Universal Orlando Hits Capacity, Adds Nighttime Show

October 24, 2020, 1:23 PM · Halloween crowds pushed Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure to capacity again today. The parks closed temporarily to new visitors shortly before noon. Universal said that it expects the parks to hit capacity again tomorrow and next weekend, as locals take advantage of Universal's Florida resident discount to see two houses from the canceled Halloween Horror Nights before they close.

And Universal has added an extra attraction to handle the crowds. Tonight, Universal Studios Florida will run its Universal's Cinematic Celebration lagoon show for the first time since the pandemic closed the parks last March. The show will play at 9:45 pm tonight and tomorrow, as well as on Halloween night, October 31, as Universal has extended its hours on the weekends to help handle the crowds.

Universal Orlando this week urged its annual passholders to visit during the much-less-crowded weekdays, if possible, as it looks to manage the crowds that have been hitting up the parks on the weekends. We second that recommendation, especially for anyone visiting on single- or multi-day tickets. Wait times on weekdays continue to be low, making a visit on those days a much better value than weekend visits, when wait time for even mid-tier attractions regularly top an hour.

If you are thinking about a visit to the resort, our travel partner is offering Universal's three days free deal on two-day Universal Orlando tickets.

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Replies (3)

October 24, 2020 at 2:36 PM

Bringing back the night show is a huge deal. This is gonna be a litmus test as for whether or not a park can safely put on such a show with a central viewing location.

October 24, 2020 at 5:09 PM

85,000 new infections yesterday, thee highest ever.

Americans: let's go to a theme park!

October 25, 2020 at 1:28 AM

Hell yes! Let's go to a theme park!!

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