We saw a lot of changes when Florida’s theme parks reopened, including many at Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Florida.
Camp Jurassic at Universal Studios Florida
Many of these changes involved social distancing: not just in the parks, but also on the rides. Since reopening, theme park attractions have been seating guests in every other row.
However, Universal Studios Florida just recently announced a change to that policy. When a guest asked Universal about it via Twitter, Universal confirmed that it had gone back to seating guests in every row on certain attractions. The park states that it has discussed this new policy with local health officials.
We have been planning toward this for months as part of the next step of our reopening procedures, and we are applying everything we have learned so far. We've briefed local health officials about our plans, and they have let us know they are comfortable with us moving forward.
— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) September 11, 2020
So far, this only seems to be for The Incredible Hulk Coaster and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. It’s likely in response to Universal’s recent high crowd levels, particularly over the Labor Day weekend. Disney World also had high crowd levels that weekend.
Hi Cristian! We are making a modification to our loading procedures for The Incredible Hulk Coaster and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. To accommodate Guest demand, we will load every row of the vehicle while still ensuring there is separation between Guests onboard.
— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) September 11, 2020
Previously, separate parties were loaded on every other row to keep groups of guests separated when riding on attractions. That now no longer seems to be the case at Universal in every situation.
However, guests are still encouraged to maintain social distancing, required to wear face masks (except in certain uRest areas), and must undergo temperature checks.
Splash Mountain line at Magic Kingdom
It’s not clear if Disney World will follow and implement this kind of change at its parks anytime soon, but for now, Disney World is still maintaining distancing on attractions.
We’ll keep an eye on the news for any other changes that Universal or Disney might make in their parks, so stay tuned!
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What do you think of Universal’s decision? Sound off in the comments!
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Glad to see Universal using some common sense. Wonder when Disney will try it?
This is a good first step. Universal is out performing Disney in about every way. Especially at Volcano Bay. Fun park.
Universal doesn’t distanced close them down Greedy !
As Mark Twain sorta, kinda wrote, “Yer pays yer money, yer takes your chances”.
Doing this right when flu season is about to start is being irresponsible. What wrong with you people in Florida? Experts have cautioned about this. I certainly hope WDW doesn’t follow suit!
Aug 25 living with the land we were seated EVERY row. There are plastic partitions. That same week we sat every row on Kilimanjaro safaris (again with plastic partitions. That week we also sat in the same car with another group on toy story mania (so my group on one side and another party on the other). It seems if there’s a barrier they utilize it, otherwise, rides like frozen, slinky dog, etc where there’s no way to put a separator, we were seated every other row.
As a Canadian whose country stand 26th on the list of covid cases by following respectful rules I’m amazed at the number one covid country comaining about masks and social distancing. That’s why we closed the borders and won’t be down until next July
Good … baby steps to getting back to normal. If you don’t like … don’t go on the ride. Simple.