Universal Orlando Reopens

Universal Orlando Reopens with Annual Passholder Day

Universal Orlando reopens today with an annual passholder preview day, following the closure since March 15th due to Covid-19. Our field reporter Jackie was there to snap some photos of whats changed in the two and a half months since it closed.

Jackie will have a full video of her day up later on her channel and we will update this post when it goes live.

Lets get to it. Universal Studios up first. More photos will be added throughout the day.

Reopening Day

Heading through CityWalk which has been open for a few weeks now, the four stores between Voodoo Donut and Cinnabon have been gutted for a makeover.

Universal Orlando Reopens — The end store of the refurbishment

At the front of the park a Despicable Me float greets guests.

Universal Reopens — Despicable me float outside the arches.

One change when entering the park is guests no longer need to scan their fingerprint to enter.

Social Distancting — Social Distancing entry queue.

One noticeable change down Hollywood Boulevard is the new Bourne Stuntactular banners on the side of the building.

Bourne Entry — A hint of a social distance queue marker in front of the Stuntacular entrance.

A view down Hollywood Boulevard

The prop shop is currently closed.

Marilyn Monroe is still greeting guests from her car though. The Horror Makeup show is currently not operating.

Marilyn Greeting Guests — Her driver is wearing a mask.

**U*Rest Area**

A new addition to the park is a mask removal area. Here guests can remove their masks while practicing social distancing.

Mask Rest Area 2 — Entry way for the mask removal area.

A look at the new bar menu inside Diagon Alley. There is an emphasis on mobile ordering.

A look at the temporary tent in the Men in Black extended queue. Construction on the houses for this years Halloween Horror Nights has continued as scheduled. No sign of a facade outside yet. 99 days until the horror begins!

Men in Black Tent — Potential Dungeon of Terror house this year at this location according to the speculation map from HHNightmares.

Around in Kidzone ET was not open yet. It was open for the cast previews yesterday though. Most of the busy rides are queued for with the virtual queue button available on the park app.

ET Currently Closed — ET was not open yet.

Simpsons character socially meeting — Krusty and Bob taking socially distant photos with guests.

Gringotts is operating with a virtual queue with social distance markers. No preshows are show during the ride and only one side of the station is loading. Guests are kept socially distant.

Fast & Furious — F&F looks just as busy as it did pre-covid closure.

Betty boop and Beetlejuice meet on the stage infront of horror make up.

Globe keeps spinning — The Universal globe back spinning,

Bridge Closed — The bridge was closed due to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaking at NBC grill.

Islands of Adventure

Over to Islands of Adventure now and a look at whats changed. The rain came and thinned out the crowd.

Hagrids Virtual Line — How to join the line for Hagrids.

Jurassi 4 — Rest area at the entrance of the park infront of the lagoon.

Jurassic Coaster 1 — A view over the lagoon at the Jurassic Coaster construction.

Jurassic Coaster — The skyline will change when the coaster is complete!

Jurassic 7 — View in front of River Adventure. Expect some sort of inversion here.

Jurassic Coaster 9 — Some potential rock work being created around the track.

There are some new lockers being built in Jurassic Park next to Hogwarts for Forbidden Journey. These are currently under construction and show off a side to Hogwarts you aren’t usually able to see.