Universal's "Getting Closer to Normal" Guidelines

[OLSinFLA]

Not allowed to ask in Florida

 

[Nick]

I've got to ask..if you prove you are vaccinated why the masks indoors for workers? Like I don't get that

No one is proving anything. By saying "all vaccinated TMs" don't have to wear masks unless indoors, that means pretty much all masks will be coming off outdoors because they are going by the honor system, same way they are applying it to guests.

I do know that at SeaWorld, in order to have your mask off at work, you have to go to HR and show them proof of vaccination currently.

 

[Frank Drackman]

I've got to ask..if you prove you are vaccinated why the masks indoors for workers? Like I don't get that

I would guess they just want different optics inside, maybe to show they are doing something.

Not allowed to ask in Florida

I assume they meant Employee/Employer as in UoR knowing which team members have been vzx'd.

 

[HalfGlass]

For anyone who’s gone recently - what does mask compliance look like now that everything has been lifted? In terms of indoor queues, what percentage of people tend to wear masks still?

 

[Imperius]

For anyone who’s gone recently - what does mask compliance look like now that everything has been lifted? In terms of indoor queues, what percentage of people tend to wear masks still?

Was there last Wednesday and would say very few are wearing masks indoors. Watched HMS and don’t remember seeing more than 10 people in masks in a decently full show.

 

[HalfGlass]

Was there last Wednesday and would say very few are wearing masks indoors. Watched HMS and don’t remember seeing more than 10 people in masks in a decently full show.

I’m here now and can confirm this is true. I was probably one of the 5% wearing masks.

 

[Jocamom]

We just got back today and yeah, very few people were wearing masks. I have been fully vaccinated for a while and did not wear a mask. My kids chose to wear masks most of the time except for a few instances when crowds were very low at the Orlando Informer meetup.

 

[therock]

Does anyone know if Universal is back to 100 percent capacity now? I took my family this past week and it was by far the busiest we've ever seen. Double file lines going all the way back to the globe just to get into the entrance Islands of Adventure. All rides with extremely high wait times, Hagrids with Virtual Only. I counted around 90 people in front of me in a butterbeer line. It was neck and neck and extremely hard to get around. Lines for food were backed up outside the doors and lined down street for every single eating place. Even pretzel and Icee stands were backed up. I've been during summer before, but never seen anything like this. I'm not sure if its a case of ride capacity not matching crowd capacity, or if this is "the new normal" now that there are so many onsite hotels? If so, then that 3rd park can't get here fast enough. This is the first time ever that my family did not enjoy the overall experience. I ended up having to go back to the parks by myself the last couple of days because the rest of my family didn't want to fight the crowds again, and would rather just stay in the hotel room.

 

[HalfGlass]

Does anyone know if Universal is back to 100 percent capacity now? I took my family this past week and it was by far the busiest we've ever seen. Double file lines going all the way back to the globe just to get into the entrance Islands of Adventure. All rides with extremely high wait times, Hagrids with Virtual Only. I counted around 90 people in front of me in a butterbeer line. It was neck and neck and extremely hard to get around. Lines for food were backed up outside the doors and lined down street for every single eating place. Even pretzel and Icee stands were backed up. I've been during summer before, but never seen anything like this. I'm not sure if its a case of ride capacity not matching crowd capacity, or if this is "the new normal" now that there are so many onsite hotels? If so, then that 3rd park can't get here fast enough. This is the first time ever that my family did not enjoy the overall experience. I ended up having to go back to the parks by myself the last couple of days because the rest of my family didn't want to fight the crowds again, and would rather just stay in the hotel room.

I can’t confirm - but my guess is that 100% is back into effect. If there’s no distancing and no masks required - I don’t see why universal would limit revenue.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Capacity back to normal, increased attendance due to demand (since people are not traveling international or on cruises), and they're having staffing issues.

 

[Mad Dog]

Does anyone know if Universal is back to 100 percent capacity now? I took my family this past week and it was by far the busiest we've ever seen. Double file lines going all the way back to the globe just to get into the entrance Islands of Adventure. All rides with extremely high wait times, Hagrids with Virtual Only. I counted around 90 people in front of me in a butterbeer line. It was neck and neck and extremely hard to get around. Lines for food were backed up outside the doors and lined down street for every single eating place. Even pretzel and Icee stands were backed up. I've been during summer before, but never seen anything like this. I'm not sure if its a case of ride capacity not matching crowd capacity, or if this is "the new normal" now that there are so many onsite hotels? If so, then that 3rd park can't get here fast enough. This is the first time ever that my family did not enjoy the overall experience. I ended up having to go back to the parks by myself the last couple of days because the rest of my family didn't want to fight the crowds again, and would rather just stay in the hotel room.

Last year at this time, some of us here surmised that there would be a big rebound in travel this summer. Many people are awash with extra cash, and antsy after being locked up for 15 months. The surge is on, just like it happened after the Spanish flu epidemic. Beach resorts are all booked up...and a good example on travel is Bar Harbor in Maine. Our good friend @Teebin , who lives in the town, says that the big tourist crowd doesn't usually arrive until July 4th and after. This year Bar Harbor was packed with tourists before Memorial day. Teebin says it's never been this crowded this early. Universal Orlando is probably just a reflection of this return to life fulfilling destinations.

 

[RFRees]

To be clear about staffing, it's not just about finding qualified workers, it's also about 1) reviewing applicants, 2) scheduling for interviews, 3) interviewing, 4) submitting offer, getting candidates to sign offer and consent forms, 5) going through background process, 6) orientation and new hire training, 7) training for the position they're in, 8) getting that employee to keep showing up and not quit.

Just something to keep in mind when you hear discussion on companies having staffing issues. There could be several bottle necks, not just whether they have enough applicants. I assume UOR might actually have enough applicants but several other things are going wrong. They likely don't have enough HR (talent acquisition/recruiters) and trainers.

 

[Nick]

To be clear about staffing, it's not just about finding qualified workers, it's also about 1) reviewing applicants, 2) scheduling for interviews, 3) interviewing, 4) submitting offer, getting candidates to sign offer and consent forms, 5) going through background process, 6) orientation and new hire training, 7) training for the position they're in, 8) getting that employee to keep showing up and not quit.

Just something to keep in mind when you hear discussion on companies having staffing issues. There could be several bottle necks, not just whether they have enough applicants. I assume UOR might actually have enough applicants but several other things are going wrong. They likely don't have enough HR (talent acquisition/recruiters) and trainers.

#8 there is the big one. A lot of people get hired and then just stop showing up shortly after. Getting an employee to stick it out for at least a month normally means that person plans to stick around for at least a little bit.

Something that will definitely help is that starting June 27th, the company minimum is going up to $15/hour, matching what Disney is about to raise their pay to and where the industry is at all around right now. Tbh, Disney is benefitting a lot from what their pay is versus Universal right now. Starting pay at most Universal jobs currently is $13/hour whereas for Disney it's $14.50. It's hard to get people excited about working for you or to even want to apply when they'd be making so much less.

 

[Speed]

Saw them testing the castle show with fireworks running. Security guards were guarding Hogsmeade as it was an hour past closed so I couldn’t get a video from inside the land, but could we see this coming back soon?

 

[Mad Dog]

Saw them testing the castle show with fireworks running. Security guards were guarding Hogsmeade as it was an hour past closed so I couldn’t get a video from inside the land, but could we see this coming back soon?

Perhaps they're planning to run it for the VC media day/night ........for starters. ....IOA is open until 9:00 PM every night next week, so maybe it debuts for good...soon.

 

[GAcoaster]

Closer to normal every day...

 

[kristenabelle]

it's really cool/simultaneously bizarre to see velocicoaster ads pretty regularly in NJ.

 

[BBL]

Does anyone know if Universal is back to 100 percent capacity now? I took my family this past week and it was by far the busiest we've ever seen. Double file lines going all the way back to the globe just to get into the entrance Islands of Adventure. All rides with extremely high wait times, Hagrids with Virtual Only. I counted around 90 people in front of me in a butterbeer line. It was neck and neck and extremely hard to get around. Lines for food were backed up outside the doors and lined down street for every single eating place. Even pretzel and Icee stands were backed up. I've been during summer before, but never seen anything like this. I'm not sure if its a case of ride capacity not matching crowd capacity, or if this is "the new normal" now that there are so many onsite hotels? If so, then that 3rd park can't get here fast enough. This is the first time ever that my family did not enjoy the overall experience. I ended up having to go back to the parks by myself the last couple of days because the rest of my family didn't want to fight the crowds again, and would rather just stay in the hotel room.

I agree with much of this. We’ve been here since the 4th, and we’ve never seen crowds like this. And I’ve always come in the summer before. Fortunately we are here enough days that we’ve been able to do everything plenty of times, but the crowds are rough right now. Even getting to the parks early (over an hour before opening)no longer helps you beat the massive crowds like it used to. The worst situation are the food/beverage/restaurant etc lines like you mentioned. We have had to eat lunch at 10:30/11:00 in order to avoid them. If you wait until any time after places open, you’ll have a huge line. It’s also nearly impossible to easily get free water right now because the lines at all those kiosks are so long All these lines last well into the afternoon. Our waiter at NBC sports grill said between both parks they’re still down something like 12,000 worker. He said just at NBC, they used to have over 50 servers, and now they only have 20. They’re having trouble finding enough people to hire. I definitely think a lot of the lines for food have to do with the fact the parks are still very understaffed, which obviously they’re working to rectify. Also, I assume they’re still using mobile ordering due to low staffing. Mobile ordering unfortunately only exacerbates the lines. For example, we ate at the Leaky Cauldron. It took us over an hour from the time we got in line (VERY early), were seated, and our food arrived. The turnover for tables is much much slower than pre-covid times. I’ve also found the places where mobile ordering is being used, the food quality is definitely not nearly as good as it usually is. We’ve started eating more at places we can get reservations. The Food is better, and there’s no wait for a table making it much quicker. All that being said, the TMs are working so hard with the situation they’ve been dealt. Im sure Universal is aware of these issues, and it sounds like they’re working hard to hire more people.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

They’re having trouble finding enough people to hire. I definitely think a lot of the lines for food have to do with the fact the parks are still very understaffed, which obviously they’re working to rectify.

I worked at the parks in high school. I didn’t make anywhere close to what people were making on Unemployment the last year. COVID is going to be a fascinating case study in crisis management someday and the horrible staffing failures we’re seeing everywhere is a good place to start.

I also think this is a huge motivating factor in Disney keeping their reservation system in play (given they’re lifting restrictions and throwing the security theater out the window this month as well).

 

[graspthesun]

I think it’s also important to acknowledge that Universal and Disney both hire a ton of foreign workers to staff their parks and most of those visa programs are suspended right now.