Universal Orlando
I’ve traveled to Universal Orlando seven times the past few years from California, both with and without kids, and have unintentionally acquired a lot of knowledge about how to have a great trip. So I’m writing this post full of my best Universal Orlando tips! But first, a question I get a lot is why we always choose to fly across the country to Universal Orlando instead of going to Universal Studios Hollywood, just an hour from our house.
Universal Orlando Resort vs. Universal Studios Hollywood
These are very different parks. Universal Studios Hollywood has stayed true to its movie set origin – it still has the iconic tram ride, letting you see where a lot of movies have been filmed. The park has expanded to have several rides as well as themed areas for Harry Potter and the Simpsons, but it’s not a vacation destination. Rather, it’s a great place to spend a day when you’re in LA.
Universal Orlando is a group of three theme parks and is a definite vacation destination. There are dozens of rides and attractions throughout Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure including several roller coasters, there’s a water theme park (Volcano Bay), and there are eight onsite hotels. There’s enough to occupy everyone from young kids to teens to adults for several days.
Our kids love Harry Potter. Orlando’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter is essentially twice as large as the one at Universal Studios Hollywood. The village of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle are similar at both parks, but Universal Orlando also has Diagon Alley (our favorite area) as well as the Hogwarts Express train that goes between the parks.
Where to Stay at Universal Orlando
I mentioned above that there are eight onsite hotels. These are (listed in order of Budget to Luxury):
- Endless Summer – Surfside Inn
- Endless Summer – Dockside Inn
- Aventura Hotel
- Cabana Bay Beach Resort
- Loews Sapphire Falls Resort
- Loews Royal Pacific Resort*
- Hard Rock Hotel*
- Loews Portofino Bay Hotel*
My personal favorite from a design standpoint is Cabana Bay, with its 1950s/1960s theme. Here’s something to add to your Universal Orlando tips: It’s located next to the Volcano Bay water theme park, so if you’re planning on heading there a few times, it’s very convenient. It’s typically a lot less expensive than the others. There’s a bowling alley too.
My favorite based on location and pool is the Hard Rock Hotel. All of the hotels except Cabana Bay and Endless Summer have water taxi service, but unfortunately, Florida gets a lot of lightning, which stops the water taxis from operating. The Hard Rock Hotel is only a couple of minutes on foot from the gates of Universal Orlando so you never have to wait for a water taxi or walk far if it’s raining.
The three hotels at the bottom of the list, marked with asterisks, include Universal Unlimited Express Passes with their rooms. This means that you can skip the lines at virtually all rides (now including the Harry Potter attractions as well). Don’t overlook these Universal Orlando tips. These passes normally go for $84/day/person or so, so if you have a family of four or five and you’re spending $200-250/night for a room at those hotels, the passes easily justify the higher room rates.
From a kid perspective, we loved the Minions Suite at Portofino Bay. Half of our suite was a very nice, standard adult room. Then on the other side of a vault-looking door there’s a full Minions-themed room with rocket ship beds and a kid-sized table and chairs.
Both Sapphire Falls and Royal Pacific are nice and priced in the middle of the spectrum, but if you’re trying to decide between them, Royal Pacific gets the slight nod because of the Express Passes. If Sapphire Falls is quite a bit less expensive though, and especially if you’re traveling in off-season, it’s a great choice. Our kids love the pool there, and it’s an easy 5-minute walk to Volcano Bay (around Aventura).
All things equal, I’d choose the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando given that it’s typically less expensive than Portofino Bay, it has the best location, and it comes with Express Passes.
When To Visit Universal Orlando
We have one rule with all theme parks: visit mid-week when schools are in session. Universal Orlando is no different. We always go the last week in August. We’re not back in school yet but the Florida schools are, and it’s never crowded. Plus, September 1 is officially the first day of Hogwarts. Universal doesn’t do anything special to celebrate that I’ve seen, but it’s a fun day to be there, get into your Hogwarts robe and walk into the castle.
When we’re at Universal, we head into the parks early in the day (all of the onsite hotels let you in to one of the parks one hour before non-guests), play for a couple hours, get lunch in the parks or at CityWalk, have downtime in the room or at the pool, and then head back over around 4pm. This means we’re not fighting crowds or sweating during the hottest time of the day. 7:00-9:00pm is the absolute best time to be in the parks – there’s rarely more than a 5-10 minute wait for any ride.
Note that in the morning the gates generally open 15 minutes before the posted opening times. If you want to ride without waiting early in the day, wake up early and be there when they open. I prefer to head to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter first. It’s also your only chance to get photos without anyone else in them.
How to Save Money at Universal Orlando
Stay on site to get free Express Passes, and think about going for 3-4 days. I personally prefer getting 4-day park-to-park passes. That lets you spend several mornings and evenings at the parks and you can relax in the middle of the day without feeling like you should be in the parks getting your money’s worth. Universal has periodic specials where you can get a 4-day park-to-park pass for the price of a 2-day pass, so keep an eye out for that and other deals.
While at the parks, save money by planning ahead. If you’re heading to Volcano Bay, bring your own towels. And take your own refillable water bottles into all of the parks. Although you’ll still want to buy a Butterbeer. Because it’s really good.
Restaurants
The food at Universal Orlando is excellent. Our favorite places to eat in the parks are Mythos and Lombard’s Seafood Grille. At CityWalk, we love the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, Vivo Italian Kitchen, Cowfish, Antojitos, and Red Oven Pizza Bakery.
Mama Della’s at Portofino Bay Hotel is excellent – our favorite restaurant at any of the hotels.
The Three Broomsticks and Leaky Caldron in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter are worth visiting for the atmosphere.
Other Universal Orlando Tips
Take a backpack, good walking shoes, sunscreen, and sunglasses. You may want to bring a small towel as well, in case you get soaked on the water rides. I’ll sometimes carry a good camera with me if I’ll be there when the light is good; otherwise, I rely on my cell phone camera. You’ll need to leave everything in lockers for several rides, but the lockers are free. Click here for a guide to Universal Orlando Rides and Height Requirements.
Resources
I have several other posts on Universal Orlando:
- Why You Want to Visit Universal Orlando During the Holidays
- Volcano Bay: What You Need to Know
- What Can I Take into Volcano Bay?
- Halloween Horror Nights
- Why We Prefer Universal Orlando to Disney World
- Four Seasons Resort Orlando: The Hotel That Made Us Skip Disney World (our favorite non-Universal hotel)
What questions do you have? I’ll continually update this post with Universal Orlando tips based on what you want to know!
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Your posts on Universal Orlando just keep getting better and better. This is my favorite one yet – great comprehensive overview!
Thanks Angela! I find myself writing faster and faster too. Apparently that’s a good thing!
Absolutely fantastic. I’m thinking about a trip, but am worried that my eight year old is still a little young. Her brother is ready…12.
My kids have loved Universal at 6 and 7. They didn’t go on a lot of the bigger rides, and still aren’t really rollercoaster fans except for the Flight of the Hippogriff, but there was plenty to keep them busy at the parks.
Thanks for the tips , I’m a single mom on a budget . Trying to make it work out . My daughter is 16.
Always looking for tips .
Cabana Bay is the lowest-priced Universal hotel. If you stay there you get early admission but not express passes, so I’d visit mid-week if you can when there are fewer people and the express passes aren’t as valuable/necessary.
My family and I are planning a 3 night trip. I have a 4 and 6 year old. Do you think its best to just stick to 1 theme park instead of trying to do 2 in 2 days? Also, have you ever had dinner with the superheroes / marvel characters ? Which park do you think small children would enjoy more ?
I wouldn’t try to do both Universal and Disney in two days. If you’re asking about just Universal, I’d definitely get two-park tickets. Super heroes are primarily at Islands of Adventure, as is Seuss Landing, but Universal Studios has the character parade, Springfield, the Minions, and the (in my opinion) better Harry Potter area. When I’ve taken 4 and 6-year-olds they’ve liked elements at both. Not sure that I could choose?
We haven’t done the dinner with the characters – sorry!
We are looking at going to Universal for the first time this August (after FL school starts). Do you think the Express Pass is worth the money during this time?
Maybe. I love having Express Passes, and take for granted that we can skip lines, but ours always come with our hotel rooms. If you’re not staying onsite, and the park isn’t overcrowded, you may not get your money’s worth – especially if you’re staying a few days and will have plenty of time to ride everything. If you’re only there a day, it’s different – I’d definitely get them so that you can fit a lot more in. Even a savings of 5-10 minutes on each ride adds up over the course of the day.
Thank you! I think we are leaning heavily towards staying onsite as Universal has some really attractive package deals on their website. Now I just have to figure out if I want to get to WDW as well… we are coming a long way (Pacific Northwest) so don’t want to miss out but hard to decide if it’s worth it just for a day or two.
If your family likes Disney, then WDW is probably a good investment for a day. It shouldn’t be over-crowded then. You don’t even have to change hotels if you don’t want to – just Uber over from Universal.
Thanks for sharing! Uber is so much cheaper than Mears, which has traditionally had the monopoly there – like $20 vs $60.
Hi Eric, I’m good friends with your sister, Amy, who recommended your site when I told her of our springbreak plans. I found your site very helpful since we’ve not yet visited universal Orlando. We’re staying at Portofino Bay & have plans to visit Universal, islands of adventure & Volcano Bay. Wondering if you could suggest an order to the rides we go on to help best plan our days? My daughter is 12 & son is 9. Thank you!!
Hi Alison. Short answer: it doesn’t really matter. I’ve never felt like Universal needed to be strategized like Disney does. You’ll have Express Passes, so none of the lines will be too bad. Start in whichever park has the early open hours and enjoy.
Longer answer: I always like to head back to Harry Potter first, in either park. Even with the Express Passes that come with your hotel stay, Forbidden Journey and Escape from Gringotts can have decent (15-20 minute) waits. I’d go on those rides first, enjoy the rest of the Harry Potter area in that park, and then take the Hogwarts Express to the other park when it opens an hour later – that’s another ride where it’s nice to avoid the lines that build up. And definitely take a couple hours off during the middle of the day. Otherwise it’s exhausting.
Thanks for the great tips! I’m planning a visit the last week of August myself and wonder how necessary the express pass is? Cabana bay fits nicely into my budget but if the express pass is necessary at this time of year I might spring for the hard rock hotel! I have read several reviews that the express passes aren’t necessary when the park is not at it’s busiest. What are your thoughts on imprortance or express pass for the last week of August mid week? We will be there from Monday afternoon through Thursday. Thanks!
We’ll be there the last week of August too! Express passes are always nice to have and will probably save you a couple hours in line over three days. But if there’s a budget consideration, I don’t think they’re really necessary when the parks are quieter. If you get to a specific ride and there’s a long line, skip it and go the next morning as soon as the park opens. You’ll have plenty of flexibility if you’re there three days.
Does it get dark enough before closing time in August/Sept to see WWHP at night? We are torn between going in late Aug/early Sept when the parks are open until 9 and early December when we would definitely be able to experience everything at nighttime, when it’s all lit up.
Sorry for the delay Julie! I’m in Turkey on slow internet. Yes, it’s dark enough in August/September. The light show starts at dusk and runs until park closing. At the end of August sunset is at 7:50 or so. The later you wait the darker it is obviously, but it’s still good.
In December there are fewer people and the parks are decorated for the holidays. And there’s warm butterbeer – my favorite! So I prefer December, even if it’s a little cool. If you want to visit Volcano Bay too, though, that’s better in the summer. Water parks just aren’t as much fun when it’s cold out, even when the water’s heated.
Low crowd times other than last week of August? As a teacher, that is our “back to school week” (before the kids come back in September).
Thank you!
This post is an excellent reference: https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/best-time-visit-universal-orlando/.
Thank you! 🙂
Just a quick comment to note that at Universal if you stay in one hotel, you can use all of the pools at the other hotels! So, if budget is a consideration, you can stay at Cabana Bay and then take your midday pool time at one of the other hotels to get in some luxury time. Especially with older kids who don’t need to nap but do need entertainment. If the gates to the other pools don’t work with your card, just find someone working there and let them know where you’re staying and they’ll let you in.
Thanks – that’s a great tip! Out of sheer convenience/laziness we’ve always stuck to the pools at our hotels.
Hi Eric, I live in Malaysia, half the globe away from Orlando, so I can only travel during long holidays which is July/August or December. Which will be a better time to visit the park in your opinion? July/August will be very hot & Summer holidays in the States, will be crowded i presume. But in Dec there’s Christmas break will be crowded as well?
July and August are hot and very crowded – until the last half of August when local schools are starting to resume. If you can go at the end of August it’s ideal. Otherwise December is great, especially up until December 20th or so. It’s a lot colder, which means the Volcano Bay water park isn’t as fun, but it’s not as crowded and the parks are themed for Christmas. Far more families choose to travel to Orlando over the summer than over Christmas. Having said that, the parks can get fairly crowded from December 20th to January 1st, but it still probably won’t be as bad as peak summer crowds.
Thank you so much for the precious tips.