Exactly. One less thing to plan.
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It doesnāt feel like theyāre limiting capacity. 
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I only felt safe because we were double masking with a cloth mask over a kn-95. It was packed and no one seemed to care about social distancing. In Hogsmeade one morning it was wall to wall bodies. You practically couldnāt walk.
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Me too! Thankfully I have EP but that wonāt help with Hagridās, especially now that they appear to be phasing out VQ. Iām hoping to at least be able to ride Velocicoaster once.
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I feel like that every time Iām there, especially anywhere near anything Potter related.
Iām hoping the meets will be less so /shrug.
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Are they starting to phase it out? I missed that.
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There is another thread (one of the first under UOR) talking about it. Speculation is that they are phasing out VQ for Hagridās since Velocicoaster is opening and they probably want as many people in other queues as possible.
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Thank you!
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I am not happy about this at all. We specifically pick times for our trips when crowds are lower because we hate crowdsā¦only to have Universal packing them in every single day lately (with the exception of rainy days, it seems, which are the only days recently with lower CLs).
My wife and I have been telling ourselves to think of this trip less about packing in the rides and more about just taking it all in (more like our December trip).
I thought it was just going to be the Spring Break crowds. But clearly thatās not the case.
Have I mentionedā¦I hate crowds?
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They have been closing because they are hitting capacity (so there are limits). On-site guests can still enter at that time.
If all the resorts are sold out it would increase the crowd?
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I was thinking I read that they werenāt guaranteed admission but had priority admission? So they have a separate queue that lets them in first but they may still have a short wait?
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On chat they have said they have a separate entrance and have gone right in.
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I think they try to hold a few spaces for them as other guests exit or something so they can walk in most of the time? But I think there have been instances of people being held very briefly? Supposedly they are still including them in the limited capacity.
Hotel guests will be given priority entrance to theme parks during our phased reopening. We encourage our hotel guests to take advantage of their Early Park Admission benefit to access the parks prior to our daily opening to the general public, and we will accommodate hotel guests on a priority basis in the parks throughout the day.
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They might say that but that is not what the liners on the Universal chat have reported? Unless it has changed?
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Iāve been reading a lot of Universal chatter on the OI Facebook page, and a couple of people have mentioned a very short delay. It sounds like a fast pass lane thatās flowing smoothly.
ETA: I specifically asked OI about our 4pm access to the parks for the meetup event If they were at capacity, and they said we were already included in the capacity for the day. So Iām guessing they do that for a certain number of hotel guests as well and they only need to delay that queue if they mis-estimate.
I have asked on the TP chat is priority entrance is held .
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This is what UT is saying:
If you are a guest at a Universal Resort hotel or have purchased a date-specific ticket, you are considered a priority guest. Upon nearing capacity, priority guests will continue to be allowed in until the maximum limit has been reached, while other guests may be stopped. There may be a brief delay, but once capacity is lowered, priority guests will be the What to Know Before Your Visit to Universal Orlando first to enter.
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Also posted this on Chatā¦We were there April 17-22. Parks were at capacity our first day, a Saturday. We didnāt arrive that day until 10:00. The standby lines for regular guests to get in the parks were very long (IOA line practically back to Studios with distancing) we walked up to the front of that line and only had to show our hotel key to get in past the TMs with ropes. It was kind of a separate area than where they were holding people. We then had to go thru the turnstiles of course but not really any wait. Iād say it was 11 am at that time. Studios also had long lines to get in but we didnāt try there.
Our crowds were predicted at 9 for our first few days. Parks felt crowded on the weekends but DH & I were able to skirt around people to keep our distance. HP areas were the worst of course. I didnāt feel like it was as crowded as our week before Easter trips though. We had EP so no wait in lines in that regard but the regular lines seemed to be moving ok. They have distance markers in the queues and for the most part people kept their distance. If they didnāt, DH gave them a look lol and they moved. We actually had more people crowding in the lines at WDW when we went there. We had several days at UOR and were still able to have a good, relaxing trip. Iād recommend reservations for table service meals at this time even though UOR usually didnāt need them in the past.
TLDR: Crowds, yes but we didnāt feel uncomfortable in most of the lines or park areas. If it seemed too crowded we moved thru quickly. We are both fully vaxxed so that probably added to our comfort level. Still masked of course. As hotel guests, we entered promptly even at capacity.
Adding: I felt more uncomfortable at MCO since we were mostly outside in the crowds at UOR.
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Thank you!
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