Universal Orlando Socially Distant - June 4 AP Preview Day

Jeff said:

I'll be honest, I'd check it out if I could see some study around the theme park scenario, but it doesn't exist, and would require long-term contact tracing with every visitor to understand the outcomes.

I felt more "safe" at Universal today than I do at Publix or Target. Unlike those places Universal is 100% touchless for payments so the only items I actually touched with my hands were my food and Butterbeer. I didn't ride any rides so obviously I didn't come into contact with any of those and since attendance was crazy low I never came close to another human. Everyone seemed to be following the 6' rule and they were definitely doing better with their masks than what you find elsewhere in Orange/Lake County. If I hadn't had to pick some things up from someone I would have never gone but I was pleasantly surprised with how well it was all handled, meet & greets included!

ApolloAndy said:

Season pass with dining. I'm too old to learn what a "membership" is. Back in my day, we had season passes and we liked them.

There are way too many iterations for Six Flags. We ended up going with Gold plus season dining. Now I guess we are Gold Plus for life. So I have that going for me.

I don't go to Publix or Target either. We haven't been in a grocery store in three months.

I tried that. It got annoying, especially with alcohol and picking out meat.

So is it safe to say you haven't left your neighborhood in three months? Or gone to any location that requires being around people or opening doors?

As someone on the other side of the grocery delivery gig, the alcohol is a tremendous pain in the ass on our end too. As are substitutions when something is sold out and the customer doesn't respond to texts or answer the phone, but has their preference set to be contacted every time something isn't in stock.

99er said:

I felt more "safe" at Universal today than I do at Publix or Target...I didn't ride any rides so obviously I didn't come into contact with any of those

As someone who did ride quite a few rides last Thursday, the way they sanitize your hands the second before you sit down and touch a restraint or grab bar really helped me feel comfortable with touching stuff in the ride vehicle. Then you can sanitize again the moment you step off the ride before pulling out your phone, etc. Even riding the rides (and seeing Shrek 4-D in the theater setting) it was incredibly more distant and "safe" feeling than any trip to Publix or Target since this all started.

^Sounds about right from what I have heard from those who have done the attractions. Good to see they are doing something and it definitely doesn't have an impact on capacity for now.

BrettV said:

As someone on the other side of the grocery delivery gig, the alcohol is a tremendous pain in the ass on our end too.

And that is kinda why I stopped doing delivery and switched to pickup. Felt bad making someone carry that many bottles of bourbon ;) My Publix is 2 minutes from my house and Target is 8 so I just couldn't continue the delivery when I could do it myself. It's not like I don't have the time.

For me it's a great way to make a few extra bucks on the weekend, which is why I started doing it a few years ago. I can spend a couple hours a few days a month staying busy and pull in $50-$60 in fun money.

When our office closed at the end of March I did it almost every day until we reopened in May. Having a reason to wake up and get going in the morning is absolutely what got me through that month without my regular job. And since I was lucky and escaped a furlough or layoff I have funds for a few trips once we're out of this a little further.

I've certainly left the house, and I've done a ton of carry out or curbside. In fact, I did that at Total Wine (for an embarrassing volume of liquor). You just drive up, text them, and they dump it in your trunk. Lots of Tijuana Flats, too. We've got an isolated beach house booked in a couple of weeks.

Look, we can't get this disease. The risk is too high for my family's history. We still do stuff, it just involves as little contact with people as possible.

Ours situation is similar though I am the one higher risk, and have a HF ASD son as well. What are your thoughts on school in the fall? We can manage the online education but the social learning is even more important in our case if not the most important. I am already seeing the stress and I am concerned we will loose all of the little progress made so far.

Same. The problem is that schools are one of the worst vectors for infections of all kinds. I've worked remotely on and off for years, and I've been sick without going much of anywhere. I "blame" my darling offspring and his classmates. 😁🤮

I was happy to see and read a new trip report. Thanks for posting.

Happy to do it!

As for Prorated Passes I did not care if they extended my pass for closure as long as they were paying TM's .My Pass renewal last year (july)added 3 months to my year and the closure added 3 months so my pass doesn't expire until 2021 (jan) If they keep adding months(3-6) to my renewal I will keep renewing. If not I may drop my pass until October (HHN) .I do not mind getting Turned away because of Capacity issues But if you are from out of state you should be able to reserve a spot for next few days if turned away ,If Local you should be able to pick a reserve day a week out .So if you are turned away on day off work you can return on your next day off. I know this is a work in process and they are doing the best they can .Just work with them and if something doesn't go right just let it go and move on.

Well if attendance continues the way it is at Universal you won't have to be worried about being turned away.

Selfishly I am hoping for that.

I wonder if things will pick up when Disney reopens. I figured demand would be light, but didn't think it would be this light.

The interesting places in terms of attendance will be CP, KI, SF, and the other regionals. I understand how resort destinations like Uni might have low crowds. People just haven’t had that kind of travel on their schedule yet, and if they did it was cancelled. A huge draw in, say, a suburb of Cincinnati may have more people ready and waiting to go. And within driving distance.
Regardless, no place is making it an easy thing to do, and that may serve a dual purpose- with one keeping health and safety in mind and the other designed to keep crowds low. It seems like the mask thing is the ultimate deal-breaker for many.
Never in my life have I witnessed this extreme kind of trouble for the industry (and all other industries) and I guess we’ll have to wait and see how it all pans out.

I don't understand this sharp divide when it comes to masks. It amazes me how many healthy individuals suddenly have some sort of unnamed and undiagnosed medical condition that will prohibit them from wearing a mask in an amusement park. Yet despite this condition they still cry foul if you suggest perhaps visiting a park in the midst of a pandemic is a bad idea. That something as simple as wearing a mask to help curb the spread of a virus has become so politicized and polarizing shows what a dark time this truly is for our country, and how that started long before the events of the last three months.

I also have to chuckle at the irony of all of us mask wearers being referred to as sheep and being told we'll do anything and we're "afraid" by people who will stay home from an activity they want to do or a place they want to go over a mask policy. They are the ones who wind up taking a hit on their own personal "freedoms" by not going to the place they want to go, despite nobody telling them they can't.

It's freedom to not bake a cake for a gay couple. It's oppression to not let unmasked guests into your theme park. Or something?