Glimpse into our Universal adventure….COVID style.
Being a travel planner during this strange year of 2020 has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride! While apprehensiveness about COVID 19 has consumed the country and moreover, the world, it has been hard to be grounded from our usually heaving travel schedule. Bella and I have been itching to regain some type of normalcy with our travel routines. I was so excited once we were given reopening g dates for Universal Orlando Resort that all I had on my mind was making to one of my happy places so that’s exactly what we did!
Of course I always feel it’s my duty to my clients to provide first hand information in my own “boots on the ground” way and now I feel this responsibility more than ever! This is uncharted territory for us all so I was ready to accept the challenge of learning about all the changes we are all facing regarding travel to some of our favorite destinations. And I can assure you, I was more than impressed with the safety measures that Universal Orlando Resort had in place during our stay!
Once we arrived at our resort, we were greeted at the door by friendly faces at the temperature check station. Your temperature must scan at 100.4 degrees or lower to pass and receive your temperature scan bracelet for that particular day. Each day there is a new color for the bracelet. Once you’ve been temperature scanned and receive your bracelet for the day, you do not need to be scanned again during that same day while on property. I really felt like the bracelet system was a very effective way to ensure this was happening daily for each guest. Staff also made sure that you removed the previous day’s bracelet before receiving your current day’s.
At the check in desk, dining, and merchandise locations there are plexiglass barriers between guests and staff as well as a preferred no contact payment system thru the Universal application on your phone. Casual and quick dining locations also seated you and allowed you to place your food order straight from the application rather than standing in line to place your meal orders. Table type dining provided either virtual or disposable paper menus. Staff did serve food to the tables even in quick service type locations to promote social distancing. At each dining location as well, your party was provided bags to place your face coverings in while you dine.
At this time Universal Orlando Resort is also utilizing virtual lines to help with social distancing as well as markers throughout queues to remind guests of safe spacing. I was also pleasantly surprised at the number of staff I observed cleaning and sanitizing surfaces throughout nearly every queue we were in. You could clearly tell that cleanliness and sanitizing were of utmost importance. Once you were at the end of the queues and ready to board each attraction, you were provided with hand sanitizer as well as immediately after exiting each attraction!
At our resorts, housekeeping services are currently limited to every second day but you may request any extra services or items you may need in the meantime. Towels and supplies were delivered is bags to our room as needed. The only place face coverings are not required while at your resort are in your room or while swimming. Also elevators are limited to one travel party each which really helps with my claustrophobic folks!! Social distancing markers are also in place on all resort transportation such as buses and boats.
I know a lot of folks are concerned about wearing masks while visiting the parks or traveling. Frankly, I was a bit concerned about the situation but certainly willing to try it out so I could report back to everyone. I will say that the face coverings are far more tolerable than I expected. Universal parks have “U REST” zones where you may fully remove your mask while observing appropriate social distancing. Also you are permitted to remove the face covering if you are eating or drinking. In the current summer conditions, I do highly recommend taking regular breaks from the face covering and it is also more important than ever to remain hydrated! Overall, wearing the mask was certainly worth the trade off of being at Universal Orlando Resort!
Our first travel experience with these new restrictions and requirements was a resounding success. I am so happy to report an amazing trip and I am so thankful we were able to go not only to scratch our travel itch, but mainly to reassure everyone of the conditions. Honestly, I felt completely safe during our visit. You could undoubtedly feel that our hosts were taking the safety of their guests seriously. Everyone was pleasant and accommodating. Ultimately I have no reservation about more travel adventures in this new normal! Thank you Universal Orlando Resort for an amazing stay and wonderful time with friends!
