UniversalParksBlog News for September 27th, 2021
Universal has updated its employee policies, COVID rules at one park, added some new Mario merchandise, and brought back two popular features.
Let’s catch up in the latest UniversalParksBlog News.
Photo: Facebook/Universal Orlando
COVID Rules Updates at Universal Studios Hollywood
Photo:Universal Studios Hollywood
The most recent wave of COVID-19 cases has caused both levels of California’s government to enhance their safety precautions. Both the Governor and local officials have turned to more stringent protocols, at least until the current wave subsides.
For this reason, Universal Studios Hollywood announced a return to previous pandemic policies. Specifically, the park requires guests to wear masks at all times in the parks. Yes, that includes outdoor areas.
Universal Studios Hollywood had previously reintroduced a requirement for indoor mask usage.
Now, we’re back to the rules from the reopening days at the park. If you’re going to Universal Studios Hollywood, you should expect to wear a mask all day.
That’s not all, either. Los Angeles County has created the most aggressive policy to date to protect citizens.
Photo:yahoo.com/cdc
Starting on October 7th, would-be guests at “mega events” must show proof of vaccination before they can attend.LA County defines mega events as anything with 10,000 people in attendance.
As I’ll discuss in a bit, we actually know the average attendance of Universal Studios Hollywood in 2020. It was more than 17,000 guests.As such, this rule WILL apply to park guests. Therefore, you must be vaccinated to enter Universal Studios Hollywood for the foreseeable future.
Well, that’s mostly correct. However, an amended clarification about this policy arrived the other day. You can also attend mega events as long as you can show a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of your arrival.
So, your choices are a shot, which takes a second, or an invasive COVID test each time you go to a mega event.
Speaking of Travel…
Photo: orlandoairports.net
International travelers can return to the United States soon! I mean, technically, they always could, but it involved jumping through tons of bureaucratic red tape.
Starting in November, the process will be oh so much simpler. Guests must prove that they have received the vaccination. This rule will apply to potential visitors from the following countries:
- Brazil
- China
- India
- Iran
- Republic of Ireland
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
Photo:jetinternational.com
The European Union is also one of the accepted locales, which means several more countries can come back to America. These new rules only apply to non-Americans. If you’re already a U.S. citizen, your path to re-entry was already somewhat similar.
As with the LA County rule, unvaccinated people do have options. We’re back to the hoop-jumping, though.
You must present a negative COVID test within 72 hours of your flight. Otherwise, you won’t get to board the plane, much less get through customs.
Also, you must pass a similar test before you can leave. So if you catch COVID, you could find yourself stuck in America for a while, which will get expensive. So, it’s just easiest, safest, and smartest for everybody to get vaccinated before traveling.
New Employee Guidelines at Universal
Photo: Universalparks.com
Earlier this year, Disney gained headlines by updating its cast member appearance rules. The company partially did this to follow its new Key, Inclusion. It also took this step to address the difficulty in staffing the parks after the pandemic.
Many former park workers have chosen new careers, which has led to something of a staffing crisis in Florida and California. Coincidentally or not, Universal has followed Disney’s lead here.
Photo: Universalparks.com
From now on, Universal Orlando Resort’s appearance guidelines will be much less restrictive in nature.Workers may wear nail polish and makeup. Also, they can have visible tattoos.
The tattoo portion of the rule modification comes with some asterisks. You cannot have tattoos on your face or neck. So, it’s tough luck for Mike Tyson.
You also cannot have them on your head or hands, and there’s a size restriction. As usual, you can still cover up any tattoos that violate the hand/neck rules.
Universal Attendance
Photo: Themed Entertainment Association
The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) just published its 2020 theme park attendance report.Some had wondered whether the TEA would skip this year’s report due to the pandemic. If anything, I think it’s more enlightening than ever, though.
To wit, Universal Studios Hollywood attendance fell 86 percent to 1.3 million. But, of course, that’s what happens when you close from mid-March through the end of the year. Universal didn’t have an American park in the top ten this year. The tandem of Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure finished 11th and 12th.
Photo:instagram/universalorlando
USF managed 4.1 million guests during the pandemic, a drop of 61%. It, too, had closed for a time, albeit only about six weeks.
The rest of the drop stems from the reduced demand before the vaccine became prevalent.
Photo: Facebook/Universal Orlando
Islands of Adventure performed similarly with 4 million guests. That’s a drop of 61 percent. It’s interesting that the parks shared such similar attendance.
In 2019, USF beat Islands of Adventure by 900,000. So, that gap closed since people visiting one park apparently went whole hog and did both during a trip.
Photo: Universal Japan
As is usually the case, Universal Studios Japan proved the most popular of Universal parks. It claimed 4.9 million visits, down 66 percent from 2019.
Finally, in great news, Volcano Bay had 551,000 visitors. So while TEA ranked it third in their listing for some reason, it was actually THE most popular water park in 2020.
Photo: Universal Orlando Resort
In fact, among the top 20 water parks on the chart, more than one out of every eight guests picked Volcano Bay.
Yes, part of that stems from the fact that it was open…but still. So that’s a nice success story right there.
Park Tidbits
Photo: Universal Studios
The next time you visit Universal Studios Hollywood, you’ll be in for a treat! New Mario merchandise is available in anticipation of Super Nintendo World!
Photo: Universal
At Islands of Adventure, park officials made the surprise announcement that Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle would return. A few days later, it was back! So yes, when you visit the park right now, you’ll get to watch the creepiest nighttime show in Orlando!
The Death Eaters host this show. So, members of Dumbledore’s Army may want to skip this one unless you’re good with a wand.
Photo: Facebook/Universal Orlando
Finally, you’ll be happy to learn that Mobile Ordering has returned at Universal Orlando Resort! Nobody’s quite sure why it went away in June, but it’s back now! So, you can and should use it to have an efficient, accurate meal!
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Feature Photo:instagram/universalorlando
