Universal CityWalk Starts Soft Open For Dining And Shopping With Hollywood Theme Park Still Shut

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Some Universal CityWalk dining and shopping locations resumed operations Wednesday from noon to 8 pm in what the park called “a thoughtful phased reopening” with enhanced health and safety measures.

There’s been no date set yet for the reopening of the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park but the playbook in Los Angeles and Orlando – for both Universal and Walt Disney — has been to open commercial areas with restaurants and shops adjacent to the parks first.

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Additional venues will be added as the CityWalk phased opening continues. Complimentary self-parking is available during this initial reopening period. The limited offering includes Voodoo Doughnut, Johnny Rockets, Blaze Pizza, Starbucks, Crepe Café, Pizza Hut & KFC, Taco Bell, and Buca di Beppo as well as Shoe Palace, Guess Accessories and Skechers.

The Universal Orland theme park is ahead of California and opened its gates on Friday. Walt Disney World in Orlando plans to open July 11. SeaWorld in Orlando will open June 11.

Universal doesn’t share attendance figures but imagines and comments over the past few days from the first major park that’s reopened showed light attendance in Orlando with strict social distancing.

“We’ve been excited to welcome guests back as part of our phased reopening. It’s been great to see families and friends enjoying their time together on our attractions or with our characters or at our food venues,” said a statement from a Parks spokesperson. “We’ve been able to put into practice all the measures we’ve been planning: screening our guests and team members, social distancing, required facial coverings, limiting capacity at our parks and within our attractions, and increasing our cleaning and disinfection procedures. Early on, we let our guests know this would take all of us – and we asked for their help. We are happy to say that the feedback we have been getting is positive.”

New health and safety measures at Universal CityWalk are similar, including a single point of entry, temperature checks and required face coverings, limited occupancy at all venues to help enforce social distancing and rigorous cleaning and disinfecting at all high touch points, including chairs and tables.

 

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