Drove 8 hours from upstate South Carolina for a 1 day universal trip with my fiancé and her brother. Are we crazy? Probably. But I don’t regret any of it. I’ll do a rundown of every attraction we did, and the experience!
We got to CityWalk about an hour before IOA opened. People were already lining up. The park opened about 15 minutes before 9:00 am. I got us all a 9:10 VQ for Forbidden Journey, and a 11:10 for Hagrid. Got em both at 8:50 am. Hagrid was immediately out for the rest of the day.
1). Forbidden Journey - We got to the ride at 9:00 am and they just let us walk on even though we were a bit early. Because it was so early, I assume that’s the reason it was a walk on. No water or mist effects were operating (no spitting spiders). A red light bulb from the dragon. The dementors were not working so that scene was awkward. But other than that, it was a good time! Side note, the workers did not wipe down vehicles for this ride, and many other rides. Had our own car.
2). After FJ we walked onto King Kong. Water effects were working on this one. Busses were every other row, and a whole row to your party.
3). Next we went over to ride Spider-Man. Big note: OUTSIDE of both Harry Potter lands, the parks were practically empty/very low crowds. Spider-Man didn’t have any water effects working. The floating box didn’t work, so when the green laser hit it, that was weird. However, the big fire explosion effect was working! We sat in the back of the car with another party in the front.
4). After Spider Man, we attempted to get on Hulk. The line was a little long, but moving fast. That is, until it started raining and they shut down the attraction. We waited around a bit but it wasn’t opening for a while. Oh well! The most was on for the tunnel and they loaded every other row.
5). We took a break in the old Sinbad show. As we were walking in, the fountain says “Sinbad isn’t open anymore! Go back from where you came!” We continued. It was incredibly sad to see that big beautiful set still completely in tact. But it was a nice break.
6). We made it all the way to the moving platform for Hagrid before it temporarily stopped to let another train onto the ride. We rode it. It was fantastic! Rain stung a little. When we got off and walked past the entrance, the line was stopped all the way at the entrance. And if you know how long that line is, then you know how insane it is. Glad we walked on! They loaded every row on the train, but didn’t combine 1 separate party person with another. No preshows.
7). Next we got a dining reservation at 12:30 for Mythos by walking up to the door. It was 11:40, so we caught the 12:00 show for Poseidon’s Fury. With social distancing, they had stickers and lines on the floors for about 12 different parties per show. I actually enjoyed the show a lot better with less people. The tour guide was extremely good at improvising and making social distancing puns. “It was nice of these Greek gods to put this convenient stickers down on the ground to show us where to stand... simple and effective!” Water tunnel was operating. Each party had to wait for the next party to walk through each room transition. Finale was as cheesy as ever and I loved It!
8). Mythos was good as always. Although the amount of food you get on the lamb chop plate in comparison to the price ($36) and other plates is super sad. Dining at every other table. Every seat and table was thoroughly wiped down.
9). Next we hit up Cat in the Hat. Jesus Christ has this ride not aged well. It is scary beyond reason. Also, I’m so sad it doesn’t spin anymore. The cartwheeling/walking Things were not operational. Each party gets their own vehicle.
10). Next we walked over to Universal to ride Jimmy Fallon. No water effects. Sit in every other row with one party on one side and the other party on the other (same row). Still the most conceited ride ever. The preshow was operating.
11). Next we went on Transformers. Again, it was a walk-on. Had our own vehicle.
11.5). I forgot to put Fast & Furious on the list because the ride is so forgettable. We had shakes at Mel’s and did this ride after as a time-filler. To our disappointment, both pre-shows were operating. We ended up taking much more time on this attraction than we should have.. got to our mummy VQ 1 minute before it expired.
12). Next up, we rode the mummy. Had a VQ. One party in the front, one party in the back. Fire effects were working. Good ride. Starting to get a little rough though.
13). We had a VQ for Gringotts next. Same party situation as mummy. There was a line that started right next to the downward spiral stairs in the bank. But the line moved very fast. Got on in about 25 minutes or so. no preshows.
14). Men in Black was next. Everything worked great (although they should really updated the “6 against 1” animatronic. No elevator scene.
15). Next we rode Simpsons. Good lord is it nauseating. But still all good fun. They ran both pre-shows.
16). Next up was ET Adventure. We tried to catch Animal Actors but the show started 20 minutes ago. No water effects were working on ET. Also, I love This attraction from the bottom of my heart.. but.. universal? Why can’t you ring out the money to update these animatronics? Holy CRAP was this ride embarrassing. All the AAs had less movement than the ones on cat in the hat. It was so sad to see a classic in such disrepair. E.T. Looked like he was having a stroke at the end. Also, there were no cards handed out. ET says “gubah frun” (goodbye friends) instead.
17). Next we headed over to Hogwarts express to catch the water rides at IOA for the end of the day. Sadly, a tornado warning dang on everyone’s phones and the train was delayed. We chilled in the queue for about a half hour then left.
18). We later shopped at the Universal Studios store. Shrek and Despicable Me were both operating in the heavy rain at the end of the day. Between the two, we chose despicable me. No 3D goggles. Both preshows were running (each party had their own designated sticker). One party per car. Only ever other car per row.
And that wraps things up! I’m sure it’ll take another incredibly huge scare to ever experience the parks that empty and convenient ever again. There was no line for bags or temperature checks at 8:50. CityWalk closed at 8 pm, parks closed at 7 pm.
DEFINITELY BRING EXTRA MASKS. If it rains, you’ll really want them. Also, we wore the blue nurse masks, and we had about 2 or 3 broke throughout the day. We were there from 8 am to 7 pm.
Masks were completely fine for us, but it was also cool and cloudy most of the day.
The only rides that required VQ were mummy, Hagrid, and Forbidden Journey. I think despicable Me as well, but it opened for everyone at the end of the day due to the storm. They DO enforce the masks. But you’ll definitely find a grumpy grandpa or a couple of little kids running around with em off every now and then. But the majority of guests followed all the rules and the entire place seemed very cleaned. Social distancing in the parking lot as well. Which was weird.
Bourne, Horror Makeup, and Blue Man group were not operating. Curious George and playgrounds were not operating. Barney and Animal Actors had showtimes.
Big problem I see with Disney reopening, looking back to our trip yesterday, is parents with kids. The kids don’t like to wear the masks and parents don’t care what their kids do. At least, every single parents at Universal didn’t. But it was very rare we actually saw a kid at Universal, so that’ll be interesting.
We got to CityWalk about an hour before IOA opened. People were already lining up. The park opened about 15 minutes before 9:00 am. I got us all a 9:10 VQ for Forbidden Journey, and a 11:10 for Hagrid. Got em both at 8:50 am. Hagrid was immediately out for the rest of the day.
1). Forbidden Journey - We got to the ride at 9:00 am and they just let us walk on even though we were a bit early. Because it was so early, I assume that’s the reason it was a walk on. No water or mist effects were operating (no spitting spiders). A red light bulb from the dragon. The dementors were not working so that scene was awkward. But other than that, it was a good time! Side note, the workers did not wipe down vehicles for this ride, and many other rides. Had our own car.
2). After FJ we walked onto King Kong. Water effects were working on this one. Busses were every other row, and a whole row to your party.
3). Next we went over to ride Spider-Man. Big note: OUTSIDE of both Harry Potter lands, the parks were practically empty/very low crowds. Spider-Man didn’t have any water effects working. The floating box didn’t work, so when the green laser hit it, that was weird. However, the big fire explosion effect was working! We sat in the back of the car with another party in the front.
4). After Spider Man, we attempted to get on Hulk. The line was a little long, but moving fast. That is, until it started raining and they shut down the attraction. We waited around a bit but it wasn’t opening for a while. Oh well! The most was on for the tunnel and they loaded every other row.
5). We took a break in the old Sinbad show. As we were walking in, the fountain says “Sinbad isn’t open anymore! Go back from where you came!” We continued. It was incredibly sad to see that big beautiful set still completely in tact. But it was a nice break.
6). We made it all the way to the moving platform for Hagrid before it temporarily stopped to let another train onto the ride. We rode it. It was fantastic! Rain stung a little. When we got off and walked past the entrance, the line was stopped all the way at the entrance. And if you know how long that line is, then you know how insane it is. Glad we walked on! They loaded every row on the train, but didn’t combine 1 separate party person with another. No preshows.
7). Next we got a dining reservation at 12:30 for Mythos by walking up to the door. It was 11:40, so we caught the 12:00 show for Poseidon’s Fury. With social distancing, they had stickers and lines on the floors for about 12 different parties per show. I actually enjoyed the show a lot better with less people. The tour guide was extremely good at improvising and making social distancing puns. “It was nice of these Greek gods to put this convenient stickers down on the ground to show us where to stand... simple and effective!” Water tunnel was operating. Each party had to wait for the next party to walk through each room transition. Finale was as cheesy as ever and I loved It!
8). Mythos was good as always. Although the amount of food you get on the lamb chop plate in comparison to the price ($36) and other plates is super sad. Dining at every other table. Every seat and table was thoroughly wiped down.
9). Next we hit up Cat in the Hat. Jesus Christ has this ride not aged well. It is scary beyond reason. Also, I’m so sad it doesn’t spin anymore. The cartwheeling/walking Things were not operational. Each party gets their own vehicle.
10). Next we walked over to Universal to ride Jimmy Fallon. No water effects. Sit in every other row with one party on one side and the other party on the other (same row). Still the most conceited ride ever. The preshow was operating.
11). Next we went on Transformers. Again, it was a walk-on. Had our own vehicle.
11.5). I forgot to put Fast & Furious on the list because the ride is so forgettable. We had shakes at Mel’s and did this ride after as a time-filler. To our disappointment, both pre-shows were operating. We ended up taking much more time on this attraction than we should have.. got to our mummy VQ 1 minute before it expired.
12). Next up, we rode the mummy. Had a VQ. One party in the front, one party in the back. Fire effects were working. Good ride. Starting to get a little rough though.
13). We had a VQ for Gringotts next. Same party situation as mummy. There was a line that started right next to the downward spiral stairs in the bank. But the line moved very fast. Got on in about 25 minutes or so. no preshows.
14). Men in Black was next. Everything worked great (although they should really updated the “6 against 1” animatronic. No elevator scene.
15). Next we rode Simpsons. Good lord is it nauseating. But still all good fun. They ran both pre-shows.
16). Next up was ET Adventure. We tried to catch Animal Actors but the show started 20 minutes ago. No water effects were working on ET. Also, I love This attraction from the bottom of my heart.. but.. universal? Why can’t you ring out the money to update these animatronics? Holy CRAP was this ride embarrassing. All the AAs had less movement than the ones on cat in the hat. It was so sad to see a classic in such disrepair. E.T. Looked like he was having a stroke at the end. Also, there were no cards handed out. ET says “gubah frun” (goodbye friends) instead.
17). Next we headed over to Hogwarts express to catch the water rides at IOA for the end of the day. Sadly, a tornado warning dang on everyone’s phones and the train was delayed. We chilled in the queue for about a half hour then left.
18). We later shopped at the Universal Studios store. Shrek and Despicable Me were both operating in the heavy rain at the end of the day. Between the two, we chose despicable me. No 3D goggles. Both preshows were running (each party had their own designated sticker). One party per car. Only ever other car per row.
And that wraps things up! I’m sure it’ll take another incredibly huge scare to ever experience the parks that empty and convenient ever again. There was no line for bags or temperature checks at 8:50. CityWalk closed at 8 pm, parks closed at 7 pm.
DEFINITELY BRING EXTRA MASKS. If it rains, you’ll really want them. Also, we wore the blue nurse masks, and we had about 2 or 3 broke throughout the day. We were there from 8 am to 7 pm.
Masks were completely fine for us, but it was also cool and cloudy most of the day.The only rides that required VQ were mummy, Hagrid, and Forbidden Journey. I think despicable Me as well, but it opened for everyone at the end of the day due to the storm. They DO enforce the masks. But you’ll definitely find a grumpy grandpa or a couple of little kids running around with em off every now and then. But the majority of guests followed all the rules and the entire place seemed very cleaned. Social distancing in the parking lot as well. Which was weird.
Bourne, Horror Makeup, and Blue Man group were not operating. Curious George and playgrounds were not operating. Barney and Animal Actors had showtimes.
Big problem I see with Disney reopening, looking back to our trip yesterday, is parents with kids. The kids don’t like to wear the masks and parents don’t care what their kids do. At least, every single parents at Universal didn’t. But it was very rare we actually saw a kid at Universal, so that’ll be interesting.
