Given that our entire lives have been taken over by Covid-19, and the constant onslaught of media attention covering the surge of cases in Flordia, to say I was conflicted about going to Universal Studios in an understatement. Ultimately, my family of 7 decided to go. We even flew there. Here is what I learned and how we controlled for as much risk as possible...
Airport...We decided to avoid shuttles and shared spaces as much as possible. We also bought double-layered masks for extra protection. We parked in self-parking, which allowed us to walk into the terminal without taking a shuttle.
In the airport, we were able to keep 6 feet or more distance at all times. Traffic is low, so this was easy. Rather than sitting at our own gate, we sat at the next one over (which was empty ) to stay away from others.
Once on the plane, which was only half full, we asked if we could move to the back two rows. There were at least two empty rows ahead of those, so we again felt we successfully maintained distance.
Upon arriving at Universal, we rented our own car and set off to Universal's Surfside hotel. The hotel was at less than a third capacity. We were the only ones in our hallway.
Pools got a little busy at night, but still very manageable.
Rather than take the free shuttles from the hotel the next morning, we asked the front desk if we could park at one of the closer resort hotels for the day. We explained we were just trying to reduce our risk. They allowed us to do this. So we parked at the Royal Pacific hotel each day and walked the private path up to universal. Again, not sharing bus rides was nice.
At the park. Universal does an excellent job with spacing and hand sanitizer going on to the rides. They keep distance between rows on the actual rides by allowing every other row to be empty or by separating groups by car. You are never riding with a stranger.
We felt most at risk getting off of rides and departing the Hogwarts Express. While they take such care getting you on rodes safely and separately; it is a free-for-all after the rides. I wish they would have controlled that part better.
Also, the locker situation is probably the riskiest part. There is no way to not need lockers. Some rides even require that you leave your phone. I wish they would change that. I could easily leave my bag, but you need the phone to book virtual line passes. Even though they try to space out access to the lockers, these are tight spaces that are touched by everyone. The easiest fix is to allow people to keep their phones and to recommend all bags to be left in lockers.
The dining facilities are mostly mobile order. Groups are well spaced, and outdoor seating is available. Mealtime was a great chance for a safe mask break.
We are now home and we are quarantining. I have read that at the earliest, we could take a Covid test after 5 days for 60% accuracy. There is still a 40% possibility of a false negative. We will likely take a test on day 5, results usually take 2-3 days and we will decide from there.
The isolation is hard, especially on kids. Our kids play with the neighbors a lot, and now we are watching them out the window. However, I do take seriously my responsibility to not spread the virus if we have it. I hope they come up with more accurate tests that can detect the virus sooner. Most people are not going to self-quarantine unless they know they have it.
In sum, we had a great time, and if you are ok with controlling for all the variables that you can, wearing a mask all day, and responsibility quarantining when you get back...I say go. We walked on rides all 4 days. It was pretty awesome to get to see and experience Harry Potter world and the rest of the attractions at a leisurely pace.
FYI...NO FAST PASS NEEDED...I wouldn't waste the money on a more expensive stay at the more expensive resorts, Surfside is the best deal by far.
Response from Host
Sep 2020
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback regarding your visit to our parks! I'm glad you were impressed with the safety and sanitation guidelines we have put in place, and we will definitely pass your feedback about our lockers along to the right teams. Did you know that we have U-Rest areas around our parks as well, which are locations where you can take a break from wearing your facial covering? It's a great place to rest and eat a snack between meals. We hope you will visit us again in the future!
-Meaghan