Crowds in early January

[cph706]

Hello all! We have a quick trip planned for Saturday Jan 9 through Tuesday 12, we are still trying to make up for a cancelled Disney trip for my son's college graduation in May lol. However on Reddit (to which my son is devoted) there are numerous threads regarding the lack of social distancing and enforcement at Universal. Does anyone else have any information?
I understand that it is my responsibility not to go where we are not comfortable, but if significant portions of the park are "too close for comfort" then I will probably cancel.
FWIW my son and his GF went to Disney in September and felt very comfortable with the measures taken there at that time.

 

[Ross Kratter]

I felt pretty comfortable at Universal in early November, but I was there on a Monday and Tuesday; crowds were very light. Weekends are a different story.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I spent a week at UO and one day at HS in early Nov. I thought that distancing was comparable. There will be a few tight spots at either park. UO squirts sanitizer on your hands prior to boarding any ride. UO has lines distanced throughout the normal queue; Disney has queues lining the outdoor sidewalks and using a minimum of normal queue (this makes UO queues more interesting / more sheltered from weather).

 

[borgthe]

We were there for a week in November and are going again in January. We felt totally comfortable at Universal. Enjoy!

 

[tony67]

IMO - if you are questioning more than a little then you probably should not go.

Everyone should question it a bit and think it through, but if you think you will be looking for issues constantly then you probably should not go.

If your someone who gets there is a risk and feels you can make an educated decision to go based on your personal health and risk factors then go and have a good time.

Id say (as I have said elsewhere) check out some of the videos from RixFlix - he has a lot of good live streams etc.. and it gives you a really good idea of what it is like on the ground. Personally I think it is going to be very busy for the next few months - its one of the few places where people can go and have somewhat of a vacation and people from all over the country are taking advantage of the cheap airfares to go down for a couple of days.

Personally I think it is probably safer than you local supermarket, Walmart etc..

 

[Donnask8pro]

We were there Dec 12-20. I was very skeptical before leaving but went. It did get Busy....... But, we go 1st thing am and left when we felt uncomfortable.

 

[cph706]

Thanks everyone! I'm starting to thing if we are going to be paranoid the whole time then it's not worth going...we are driving from South Florida, so no loss there, and I did purchase the cancel for any reason insurance. I have to cancel by Thursday for a refund...

 

[cfoxga]

We were a bit hesitant to go back over Thanksgiving but thought Universal did a very good job. Hand sanitizers required before every ride and available after, good marking for distancing, mask police in many areas, and frequent announcements about wearing masks. Sure it was not perfect, but we felt quite safe for the entire week.

I would have no issues going back, except for:

- In December, Universal opened PBH back up, and swapped ESS for ESD (bigger hotel). I assume there was a corresponding increase in the park capacity.
- Covid cases have been on the rise in FL since we left

We're booked again in February over Presidents Day weekend. I am expecting it to be pretty crowded, so we're 50/50 on going. Still have 3 weeks before we have to make a decision...