We’re here at Universal Studios Hollywood for the grand reopening of the park! The last time we were here was for the “Taste of Universal” ticketed event where a few attractions, such as Jurassic World, The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and Revenge of the Mummy – The Ride, were soft-opened.
Parking was $10 unless you have the gold pass annual pass—it’s free if you do.
The park hours were from 10 AM – 7 PM. When you arrive at the studio, you first go through temperature checks, followed by security and bag check, and then you are guided into the queues of guests waiting to enter the park. They ended up letting guests in around 9:15 AM. Currently, only California residents can purchase tickets for park entry.
It looks like they were filming something before park opening this morning!
Team Members started to get guests excited about being able to enter the park early.
Once we were in, we made our way over to The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! The entry process was simple and efficient. Make sure you have your ticket ready on your phone or printed out. This attraction is the only one that uses virtual wait times that can only be found through the Universal Studios Hollywood app. Watch our full ride POV here!
Near Super Silly Fun Land, a Minion was meeting with guests at a distanced meet and greet.
Today we tried three new items from the Minion Cafe menu! You can read our full review for the Felonious Float, Pork Ramen Bowl, and Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese here!
While still on the Upper Lot, we made our way over to Springfield, U.S.A.
Bart was also out meeting guests, physically distanced once again.
The Simpsons Ride, sadly, is not operating yet. There is no reopening date at this time.
The only show currently operating is Animal Actors. There were a few showtimes scattered throughout the day. We saved this experience for next time, so stay tuned!
The last stop on the Upper Lot was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Both The Flight of the Hippogriff and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey were operational today.
Wait times were no longer than 10 minutes. Everything on the attraction was in great shape and looked like it had been refreshed during the closure.
Now it’s Lower Lot time. Onto the Universal Studio Tram Tour!
Once on the tram, we noticed some new advertisements along the top of the vehicle.
The new Peacock streaming service was advertised a few times around the park and on the tram.
The Universal Tram Tour has some updates to the tram route as the King Kong 360 offering was updated and the Grinch set was removed during the closure of the park. You can read our full article here.
After hoping off the Tram, we were ready for some Lower Lot fun. Jurassic World was in technical rehearsal during “Taste of Universal” last week and we were able to see the new Indominus Rex finale. You can watch the full ride POV here.
The attraction sat at a 90 minute wait for most of the day.
Groups were spaced out between rows on the vehicles.
At Jurassic Outfitters, a Jurassic World attraction Grand Opening pin was available for $10.
Revenge of the Mummy – The Ride was about a 30-minute wait for most of the day.
Team Members sanitize guests’ hands before entering the ride vehicles on every attraction in the park.
The vehicles are also sanitized between every cycle.
Opening day procedures went very well today, and it was refreshing to be back in a park in California that doesn’t require special event tickets for attendance. Make sure to stay tuned to Universal Parks News Today as more shows and offerings open up at the park at a later date. Comment below the next time you plan on visiting the park!
Theme parks should not be open yet. They are going to be the cause of the 4th wave of Covid in California. As a concerned citizen, it is going to detrimental, catastrophic even, to the health, safety and well-being of everyone in the state with the re-opening of the theme parks. The East Coast and the Mid West have already started with getting their 4th wave of Covid. As the pattern shows, California is only a few weeks away from it’s 4th wave of Covid. Which will be even worse due to the exposure of theme parks being allowed to open. Yes, I do not have to go to one, however, it does not mean that people that choose not to go will not be exposed because of strangers they run into on the street because of that stranger going. The vaccine is not guaranteed to do anything. It may or may not lessen or worsen the symptoms of Covid. Furthermore, the companies producing these vaccines are released from any and all liability from their product. Meaning, if you suffer adverse effects from the vaccine or even death, the company is not responsible in any way for what happens. It is an utter joke. You can very much still contract and transmit Covid after being fully vaccinated. It is negligent of the theme parks to be open right now. I used to be an avid theme park goer and I am highly disappointed in the blatant disregard of human life these theme parks have. If they cared at all about their employees and their guests they would not be open yet. All they seem to care about is that they can be open and making money. It reminds me of a line from Jurassic Park. Now, I’m paraphrasing here, however the gist of it is this, the people were so concerned about if they can and not concerned about if they should. Sound familiar? The theme parks are so concerned that they can re-open right now and are not stopping to think that they should not re-open right now. They claim in articles that they are enforcing social distancing, mask wearing, sanitizing conditions, however that is all for show. Just like a movie, no one sees or knows what happens when the cameras are off. They are not enforcing it as much as they like to make health officials and news reporters think. Again, it’s all a joke. I do want things back to normal, however not in blatant disregard to human life. The vaccine is not a cure all, it will not even prevent you from contracting or transmitting Covid, and we do have the new strains of Covid here. Which are deadlier than the original strain. I guess only time will tell how bad this next wave we are going to get will be.
We’ve been visiting the Orlando parks since May 2020. They’ve done an outstanding job keeping the “concerned citizens” safe while the rest of the world continues about life.