CityWalk at Universal Orlando Resort is OPEN: Photos & Details From Our Visit!

I arrived about ten minutes before 4:00. Normally it takes me about 45 minutes to get to Universal, but because the traffic is so light on I-4 right now I was there in half the time. They were not yet letting people park. The parking fee has been suspended, at least for the time being, and there is currently no valet parking. About two minutes before 4:00 they let the cars in the garage.

They had everyone park on the third level, at least at the beginning. This made sense, because that is the level that you need to be on to get to bag check. On any other level you’ll need to take an elevator, escalator, or the stairs, which means touching more things. Parking was well thought out. Cones were placed in the garage, blocking off every other space. After the row was full and everyone was out of their cars, the team members removed the cones and people then parked in those spots. This allowed for full use of that level of the garage and social distancing at the same time.

One major addition was the temperature check station. This was easy and touchless. A team member, wearing gloves and a full clear mask, used a touchless thermometer. It took no more than three seconds. All guests go through security at Universal Orlando Resort, even those who aren’t going to the theme parks. Instead of looking through people’s bags, your things go through an x-ray machine. It’s similar to what you’ll find at an airport. They’ve done it this way for a while, but I appreciated it more now, since no one was touching any of my belongings.

There was no real crowd at CityWalk. Outside of the restaurants that were open there were markers for where to stand. There were lines to go into the large stores, since they have to be kept at 25% capacity or less. I didn’t go into any of those stores because I did not intend to buy anything, and I didn’t want to take another person’s spot. I did have a nice chat with someone who works for Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company. They are open, but only for retail business. She told me that they had a steady stream of customers, and that everyone was obeying the rules.

That was honestly one thing that impressed me. Everyone was so happy to be there that they didn’t mind the rules. It was a warm afternoon and the sun was bright, but everyone was still wearing a face covering of some type. Whether or not you think that people should wear face masks during this doesn’t really matter. They are required at CityWalk, and will also be required next week when Disney Springs begins to reopen. These are private properties, they can set a face covering rule.

There was some entertainment at CityWalk. A group of drummers welcomed everyone from above as we entered the area. There were some stilt walkers who were also wearing masks. There was live music at Margaritaville. I left before dark, so I don’t know if more entertainment was planned, but there was already more than I expected.

When I left, I was definitely encouraged. I never once felt scared or thought that there was something that they could have done differently. They even had sinks blocked off in the restrooms, so that two people wouldn’t stand too close to each other as they washed their hands! There were stations with hand sanitizer, and there were extra signs to remind people to wash their hands. We may have a long way to go before things are fully open again, but this was a small step in the right direction.