That was quite an interesting video, very detailed.
Agreed!
I found it. Here is the link, in case anyone is interested:
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As a former Ops member too I found the procedure frustrating. However, I get it. Iād rather UOR be ātoo safeā than have kids trying to break capacity records by shoving cars out the door. They had to have been an issue or something to make them change it. IME - You donāt introduce new safety measures that slow things down with an incident.
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Having a Seasonal AP does come with blackout dates which Iāve been aware since I bought it. Universal, literally today, blacked out my Saturday 2/4/23. Iām planning on going to VB that day anyway, but had wanted to see the paradeā¦ oh wellā¦Looks like we have our closures & stuff to deal with!!
Blockout Dates During Concerts
Seasonal Passholders are blocked out of Universal Studios Florida on all concert dates and will only receive access to Universalās Islands of Adventure. Additional concert dates will be announced at a later date and are subject to change.
2023 Concert Dates:
February 4, February 10, February 11, February 18, February 19, February 25, March 4, March 5
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It is surprising they waited until this close to the date. I would have thought they knew concert dates well in advance. Interesting.
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Very interesting video! My response is that the new procedure increases wait time, but does not necessarily prevent anyone from riding if they are willing to wait. Sure, annual capacity reduces from 6m to 4m, but that 2m rides is likely approximately the same as the number of people who rode it either for the only time or a few extra times the first year because it was new. Popularity is always expected to wane over time, so now they can afford to have lower capacity.
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They originally had 2/21 as a concert date/blockout date up until about a week ago. I was planning on upgrading my two daughtersā seasonal passes so we could go to Studios that day.
They ended up not having a concert that date and a few days after they announced the performers, they changed that date from the blockout calendar.
Does anyone know if I can leave my 9 year old and 7 year old in the parent swap area if I ride Revenge of the Mummy? I know I probably sound like mother of the year with that question, but weāve been to universal three times in the last 8 months and my 9 year old is very responsible. I have express pass so cannot imagine theyād be waiting in there terribly long. They also usually have a cast member monitoring entry and exit of those areas.
Just didnāt know if you couldnāt leave a child unattended for a few minutes.
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I did some reading around and it appears UOR does not have an age requirement to be left unattended. They do allow anyone to ride a ride alone if they meet the height requirement. So that would leave me to believe they donāt have an age requirement to be left unattended in the rider swap area.
At Disney, kids have to be 7 to ride alone and must be 14 to be the āattendantā for a rider 6 or under. So I think at Disney you could leave a 7-year-old at the exit without getting into trouble as far as rules are concerned.
So to summarize, I would just do what you feel ok about with respect to the maturity of your kids.
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I left my 11-year old alone in the child swap room while I rode VC. They acted like that was really normal. There were video screens - he was happy!
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You can definitely drop your children off. They prefer that to kids roaming around solo and potentially getting lost or worse.
UPDATE to my post :
I contacted OIM since I am going to the meet-up that night (Sat. 2/4/23). I will be able to get into USF on that night at 5pm with the OIM event. So, Iāll get to see the parade after all and maybe even Patti Labelle should I choose to fight the crowd.
I also confirmed this with Universal Guest Services via Twitter.
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What time is the parade? I may try and catch it while I wait for my niece - sheās coming right after work and meeting me there.
On a complete side note, I seem to have strained my back today. Even sitting up is painful. Luckily, I had previously scheduled an appointment with my amazing massage therapist for tomorrow so Iām hoping she can work magic so Iām good to go next weekend! (I called my sister to complain and she told me Iām old).
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7:45pm-8pm-ish
OMG! I had to move a lot of office furniture yesterday. Iām sooo sore. Luckily, Iāve got meds for it! I should be good to go if I just rest these next couple of days.
I just finished packing. I should be able to relax now! Iām obsessing over my plan and the weather. Itās starting to look like I might get to visit VB if itās raining and cold.
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If the massage doesnāt fix it, Iām hitting up urgent care Sunday for meds!
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April hours are listed on the web.
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The February EPA attraction schedule is finally out with a couple surprises. The late Feb. USF info conflicts with the app hours, so weāll see what happens there.
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Weāre going on Feb 28 and I just discovered that you can get EPA if you buy your tickets via a travel agency ā¦ 
Of course we bought ours online directly to Universal ā¦
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EPA for USF end of month is now confirmed in the app hours too. It appears it was added to give more early options because of Hagridās being closed. Spiderman also a bonus in IOA.
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This makes me SOOOO happy! I love an empty(ish) Diagon Alley!
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It is nice that HE is going to be included. When we were there in May 2021, I took my son to do the wand stuff in DA for EPA. Afterwards, we wanted to get over to IOA to meet the rest of the family, but HE wasnāt open until a bit later. They wouldnāt even let us get in line. We rode something else then came backā¦and then HE was a 45 minute wait already!
Having HE open for EPA is awesome.
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And I have just written to universal to ask them to reimburse our tickets so that we can buy them back from a travel agency, and obtain EPAā¦
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