Gaylon Grippin

Review of Universal Studios Orlando

This rating may surprise you. It surprised me. W...

This rating may surprise you. It surprised me. We're Disney people, so finding Universal this enjoyable was unexpected. We've been to Universal before and of course, always compared it to DisneyWorld. Previously, we said that the customer service here didn't compare, nor did the atmosphere, but the rides actually were better than Disney's.

Now, everything seems better than Disney, having recently been there as well. This park was ultraclean, the staff was extremely helpful and friendly and the precautions they were taking for COVID couldn't be beat. With the exception of just a few rides being closed (Hagrid's and King Kong) we rode everything we wanted to. Multiple times for some.

The crowds were smaller, so lines were shorter and staff was continually scrubbing everything down. My wife even commented on how clean the bathrooms are. Maybe it's just our ages, but those things seem to matter to us. Every ride you get onto, a staff member gives you a squirt of hand sanitizer. Then they mop everything up between riders anyway. Not impossible to get an infection here, but I'm thinking it's pretty improbable.

If there was any one negative, it might be the spacing requirements as dictated by taped lines in the queues. Occasionally they are so far apart that the nearest group in front of you is easily 20', or they are around the corner where you can't see and you find yourself struggling to know when to move. Then sometimes, the line moves quickly and you try to catch up as it stops suddenly and you find yourself in between markers. Kind of like musical chairs. Good thing they don't throw you out at that point.

Finally, for Florida residents, the deal right now is astounding. For the price of a one day ticket, residents can return to the parks for free as often as they like, right up to Dec. 24. Truly, this is amazing, considering Disney isn't even selling annual passes right now. This is the cheapest deal you'll find to visit parks and with the offerings at Universal, is a pretty good option.