After being closed for over a year, California's Universal Studios Hollywood has reopened and while some things remain the same, there are also a number of differences. From new safety protocols to additions to the park, there's plenty to talk about when plotting a visit. What's more, with Disneyland's grand reopening coming on April 30, Universal should be a pretty good indicator of what to expect should you be planning to visit there.
To see for ourselves what the new Universal Studios is like, GameSpot visited the park during its annual pass holder preview event. While there, it was easy to see not only what has changed in terms of the experience, but what has been added to the park over the last year.
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Take a look below at the eight biggest things we learned from our time at Universal Studios Hollywood so you'll be able to plan your first visit to the park.
What's more, dining was incredibly easy due to an abundance of designated dining areas set up throughout the park, both indoors and outdoors. All of the tables were properly spaced and made it much more comfortable to remove your required masks to eat and drink.
Most notably, the park's studio tour (Universal Studios is also a working film and TV studio) had a posted wait time of nearly an hour throughout the day. Meanwhile, the freshly renovated Jurassic World Attraction ballooned to a three-hour wait, even with so few people in the park.
That no doubt helped contribute to how little foot traffic there was in other parts of the park, but most go to these places for the rides. So, if you're going to Universal or even Disneyland once it opens, make sure you work out a rough schedule for your day. Figure out what rides are most important to you and try to line up for them the moment you enter the park. And while we're at it, make sure to adhere to the social distancing marks on the ground throughout the park when queueing up.
The virtual line system wasn't up on Pets for the entire day. However, when it was being used the line was manageable and the park's employees were able to keep the line moving at a decent clip.
Honesty, this is a system Universal would have been wise to implement elsewhere in the park during the year-long closure. A virtual line system could have greatly cut down on the three-hour wait for Jurassic World and made the Studio Tour line easier to fathom.
Unlike many of Universal's screen-based attractions, Off the Leash is an all-ages attraction that resembles a classic Disney-style dark ride. It's filled with animatronics of the characters from the movie that you see as you ride through a number of sets in a ride vehicle. Yes, there are still screens featured throughout the ride, but they're used to accentuate what's going on, rather than just plopping guests in front of a massive movie screen and playing 3D movies in front of them. (Sorry, The Simpsons Ride.)
The only drawback of this particular attraction is the ride vehicle itself. Rather than a bench, which would allow a parent to take two small children on the ride, the vehicle is divided into two seats. That could cause some issues, depending on the ratio of adult-to-child in any given party. What's more, they aren't exactly roomy seats, so some adults might find them uncomfortable.
As for what to expect, that remains unknown. However, an eagle-eyed fan spotted a familiar sign in the haunt being built in the Waterworld queue that hints at a potential Halloween 3: Season of the Witch attraction, which would be pretty amazing.
However, much like visiting Universal Studios Orlando nearly a year ago, your safety is your responsibility. If you don't feel comfortable visiting a theme park, you absolutely shouldn't. They're not going anywhere. If you do, though, it's up to you to make sure you keep the proper distance and adhere to the guidelines once in the park. Yes, employees will likely correct you should you improperly remove your mask or gather too closely with crowds of people, but your safety is your responsibility, as is the safety of those you come into contact with.
Universal Studios Hollywood is open now. Disneyland will open on April 30. To visit the parks, you will have to obtain reservations, in addition to purchasing tickets (or using your annual pass, if you have one to Universal).