Welcome to the first photo report of 2021! It’s New Year’s Day and we’re back at the Universal Orlando Resort to see what’s happening. After the busy week leading up to the holiday, it was a bit surprising the parks did not hit capacity today.

When we arrived at the park, there was a small crowd trickling in through the arch towards Universal Studios Florida. This was a much more relaxing experience than earlier in the week.

It was so quiet in Diagon Alley first thing in the morning. Maybe everyone is sleeping in today. Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts had a 55 minute wait and we were told there was a 100 minute wait for the wand experience in Ollivanders.

The morning was much quieter than we expected.

Things started to pick up throughout the morning, but we were still surprised by the lower crowds.

We made our way over to Islands of Adventure by taking the Hogwarts Express, which was posted at a 15 minute wait but was practically a walk-on. We had to laugh because Team Members are still showing the photo with the view from the camera. You can read more about that here.

Hogsmeade was very busy as we arrived from the train station, but this still wasn’t as insanely busy as it has been lately.

The osprey is still making a nest along the Jurassic World VelociCoaster track. We love watching her.

We stopped into Toon Extra in Toon Lagoon to pick up the newest UOAP button and magnet. We love the snacks on the magnet! There’s even a tribute to Pizza Fries. Toon Extra opens much earlier than the UOAP Lounge so we prefer to pick up our monthly buttons here.

Around noon, activity started to pick up; there were a lot of guests coming into the park.

On that note, we’re getting out of here. Thanks for following us around the park today. Be sure to stay tuned to WDWNT and Universal Parks News Today for more updates from Universal Parks around the globe.