Disney vs universal - covid

[Retroecho]

Hi!
We are going to Orlando at the end of Sept. we are diehard Disney goers but universal’s b2g2 is VERY appealing. We likely will go ahead and p ur chase it to use next year regardless.. but my question is if you’ve been to both recently, who has the best covid protocols? Did you feel safer at either one? Same? We aren’t overly concerned about covid but if there’s a mark difference I’d like to know.

 

[KyCoKe16]

Hi!
We are going to Orlando at the end of Sept. we are diehard Disney goers but universal’s b2g2 is VERY appealing. We likely will go ahead and p ur chase it to use next year regardless.. but my question is if you’ve been to both recently, who has the best covid protocols? Did you feel safer at either one? Same? We aren’t overly concerned about covid but if there’s a mark difference I’d like to know.

I was at Universal for part of my honeymoon in June and have made two trips to Disney since. The only big difference I noticed was that Disney has hand sanitizer dispensers before and after the ride, but do not enforce use. Universal has workers who squirts sanitizer in your hand before every ride. It isn’t an option. I’ve seen some say they don’t like this because the worker has to get so close to you to do it. I liked it because it was enforced. Also, Universal allowed masks to be removed on water rides and from what I can tell, Disney does not. I’ve been on Splash several times and have never been told I could remove my mask. Though, I’ve not been to AK to ride Kali. That being said, I felt very safe on both properties.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

Universal doesn't require the planning stress of reserving days.
Also, with Universal you can still hop from park to park (if you purchase tickets that include this). I'm a hopper... with Disney's block on hopping I hop between Disney and Universal. For example, tomorrow morning I'm going to Universal Studios and then I hop to EPCOT for which I hold a reservation.
Other changes are quite similar, except for the sanitizer issue as mentioned by KyCoKe16.

Regardless of all that: I still love going to Disney and Universal and I feel relatively safe at both.

 

[DisneyOma]

If you use hand sanitizer before and after a ride, and keep your mask on and don't touch your face, it doesn't really matter if there are "enforcers" there or not. As in, you've killed whatever germs you have picked up on your hands yourself, so you don't have to worry if others have or not.

 

[puffkin]

Here now. Did 4 days at Universal and it was great. With express pass (stayed at Hard Rock) we could do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. I didn't really feel like I was missing much of the "experience". I liked that they squirted hand sanitizer on your hands there. I also saw a lot of things being wiped down at Universal but not really at Disney. I also liked at Universal that in the bathrooms they marked sinks to use and not use. It is a free for all at Disney. AK felt very "shut down". The low crowds were nice but it really didn't feel the same. MK did feel a lot more "normal". We haven't been to Epcot or DHS yet. We are having a good time, but Universal feels more "complete" experience right now, where Disney is fine, but definitely very different.

My kids said this is our best trip EVER for what its worth.

 

[DSLRuser]

meh...been doing disney 1-2 x a year since 1993....still have not made my over to universal. Nothing there seems appealing to me at all.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

My daughter lives in Orlando has been to both. She felt like Universal did a better job of making sure guests used hand sanitizer before and after rides and also of wiping things down/keeping things clean.

 

[osufeth24]

I do like Universal has the mandatory hand sanitizer before you get on the ride, but outside of that, I haven't noticed a difference really when it comes to Covid protocols.

 

[yulilin3]

Been going to all 3 major theme parks since they reopened. Universal and Disney have very similar guidelines, both properties are doing a great job, stupid, entitled people breaking the rules will be found everywhere, so it really is up to you and what your family wants to experience.

 

[Retroecho]

We want to do universal at some point as half of my kids are super into Harry Potter. But I also don’t Know if I want covid to be our first experience there at least at Disney we have done nearly everything. I am looking forward to hopefully still low lines!

 

[dprincessmom]

Not certain if certain rides are a deal breaker, but it's being reported that Universal is closing several rides for the near future. This might impact your "value" and "worth it" experiences.

 

[mlayman7]

We did 3 nights at the hard rock earlier this week and are on our last night at the aninal kingdom lodge. We thought universal had everything thought out and executed better than Disney. At universal, everything seemed to be running smoother and it just made you feel safer. At the hotel, you had to have your temp checked daily then given a wrist band for that day. At disney, nobody cares if you are staying sick or not therefore more likely somebody sick can still use public areas, pools, dining, etc. At the parks universal would escort people to specific seats at theaters. Disney it is still a free for all, mass entrance and exit, very difficult to avoid others. Universal also made you apply sanitizer before each ride, disney has plenty of sanitizing stations mounted but does not enforce that you use it. That seems to be the biggest difference, universal makes unsafe people be safe. Disney seems to have stricter requirements but does not enforce it. We've seen many more people at disney not abiding by mask rule throughout the parks compared to universal. We have felt safe at both places but comparatively universal has Disney beat.

 

[randumb0]

Been going to all 3 major theme parks since they reopened. Universal and Disney have very similar guidelines, both properties are doing a great job, stupid, entitled people breaking the rules will be found everywhere, so it really is up to you and what your family wants to experience.

Did anything stand out at Sea World?

 

[puffkin]

We did 3 nights at the hard rock earlier this week and are on our last night at the aninal kingdom lodge. We thought universal had everything thought out and executed better than Disney. At universal, everything seemed to be running smoother and it just made you feel safer. At the hotel, you had to have your temp checked daily then given a wrist band for that day. At disney, nobody cares if you are staying sick or not therefore more likely somebody sick can still use public areas, pools, dining, etc. At the parks universal would escort people to specific seats at theaters. Disney it is still a free for all, mass entrance and exit, very difficult to avoid others. Universal also made you apply sanitizer before each ride, disney has plenty of sanitizing stations mounted but does not enforce that you use it. That seems to be the biggest difference, universal makes unsafe people be safe. Disney seems to have stricter requirements but does not enforce it. We've seen many more people at disney not abiding by mask rule throughout the parks compared to universal. We have felt safe at both places but comparatively universal has Disney beat.

We did the same trip basically, 4 nights Universal at Hard Rock and 6 nights at Disney at Kidani and we have felt exactly the same way.

 

[Marcus A. Jordan]

Universal does not have hand sanitizer anywhere in the parks except before rides and at the entrances to restaurants. When you visit other parks (Disney and SeaWorld), their lack of hand sanitizer throughout the park is glaring. Also, Universal does not wipe down rides like Disney does. The only surface I’ve ever seen anyone at Universal wipe down was the railing on the first people mover by the parking garage.

I still felt relatively safe at Universal. I’ve been multiple times and it seems to be getting better each time.

 

[yulilin3]

Did anything stand out at Sea World?

Not sure exactly what you mean. People at SW were less inclined to follow the mask rule but the ambassadors were very protective and told them to wear them properly

 

[yulilin3]

Universal does not have hand sanitizer anywhere in the parks except before rides and at the entrances to restaurants. When you visit other parks (Disney and SeaWorld), their lack of hand sanitizer throughout the park is glaring. Also, Universal does not wipe down rides like Disney does. The only surface I’ve ever seen anyone at Universal wipe down was the railing on the first people mover by the parking garage.

I still felt relatively safe at Universal. I’ve been multiple times and it seems to be getting better each time.

Universal also has sanitizer at entrances to gift shops, or even right at the counter, ive actually seen them clean the credit card machine after each use. At SW there's hand sanitizer everywhere as well

 

[DisneyOma]

Not sure what Universal thinks the hand sanitizer is actually doing? Sure, your hands are clean for that short time, but it doesn't mean the ride vehicle or anything else is safe to touch, COVID free, etc. You could have COVID, use the sanitizer, go into the queue, and five minutes later touch your face under the mask, or touch the mask, then touch the ride vehicle. The hand sanitizer CM is a smoke screen, IMO.

 

[yulilin3]

Not sure what Universal thinks the hand sanitizer is actually doing? Sure, your hands are clean for that short time, but it doesn't mean the ride vehicle or anything else is safe to touch, COVID free, etc. You could have COVID, use the sanitizer, go into the queue, and five minutes later touch your face under the mask, or touch the mask, then touch the ride vehicle. The hand sanitizer CM is a smoke screen, IMO.

have you been and seen the process? they put sanitizer on you right before you enter the ride vehicle, at loading, not at the entrance to the queue. Of course you can contaminate yourself and the vehicle by touching things in that minute of when you bard and get seated. Also Universal is cleaning the vehicles as well it's not like the aren't

 

[kdonnel]

Not sure what Universal thinks the hand sanitizer is actually doing? Sure, your hands are clean for that short time, but it doesn't mean the ride vehicle or anything else is safe to touch, COVID free, etc. You could have COVID, use the sanitizer, go into the queue, and five minutes later touch your face under the mask, or touch the mask, then touch the ride vehicle. The hand sanitizer CM is a smoke screen, IMO.

Nothing about the Universal hand sanitizer made my hands feel clean. I wanted to find what brand they used so I never purchased it. It was very effective though because we sought out a bathroom after ever ride so we could wash our hands and get rid of the feeling left by the hand sanitizer.