Credit: Dean Lin, FlickrOne Universal Studios theme park has been hit hard by the Microsoft computer outages.
Like Disney, Universal has come a long way in the theme park game since debuting its first attraction in Southern California. What started with adding a backlot tour to its working movie studio in Hollywood has evolved into a flourishing theme park, complete with attractions inspired by mega franchises such as Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, Nintendo, and, once 2026 comes around, Fast & Furious.
But as its creative endeavors began to outgrow the relatively small lot, Universal followed Disney’s footsteps in expanding well beyond California. Universal Studios Florida, which opened in 1990, marked the company’s expansion into the eastern United States.
Located in Orlando, it is part of the larger Universal Orlando Resort, which includes Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Universal’s Volcano Bay water park, and the upcoming Universal’s Epic Universe (which is already causing controversy over tickets, a year before it opens).
This resort is famous for its immersive themed lands, such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which spans both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure and is connected by the Hogwarts Express.
Even further east, Universal opened its first (and still most popular to this day) international park in Osaka, Japan, in 2001. The creatively named Universal Studios Japan boasts a mixture of familiar and unique movie-themed attractions. Most famously, it introduced the world’s first SUPER NINTENDO WORLD in 2021, complete with two attractions inspired by the beloved video games: Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge and Yoshi’s Adventure.
Later this year, the park will also welcome an expansion to SUPER NINTENDO WORLD. Originally due to open this spring, Donkey Kong Country will feature a unique roller coaster, Mine Cart Madness, in which the ride vehicle appears to jump the track, just like the classic video game.
Anyone who’s visited Universal Studios Japan will tell you that the crowds at the Osaka theme park are on another level. Its attractions are stellar, but the downside is that it can get extremely busy – especially during peak tourism periods – much like Japan’s other premier theme park destination, Tokyo Disney Resort.
That’s what made yesterday’s computer systems outage such a big problem. As Microsoft crashed and caused issues for airlines, offices, hospitals, banks, and every other business that utilizes its software, Universal Studios Japan also had to figure out a myriad of computer-related problems.
The outages have reportedly had a major impact on the theme park’s ticket booths and cash registers. That made it borderline impossible for guests to check out at both restaurants and gift shops.
Breaking News) #USJ Park operations on July 20th and July 21st
Due to the current software issue, ticket sales at the ticket booth will be suspended on July 20th and July 21st.
Due to the problem, the number of cashiers operating at restaurants and shops is limited, so it may take some time #ユニバ
速報) #USJ 7月20日および7月21日のパーク運営について
現在発生しているソフトウェア障害の影響を受け、7月20日および7月21日のチケットブースでのチケット販売を中止します。 ⁰
障害のため、レストランおよびショップのレジ稼働数が限られているため、お時間がかかる場合があります #ユニバ pic.twitter.com/mE2XM99clP— ＵＳＪのツボ (@usj1) July 19, 2024
Fortunately, the situation is very much on the mend. Despite the park previously deciding to pause ticket sales at its ticket booths for today and tomorrow (July 20 and July 21, 2024), the official Universal Studios Japan X (formerly known as Twitter) account has revealed that the booths are now operable.
However, this fix only applies to the ticket booths. The status of the gift shops and restaurants is still unclear. Notably, the park has decided to allow re-entry into the park – assumedly to give more leeway to those who decided to leave the park to buy food due to the current challenges of paying for purchases on property right now. This is the first time Universal Studios Japan has allowed re-entry in a long time.
Beyond Universal Studios Japan, plenty of other theme parks encountered – or are still encountering – issues due to computer outages. At Disneyland Paris, guests were temporarily unable to use the self-service turnstiles at the entrance to both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, with cast members instead forced to allow them into the park manually.
Meanwhile, Disneyland Resort experienced issues with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Galaxy’s Edge, while the screens welcoming guests to their hotels at Walt Disney World Resort were also impacted.
Did the Microsoft outages impact your theme park experience?