Jimmy Mouse
My other car is the Monorail
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2017
These are my personal views, experiences and opinions on how both Universal and WDW are handling things since the reopening of both parks. I have no interest in arguing with anyone about what we viewed on our trip. Also I am a new DVC owner and love WDW and have been going all my life. I haven't been to universal in over 20 years before this past week. Now for my report.
Resorts:
Hard Rock: We arrived at Universal Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday 10/3 around 3:00 pm. We parked right out front and walked in and the first thing they did was take our temperature and give us a wrist band good for the day. First impressions, wow! This resort is so cool! Rock music playing in the lobby, Rock and roll themed everything! We were greeted and checked in really fast. Up to our room we go but no bell services so we had to take our own luggage up. We booked floor 7 Rock Royalty but entering our room felt like backstage. The room was nothing special and weird shaped with 1 sink with a counter then another in with the toilet and shower. Weird. The view was good, the beds were soft and the toilet paper is 10 times better than WDW. The TV was lacking channels and the fridge wasw not cold enough. We got free bottled waters and little shampoo, conditioner and lotion as well as bar soap. Elevators ran really fast and food offerings were great as well as room service. Pool was awesome! and the pool bar is right at the pool so we were able to sit at a table for drinks with table service and watch our kids swim. We had dinner twice at the resort and breakfast once and since they do the arm bands every morning, no temperature check before entering the restaurant. we saw employees wiping things down constantly. Hand sanitizer is mandatory when you enter or leave the resort, get food from the lounge, go into a restaurant etc. so basically everywhere.
Contemporary: We arrived at the resort around 7:00 am on 10/9 and our room ready text said room not ready yet. No first impressions as we have stayed here many times. Bell services was offered so we checked our bags, parked the car and headed inside to the front desk. CM was wonderful and got us a room so up we go! or so we thought. We waited and waited and waited on a elevator. Not because someone was in front of us, just no cars came down. Finally we go up and stop twice. Both times we invited the other guest in as it was 1 guest once and a couple the other time. The one joined, the couple declined. Walking in our room, same old same old but the room was clean and I was so glad to have a separate pooper though the toilet paper sucks lol. Food offerings were mobile order only unless you have a reservation at a sit down and no room service. Pool was and is still nice but the pool bar is outside the gate so we had to put mask on to get a drink. We only ate dinner at California Grill and had to do a temperature check before going up as well as when we boarded the monorail. Not once did I see anyone wiping anything down at the resort. Hand sanitizer is a suggestion.
Parks:
UO and IOA: 10/4 - 10/8. I will combine these since we went to both every day. There were 3 options to get to the parks. Walk (less than 7 minutes), Boat (comes every 5 minutes) or bus. We took the boat all but once when we decided to walk. It takes you to City Walk which is between both parks. Getting in was a breeze since we had our temperature arm bands on (done when you leave the resort in the morning) and walk through bag check. Every morning is "Extra magic hour" at Universal at one of the parks. They let resort guest in 1 hour early before other guest which was awesome since we wanted to ride Hagrids and got to do so twice in under 45 minutes more than once. Anyway, Every ride was open except Fast and Furious and Poseidon's Fury. Also every restaurant, every food booth, every food cart was open. They did mobile order for quick serve which we ate every day once but you waited in line, they sat you, you ordered if you didn't already, brought you your drinks and double checked your order. They then brought the food to our table. They also made rounds to see if you needed anything. It was great! At every touch point throughout the park we always seen TM's walking around, spraying down and wiping things off. Hand rails, door handles, fence railings etc. Also in rides they were constantly wiping down the hand rails and other touch points as well as the ride vehicle touch points. Every ride you enter and every restaurant you enter there is a TM with hand sanitizer. It's not an option. You have to use it before going in. Masks ... There were a lot of people peeking their nose out but as fast as they did they were corrected. They do allow you to walk and drink but advise to put your mask up between sips. Social Distancing? It was pretty good. We had the occasional tailgater but a look backed them off and more than once a TM walked up and told people to back off. I was even told to back off once when I rounded a corner because I didn't see the floor marking in line for the Simpsons ride.
HS: 10/9 We arrived at HS around 9:00 (park opened at 10:00) and the line to get in was past where we got off the bus. It split into 2 lines and took about 30 minutes to get in. Quick tempo check, walk through bag check and the best part ever (and I am so excited about this part!!!!) A man and his family walked up to the long line one couple in front of us and kinda stood looking around and then when the line started moving the jumped in. I kinda loudly stated the line was all the way back and the couple looked at us and half smiled and shrugged. They had no balls. Anyway, the best part .... The father that cut his family in line was pulled out of line after the walk through scan and started arguing with security. They were in no mood. He got louder and louder screaming he didn't want to miss his boarding pass and they escorted him away lol! Karma at its best! So once inside, it's a mad house but I'm not comparing crowds since its a holiday weekend and its apples to oranges against UO since we were there before the weekend. So, what I did observe at HS. Social distancing was a joke. Everyone was tailgating me and I had to give the look a few times and the hand wave to get back, The best was when a guy said he thought I was his wife and I said I was sorry your wife looks like a man LOL. anyway,the rides are the rides. been there done that. We got enough done that it wasn't a waste of a trip and the kids were happy. So we did mobile order at ABC right at 10:30 and we had to wait outside till our food was ready. We told the CM at the kiosk we needed to modify our order for the kids and she typed it in and even gave the order to a manager. The request was simple. One chicken sandwich no guacamole. The other, nothing on the sandwich but chicken and bread. They got the no guac correct but it took 3 times to get the "Just chicken and bread" sandwich correct. I was frustrated. The things I did notice is I never once seen a CM wiping anything down. Hand sanitizer is only a suggestion so we used it when it wasn't empty with a puddle in the collection tray and we never seen anyone wiping anything down. The other major thing is most of the food carts are closed which makes getting a drink or snack a hassle. The lines were insane. Beer cart and funnel cake cart by indy closed. Cart by muppets closed. I didn't see one ice cream cart open and the dinosaur ice cream was also closed. Mask were about 90%. but I never seen or heard a CM correct any one but once when a little girl dropped her mask.
MK: 10/10 we arrived by monorail at about 9:45, Temp check to board and security check. Get to MK and no line to get in. Once inside madness! no social distancing and first cart for popcorn closed. We walk around, ride a few things and get a snack at Gastons. Lunch at Liberty Tree and leave. There were 5 closed food / drink carts for every open cart. I only seen ice cream twice. Once in tomorrow land and once in frontier land. The lines were outrageous for water or a snack due to so many of the carts or walkups closed. I heard so many families complaining they couldn't find a place to eat it was ridiculous! And mobile order was a joke. Order and wait for your food to get ready then try and find a place to sit. Social Distancing was hard to enforce due to the queues being out in all the walkways. It made it almost impossible to distance. Again, hand sanitizer was only a suggestion and I never seen anything being wiped down besides the ride cleaning. Mask were pretty good overall but on our way to Mk on the monorail the CM directing you to your car let a family in ours to sit across from us and a girl around 10-11 years old had her mask under her chin and the CM looked right at her and said nothing. She rode all the way form poly to MK with it under her chin.
Now to compare WDW and UO.
Temp Check - UO wins. Once a day and a arm band just makes since.
Social Distancing - UO wins. You have people that just don't care but at least at UO the TM's would correct people.
Food carts and booths - UO wins. everything was open!
Sit down Restaurants - UO wins. The menu was not limited.
Masks - Tie. You get all kinds everywhere. People will do what people will do.
Resort - Hard Rock wins overall for cleaning, pool, room service and dining.
Resort room - Contemporary wins. Like I said, Hard Rock was weird but had better toilet paper!
I know this report may seem that I am promoting UO and downing WDW but i am not. Remember what I first wrote. I purchased DVC at Riviera this year. Me and my family Love WDW! and will continue to go. Hopefully we see lower and lower Covid-19 cases or a vaccine becomes available soon so the parks can try to get back to normal. I know it may take years but I still have plenty of years left in me so I won't give up on Disney. Just as of now, Universal is doing things better. Anyone that has been to both can't deny that. Disney needs to step up their game soon. Now for fun, I am going to do a ride comparison just because I have never rode anything at universal besides ET 20+ years ago until this past week and I will tell you, they have some awesome rides! There are a few rides that are very similar, here's what I think.
Dumbo vs. One Fish, Two Fish. We actually like One Fish, Two Fish better! Same ride type but One Fish, Two Fish you have to follow the rhyme or you get sprayed with water! My kids loved it!!
RnR coaster Vs. Hulk ... both launch coasters but we all agree we like RnR better because its dark and indoors but Hulk is pretty awesome!
Kali Vs. Popeye river rafts. Popeye is so much more fun! and you will get soaked! Plus its a longer and faster ride.
Splash Mountain Vs. Rip Saw Falls. Splash is one of my favorite rides and the theme is so much better than Rip Saw Falls but Rip Saw is so fast at the end!
Peter Pan Vs. E.T. Peter Pan is just better. I love the story because its classic Disney. ET is good though.
Of course Disney has SW:GE and Pandora which are awesome and unique but UO Harry Potter and both forbidden journey and escape from gringotts are incredible!
Then we have Hagrids Vs. Everest only because they both go backwards. Hagrids is probably the best coaster I have ever ridden. Ever. It's amazing!
Needless to say, we will be tacking on 2 days at Universal on our future Disney trips. Both parks are a must do for us now but my heart still belongs to the mouse.
Resorts:
Hard Rock: We arrived at Universal Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday 10/3 around 3:00 pm. We parked right out front and walked in and the first thing they did was take our temperature and give us a wrist band good for the day. First impressions, wow! This resort is so cool! Rock music playing in the lobby, Rock and roll themed everything! We were greeted and checked in really fast. Up to our room we go but no bell services so we had to take our own luggage up. We booked floor 7 Rock Royalty but entering our room felt like backstage. The room was nothing special and weird shaped with 1 sink with a counter then another in with the toilet and shower. Weird. The view was good, the beds were soft and the toilet paper is 10 times better than WDW. The TV was lacking channels and the fridge wasw not cold enough. We got free bottled waters and little shampoo, conditioner and lotion as well as bar soap. Elevators ran really fast and food offerings were great as well as room service. Pool was awesome! and the pool bar is right at the pool so we were able to sit at a table for drinks with table service and watch our kids swim. We had dinner twice at the resort and breakfast once and since they do the arm bands every morning, no temperature check before entering the restaurant. we saw employees wiping things down constantly. Hand sanitizer is mandatory when you enter or leave the resort, get food from the lounge, go into a restaurant etc. so basically everywhere.
Contemporary: We arrived at the resort around 7:00 am on 10/9 and our room ready text said room not ready yet. No first impressions as we have stayed here many times. Bell services was offered so we checked our bags, parked the car and headed inside to the front desk. CM was wonderful and got us a room so up we go! or so we thought. We waited and waited and waited on a elevator. Not because someone was in front of us, just no cars came down. Finally we go up and stop twice. Both times we invited the other guest in as it was 1 guest once and a couple the other time. The one joined, the couple declined. Walking in our room, same old same old but the room was clean and I was so glad to have a separate pooper though the toilet paper sucks lol. Food offerings were mobile order only unless you have a reservation at a sit down and no room service. Pool was and is still nice but the pool bar is outside the gate so we had to put mask on to get a drink. We only ate dinner at California Grill and had to do a temperature check before going up as well as when we boarded the monorail. Not once did I see anyone wiping anything down at the resort. Hand sanitizer is a suggestion.
Parks:
UO and IOA: 10/4 - 10/8. I will combine these since we went to both every day. There were 3 options to get to the parks. Walk (less than 7 minutes), Boat (comes every 5 minutes) or bus. We took the boat all but once when we decided to walk. It takes you to City Walk which is between both parks. Getting in was a breeze since we had our temperature arm bands on (done when you leave the resort in the morning) and walk through bag check. Every morning is "Extra magic hour" at Universal at one of the parks. They let resort guest in 1 hour early before other guest which was awesome since we wanted to ride Hagrids and got to do so twice in under 45 minutes more than once. Anyway, Every ride was open except Fast and Furious and Poseidon's Fury. Also every restaurant, every food booth, every food cart was open. They did mobile order for quick serve which we ate every day once but you waited in line, they sat you, you ordered if you didn't already, brought you your drinks and double checked your order. They then brought the food to our table. They also made rounds to see if you needed anything. It was great! At every touch point throughout the park we always seen TM's walking around, spraying down and wiping things off. Hand rails, door handles, fence railings etc. Also in rides they were constantly wiping down the hand rails and other touch points as well as the ride vehicle touch points. Every ride you enter and every restaurant you enter there is a TM with hand sanitizer. It's not an option. You have to use it before going in. Masks ... There were a lot of people peeking their nose out but as fast as they did they were corrected. They do allow you to walk and drink but advise to put your mask up between sips. Social Distancing? It was pretty good. We had the occasional tailgater but a look backed them off and more than once a TM walked up and told people to back off. I was even told to back off once when I rounded a corner because I didn't see the floor marking in line for the Simpsons ride.
HS: 10/9 We arrived at HS around 9:00 (park opened at 10:00) and the line to get in was past where we got off the bus. It split into 2 lines and took about 30 minutes to get in. Quick tempo check, walk through bag check and the best part ever (and I am so excited about this part!!!!) A man and his family walked up to the long line one couple in front of us and kinda stood looking around and then when the line started moving the jumped in. I kinda loudly stated the line was all the way back and the couple looked at us and half smiled and shrugged. They had no balls. Anyway, the best part .... The father that cut his family in line was pulled out of line after the walk through scan and started arguing with security. They were in no mood. He got louder and louder screaming he didn't want to miss his boarding pass and they escorted him away lol! Karma at its best! So once inside, it's a mad house but I'm not comparing crowds since its a holiday weekend and its apples to oranges against UO since we were there before the weekend. So, what I did observe at HS. Social distancing was a joke. Everyone was tailgating me and I had to give the look a few times and the hand wave to get back, The best was when a guy said he thought I was his wife and I said I was sorry your wife looks like a man LOL. anyway,the rides are the rides. been there done that. We got enough done that it wasn't a waste of a trip and the kids were happy. So we did mobile order at ABC right at 10:30 and we had to wait outside till our food was ready. We told the CM at the kiosk we needed to modify our order for the kids and she typed it in and even gave the order to a manager. The request was simple. One chicken sandwich no guacamole. The other, nothing on the sandwich but chicken and bread. They got the no guac correct but it took 3 times to get the "Just chicken and bread" sandwich correct. I was frustrated. The things I did notice is I never once seen a CM wiping anything down. Hand sanitizer is only a suggestion so we used it when it wasn't empty with a puddle in the collection tray and we never seen anyone wiping anything down. The other major thing is most of the food carts are closed which makes getting a drink or snack a hassle. The lines were insane. Beer cart and funnel cake cart by indy closed. Cart by muppets closed. I didn't see one ice cream cart open and the dinosaur ice cream was also closed. Mask were about 90%. but I never seen or heard a CM correct any one but once when a little girl dropped her mask.
MK: 10/10 we arrived by monorail at about 9:45, Temp check to board and security check. Get to MK and no line to get in. Once inside madness! no social distancing and first cart for popcorn closed. We walk around, ride a few things and get a snack at Gastons. Lunch at Liberty Tree and leave. There were 5 closed food / drink carts for every open cart. I only seen ice cream twice. Once in tomorrow land and once in frontier land. The lines were outrageous for water or a snack due to so many of the carts or walkups closed. I heard so many families complaining they couldn't find a place to eat it was ridiculous! And mobile order was a joke. Order and wait for your food to get ready then try and find a place to sit. Social Distancing was hard to enforce due to the queues being out in all the walkways. It made it almost impossible to distance. Again, hand sanitizer was only a suggestion and I never seen anything being wiped down besides the ride cleaning. Mask were pretty good overall but on our way to Mk on the monorail the CM directing you to your car let a family in ours to sit across from us and a girl around 10-11 years old had her mask under her chin and the CM looked right at her and said nothing. She rode all the way form poly to MK with it under her chin.
Now to compare WDW and UO.
Temp Check - UO wins. Once a day and a arm band just makes since.
Social Distancing - UO wins. You have people that just don't care but at least at UO the TM's would correct people.
Food carts and booths - UO wins. everything was open!
Sit down Restaurants - UO wins. The menu was not limited.
Masks - Tie. You get all kinds everywhere. People will do what people will do.
Resort - Hard Rock wins overall for cleaning, pool, room service and dining.
Resort room - Contemporary wins. Like I said, Hard Rock was weird but had better toilet paper!
I know this report may seem that I am promoting UO and downing WDW but i am not. Remember what I first wrote. I purchased DVC at Riviera this year. Me and my family Love WDW! and will continue to go. Hopefully we see lower and lower Covid-19 cases or a vaccine becomes available soon so the parks can try to get back to normal. I know it may take years but I still have plenty of years left in me so I won't give up on Disney. Just as of now, Universal is doing things better. Anyone that has been to both can't deny that. Disney needs to step up their game soon. Now for fun, I am going to do a ride comparison just because I have never rode anything at universal besides ET 20+ years ago until this past week and I will tell you, they have some awesome rides! There are a few rides that are very similar, here's what I think.
Dumbo vs. One Fish, Two Fish. We actually like One Fish, Two Fish better! Same ride type but One Fish, Two Fish you have to follow the rhyme or you get sprayed with water! My kids loved it!!
RnR coaster Vs. Hulk ... both launch coasters but we all agree we like RnR better because its dark and indoors but Hulk is pretty awesome!
Kali Vs. Popeye river rafts. Popeye is so much more fun! and you will get soaked! Plus its a longer and faster ride.
Splash Mountain Vs. Rip Saw Falls. Splash is one of my favorite rides and the theme is so much better than Rip Saw Falls but Rip Saw is so fast at the end!
Peter Pan Vs. E.T. Peter Pan is just better. I love the story because its classic Disney. ET is good though.
Of course Disney has SW:GE and Pandora which are awesome and unique but UO Harry Potter and both forbidden journey and escape from gringotts are incredible!
Then we have Hagrids Vs. Everest only because they both go backwards. Hagrids is probably the best coaster I have ever ridden. Ever. It's amazing!
Needless to say, we will be tacking on 2 days at Universal on our future Disney trips. Both parks are a must do for us now but my heart still belongs to the mouse.
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) but I liked that there weren't cleaning cycles that took down the rides for 10-20 minutes. I didn't stay at a deluxe hotel for UO like I usually do and felt that the lines on a Thursday & Friday were very doable and not too bad to wait in. 
