Universal Orlando Announces Reopening Plan For Theme Parks

UPDATE: Universal confirms they are “ready to re-open” all three of its parks, including the water park Adventure Bay.  Guests will be able to return on June 5. 

ORIGINAL POST: The theme parks of Universal Orlando Resort have been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.  An originally planned March 31 reopening was pushed back to April 19 as conditions worsened.  Mid-April came and went a month ago; Universal’s parks remain closed to the public. ( Its CityWalk shopping area reopened for “limited operations” last week.) 

But today, Universal submitted its reopening plans to the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force.  They suggested a phased reopening in three stages, with the Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventures parks opening back up to the public as early as June 5, just a few weeks from now.  Here is what they proposed:

June 1 & 2: Team members only

June 3 & 4: Invited guests and possibly Passholders

June 5: Open to public

According to CNN, “all guests will be required to wear face masks and go through temperature screenings to enter the parks.”  Guests who do not have masks will be provided a disposable one.  And the plan calls for “reduced capacity” for the Universal parks, although it’s not clear at this time exactly how reduced attendance will be. 

The plan is not definitive yet; it still needs to be approved by the local government.  There were rumors that Disney would submit its own proposal for reopening Walt Disney World’s parks today, but that did not occur.  While its Disney Springs shopping and dining area reopened this week with social distancing guidelines, there’s still no timetable for the reopening of Disney’s American parks.  For now, it looks like Universal will be getting the jump on its competition.  For better or worse.