Almost exactly a year since the park closed due to Covid-19, Universal Studios Hollywood will take the first step towards reopening with “Taste of Universal”, an outdoor dining and shopping experience taking place on select themed lands. The event will take place from Friday to Sunday, from 12 pm to 7 pm, starting on Friday, March 12.
The move comes about two weeks after Disneyland officials announced their own mini reopening in Anaheim. This event with limited capacity tickets will be called “A Touch of Disney”. It is worth mentioning that the date of Universal’s event will allow it to reopen before Disneyland.
Universal Studios Hollywood said it is working closely with local health and government officials to implement new health and safety procedures that include a controlled ability to enforce necessary physical distance and facial coverage.
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This experience will allow visitors to experience the park’s best culinary offers and premium shopping options, along with physically distant photo opportunities with some of their favorite characters.
Tickets for the “Taste of Universal” include access to selected theme areas in the park, along with a wide selection of almost 70 culinary options, 30 of which are new to the event. Adults can choose five options and children can choose three with additional food offers available for purchase. Tickets start at $ 44 plus tax for adults and $ 25 plus tax for children aged 3 to 9 years. Discounted tickets will be available to Universal Annual and Season Pass members.
Tours, shows and attractions will not be operational during this experience, guests will be able to enjoy the incredible environments that surround them while tasting the delicious food, including vegan and vegetarian options, served in these areas.
Amusement park operators have long been irritated by what they see as the very restrictive demands placed on them by the Newsom project. They argue that there has not been a single documented case at a theme park, and the California Parks and Attractions Association has established its plan for rigorous virus prevention measures.
Amusement park operators have long been irritated by what they see as the very restrictive demands placed on them by the Newsom project. They argue that there has not been a single documented case at a theme park, and the California Parks and Attractions Association has established its plan for rigorous virus prevention measures.
“We must be at Level Three, along with other industries that have proven they can reopen responsibly,” said Karen Irwin, president and COO of Universal Studios Hollywood in October. “Our employees are ready to go back to work and the fact that they won’t be able to do it until the middle of next year is shameful.”
In early February, two California Assembly members representing districts affected by the closure of Disneyland and Six Flags Magic Mountain co-sponsored a bill that would place all theme parks in the “Orange – Moderate – Tier 3” category of the Guidance Covid-19 State Industry for Amusement Parks and Theme Parks. Governor Gavin Newsom’s Project for a Safer Economy guidance currently restricts the reopening of theme parks until the county in which they are located reaches “Yellow – Minimum – Level 4.”
Even so, the limit of visitors in the parks would be 25% and the closed restaurants could only operate with 25% of the capacity. Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Universal Hollywood and Knott’s Berry Farm were closed in March 2020.
But Newsom on Tuesday announced that as the state moves forward in vaccinating low-income residents, this will ease the requirements that counties must meet to move forward through Newsom’s Safer Economy Project, the system color-coded four-tier that regulates the opening, closing and capacity limits for businesses based on a county’s rate of new Covid infections, health equity, and test positivity rates.
Magic Mountain in Valencia recently announced that it plans to reopen this spring.