NewYorkNewYork212
May 2021
I read about the long lines and was prepared to wait longer than usual in order for my daughter to celebrate her 13th birthday at Universal. When I arrived at the park, I thought about buying an Express pass to make her experience a little better. I was shocked when I was told the pass would be $170 per person. I only paid $129 for the admission ticket. I decided that $299 was way too much. What I didn't expect was to be turned away from lining up... once lines reached a certain wait time, you are told you will not be able to join the queue.
If you know anything about the Lower Lot, there are only three rides (Jurassic, Mummy and Transformers)... and it takes a couple of escalators (and some time) to get down there. I rode the Jurassic ride and went over to the Mummy ride only to be turned away. I went to the Transformer ride and was turned away. Soon, there were droves of people collected in the small common space waiting to get access to the rides. (Of course, no one was going to leave and ride all the escalators back up!) At that point, none of the rides were accepting individuals to join the lines. I felt that this was a super spreader waiting to happen! You could find unmasked folks and people elbow to elbow because there is no place to go.
I immediately felt unsafe and made my way quickly to the escalators. I am sure this is a violation of the LA country public health orders and I am not sure how they have been permitted to keep operating...but more importantly, why hasn't Universal has done nothing to rectify this? I would expect Universal to put some funding and stricter guidance in order to provide a safe experience for all. I know the company has had rough times because of the pandemic, but this is no excuse for not investing in the safety of their employees or the public.