Trip Report: Universal Orlando January 2021
I am a planner! I usually book vacations months in advance. So planning a spontaneous trip is very out of character for me.
We were scheduled to visit Universal Orlando last April when the pandemic shut everything down. I planned to rebook for April of 2021, until we unexpectedly got an extra week off for Christmas break, and found ourselves with nothing to do. A co-worker had visited Universal over Christmas, and raved about their experience and the safety protocols in place. So, I booked a vacation package on Friday and we left 3 days later!
I booked a 4-night stay at Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Hotel and took advantage of a buy 2-park, 2 day park-to-park tickets, get 3 days free promotion. We opted to stay on property to utilize the resort shuttle service and get early admission to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. (*Tip - Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are operating at reduced capacity. Unlike Disney, they are not using a reservation system. With the exception of resort guests, admission is on a first-come, first-served basis and no one else is admitted once the park reaches capacity.)
Cabana Bay Beach Resort is considered a prime value resort. The rates are comparable to a Disney value resort, however, I feel the rooms and amenities are more on par with a Disney moderate resort. It has a fun, retro vibe, inspired by Florida beach motels of the 50's and 60's. I loved the colorful, mid-century modern décor. We booked a poolside standard room, with 2 queen beds. The room was bright and spacious with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the lovely resort-style pool and lazy river. Other amenities include multiple dining options and bars, a Starbucks and a bowling alley.
We checked in around 3pm, which was a breeze, as there was only one other family in the lobby. After dropping off our things in the room and picking up our park tickets at a kiosk in the lobby, we were off to the parks! (On this day, the parks were open until 8pm, but they closed earlier the rest of the week. Make sure you check the hours on the days of your visit.)
*A quick note about visiting major theme parks: time is money! If you want to minimize your time fighting crowds and waiting in lines, plan your visit when the parks are expected to be the least busy! (You can view crowd calendars at www.undercovertourist.com.) For us, this was a mid-week visit the second week in January. Christmas break crowds had headed home and the Florida residents were back at work and school. We basically had the parks to ourselves and spent minimal time waiting in line! If you must visit during busy times (June & July, Christmas break, spring break and special events like Halloween), then I would recommend splurging on the Express Pass, which allows you to bypass the regular que on most attractions. (*Tip - If you book a stay at a Universal premier property, Express Passes are included!)
Another reason I chose to book this last-minute trip was the extended weather forecast. When I saw a week of sunny skies and high's in the upper 60's to low 70's, I knew that couldn't be beat! When planning your Universal trip you will want to factor in the average weather conditions during your anticipated stay. If you are not a fan of 96 degree temps and high humidity, I would not suggest visiting in the summer.
Before your trip, download the free Universal Orlando Resort App. Through the app, you can purchase and upload your tickets, view maps and park hours, monitor wait times, and check-in for virtual lines (although wait times were so short during our visit that they weren't even using virtual lines).
Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are fairly compact parks and located right next to each other. They are connected by Universal City Walk (a dining, shopping and entertainment complex that does not require a ticket to enter). You can easily walk between the City Walk and the two parks. For this reason, I recommend purchasing a park-to-park ticket, allowing you to visit multiple parks on the same day. More importantly, if you want to ride the Hogwart's Express between Diagon Alley in Universal Orlando and Hogsmeade in Island's of Adventure, you must have a park-to-park ticket - and you don't want to miss out on that!
Appropriate masks are required for everyone over the age of 3, and there are ZERO exceptions. In addition, masks must fit securely over the nose, under the chin, around the sides of the face and be secured with ear loops. Masks must be worn correctly at all times, unless sitting or standing still and actively eating or drinking. Team members will ask you to to fix your mask if you are not wearing it correctly.
To ensure proper social distancing, spots are marked off in the attraction ques to allow spacing of at least 6 feet between you and the next party. Indoor que areas are organized to limit capacities. Bonus is that you are not crammed next to a bunch of sweaty strangers and the lines seemed to move much quicker! Although at times, I felt like I was participating in a cake walk!
One other safety measure is that a team member distributes hand sanitizer to everyone immediately prior to boarding each attraction. There was also hand sanitizer available as you exited, and you were encouraged to wash your hands frequently throughout the day. Team members were also busy wiping down touch points throughout the parks. All-in-all, we were very comfortable with the cleanliness and safety measures in place and felt very safe during our entire visit.
This being our first visit to Universal, we had little idea what to expect from the attractions. My 3 teenage boys like thrill rides, and they were not disappointed. Our favorites included Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Since the crowds were so small, we were able to ride these 3 and 4 times.
Food was good and reasonably priced for a theme park. Inside the parks at quick service restaurants, you will be seated at a table and asked to order and pay though the mobile app, then your food is delivered right to your table. We never had to wait to be seated, and this definitely beats standing in line to order at a counter, then wandering around to find a table. We loved dinner at The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley, lunch in Simpsonville at Luigi's Pizza and Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck.
There are also many dining options in Universal City Walk, from casual fast food (Moe's, Panda Express) to more upscale dining. We loved Cowfish and The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and Savory Feast Kitchen (*Tip - these are popular spots so I would recommend making reservations in advance). Grab a donut at Voodoo Doughnut, or take a dozen to your room for breakfast. The resort hotels also have on-site restaurants and dining options.
Final thoughts: We loved our visit to Universal, and hope to return again! The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is amazing! Make time to sip some Butterbeer and just take it all in. My 16 year old bought an interactive wand and we all loved casting spells. I also loved the Dr. Seuss area. The Caro-Seuss-el was beautiful - I made my boys ride it once. We enjoyed all the attractions, and Universal does a great job at entertaining you in the que areas. Three and 1/2 days was plenty of time to experience all we wanted to do, so a 4-night stay was perfect for us. (If you want to visit Universal's Volcano Bay waterpark, or enjoy some downtime relaxing at your hotel, you may want to plan a 5 or 6-night stay.) Universal is doing a phenomenal job implementing COVID safety protocols, as are the hotels and restaurants. If you'd like more information, or if you are ready to book your Universal Orlando vacation, the experts at Azalea Travel will be happy to help!
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