Everything You Need to Know Before You Go to Universal Orlando Resort

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So what do I need to know before I go to Universal Orlando? This is the number one question most of the first-time park visitors ask. Universal is VERY overwhelming if it’s your first time going there (What’s an express pass? How busy is it? Is it hot year-round? What hotel do I stay at?) *cue anxiety*

Fear not, I’m here to help you (hopefully)! I worked at Universal for 6 years and had the privilege of enjoying the parks for free as much as I wanted… I took FULL ADVANTAGE!

I also remember the first time I visited Universal as an adult and how overwhelming it was compared to when I was a kid (shout out to the parents who plan everything so their daughter has no idea the stress, money, and effort it took to get to Orlando).

If you’re looking for all the tips and tricks, then I have a full Universal Orlando Guide giving you some insider tips and money-saving tricks.

Everything You Need to Know Before You Visit Universal Orlando

It’s Not Called Universal Studios

Back in the day it used to be called Universal Studios, but now the complex has 3 theme parks, 7 hotels, and a massive entertainment hub making it Universal Orlando Resort.

The three parks are Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay (water park). The hotels are (starting with the closest to City Walk) Hard Rock Hotel, Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific, Sapphire Falls, Aventura, Cabana Bay, and Endless Summer.

City Walk is the main entertainment hub and you must walk through City Walk to get to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. If you want to go to Volcano Bay, you still have to park in the main garage, follow the signs for Volcano Bay and it takes you to the lower level where the shuttle buses to the water park depart. (If you are staying at an on-site hotel, then there’s a shuttle from your hotel. If you’re staying at Cabana Bay then they have their own special entrance into the water park).

It’s BUSY!

This is probably obvious, but if you’ve never been to a theme park, then you have no idea. Millions of people visit Universal Orlando Resort every year so that means you’ll be fighting for reservations, waiting in lines, and walking through the parks with thousands of people.

Navigating through the crowds is hard enough (um, hello to the people who just decide to stop in the middle of the walkway without thinking about who is still walking behind them – and running into them), but when you add everything else you have to deal with… is it worth dealing with it?

I have talked to many angry guests over the years and the biggest issue has always been the crowds… so how do you avoid them? That’s easy… go during the off-season! The busiest times are June-August and holidays… and don’t even think about going Christmas-New Years (it’s the BUSIEST time of year).

Undercover Tourist has a crowd calendar that you can check out, however, it’s only an idea of how busy it can get. There’s been plenty of times when they’ve predicted it’s a “busy day for the park” and it’s actually not. For example, the beginning of November is predicted to be busy for Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay, but it’s actually not! Early November is a great time to visit the parks and do Halloween Horror Nights if you want to enjoy a big event with less crowds.

Buy Your Tickets Online (but NOT Express Passes)

Always purchase your park tickets before you go. You can find some good deals on Undercover Tourist, but the official Universal Orlando site has deals and specials too.

Don’t purchase Express Passes until you get there, unless you are going for one of the deals on the official Universal site during peak season (the 5-day, 3-park with unlimited Express Pass is a great deal).

Confused?

Quick rundown: An Express Pass is a ticket add-on that you can purchase separately, it lets you enter a special line at most of the rides that fast-tracks you to the loading zone. If it’s not busy then you don’t need to skip the regular lines and you’ve just wasted your money on passes that you’re not even going to use… no refunds.

There are two different types:

• Express Pass (lets you ride in the express pass line ONCE per ride)
• Express Pass Unlimited (lets you ride in the express line as many times are you want).

The Express Pass is only good for ONE day, so you must purchase an express every day if you want to skip the lines every day.

Hotel Express Passes

If you stay at the Portofino Bay, Hard Rock Hotel, or Royal Pacific Resort then you get complimentary Unlimited Express Passes for everyone in your room up to 5 people.

You get them on the day you check in until the day you check out, so if you get there early and your room isn’t ready then you are able to use your express pass right away in the parks!

Download the App

This is a great resource while you’re at the parks and there’s free wifi throughout the resort, so you’re always connected. This app has park maps, opening and closing times, ride descriptions, keep your tickets and passes in one safe place, and create a to-do list!

My favorite feature of the app is having the wait times for every ride. The only way to find the wait times while you are in the parks are either walking up to the rides or locating one of the wait times boards, which are not conveniently located throughout the parks.

Turn your notifications on and you can get alerts when ride times drop for your favorites!

There are Two Wizarding Worlds

Diagon Alley is located in Universal Studios and Hogsmeade is located in Islands of Adventure and each has different rides and attractions.

If you want to ride the Hogwarts Express then you need a park-to-park ticket, and you’ll want to ride it BOTH ways because it’s a different experience going towards Hogwarts than it is going to Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley:

• Escape from Gringotts
• Ollivanders
• The Leaky Cauldron
• Gringotts Money Exchange
• Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees show
• Knight Bus w/ interactive Shrunken Head
• Hogwarts Express

Hogsmeade:

• Hogwarts Castle
• Forbidden Journey
• Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
• Flight of the Hippogriff
• Ollivanders
• The Three Broomsticks
• Hogwarts Express
• Honeydukes

It’s HOT! Drink Water!

Orlando gets a lot of tourists who aren’t used to the heat and sometimes it hits them hard. Unfortunately, I saw plenty of cases of heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and dehydration during my time at Universal and I can tell you it’s VERY common.

How do you avoid it? Drink plenty of water. Every bar and restaurant will provide you with a free cup of water if you ask, or you can take a reusable water bottle and refill it at one of the many water fountains throughout the park. Sometimes you bounce from ride to ride and forget to stop for a water break, by the end of the day, you feel extra exhausted. Save yourself the headache and drink water.

Wear loose and comfortable clothing. You’re going to be walking around all day, waiting in line and going on rides, and probably getting wet (either on a ride or from the rain) so don’t wear heavy jeans and tight clothes.

Wear sunblock! And reapply often! The Florida sun is hot (I got burnt in February once – super embarrassing) and it’s very tempting to wear a tank top every day… but remember you need that protection or you’ll be hurtin’ the next day.

Always take advantage of the air-conditioned stores and restaurants and take breaks in the shade when possible. It’s so easy to lose track of time when you’re rushing around the parks, but make sure you take a 10-minute break every once in a while and sit down in some shade. Instead of grabbing a quick meal and eating outside, make sure you find a restaurant that has indoor seating so you can recharge in the A/C!!

Don’t Overpack Your Park Bag

You might be tempted to take everything to the park (just in case), but you’ll be carrying around a heavy backpack (you don’t need that extra back sweat.. gross) or bag all day.

I recommend taking a hip pack (super nerdy I know), but TOTALLY practical. In a hip pack, you can fit your wallet, park passes, car keys, poncho (for rain), and a fold-up reusable water bottle – I’ve done it! AND you can take it on all the rides with you (with the exception of Rip Ride Rock-It and The Hulk).

If you have to bring more stuff then opt for a mini backpack that won’t weigh you down and can easily fit into the lockers provided at each of the rides.

Outdoor Rides Shut Down with Lightning

Guess what happens in Florida every day around 3pm throughout the summer? A huge thunderstorm. If you look at the weather forecast on your phone it will show thunderstorms every day… don’t freak out, it doesn’t last that long, but you should plan around it.

If you start see the dark clouds rolling in (I like checking the radar on The Weather Channel app and pretend I’m a meteorologist predicting when the storm will hit) then you need to get to shelter. The lightning in Florida is NO JOKE. All the outdoor rides close for lightning in the area and do not reopen until it’s safe to do so – so it won’t be directly after the storm has gone.

Indoor rides will stay open, so you need to head to one of those rides or head for an early dinner because there will be a massive rush for food and shelter.

If you’re at Volcano Bay, which is the water park, then all the rides shut down. You can take shelter while the storm passes, but it might be a while before the park reopens.

Parks Close Early for Events

Universal puts on plenty of events every year, most of which you can enjoy… Halloween Horror Nights, Mardi Gras, Harry Potter weekends… but what about the events that you don’t get to enjoy, but have to deal with the shorter park hours?

Every year there are always a few companies that will buy out the parks and guess what? They will close around 5 or 6pm to accommodate that company, so that means you miss out. Every May is Grad Night season, so on the weekends, you’ll find Universal Studios closing early so they can set up for the high schoolers graduating and enjoying their night of freedom.

ALWAYS check the official website for the most up-to-date park times or talk to your on-site hotel concierge and avoid disappointment!

Money Saving Tips

Single Rider is your friend

If you don’t want to spend the money on the express passes, but don’t want to wait 120 minutes for that ride… fear not! There’s a single-rider line! It’s not ideal for families with small kids, but for families with older children who can hold their own on a ride, it’s great.

Your party will stay together through the line until you get to the loading zone. The single-rider line is used as a filler for the attraction cars, so every ride is full and no space is wasted. If the row is 4 people long and only 3 people to fill it from the regular line, the staff will take the next person from the single rider line.

It happens A LOT, so the line does move very quickly. Sometimes there will be the need for one person in the front row, two people in the next row, and one in the last row… that’s your whole family in the same car!

Check the official website for deals

Yes, there are a lot of “discount” websites out there and sometimes they are a scam, and other times it makes you feel like you are saving money, but you really aren’t.

Going through Universal’s official website will guarantee you are buying a legit package and they do some GREAT SPECIALS!

For example, if you have a family of four and you are traveling during a certain time period, you can stay in an on-site hotel and get park tickets for your entire stay for $85.00 per person per night. That’s $340.00 a day for your whole family for the hotel AND park tickets!!

Purchase the unlimited drinks package

For $16.99 you can get the unlimited Coca-Cola Freestyle Beverage package. You can a souvenir cup and you can use any freestyle machine throughout the parks!

Considering sodas are not cheap, this is the perfect option for families with kids who always want a drink…. oh, and they can get an Icee too! Perfect for those hot Florida days!

Bring your own snacks

A lot of people think that all outside food and drink is prohibited from Universal, but it’s not!! As long as you don’t have to refrigerate it or heat it up, then it’s allowed.

So if you want to bring some energy bars or a bag of chips, you can. Which will help hold you over for lunch or dinner and you’re not spending extra money on expensive snacks in the parks!

Take advantage of special events

Get more bang for your buck with Universal’s special events. If you visit during the holiday season then you’ll have Christmas shows, decorated parks, and special parades… all for the same price as your regular ticket!

If you visit during Mardi Gras (Feb-April) then you’ll get some great New Orleans street food and a Mardi Gras parade, complete with beads. If you visit on a Mardi Gras concert night, then you get a show for free! It’s normally on weekends and you can always check the lineup on their official site!

I’ve seen some great bands on this stage… everyone from 311 to Matchbox Twenty to Pitbull to Earth Wind and Fire and even the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon! Such a great variety and all included in the price of your regular ticket!

VIP Experiences

The total opposite of budget-friendly, Universal offers several options for VIP experiences within the parks or during special events.

The most popular is the regular VIP Experience. You’ll be placed with another group of up to 12 people and you have the option for the 5-hour tour of one park or the 7-hour tour of two parks. You’ll get front-of-the-line priority for all the rides, reserved seating at shows, and a quick service breakfast and lunch.

The VIP Private Experience will give you and your family a personalized experience for Universal. Including everything above, you actually get a full-service dinner! Be ready to dish out a few thousand for your family (excluding park tickets), but you’ll definitely feel like a VIP at the end of the day.

Halloween Horror Nights has its own set of experiences. During the day there is a tour that will take you behind the scenes of the houses… with the lights on!! During the event, there’s the RIP Tour, which will give you front-of-the-line access to all the houses AND a special welcome reception with food and non-alcoholic drinks.

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