Theme Parks & Shopping Districts Reopening General Thread
- Thread starter Scott W.
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Totally agree. We are coming in from RI for a week, and while we don't expect the same experience we normally enjoy, looking at it as more of a new experience. We can say we were there then:rock:
Hopefully the hype dies down and it’s just because this is the first day open to the public.
According to a friend, Wednesday filled up fairly quickly but there were still a few Thursday spots open headed into the weekend. So yeah, I wouldn't treat today as "the new normal" quite yet.
I don't think we'll get an accurate picture until next Monday, the first non-hyped weekday (when shops will be at 100% and bars can open, which may also have an effect on crowd flow).
- Aug 7, 2018
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Omg if they do this in the TL Ampitheatre I CAN FINALLY SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Rope drop is always going to be the craziest moment, park opening. They need better systems for that period of time, especially with no reservation or entry time system in place.
I’d give it a week or two. Then once Disney reopens, Universal will probably see another spike in attendance.
- Jul 8, 2019
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The “better system” should be both garages. You can’t corral people as they’re walking from their car to the temperature check line when it’s busy. There’s vehicle traffic.
Also, on the way out there was n-o-b-o-d-y coming in. There will always be an opening push but in a week or two it's going to be like TM days.
Also, on the way out there was n-o-b-o-d-y coming in. There will always be an opening push but in a week or two it's going to be like TM days.
- Jun 21, 2016
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Right. Some of the moves have been head scratching.
Like the every other parking spot approach. Who thought that was a good idea of prevention. Have you ever pulled beside someone in stalls next to each other and you both open your driver door and they open their passenger? No. Because it never happens. You always wait even before COVID. So what’s the point? No door dings?
A whole lot of this sounds like it was created in a lawyers office in New York who has never been to a park or driven their own car. Very little practicality.
Currently at the parks. Some observations:
I can confirm the temperature check line was stupid beyond belief. When I arrived around 9:30, I parked on the bottom floor of the garage, and when I reached the third floor, there was already a massive, unstructured line. Fortunately almost everyone had a mask on by that point, but until you get closer to the check, there are no “actual” 6 feet markers, just the reminder circles.
Likewise, entering USF was pretty bad for social distancing. Everyone just stood outside the gate, and the wrap around the ticket booths into the turnstiles had very little space for social distancing. If reservations will be required in the future, a staggered opening needs to work much better. Fortunately walking over to IOA at noon was issue-free.
The parks were pretty busy this morning, but right now, it’s died down a lot. There was a very brief shower 20-30 mins ago, but the crowds were dispersing before them. I was able to get on Spider-Man, Hulk, and Cat in the Hat with 0-10 min waits in the past hour, and I’m currently waiting for a Hagrid reservation at 3. At USF, I did Rockit, Supercharged (with only 2 other people on my bus; it was as hilarious as it sounds), MIB, E.T., and Mummy in about two hours. None were using virtual queue at the time, and waits were being inflated for some rides.
I’m relatively happy with sanitation procedures at the rides, but there is a significant lack of hand sanitizer outside of the rides. That’s the one thing that needs to be improved upon.
Virtual Queue is buggy as hell. Reserving a time almost never works and requires restarting the app. The system definitely isn’t as robust as Fastpass+, but given how low crowds are right now, I don’t foresee it being an issue with the lower capacity.
I’ll have more thoughts later.
I can confirm the temperature check line was stupid beyond belief. When I arrived around 9:30, I parked on the bottom floor of the garage, and when I reached the third floor, there was already a massive, unstructured line. Fortunately almost everyone had a mask on by that point, but until you get closer to the check, there are no “actual” 6 feet markers, just the reminder circles.
Likewise, entering USF was pretty bad for social distancing. Everyone just stood outside the gate, and the wrap around the ticket booths into the turnstiles had very little space for social distancing. If reservations will be required in the future, a staggered opening needs to work much better. Fortunately walking over to IOA at noon was issue-free.
The parks were pretty busy this morning, but right now, it’s died down a lot. There was a very brief shower 20-30 mins ago, but the crowds were dispersing before them. I was able to get on Spider-Man, Hulk, and Cat in the Hat with 0-10 min waits in the past hour, and I’m currently waiting for a Hagrid reservation at 3. At USF, I did Rockit, Supercharged (with only 2 other people on my bus; it was as hilarious as it sounds), MIB, E.T., and Mummy in about two hours. None were using virtual queue at the time, and waits were being inflated for some rides.
I’m relatively happy with sanitation procedures at the rides, but there is a significant lack of hand sanitizer outside of the rides. That’s the one thing that needs to be improved upon.
Virtual Queue is buggy as hell. Reserving a time almost never works and requires restarting the app. The system definitely isn’t as robust as Fastpass+, but given how low crowds are right now, I don’t foresee it being an issue with the lower capacity.
I’ll have more thoughts later.
Orlando informer Facebook Community is doing a live cam walk through of USF now.....Fear Factor being used as a U Rest area....Water Fountains on in the Lagoon.....Crowds on the streets at apx. 2:30 PM look like what I normally see early in the morning. around 10:00 AM, during an off season May weekday.
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- Jun 1, 2020
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All I'll say in response to those postings is said poster is the only one claiming it was anywhere near that bad.
It sounds like Uni has some hurdles to fix from other postings, but he seems to be quite hyperbolic.
It sounds like Uni has some hurdles to fix from other postings, but he seems to be quite hyperbolic.
- Feb 15, 2012
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His photo of no TMs telling guests to social distancing is wrong, I had people standing behind him I know saying it wasn’t the case. People are calling him out for his troll behavior.
- Feb 15, 2012
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I talked to several people in the park today. There are issues, Brett is right, but he’s totally blown it out of proportion for attention.
- Jul 13, 2018
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Probably the same people who thought virtual queues for everything was a good idea for Volcano Bay.
There is definitely a pro Disney, anti Universal thing going on with the Universal opening but I don't doubt that the first day in the Magic Kingdom is going to be mayhem as they get overwhelmed.
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