For much of the themed entertainment world, exact reopening dates remain shrouded in uncertainty. Earlier this week parts of Disney Springs, Walt Disney World’s expansive shopping and dining district, reopened with medical staff on hand and strict social distancing measures enforced. Around the same time, parts of Orlando’s version of Universal CityWalk (a similar retail/dining corridor) did the same, for those who wanted to say that they ordered a Cheeseburger in Paradise from Margaritaville during a global pandemic. But the reopening dates for the parks themselves have largely been a mystery. Until today.
Universal Orlando Resorts has submitted plans to reopen on June 5th, which is really, really soon.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, John Sprouts, who carries the weighty title of Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Universal Parks and Resorts and is the CEO of Universal Orlando Resorts, submitted the proposal earlier today to the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force, a group headed by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings (so, no, he’s not the guy you hear on the tram at the Orlando Airport). It was assumed that other Florida properties would be submitting proposals today (including Walt Disney World) but those have been postponed for a later, as-yet-unspecified date.
The Universal Orlando Resorts including theme parks Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure and “water theme park” Volcano Bay (think about how disgusting water parks were before the coronavirus, yuck) and a collection of hotels on property that are run by Loews Hotels – Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel, Sapphire Falls, Cabana Bay, Aventura and two giant hotels that were to begin opening this year, Endless Summer – Surfside and Dockside. And the aforementioned CityWalk complex. There was another new theme park, called Epic Universe (with new lands devoted to such properties as the Universal Monsters and How to Train Your Dragon), that was set to begin construction this year but Universal recently announced that those plans were on hold given the current economic downturn.
Universal Orlando opened in 1990 and was plagued with problems, with many of the opening day attractions suffering from mechanical problems (thanks to cut corners and budget cuts) and unsatisfied customers. (They raced towards an opening date after Disney opened the very similar Disney-MGM Studios a year earlier. Universal claimed Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who was then working for Paramount, was in the room years earlier when Universal tried to get another studio to partner with them on the project. Universal’s bitterness about the incident would have far-reaching repercussions for both companies. But that’s another story altogether.) In the later years, though, Universal Orlando set itself apart by utilizing cutting-edge technology and investing in extensive, immersive lands. In recent years they’ve had great success adapting the Harry Potter property for themed entertainment, and the resulting lands and attractions have rivaled (and sometimes surpassed) the very best Disney attractions.
But this new date seems very early. It’s understandable that both the south Florida economic boards and Universal itself want to get cash flow back into the parks. It’s been a rough spring. But it’s also inconceivable to put people in harm’s way like that so soon, especially since the entire model of theme parks is to cram as many people into as tight a space as possible. What makes this even more unfathomable is that Universal is now part of the Comcast corporation, which should place even less financial emphasis on having the parks reopen considering what a small percentage of the overall portfolio they make up.
Best case scenario is that Universal has gone through a rigorous process of design and implementation making sure that the guests feel safe, secure, and healthy for their entire visit. They will hopefully have actual trained medical professionals on hand to take temperature checks and forcefully ensure social distancing is respected and masks are worn (already people have started whining on social media about having to wear masks to theme parks so we’ll see how that goes). They will have to factor in park capacity, as well as how social distancing will work on ride attractions as well, and things like contact-free food and merchandise pick-up. Also, the big new attraction at the Universal Orlando resort this summer was supposed to be The Bourne Stuntacular, a combination ride film/live theater experience that we cannot imagine they’ll be opening anytime soon. Of all the villainy Jason Bourne defeated, an airborne virus was not one of them.