Brian G.]

 

[Jerroddragon]

You know what I like about the entrance area at Universal, is how unbusy its been. Looks like its finally going to change. Hope they have enough people working the ticket booths so the line doesn't go on for too long

 

[highdefrex]

You should be able to to hit SLOP, the animal show, and one big ride and maybe squeeze in Silly funlands spinner or the potter coaster.

This morning was soooo nice, got in around 9:10 am and walked on JW basically 3 times, went on Mummy it took 10ish mins (could be faster but they are only loading one train at a time...come on Universal) and Potter was about 20 mins but the line moved quickly and looked like the story parts of the Q were turned off the picture frames were on but didn't see Harry and the gag which makes sense because you just walk through those sections for now.



Also what is it with people in these lines? EVERYONE wants to be up in my grill, like chill out you will get onto the ride just as quick if you stand in your area or more in my area...will not move anyone any quicker

You and I had the same exact experience yesterday. Those first two/three hours were incredible; was able to do SLOP, JW, Mummy, Transformers, FJ, and the coaster no problem. Hell, even had breakfast at Three Broomsticks right after SLOP before going to the lower lot and we had the entire restaurant to ourselves right up until the last few minutes we were wrapping up.

After noon, though... Ugh. We got in line for The Simpsons around 12:30 and didn’t get off it until 2:15. And then right after that we went to the Studio Tour, which was listing a 160 minute wait time and stupidly figured maybe it wouldn’t be so bad... Wrong! In line by 2:25 and didn’t even board the damn tram until almost 5:00, and it was a BRUTAL wait.

Doesn’t help that I saw many single riders getting entire tram rows to themselves, which just destroys pacing. I saw kids actually CRYING, begging their parents to leave the line to go do something else. Hell, the only reason we didn’t just leave was because we’d already sunk too much time into waiting. Really, really sucked. Like @Clive said, they really need to sort this out, because in a 9-hour day, having to wait FIVE hours out of it all for only two rides immediately soured the positive experience of the first half of the day.

And yeah, people not understanding the line markers was incredibly annoying. We had to repeatedly ask people to step back away from us; most did, embarrassed, but others gave attitude. And as the day went on, I saw more and more people in lines with their masks off. I even saw a woman busy on her cell phone while her two maskless kids were going crazy, and one of them even firmly placed their lips on a metal railing. Nasty.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

Mornings are wonderful. Multiple rides on potter, pets and JW. But now it’s getting busy. One thing I heard from a TM on Transformers is that if someone removes their mask during the ride they immediately sanitize it and run it empty. Seems like BS or overkill. I see sanitizing every so often.

studio tournis having issues. Its been 20 min and no tram has passed. Universal needs to step up operations. My guess is they are being cheap and only running minimal trams.

edit: Also there are a lot of kids here. Mid week I wasn’t expecting that many kids. Do parents just give up this year? Distance learning?

 

[Jerroddragon]

You and I had the same exact experience yesterday. Those first two/three hours were incredible; was able to do SLOP, JW, Mummy, Transformers, FJ, and the coaster no problem. Hell, even had breakfast at Three Broomsticks right after SLOP before going to the lower lot and we had the entire restaurant to ourselves right up until the last few minutes we were wrapping up.

After noon, though... Ugh. We got in line for The Simpsons around 12:30 and didn’t get off it until 2:15. And then right after that we went to the Studio Tour, which was listing a 160 minute wait time and stupidly figured maybe it wouldn’t be so bad... Wrong! In line by 2:25 and didn’t even board the damn tram until almost 5:00, and it was a BRUTAL wait.

Doesn’t help that I saw many single riders getting entire tram rows to themselves, which just destroys pacing. I saw kids actually CRYING, begging their parents to leave the line to go do something else. Hell, the only reason we didn’t just leave was because we’d already sunk too much time into waiting. Really, really sucked. Like @Clive said, they really need to sort this out, because in a 9-hour day, having to wait FIVE hours out of it all for only two rides immediately soured the positive experience of the first half of the day.

And yeah, people not understanding the line markers was incredibly annoying. We had to repeatedly ask people to step back away from us; most did, embarrassed, but others gave attitude. And as the day went on, I saw more and more people in lines with their masks off. I even saw a woman busy on her cell phone while her two maskless kids were going crazy, and one of them even firmly placed their lips on a metal railing. Nasty.

I'm just leaving around noon for now....the mornings are great but after that Universal just can't keep up (neither can Six Flags)

I'm a single rider and I feel bad but what can i do? Maybe let fully vaccted people have a wrist band and be asked if more can join them? I don't know we might be at yellow tier next week so hopefully they can do more than just let more guests in because that will not help at all...we need more people on rides

 

[highdefrex]

studio tournis having issues. Its been 20 min and no tram has passed. Universal needs to step up operations. My guess is they are being cheap and only running minimal trams.

edit: Also there are a lot of kids here. Mid week I wasn’t expecting that many kids. Do parents just give up this year? Distance learning?

When I was on the tour yesterday, we passed by a BUNCH of empty trams lined up not being used not just in one area but two. Couple that with the long gaps of boarding and... yeah. I can tell you that your 20-minute window where no tram rolled up isn’t unique to today; yesterday, I saw the same thing.

And as for the kids, I was surprised by just how many there were, too. (And can I just say that I will never understand people who bring actual babies on the Studio Tour. I’ve seen people do it my whole life, but I just don’t get it. I counted FOUR separate babies being carried at one point in line yesterday, and I will never be able to wrap my head around it.)

I'm just leaving around noon for now....the mornings are great but after that Universal just can't keep up (neither can Six Flags)

I'm a single rider and I feel bad but what can i do? Maybe let fully vaccted people have a wrist band and be asked if more can join them? I don't know we might be at yellow tier next week so hopefully they can do more than just let more guests in because that will not help at all...we need more people on rides

For sure. I’m not bashing single riders whatsoever; it’s just that the existence of single riders only exposes just how flawed that Studio Tour boarding experience is in its current form. And I’m with you on your first point, too... 9 to noon is clearly the sweet spot, so if I go again anytime soon, that’s pretty much the window I’ll be sticking to before hightailing it out of there.

 

[RyanTTD]

On the subject of single riders, I'm surprised that the Studio Tour hasn't adopted Jurassic Worlds policy on single riders by grouping them together with a 3 seat spacing between the riders.

 

[Jerroddragon]

On the subject of single riders, I'm surprised that the Studio Tour hasn't adopted Jurassic Worlds policy on single riders by grouping them together with a 3 seat spacing between the riders.

When i went on JW they had me by myself each ride

 

[SailwiththeTide]

Friend of mine just posted this. Water world is coming soon?

 

[JawsVictim]

Very cool. That’s something I forgot to mention from this past Saturday: on the Tram Tour, we passed by props/boats used in the WW show. Our guide said they were being refurbished.

 

[RyanTTD]

When i went on JW they had me by myself each ride

Last week they grouped a single rider with me. They explicitly told us to keep 3 seat distance from each other.

Today there was a single rider behind me and the Team Member asked me if it was okay for that single rider ride with me in the same row. The single rider ended up requesting the front row, but they were more than willing to group when the opportunity presents itself.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

It makes sense to group singles in 1 row but I think they are just trying to get people in. Like if 2 singles are 1 after another it makes sense but trying to look down the line to make it work seems like to much for them to do.

Last week they grouped a single rider with me. They explicitly told us to keep 3 seat distance from each other.

Today there was a single rider behind me and the Team Member asked me if it was okay for that single rider ride with me in the same row. The single rider ended up requesting the front row, but they were more than willing to group when the opportunity presents itself.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Last week they grouped a single rider with me. They explicitly told us to keep 3 seat distance from each other.

Today there was a single rider behind me and the Team Member asked me if it was okay for that single rider ride with me in the same row. The single rider ended up requesting the front row, but they were more than willing to group when the opportunity presents itself.

Nice

Have yet to be asked but hope they do it more

 

[SailwiththeTide]

Kung Fu panda open with Technical rehearsals. No express at this time.

So they have markers on the ground to separate people in the pre-show. They then seat each group with 2 seats between every group and using every other row. It takes a little more time but is well organized. I kinda like it verses the old way where it was a free for all when the doors opened.