Universal will partially reopen CityWalk, first step toward reopening its theme parks
Following Walt Disney World’s announcement last week of reopening Disney Springs, Universal Orlando said Tuesday it will partially reopen its own entertainment district, CityWalk.
The company said that on Thursday, May 14, select CityWalk locations will be open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. with limited menus and new safety guidelines for workers and customers. Certain merchandise carts will also be reopened.
CityWalk and Universal first closed in mid-March, two months ago, furloughing part-time workers and cutting employee pay. Disney and SeaWorld also closed their parks and furloughed workers.
Workers and guests must wear face coverings, submit to a temperature check, social distance, pay attention to floor markings and wash hands frequently.
The locations being reopened are:
Restaurants:
▪ Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
▪ Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant and Market
▪ Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville
▪ Red Oven Pizza Bakery (mobile ordering available)
▪ Voodoo Doughnut (mobile ordering available)
Shopping Venues:
▪ Airbrush
▪ Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company (retail only)
▪ Universal Studios Store
▪ Select merchandise carts
Entertainment
▪ Hollywood Drive-In Golf
Popular venues like Blue Man Group, all nightclubs and the Universal Cinemark theater will remain temporarily closed.
This comes almost a week after Disney announced Disney Springs reopening on Thursday. Disney Springs will reopen only a limited number of shopping and dining locations that are owned by third-party franchises on May 20.
As of Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health has reported 41,923 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as well as 1,779 deaths. Orange County, where Universal and Disney World are located, has seen 1,537 cases and 35 deaths.
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 6:27 PM.
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