Universal Orlando May 2021

[joelsmom]

We spent 4 days at UO last week, and it was really a mixed bag for us this time. I will ring out praises for the Endless Summer Resort Dockside Inn. For the least expensive Universal property, it is just a lovely hotel. Everything was spotless. The room, while not large, was just lovely, light and airy with cute nautical touches all around. We were upgraded to a pool view, and it was a very nice view indeed. Housekeeping was on request only, and we went without for the 5 nights we were there. The room had a spacious shower, with a separate sink area outside the shower and toilet room. We enjoyed all the options at the food court, and the prices are more than reasonable. If you want two large plate size pancakes for breakfast, you’ll pay $6.00. Add a side of bacon, 5 strips, for $4. The refillable mugs are on par with WDW. Bus service to CityWalk was outstanding. We thoroughly enjoyed the resort.

[manticorjenn]

Sorry to hear that the trip was a mixed bag, but at least the resort was lovely.

[Cam22]

Your resort sounds like it was great. Sorry the rest was a mixed bag.

[joelsmom]

We basically enjoyed our park time. As usual, we stuck to the dry parks and skipped Volcano Bay. Joel just isn’t a fan of water parks, and I’m good either way, so UO and IOA it is for us. We did all the rides and shows, with the exception of Rip Ride Rockit. With 3 1/2 park days, we had plenty of time to do every attraction and our favorites 2 or 3 times. The downer was the crowd size, I fully expected it to be bigger than last summer’s newly reopened pandemic numbers, but wowza! I told Joel It looked to me that they had completely lifted whatever visitor limits they might have had. The crowds were as large as I have seen in our multiple visits there. When we were there, just days ago, they still had mask requirements in place, and although hot, I was thankful for that. It wasn’t that they didn’t try to enforce, but the sheer numbers of guests made it impossible to keep up with the mask shirkers. They were just all over the place. Also a downer was the inconsistency with social distancing from attraction to attraction. Some loaded essentially as they did last summer, skipping rows or at least providing each party its own row. They have installed plexiglass barriers where possible, too. The big Harry Potter rides were the notable exception. Escape from Gringotts and Forbidden Journey attendants wanted to load us with other parties every time, but after being surprised with that the first time, I thereafter asked for our own row or ride vehicle. They granted my request, but it was clear they really wanted to fill those attractions to max capacity. For those of you who don’t know, neither Gringotts nor Forbidden Journey could accommodate any kind of plexiglass dividers, so you either ride with others or ask for your own space. Under normal circumstances, I don’t mind sharing rows, etc, but after the past 14 months, I’m still not completely willing to share close spaces. I think we’re fine, having both been fully vaccinated, but I still feel better proceeding with caution for a while. Still, we enjoyed our days, kept our distance from others as best we could, and had fun.

[Cam22]

I felt the same way about WDW this time. The crowds seemed more than 35% capacity and some of the folks didn't particularly follow the guidelines. But like you, we feel we were fine because we have been fully vaccinated. We had decided not to go unless we were, and now I'm very glad we had had both shots.

[chezp]

Sorry to hear about the issues with crowds. It's a shame that's becoming a problem.

[disny_luvr]

I'm sorry to hear about the crowds. That seems to be the theme at Disney, too. I do hope that they'll bring back more experiences that might help alleviate the crowds. I'm guessing that would help with crowds at Universal, too.

[joelsmom]

I'm sorry to hear about the crowds. That seems to be the theme at Disney, too. I do hope that they'll bring back more experiences that might help alleviate the crowds. I'm guessing that would help with crowds at Universal, too.

Except for a character meal or two, Universal has pretty much everything operating. They offer two shows, both up and running. Every ride is operating, except their teacup variation. It was just very busy and crowded. We did all right. We weren’t miserable or anything. It just is what it is, and anyone going to the Orlando parks right now needs to be prepared for crowds. I am ready for Disney to bring back FP+ before our September trip! I know they’ve been opposed to up charges for that kind of thing, but we happily paid at UO and would do the same these days at WDW.