We Love Universal Orlando Resort with a capital L. We love how each park is easy to navigate and how many of the line queues for the rides are indoors. We love how the line queues for each ride is a part of the story. We love the Express Pass option to avoid waiting in long lines when the parks are busy. We also love how there are many many quality options for delicious food. And, I love how my kids make new discoveries and acquire new favorite rides as they grow.
Each member of our family has a favorite ride or area. My favorite is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the attention to getting each and every detail right. My eight-year-old daughter is finally tall enough to ride most of the big roller coasters, and my husband is delighted to have another thrill-seeker in the family. My eleven-year-old niece is also a thrill-seeker, the faster the better, add something spooky to the mix, and she is in heaven so The Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster is her favorite. My five-year-old son loves Seussland (we rode the Cat in the Hat ride three times) and, like most boys his age, is big into superheroes, so Marvel Superhero Island in Islands of Adventure is a favorite. The last time we visited, two years ago, he was not tall enough to ride the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man virtual reality 3D ride. He was absolutely crushed and has been asking since then when he will be tall enough to ride "the Spider-Man ride." We recently had the opportunity to visit Universal Orlando Resort and I am pleased to tell you that on this trip, he was just tall enough. To say he was ecstatic is an understatement. And, the ride did not disappoint, he will tell you that it is hands down his favorite ride. I don't think I have ever seen my kids smile so much as they did on this trip, and to me, that is what this parenting thing is all about.
No matter how you approach a trip to Universal Orlando Resort you and your family will have a great time. Still, here are some tips we found useful to help plan your trip to make the most of your stay.
1. Florida Resident Rate. When booking your trip, make sure you check for Florida resident rates for hotels, park tickets, and annual passes; this can save you a lot of money.
2. Stay in an On-Site Hotel. Universal Orlando has six hotels. Some are within walking distance to CityWalk and Islands of Adventure and others are a short and easy shuttle ride away. See the list of hotels here. The Hard Rock Hotel and The Portofino Bay Hotel offer Express Passes with your stay, making it well worth the extra money if you plan to purchase Express Passes. Each hotel is unique and in my experience are all great options.
3. Buy a Two-Park Pass. We really took advantage of this feature and spent time in both parks on each day.
4. Express Pass. If Express Passes are not in the budget, don't fret, everything is so well designed that a lot of your waiting time is indoors (air-conditioned!) and as I mentioned before, Universal Orlando Resorts did such a great job when creating these rides that no detail is overlooked and many of the line queues also tell part of the story of the ride, so it is fun just looking around and discovering new things. However, if you have the means, splurge on Express Passes or stay at one of the on-site hotels offering Express Passes, particularly if you are visiting during a busy time of year. It tremendously cuts down your wait time for each ride, allowing you to see more. (Express Passes can be purchased a la carte or are included when staying at some of the Universal Orlando Resort Hotels, check the list here).
5. Height Requirements and Child Swap Areas. Check the height requirements for each ride, but don't worry if you have a child too small to ride, you can take advantage of the child swap areas so that both adults and taller children can still ride. Your family will go through the line together and when it is time to ride, one parent rides while the other waits with the smaller child(ren) in a designated area. When the first parent returns the other has an opportunity to ride (my daughter loves this because she usually gets to ride twice, once with Dad and once with Mom).
6. Which Park First? Check the park hours before you decide which park to hit first. The hours are different on each day, and on some days, one park closes before the other. We found that it made more sense to go to the park that closed earliest first in order to save time to head to the other park at the end of the day. However, if you or your kids are big Harry Potter Fans, you may want to do things a bit differently. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter spans both Universal's Island of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida parks and are connected by a train ride on the Hogwarts Express (which offers a different experience each way) and I would suggest going to Universal Studios first thing in the morning to try to beat the crowds to the newer, Diagon Alley side of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. (TIP: take advantage of early admission to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Early entrance is an added benefit if you have an annual pass, book a vacation package through Universal Orlando Resort or are staying at an on-site hotel.)
7. Plan Your Day, Sort Of. A Suggested Itinerary for a Two-Day Visit (Park to Park Pass required).
Stop One: Diagon Alley, Universal Studios Florida
Since Diagon Alley is a somewhat newer area of Universal Orlando Resorts, it tends to get pretty crowded. So we found that it was best to take advantage of early admission, offered as a perk for staying at a Universal Orlando Resort hotel, and headed straight to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley (Universal Studios Florida). Once you are in the park, consult a map and walk towards the London area. Stop at the old-fashioned red phone booth (dial MAGIC (62442) and the Ministry of Magic will answer), peek inside the Knight Bus and look for Kreacher in the townhouse windows.
Next, look for the hidden entrance to Diagon Alley; this replica of the London street from the series truly feels like you have stepped into the book/movie and there are magical surprises around every turn. At this point, we found it was best to head to the back of the alley for the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts ride (the lines tend to get pretty long at this one, so it is best to head over there before exploring). If your children don't already have one, I would head to Ollivander's Wand Store to purchase a magic wand. Many of the shop windows (in Diagon Alley in Universal Studios and in Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure) have little surprises that can only be activated with a special wand; this is so much fun that we found it to be well worth the cost of the wand. However, before you make a purchase, do not miss the interactive experience at Ollivander's - Ollivander himself might choose your child to be a part of the experience and to discover which is the right wand for them. If this happens, this will certainly be the wand you want to purchase. Next, spend some time in Diagon Alley checking out all of the storefronts for spots where the kids can use their wands to work their magic - either follow the map that came with the wand or look for the medallions on the ground facing the storefronts.
Make sure you spend some time exploring because you do not want to miss the fire-breathing dragon, one of the several performances throughout the day, and the many other surprises hidden throughout Diagon Alley (even in the restroom!).
When it's time for lunch, plan to stop at the Leaky Cauldron. We found that our best meal of the trip was at this quick-service restaurant which features wonderful English dishes as well as drinks from the series (this is a good place to grab a famous Butterbeer, without waiting in line at a kiosk).
Stop Two: Hogsmeade and Hogwarts (Islands of Adventure)
After you have had your fill of Diagon Alley, head back to the train station to catch the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade, which is located in Universal's Islands of Adventure (the is where that park-to-park pass comes in handy). After riding the incredible Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (for the bigger kids) and the flight of the Hippogriff (great for the little kids), we loved seeing all of the creative candies such as every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs in Honey Dukes, trying the Butterbeer Ice Cream in the Three Broomsticks and checking out the Ollivander's Hogsmeade shop.
Stop Three: Islands of Adventure
Spend the rest of the day exploring Islands of Adventure. Some of our favorites are Seuss Landing (great for the little ones but my eight-year-old loved it as well); Marvel Superhero Island for SpiderMan ride and the Hulk (for bigger kids and adults) (TIP: look around while walking through for photo ops with superheroes and villains, they are all over!); the Pteranodon Flyers in Jurassic Park and Skull Island for the Reign of Kong ride. If you don't mind getting wet (and I mean wet, like bring a change of clothes and wear shoes that dry quickly wet), check out the Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges Ride, Dudley Do-Rights Ripsaw Falls, and the Jurassic Park River Adventure.
Stop Four: Universal Studios Florida, Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley at Night
If there is still time, go back to Hogsmeade and jump back on the Hogwarts Express (to experience the magic during the reverse trip) and head back to Universal Studios. If it is dusk or after dark, make sure to take a walk through both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley just to look around because everything becomes even more magical when lit up at night.
Stop Five (Day Two): Universal Studios Florida
Close to the entrance are two of the most popular rides, Escape from New York with Jimmy Fallon and Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem. Escape from New York with Jimmy Fallon is Universal Orlando Resort's newest ride and it is an incredibly fun and thrilling 3D "ride" through the streets of New York City that was surprisingly exciting and tons of fun. And, Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem was one of our favorite rides in the whole park. It is another 3D virtual ride in which you follow Gru and family on a thrilling adventure which really felt like you were riding a roller coaster. We spent the rest of the day exploring Universal Studios Florida, and some of our favorite rides were some of the classics, including The Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers the Ride, flying through the air on a bicycle in the ET ride, and fighting aliens with laser guns in the Men in Black Alien Attack.
Stop Six: Second Ride Time
We found that towards the end of the second day we had just enough time to get in a second (or third) ride on some of our favorite rides. We went for a second go around on the Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem ride and Escape from New York with Jimmy Fallon, and then we headed back over to Islands of Adventure for one more ride on the Hulk and SpiderMan.
When the time arrived for us to leave, my five-year-old planted himself on the floor of the car and refused to get into his car seat. When I asked him what was wrong, he said, "If we leave we might not come back so I don't want to leave! I want to stay here for seven years!" Me too, buddy. Me, too.
The author was a guest of Universal Orlando Resort for the purpose of this review. All opinions are her own. No other compensation was received.
