good morning and hello from the universal orlando resort so i'm heading inside of the parks today
which is on christmas eve i've never been a universal this close to christmas
and honestly i'm just here to see how insane it's going to be i mean i've been looking
on the app the past few days and a lot of the bigger attractions have been close to a three
hour wait also we have some big news that we need to talk about starting today christmas eve
universal has updated their mass policy once again basically you have to wear the mask anytime you
are indoors which includes shopping restaurants and indoor attractions you don't have to wear
them when you're outside so it's basically just like over at walt disney world but
it's crazy universal has brought back this mass policy and that's how you know
it's getting pretty serious again here in florida because the covet cases are just increasing by the
second it feels like it's getting pretty bad again we'll talk a little bit more about that in just a
little bit let's not waste any more time i hope you guys are ready because i am let's go do this
so i did make a dining reservation here at the hard rock hotel that way i have easy access in and
out of the two universal theme parks plus i don't have to deal with the madness of the toll plaza
the parking garage in security look at this our first updated sign face coverings are required
indoors and at all attraction regardless of vaccination status now i do want to bring
this up as i'm walking to universal now via the hard rock walkway but as we're heading into 2022
from everything i've been hearing more people are booking at universal and not at disney so
that's some more big news but i wanted to bring up when you stay here at the hard rock or world
pacific or portofino bay you get express included i've made a full video about that a few months
ago if you haven't seen it i'll be sure to leave it down in the description below but
that's nice to have especially on like a busier day like today is just knowing you have express
now i'm not staying here kind of wish i was but that's such a nice perk i did want to point out
here at the hard rock hotel they are doing some remodeling throughout what i really love about
this walkway is in about five minutes you're at the front entrance of universal studios florida
plus you do have water taxis as well what a beautiful day it is here on christmas eve
the current temperature 73 degrees right now and here we are at the front entrance as we can see
the crowds are heading in by the way you get your own security checkpoints i walked right through
but let's head in here's another updated sign on the way in i'm officially in first things first
let's go check out the wait times okay escape from gringott 70 fast and furious 10 let's see the
parade is at 5 30. fireworks 8 45 minion mayhem 80 et 15 not bad rip ride rocket 120 minutes wow the
simpsons 20 transformers 50 man in black 25 all right so not too bad yet there's my boy shrek i
hop in line to meet megatron peace through tyranny merry christmas you don't like christmas cheers
i could say the same thing but i'm glad i got to see you on christmas
unfortunately such moments pass quickly
in the interest of peace
that's always such a fun meet and greet but when i was in line to meet megatron
universal's pa announcement came on and they have updated it with the new policies regarding face
mask i'm passing by central park crepes you guys know i love this place they have a new seasonal
crepe called the cinnamon cookie butter for 9.99 that sounds pretty good i was heading over to
e.t for a ride because it said 15 but now it's 40 minutes but i'm passing by this new display
from sing two i feel like theme parks will do that on purpose they will choose one specific
attraction that way everybody will go to that attraction with like a 15 10 or 20 minute wait
but it's really not a 15 minute wait they just do that for crowd control
i'm about to head inside diagon alley but check out the christmas decor out front
i don't know about you guys but i cannot wait for the harry potter reunion on new year's day
on hbo max all right escape from green gods a 70 minute wait so it's not as bad
as what i thought it would be but it's still pretty busy i do really like the
christmas decor throughout diagon alley as well he was in your vault bellatrix
is always a fun time but now i'm heading over to the christmas tribute store the christmas tree
and to talk a little bit about the mummy which is about to close from january the 7th 2022
through late summer revenge of the mummy will be closed due to a very lengthy refurbishment merry
christmas oh man so what are you going to do when your attraction is closed for like five months
or you'll be here okay okay i'll see you then good luck with the refurbishment
you guys see earl the squirrel right there by the way you can now meet earl the squirrel i
don't know exactly what time but i'll try to go see him today at some point hopefully
but there she is but next up let's head inside the christmas tribute store to see if anything changed
before you even head in they have elf of the year on the wall here and then over here there's
animals the cats and dogs that's cute but let's head inside santa's workshop oh wow it's pretty
empty compared to the first time i was in here look at this it smells like christmas in here
this is santa's workshop there's the delorean from back to the future this kind of looks like
the beer from the hhn tribute store which was in this room if that's true what a neat easter egg
i found a christmas morning candle and it says the universal holiday parade featuring macy's on there
it is twenty dollars and it does smell like christmas morning well i still don't see my
name on the nice or the naughty list hmm wow do you guys remember when i was first in here when
the store first opened i couldn't even move but now there's nobody let's have a closer
look at the treats here christmas tree cupcake white christmas cupcake oh something just fell
oh there's a hand a christmas tree brownie a gingerbread cookie sandwich wow whoopee pie
an acorn gingerbread cookie look at this they have santa's bootcake that looks interesting in
a holiday snow globe cake speaking of christmas eve here's the grinch's sleigh full of the gifts
that he stole from whoville and here is the final room which is themed from harry potter
wow they even added the icicles all right i think that's going to do it from the christmas tribute
store i'm starting to make my way out and i'm going to be heading over to islands of adventure
but i just wanted to show you guys as far as the crowd level it is starting to pick up but it's
still not horrible but i will say if you're coming to ride rides yeah it's going to be a little
challenging during the peak of the holiday season minion mayhem is still a 70 minute wait for $25
here's this year's universal studios holiday t-shirt they also have a hoodie and the hoodie is
$57 what's over here looks like a baseball tee and this one is $30 dollars there's one for the kiddos
this one is $20. there's also a few shot glasses or toothpick holders to choose from
and a few glass cups to choose from as well i just made it out of universal studios florida
heading to islands of adventure but i wanted to quickly pull over away from people to remove my
face covering now again you don't have to wear face coverings when you're outdoors
but i wanted to point this out just because we're talking about this during this video
i'm noticing more and more people are wearing face masks even outdoors when they don't have
to just getting pretty pretty serious once again i hate that this is happening as we're heading
into yet again another brand new year but i don't know what's going to happen just be safe because
i care about you guys and just like that i have made it here to universal's islands of adventure
there's the VelociCoaster going by what a view this is of the waterfront here
let's go check out wait times i would love to try to ride the VelociCoaster maybe in the single
rider line but it's a busy day okay doctor dooms 15 spider-man 60. oh there's the announcement
face coverings are required indoors and all attractions regardless of vaccination status
thank you for your cooperation and enjoy your day okay back to it this park is open until
10 doctor doom 15 spider-man 60 kong 65 forbidden journey 50 hippogriff 35
we have a white screen river adventure 25 velocity coaster 45 so that's not bad
hagrid 60 the hulk oh i missed it again i think it was like 30 or something all right let's get
to it i wonder if the whos are out from whoville by the way the carousel is still closed due to a
refurbishment the whos are out she has a who is i like your bag that's so cool where can i get one
my lady may like that for christmas you got one day one day i know i'm running out of time better
get on it any tips overnight and avoid the crowd okay i appreciate it forget about it thank you
merry christmas youtube this is the current weight to meet the grinch it's about a two-hour wait
i guess this is a pretty good sign because they put up barriers for the extended q
line and it's not full yet well the single rider line is at capacity universal place
team members in the middle to keep the flow in each direction oh man it's getting a little too
crazy for me i'm passing by hagrid's right now it's an hour wait so again not as bad as what i
initially thought i'm passing by poseidon's fury and we still have no kind of update regarding
what's going on with this attraction is something else coming i've heard nothing so i don't know but
it's still here i mean the sign is still here the express entrance the standby entrance everything
pretty much looks the same maybe they're just fooling us all and just doing a big refurbishment
i had to pull over get some water and hydrate but another thing i've been noticing is universal has
placed multiple express kiosks all over the parks just because it's pretty tempting to buy express
today just because of the lines i'm walking back over to the hard rock for lunch but i noticed
universal has placed temporary barriers just in case the parks hit capacity this is where
they'll corral you until there's room to let you inside of the parks i don't think it's going to
get that bad this year but universal is prepared i'm going to be eating lunch here at the kitchen
here's a quick look at the menu here they have a lot of good looking stuff
prices aren't too horrible so yeah let's head inside my food is here i got the philly
cheesesteak sandwich with french fries and i also got the wedge salad it looks a little different
but it looks really good and then a water and coke oh my goodness this is so good wow i really
enjoyed the food here especially this chopped witch salad it was amazing i love the service here
i love the atmosphere the vibe is nice this is a really nice restaurant steps away from universal
studios florida if you guys are staying here or just even walking around the theme park and need
a place to eat i highly recommend this place i decided not to get dessert today but holy moly
everything looks amazing they also have a christmas gingerbread house village
here in the front for a display
that one's cool you have the bar right over there an open kitchen which i like all kinds of really
interesting neat stuff to look at all throughout i really like the resort smell that you can smell
throughout the main lobby here but check out their christmas tree it's music themed
very cool oh man i forgot they had the palm restaurant i love this place fine dining at its
best we may have to come back for a dining review because this place is awesome all right my friends
that's going to do it for today's video another fun day back at the universal orlando resort you
know it wasn't as bad as what i thought when i first started today's video on the crowd level
and just how busy it was it wasn't that bad i know i didn't ride no rides which it's okay i wasn't
expecting to ride many rides heading into today's video but just being there on christmas eve
getting to meet some of you guys and just seeing how universal studios orlando operates during a
very busy time like christmas eve and christmas day i'm sure tomorrow it's going to be even more
busy everywhere but i'm shocked i did get to meet megatron i got to have lunch here at the kitchen
at the hard rock hotel i got to walk around both universal theme parks on christmas eve
it was a good day i'm a little nervous what the future holds as far as covet cases and
mass policies but you know what the theme parks are still open life is still going
and i just hope you guys take care of yourself and stay safe enjoy your christmas thank you
guys so much for watching and youtube i'll see you in the next video merry christmas!