After 80 days of closure due to coronavirus concerns, the Universal Orlando theme park complex reopened on June 3 to those with Univeral Orlando annual passes or travelers staying at Universal Orlando resort hotels.

I wanted to see how the first major theme park in the U.S.

Would normally impatient theme park goers follow all the new rules?

And — would a day at a theme park still be fun?

I originally had purchased a $178 Universal theme park ticket, a flight from Atlanta to Orlando using Delta SkyMiles and a booked night at the new Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn to cover the official June 5 reopening date.

But, when we got word on June 2 that those in Universal resort hotels could get into the June 3 soft opening for passholders, we quickly changed those plans and I was wheels up a few hours later on a brand-new Delta flight. .

Spoiler alert: The theme park and resort hotel experience was just as different as you’d expect it to be, and both angst and excitement were in ample supply.

Related: Use points to save money at Universal Orlando.

Beginning with my check-in at Universal’s Surfside Inn and Suites, to the Universal’s CityWalk dining and shopping complex, and into the park entrance, it was obvious that Universal is taking the new park experience very seriously.

Only one family is allowed in the elevator at a time, floor markings everywhere and the resort bus line stretched down the sidewalk with people keeping their distance.

early park access given to Orlando resort hotel guests.

Takeaway: Get in line early if you’ll rely on the resort buses or stay in one of the closer-in Universal resorts, such as Universal Loews Royal Pacific, that is an easy walk to the parks.

Related: How to choose the right hotel for your Universal Orlando vacation.

Everyone at Orlando resort hotels had already completed temperature check (and wore a wristband to prove they were under 100.4 degrees), so this second check for people arriving from resorts, wearing wristbands, seemed unnecessary … and problematic.

Even though many things have changed at Univeral, Orlando resort hotel guests still get one hour of early access before the normal opening to either Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios.

Excited team members welcomed everyone back, reminded us to maintain separation and, right on time, the theme park was again open.

This may be a normal early park access procedure, but you could not access Hollywood, KidsZone, the Simpson’s Springfield or the World Expo areas.

I’ll cover the overall Universal ride experience below, but for the specifics of early park access, the bad news (for me) is that Escape from Gringott’s ended up breaking, and even though I was one of the first in line, it took the majority of the hour of early park access to experience this one attraction.

Related: Tips for making the most of one day at Universal Orlando.

I put the mask to its paces on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (which is just a superb theme park ride that is well worth the effort).

There are scattered reports across die-hard online theme park groups that people refusing to wear a mask were given a wrist band and had their own ride vehicle on every ride, but I did not witness a single mask incident.

In order to control the number of people in line for many rides, Universal has greatly expanded its virtual line system that is available in the Univeral app.

Overall, this process was not communicated to guests effectively and many did not understand that you couldn’t necessarily just go to a ride and get in line.

What you will — and won’t — get to ride right now feels like a crapshoot since you can’t plan ahead or know for sure which rides will require a virtual pass or permit a traditional line.

The ride experience at Universal often starts with the locker experience.

Once in the actual ride line, social distancing was constantly enforced and queues with relatively few people in them looked much larger than they really were.

You can easily see which restaurants in either park or CityWalk are participating in mobile order in the Universal app and select your food and pay!

Going into my eight hours at Universal Orlando, I knew the theme park was facing an almost impossible task

Within a major theme park environment, can you follow CDC guidelines, keep guests as safe as possible and also give guests the feeling of safety so that demand returns

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Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities

The credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation

This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities