Controversial Universal Ban to Reportedly be Enforced This Month After Health Risk Analysis

In what could be a major shakeup for guest policies at Universal Orlando Resort, multiple internal sources are reporting that the company is preparing to eliminate all remaining smoking areas across its Florida theme parks starting as soon as May 15, 2025.

While Universal has yet to issue a formal public statement, several Universal Team Members have taken to social media to share details of a significant internal policy update—one that may bring Universal in line with similar non-smoking policies long established at Disney Parks.

A Quiet Phase-Out Years in the Making

This move doesn’t come entirely out of nowhere. Universal Orlando has been quietly reducing smoking areas over the past several years. In 2022, the resort cut the number of designated smoking spots down to just one per theme park. These final locations included Gramercy Park in Universal Studios Florida, the Port of Entry lagoon in Islands of Adventure, and Wave Village East in Volcano Bay.

Epic Universe, still under construction but partially accessible for training and previews, has a smoking area near Stardust Racers by the How to Train Your Dragon portal.

But according to the latest internal updates, those remaining designated areas will soon vanish altogether. Starting May 15, guests may no longer be able to smoke—or use e-cigarettes or vaporizers—anywhere inside the Universal Orlando theme parks.

It remains unclear if this new policy will also extend to Universal CityWalk, which currently maintains multiple outdoor smoking sections.

Will Universal Follow Disney’s Blueprint?

If Universal adopts a strategy similar to Disney, we could see designated smoking sections relocated outside the front gates of each park. In 2019, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort implemented a sweeping ban on all smoking within their parks and instead directed guests to new outdoor smoking zones just beyond the entrances.

That move was largely praised by non-smoking guests, though it also drew frustration from longtime parkgoers who felt the shift lacked sufficient on-site accommodations.

Disney’s move was swift and highly visible. Signage changed overnight, Cast Members were trained to enforce the rule, and smoking sections vanished from maps and apps immediately. Universal, on the other hand, has not yet updated its website or mobile app to reflect the rumored changes, and no official signage has been reported in the parks so far.

A Cleaner Future, or a Guest Experience Challenge?

While health advocates may see the move as a long-overdue step toward cleaner, healthier parks, Universal could face pushback from guests who still expect accommodations for smoking—especially at a resort that draws millions of international visitors where smoking is more common.

Still, if the rumors are true, Universal seems ready to draw a firm line in favor of a smoke-free park experience. Whether that decision proves to be a crowd-pleaser or a guest complaint magnet remains to be seen.

For now, all eyes are on May 15, when the first signs of this sweeping policy change are expected to take effect.