2026 Universal Orlando Planning Guide

ByTom Bricker
317 Comments

Our Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe planning guide offers park & ride strategy. It features tips & tricks to help you save money & time, avoid crowds, and have the best vacation or side-visit from Walt Disney World as possible.

We’re Universal Orlando Annual Passholders and huge fans of those parks in addition to Walt Disney World. Universal has improved a ton and upped its game in the last decade. This began with the Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade lands of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, accelerated with Jurassic World VelociCoaster, and culminated with Epic Universe.

Epic Universe is the elephant in the room, and there’s a good chance you’re reading this guide in order to plan the perfect visit to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe. Fortunately, we’ve already spent several days in Epic Universe (with many more to come) and have strategy, reviews, tips & tricks, etc. Sign up to receive our FREE Email Newsletter if you’d like to receive updates about Epic Universe (and obviously, Disney as well).

Suffice to say, we highly recommend spending at least a couple of days at Universal when vacationing at Walt Disney World. The question becomes, do you reallocate time from Universal’s existing gates or Disney’s? And do you stay on-site at Disney, Universal, or do a split-stay at both?

This is guide to Universal Orlando Resort attempts to assist you in answering some of those questions and everything you’ll need to know about UOR. Whether you’re doing both parks in a single day or making a trip of it with an on-site hotel stay and multiple days in the parks, we have you covered with info and advice about attractions, dining, resorts, strategy, crowds, and more.

Let’s start with Epic Universe, since that’s the big new thing–and reason why many of you are likely reading…

Epic Universe Everything…

If you’re planning a 2026 vacation to Central Florida, the biggest thing to know is that Epic Universe is now open. This is Universal Orlando’s third theme park, and is a blockbuster expansion containing revolutionary attractions and major lands based on Harry Potter, Nintendo, Universal Monsters, How to Train Your Dragon, and more. Epic Universe is a game-changer, featuring lands on par with Disney’s best.

Epic Universe should be the overriding consideration if you’re visiting Central Florida. One thing to note up front is that there are major downsides to visiting this highly-anticipated new park right now, as laid out in Why You Should Skip Epic Universe (or Wait to Visit Until 2026).

This new park is going to have growing pains, and its envelope-pushing attractions are already plagued by downtime and unreliability. If you visit Epic Universe during its debut season or even first year, you’re likely to encounter technical difficulties and other frustrations. With that said, there are also great reasons to visit ASAP, and dedicate more of your Florida vacation time to the new park–Here’s Why You Need 2 Days at Epic Universe.

The very good news is that it’ll be easier to spend multiple days, or portions of days (we’re big fans of mornings and evenings–do the other parks during the middle of the day, or take a resort break) at Epic Universe in 2026. After a long delay, 2026 Epic Universe 1-Day, Multi-Day, Park Hopper & Discount Tickets Are Now on Sale!

Starting in 2026, Epic Universe is part of regular tickets. This means you can visit for as many days as you want or, if you purchase the park-to-park option, you can bounce around between the other two parks and Epic Universe. This is an absolute game-changer that should relieve a lot of the stress from the experience.

Park Hopping and more open access to Epic Universe might also have negative consequences. Namely, larger crowd levels as guests won’t be limited to a single day in the park. People purchasing 5-day or 14-day tickets, for example, could elect to spend every single day in Epic Universe, when previously, they were limited to 1-day.

Our expectation is that there’s an uptick in attendance as a result, but it’ll mostly self-regulate. The average guest is not going to do 2+ days at Epic Universe, let alone 5-14 days. That’s just not a normal use case.

If you do opt to visit Epic Universe, the good news is that we have plenty of strategy to help plan your visit. For starters, we’d recommend staying at Helios Grand Hotel if Epic Universe is a priority.

Its location and ease of access should give guests of that hotel a strategic advantage. Helios Grand Hotel does not offer unlimited Express Pass to any park, which is undoubtedly a drawback, but its advantage at Epic Universe (and competitive price) more than makes up for that.

If you’re on a tighter budget, we recommend Stella Nova or Terra Luna Resorts, which are value hotels within walking distance of Epic Universe. This trio of hotels is at the Epic Universe ‘campus’ of Universal Orlando, which is a decent distance from the other parks and resorts. If you’re spending equal time at all 3 parks, you might want to stay on the main campus–but we recommend focusing on Epic Universe.

At opening, Epic Universe features 11 rides and two major shows, plus a wide variety of atmospheric entertainment, play areas, and more. This includes 4 roller coasters, two blockbuster dark rides, and more. If you’re looking for a detailed look at attractions, consult our Ride Rankings & Reviews for Epic Universe.

If you’re trying to plan the perfect day in the park, check out our new 1-Day Universal Epic Universe Itinerary: How to Beat Crowds at Florida’s Busiest Park! That was written months after Epic Universe opened, after we had the chance to field test a variety of options and park operations had (somewhat) settled in. With that said, note that things will continue change in the months to come. Our plan is to revise that sometime in 2026 after experiencing Epic Universe a few times post-park hopping.

We also have both an Early Park Admission Epic Universe Strategy Guide and Epic Universe Morning Strategy for Rope Drop & Beyond. That will get you through the first few hours of the day, and should assist you in beating the lines at roughly your first half-dozen attractions.

If you’re looking for something rough, here’s the outline for a day at Epic Universe:

  • EPA: Super Nintendo World or Roller Coasters or BatM (if operating early)
  • Rope Drop: How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk
  • Midday: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic
  • Lunch: Cafe L’air De La Sirene (see My Favorite Foods at Epic Universe & Must-Eat Restaurants)
  • Afternoon: Stage Shows
  • Afternoon/Early Evening: Celestial Park
  • Dusk: Dark Universe
  • Night: Super Nintendo World

Note that if you are eligible for Early Park Admission, starting in Super Nintendo World is the popular choice. However, you might want to think twice about that (see Why to Skip Super Nintendo World’s Morning Madness During Epic Universe’s Early Entry).

Another option is saving Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge and Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness until the end of the evening. You also might consider skipping Mine-Cart Madness entirely, for the reasons explained here. If we had to cut one headliner from our day, it’d be that. (Sorry, DK!)

Even if you’re eligible for EPA, you probably won’t be able to experience all of Super Nintendo World during that hour-long head-start. In which case, return at night and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere, mini-games, Yoshi’s Adventure, and more. (You also might want to re-ride Mario Kart to beat your high score!)

Here’s what you need to know for planning your bigger-picture Universal Orlando vacation…

Walt Disney World vs. Universal

In this guide, we’ll cover how to make the most of a visit to Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe. We’re going to take a counterintuitive organizational approach to this guide, as we’ve found that many readers consult it while visiting Universal rather than during the planning stages of a trip. Accordingly, we’re going to front load with info you need to know if you’ve already touched down in Central Florida.

If you’re a Disney fan simply trying to determine whether a trip to Universal Orlando Resort is right for you in the first place, you might start by reading our Universal vs. Walt Disney World post, which covers some of the pros and cons of each, plus the differences between the two vacation destinations.

Although they’re all theme parks located in Central Florida, each have strengths and weaknesses that will make them better or worse for certain types of families–ages, demographics, etc. Right off the bat, we recognize that many of you will need to “sacrifice” a Walt Disney World park in order to accommodate Epic Universe. Should You Skip Animal Kingdom? might help with that.

Similarly, if you’re debating between resorts at the two main theme park complexes, see our comprehensive breakdown: Universal Orlando vs. Walt Disney World Hotels. That should help you determine which is the better option for your vacation–or if a split stay might be best!

Universal Orlando Deals & Prices

One commonality between the two is that both Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando have gotten more aggressive with discounts in an attempt to entice more people to visit their parks and stay in on-site hotels. We’ve mentioned repeatedly that Walt Disney World already has released several different discounts for 2026.

Universal has followed suit, shifting from discounts aimed almost exclusively at Annual Passholders and Florida residents to general public offers. There are currently ticket deals, resort discounts offering 20-35% off, and package deals offering “Free” Dining (sound familiar?).

These are worth pricing out for yourself, but we should warn that many have length of stay requirements of 5 days. That’s longer than most people will spend at Universal Orlando (which is part of why it’s being offered–to increase visit durations).

There are some special offer and pricing quirks, so we’d direct your attention to our new post: How to Get Cheapest Pricing on 2026 Universal Orlando & Epic Universe Vacations. That covers everything you need to know, including Universal’s one huge pricing policy that is dramatically different from Walt Disney World.

Suffice to say, we highly recommend using Be Our Guest Vacations to price out different packages and deals, and help you figure out the best way to save, plan your trip, etc. Request a free, no-obligation quote from them, and then let them do the work of planning for you.

Where to Stay at Universal

There are a number of questions you have to ask yourself when planning a trip, and many of them will dictate where you stay. Do you want Unlimited Express Pass by staying at an eligible Universal Orlando hotel? Do you want to stay at a Walt Disney World hotel for the duration of your trip, or change hotels? Do you want to stay an an off-site hotel in the general vicinity of both Universal and Disney to save money?

We’ve recently stayed at every single on-site hotel at Universal Orlando Resort–here are our reviews:

For insight into all of these hotels, their pros & cons, and how they compare and contrast with one another, see our Universal Orlando Hotel Rankings & Reviews.

We are big fans of Universal’s hotels, and are particularly partial to Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, which rivals some of our favorite resorts at Walt Disney World. Since Epic Universe opened, that new park has been our focus, and we’ve stayed exclusively on the new campus at Helios Grand Hotel and Terra Luna & Stella Nova Resorts.

Universal’s hotels provide great bang for buck, and even those that don’t include free Express Pass do offer Early Park Admission one hour before those parks open. That can be absolutely huge! Between these perks and the low rates of Universal’s budget tier hotels, we cannot imagine staying off-site.

With that said, we do have an Off-Site vs. On-Site Walt Disney World Hotels article that goes into greater depth about the pros and cons of staying off-site, and it’s applicable to Universal, as well. You can also check out our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews page, which includes a ton of options around Central Florida–well beyond just WDW property!

Ride Strategy for Universal Orlando

Next, what to know while you’re at Universal Orlando. For starters, we strongly recommend that you do not “wing it” for your daily itinerary due to the aforementioned crowd issues. You don’t need to plan every movement so that there’s no spontaneity in your trip, just make sure you have at least a loose plan of what you’re going to do.

We have the following plans for each park that cover our perfect days:

Those offer step by step touring plans for both theme parks at Universal Orlando, prioritizing the most popular rides and skipping what isn’t worth your time. Those will help you do Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk Coaster, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, and other must-do rides.

If you’d prefer to create your own itineraries and want an overview and review of every attraction at each of the parks, consult our Islands of Adventure Ride Guide and Universal Studios Florida Ride Guide. If you’re a fan spinners, you might want to check those out, as we don’t waste your time with that nonsense in the itineraries.

When to Visit

If you’re adding on a Universal Orlando visit to your Walt Disney World vacation, the answer to this is easy…whenever you’re visiting Walt Disney World. Crowd patterns at Walt Disney World translate pretty similarly to Universal Orlando.

The reasons are two-fold: first, because crowds tend to be predicated upon school schedules, which are the same for both; second, because Walt Disney World is the ‘whale’ in the Orlando market, so crowds for all theme parks are dictated by when guests plan their Disney vacations.

In other words, you can refer to our 2026 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendars post to determine when to visit, as that’s roughly applicable to Universal Orlando as well. At least, when it comes to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida.

There are some exceptions to this, and they’re largely predicated upon special events that are unique to each of the parks. For example, Walt Disney World sees its crowds spike due to runDisney events, when its hotels are hosting conventions or youth sporting events, or during EPCOT festivals. By contrast, Universal sees its own spikes around Mardi Gras and Halloween Horror Nights.

In general, though, the big driver of attendance at both is school breaks. In particular, those of Orange County and other counties throughout Florida and the South. Of course, both are vacation destinations, so breaks for school districts in the Midwest and Northeast also have a significant impact. The obvious times like Spring Break, Easter, Summer, Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are all busy.

More under the radar timeframes like MLK Day, Presidents’ Day, Mardi Gras, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, and more also see pronounced spikes in crowds. Again, reference the aforementioned crowd calendars if you’re looking to choose the best times to visit Universal Orlando.

Due to a surge of locals on weekends, we strongly recommend avoiding Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure on Saturdays and Sundays.

Mondays through Thursdays are the best days to visit, with much lower crowds then. However, that goes out the window during holiday weeks or anytime school is out of session, when it’s disproportionately tourists and every single day of the week is busy.

The bigger exception to this is Epic Universe. Due to the lack of Annual Passes, which are unlikely to be offered for the next year or longer, there are divergent demographics between the newest park and the legacy ones. See our Secrets to Conquer Crowds at Epic Universe: Best Dates to Visit in 2026 for recommendations.

While there’s no guarantee that’ll continue to be foolproof, I’ve managed to do it all at Epic Universe by targeting the least-busy days and avoiding the bonkers ones. That’s really important at Epic Universe, since the crowds can be so much worse than any other theme park at Universal Orlando or Walt Disney World.

Then there are special events at Universal Orlando. There are only three noteworthy ones: Mardi Gras, Halloween Horror Nights, and Christmas.

During Mardi Gras, guests can experience a food festival with cuisine and entertainment inspired by international Carnaval celebrations. Food booths serve up the flavors of Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Germany, Spain and other regions including, of course, New Orleans. Plus enjoy spectacular floats on display, street entertainment, music, beads and more throughout Universal Studios Florida.

During HHN, you step onto the set of some of your favorite horror movies, and walking through those sets as actors attempt to scare you. This event is not for children under the age of 13, and has absolutely nothing in common with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World. See our Guide to Halloween Horror Nights for more.

Although HHN gets all the attention from the fan community, the final popular seasonal event of the year is Christmas at Universal Orlando. We’d argue that Christmas is superior to HHN, with the latter being much more taste-specific and having a faithful fan following. If you’re not part of that fervent fanbase, HHN can actually be a bit off-putting.

During this, Grinchmas and Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s are the main entertainment draws. There’s also the Christmas Tribute Store, which is essentially a walk-through exhibit, plus Universal Studios Florida’s iconic Christmas Tree.

Perhaps the biggest draw is Winter in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which features unique decor and projections on Hogwarts Castle. There are also decorations around both parks in Seuss Landing, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, Hollywood, New York, and San Francisco.

How Many Days?

This one is going to vary widely based on a few variables. The biggest one is how receptive your party is to the type of attractions that are prominent at Universal Orlando Resort, namely, roller coasters and screen-based simulators.

That’s reductionist, and there are many more things at Universal than those types of rides, but if your party is averse to either, doing more than 2 days at Universal is going to be tough. If you love coasters or have teens, you can easily spend 3 days or more at Universal Orlando.

In our view, the average guest will want at least 2 days at Universal Orlando in 2026. One for Epic Universe, and another 1-2 days for the other two parks. It’s possible to do Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida in the same day, but it’s not possible to do Epic Universe and another park in the same day. In our view, 3+ days is optimal.

With park hopping now available to Epic Universe in 2026, we’d advise purchasing at least 3-day tickets with the park-to-park option. Universal Orlando tickets dramatically decrease in price for 4-day and 5-day tickets, so you may want to upgrade to those. Again, this will really relieve the pressure when it comes to Epic Universe, which is still a challenging and frustrating park to visit.

Theme park enthusiasts could be able to spend 2 full days at Epic Universe and another 2 days at the other parks. Epic Universe has an exceptional restaurant roster, and its roller coasters have a lot of re-rideability, as do Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, and Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.

There’s also the question of whether you’re planning a Central Florida trip with some time at Universal, or a vacation to Universal Orlando. If the former, 2 days is probably all you have–one for Epic Universe and one for the rest. If the latter, you could do 5+ days, with 4 in the 3 theme parks, another at Volcano Bay water park, and perhaps some time at CityWalk.

Then, there’s also the question of how much “extra” vacation time you have. Assuming you’ve already allocated your time at Walt Disney World and are looking at “other stuff” to round out your trip to Florida, I’d probably look to spending more time at Universal than other parks like SeaWorld or Busch Gardens. That’s personal preference and all of these parks definitely aren’t trying to accomplish the same thing, but I find the Disney and Universal parks to be in a different league than all of the rest.

Universal Orlando Park Tickets

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If you’re looking for a deal on park tickets, Get Away Today will save you the most money on Universal Orlando tickets. This is especially true if you’re doing a longer trip, as Get Away Today often has a ‘Buy 2 days, get 3 days free’ special. With more and more to do at Universal Orlando, spending several days in the parks is highly recommended–especially if you’re staying in a nearby hotel and want to do some partial days (also recommended).

I am a fan of the Park-to-Park tickets if you can swing spending extra. This is because Universal did something really ingenious when it built Diagon Alley, and that was connecting the two Wizarding Worlds of Harry Potter via the Hogwarts Express.

You can only ride this train from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley (or vice-a-versa) if you have the Park-to-Park ticket. I’m no Harry Potter fan, but the experience of entering a train station in London, walking through a wall, and then taking a train to Hogsmeade is pretty awesome.

If you’re going for just one day and don’t want the park-to-park tickets, the best way to save money on Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida tickets is simply going to be buying tickets online on Universal Orlando’s website. The Universal tickets purchased online can be printed at home and used at the turnstiles–meaning no waiting in line to purchase tickets or exchange vouchers.

Express Pass

Express Pass is Universal Orlando’s version of Lightning Lanes (a way to skip the lines) and is available as a ticket add-on or with select hotel stays. You can purchase two varieties of Express Pass, regular or unlimited. Almost all of the most popular attractions in each park offer Express Pass.

The regular version allows you to skip the line once per eligible attraction in either park, and costs $90 to $350 per person depending on the date. Universal Express Unlimited offers line-skipping privileges, as the name suggests, an unlimited number of times per attraction, and costs between $150 and $400 per person. Even at its most expensive, Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Walt Disney World costs under $50 per person. So, what’s the difference? Well, a lot. 

Unlike Lightning Lanes, there is no tech component to Express Pass. While it’s significantly more expensive, it’s also frictionless. You simply go up to the attraction and use your Express Pass entitlement. There’s nothing to reserve or hassle with in an app. Express Pass involves zero screen time and headaches–but you’ll pay a lot more for it!

Whether Express Pass is worth the money largely depends upon what day of the week and season you’re visiting, and how you value your time versus your money. Personally, we would not pay for Express Pass most days. However, we also avoid weekends and holidays, arrive for park opening, and utilize an efficient park itinerary.

If you really want Express Pass, staying at an on-site hotel that offers Express Pass with your stay is absolutely the way to go. Unlimited Express Pass is available at the Universal Premier category resorts–meaning Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel, and Portofino Bay–which are Universal’s most expensive hotels. Honestly, this is the only way we’ve ever “bought” Express Pass–we couldn’t justify the cost any other way.

All three of these hotels are nice, on par with Walt Disney World’s Deluxe Resorts, and generally cost less. They’re still pricey, but they’re cheaper than Disney’s higher-end hotels, and absolutely worth the money–especially if you want the Unlimited Express Pass perk or a good location within walking or boat distance of Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. If you’d be staying at a nice hotel anyway, this trio is definitely worthy of your consideration.

If you’re debating paying extra for Epic Universe line-skipping, see Should You Buy Express Pass at Epic Universe?

Transportation

By far the most common questions we get concerning Universal Orlando Resort is: “what’s the best way to get from Walt Disney World Universal.” The answer is that there are a lot of options, but by far the best is Uber. We covered this in depth in our Uber vs. Rental Cars at Walt Disney World article. Here’s the pertinent portion of that post:

In the past, the best option we’ve found for those who don’t have rental cars the duration of their trips is either renting a car on-site for the day, or taking a pricey shuttle. Neither is cost-effective or all that appealing, especially when you add on that parking fee.

For those who aren’t renting a car for the duration of their trip, Uber or Lyft are the unquestionable best options for getting from Walt Disney World to Universal. The one-way cost of an Uber or Lyft from Walt Disney World will vary depending upon your exact location, typically costing under $25 each way and taking 20-25 minutes.

Dining

There are some good restaurants in Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, but as a whole, the culinary experience is not on par with Walt Disney World’s. The unquestionable highlights, in my mind, are the counter service restaurants in Diagon Alley (Leaky Cauldron) and Hogsmeade (Three Broomsticks) and the table service restaurant, Mythos, which is a great value.

Other in-park restaurants at Universal Orlando that we like include the Today Show Cafe (for lighter options) and Krusty Burger (for the exact opposite). Actually, there’s something for everyone in the Springfield area, which has a variety of dining options drawn from The Simpsons.

On the snacking front, you’re obviously going to want to try Butterbeer–perhaps all three varieties (frozen, hot, and regular). Most of the other snacks we enjoy are also in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour and Honeydukes.

Another thing you might want to consider is purchasing a refillable Coke Freestyle mug. I’ve done this, but I can really put down the Cokes to make it worth the money. I’m sure some day I will be toothless, but hopefully that’s at least 5 years away. These Coke Freestyle machines located throughout the parks are also a convenient way to get free water that’s cold and tastes great.

Epic Universe is a totally different story, at least until the ‘new park smell’ wears off. Epic Universe has fantastic food that’s easily on par with Walt Disney World. Epic Universe might even be the best food park in Orlando!

Other Things to Do

Volcano Bay is Universal Orlando’s water park. It’s themed to the South Seas and features a giant volcano (hence the name) in the middle with water slides in it. For Walt Disney World fans, it’s a bit like Typhoon Lagoon water park mixed with Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and Adventureland.

With four lush, tropical areas inspired by the Pacific Isles, 21 different attractions, and a number of dining & shopping options, Volcano Bay offers something for everyone. We don’t have enough extensive experience with Volcano Bay to offer strategy, but our rough approach mirrors that of other parks.

Take advantage of Early Park Admission if eligible, prioritize the high-profile thrill rides and slides in the first hour of the day, then do more relaxed experiences. If arriving late, head to the back of the park first, try to outlast the crowds, and enjoy shorter lines at the end of the day.

Volcano Bay is seasonally closed on selected dates between now and February 2026, and is always subject to weather-related closures. Additionally, Volcano Bay will be closed for maintenance beginning October 26, 2026, with a current planned reopening on or before March 24, 2027.

In addition to the two theme parks and Volcano Bay water park, there’s CityWalk. This is Universal Orlando’s shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, which is a lot like Disney Springs. The big difference is that you walk through CityWalk to access Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure, and it’s incredibly easy to exit the parks and eat lunch or dinner at CityWalk. No bus necessary!

There’s also a lot of relatively new dining at CityWalk, such as Red Coconut Club, Bigfire, Voodoo Doughnut, Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, and VIVO Italian Kitchen–among other things. Toothsome is a fan-favorite for its over the top milkshakes and dessert concoctions (as well as the fun steampunk theme), and Voodoo Doughnut is a fun spot. With that said, we think both are slightly overrated.

For our money, the sleeper hits of the list are Bigfire and Cowfish, both of which offer great food at reasonable (by theme park standards) prices. We’d also give honorable mentions to Vivo and Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food. While the latter is not our personal favorite, it’s better than the “blockbuster” touristy restaurants like Hard Rock Cafe, Margaritaville, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Nothing against any of those–but they’re essentially Applebee’s with more wow-factor. Good enough for predictably-prepared comfort food, but absolutely nothing special.

One final note on attractions is that there are numerous attractions that don’t allow bags, but provide free lockers nearby for storing backpacks, cameras, small children, and whatever other random junk you might have on you. These are pretty convenient and there are larger lockers you can pay for at the front of the park, but the point here is for those of you who are used to bringing a small U-Haul worth of stuff into the Walt Disney World parks: you can’t do that at Universal. Pack for the parks a little lighter.

I think this is probably a good starting point if you’re planning on visiting Universal Orlando Resort as an add-on to your Walt Disney World vacation. If you would like to see some of these topics covered in greater depth, please let me know in the comments. We’re planning to tackle more on dining, special events, and Universal Orlando news in the coming months, so stay tuned for more of that!

Need trip planning tips and comprehensive advice for your visit to Central Florida? Make sure to read our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide for everything about those parks, resorts, restaurants, and so much more. For regular updates, news & rumors, a heads up when discounts are released, and much more, sign up for our FREE email newsletter!

Your Thoughts

Are you visiting Universal Orlando Resort in 2026? Excited for Epic Universe or other rumored additions in the next few years? What about Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Hagrid’s, or the new rides that have recently opened? Have a favorite on-site hotel at Universal? Do you prefer staying on-site at Universal, or commuting from Walt Disney World? If you’re a first-timer, is there anything else you’d like to know? Chances are if you have questions still, so does someone else! Please share your thoughts in the comments

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317 Comments

  1. I’ve been to Universal Studios/IOA 4 times within the past year and a half and will be making a 1-day stop during my WDW trip at the end of this September. I’ve stayed off-site and on-site (Cabana Bay & Royal Pacific) and recently experienced HHN for the first time.
    TIPS:
    Express Passes : Do NOT bother paying for the Express Pass if you go in May/September/October (I can’t speak to November/December, but imagine the crowd levels being similar to Disney as Tom mentioned) you can accomplish all the rides/attractions during this time without the EP.
    The cost varies for the Express Passes based on time of year (i.e. spring break passes are more as compared to passes in October, supply and demand).
    If you are going in March/April, during spring break time, I highly recommend staying in one of the on-site hotels to get the EP. I went with a group of 6 girls (4 are teachers), stayed at Royal Pacific, and this made all the difference for our trip. We did every ride we wanted, including the HP rides more than once.
    HHN – If you buy an Express Pass it does NOT translate to your time at HHN. They have a separate pass for this and it can be extremely expensive because it gets you onto the rides as well as the “haunted houses”. I didn’t buy one and ended up waiting 90 minutes for Freddy vs. Jason. It may be worth investing in if you are a die-hard horror movie fan and want to tour as many of the houses as possible though.
    Lockers – if you are in a group, designate one or two people to take everyone’s bags and put them in the lockers while the rest of the group gets in line. I’ve never had an issue catching up to my group. Universal did not do a great job when thinking about crowd capacity when planning out the locker spaces. It can get incredibly tight (and hot!) when you have 6 people huddled around a tiny locker space.
    Cabana Bay – this was a great hotel and I would absolutely stay here again. I didn’t wait more than 5 minutes for a bus to pick me up to go to the park and vise versa. It’s more along the value themes like POP Century, but it had a Starbucks, a bowling alley, great pool, spacious room, etc. and it was incredibly reasonable for the price.
    Moe’s Tavern – this is in the Simpsons area and if you are a Simpsons fan, you have to stop in. It’s like stepping directly into the cartoon. There is also a special drink that comes out smoking and is really fun to try (of course I can’t remember the name).
    Apps – Download the Universal FL App to show you current wait times on rides. It’s not always 100% accurate, but it does the trick.
    Minion Mayhem – ride this first!!! I have never seen less than a 60 minute wait for this ride, even during the slowest time of the season.
    Twister – if you are going while it’s still there…SKIP IT!
    Ollivanders – There is one in each of the HP “lands”, if the line for the show is long at one, it mean the other has a much shorter wait.
    Diagon Alley – there are shows that go on every 15-20 minutes in Diagon Alley and they are worth sticking around for, one is a retell of the tale of the Deathly Hallows.

    I could go on and on because I have really come to love Universal, but this is already incredibly lengthy!

    Reply

  2. Your guide to Disneyworld has been invaluable in helping us decide how we’re going to spend our time there but I do have one question about adding on a trip to Universal Studios…what would your recommended itenerary be for 2 days? We’re not sure which park to go to first (specifically as Harry Potter fans); what would you suggest?

    Reply

    1. Hi! As a fellow Harry Potter lover, I feel that I can offer you some advice. Islands of Adventure is my personal favorite, but many people disagree with this. It’s smaller than the other park and has a rather large Dr. Seuss section that many adults don’t enjoy. I love it though. There’s also the Marvel superhero section and Hogsmeade. The other park has Diagon Alley, Simpsons, ET, and several movie-based rides and rollercoasters. It’s also bigger.

      If you’re spending two days here, I’d plan for about half to 3/4 of a day at Islands of Adventure. You can use single rider lines or express passes to shorten wait times. Eat at the HogsHead! The rest of your time can be spent in the main park. Do everything you want at IOA, then in the afternoon/early evening take the train to Diagon Alley. The wait times here will be not so bad in the evening. On day two, focus on the thrill rides, and if you want, revisit the Harry Potter sections later in the evening when the crowds aren’t bad.

      There’s a food court in the Simpsons section that has a pretty good selection with decent food. I’d recommend it for lunch, especially if you’re going with a large group. The donuts are also really good.

      Hope this helped!

    2. I would (and do) start my day at Universal. I like to enter Diagon alley then go to the train station to head off to Hogsmead. This is the same order Harry did it. Then we spend a lot of the day at IA and catch the train back to cruse universal until closing.

  3. Headed there today for the first time! Didn’t have time to plan before hand (too busy planning Disney and this was last minute add on!). Your post was extremely helpful and not too long! Thanks!

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  4. We are staying at WDW and originally were going to do 2 days at Universal. Now that has been cut down to one day since part of out family doesn’t want to leave Disney. Is it possible on a Monday in late Sept. to do both parks in one day including Dispicable Me, Rip Ride Rocket, Transformers, Mummy, Terminator, Men In Black, (if time Shrek & E.T.), both Harry Potter lands, Jurassic Park, Spiderman, and Hulk? It will be 3 adults and a teen going. Would really enjoy reading your suggestions for a one-day both parks itinerary. We have chosen Broomsticks for dinner; but otherwise don’t plan on stopping for any other meals.

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    1. Yes you can do both in one day. If you have a teen I would defiantly skip Shrek and ET. My 10 and 8 year old wont go on them again so your teen would hate them!! Don’t forget the new King Kong is open now so you need to add that to your list!

  5. This was a fun read! We laughed at this part regarding lockers “One final note on attractions is that there are numerous attractions that don’t allow bags, but provide free lockers nearby for storing backpacks, cameras, small children, and whatever other random junk you might have on you. ”
    small children – Ha! Yes, I pay attention 🙂

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  6. I am planning a trip in 2017 & need to know if the week of 4th of July or week of Christmas which is better for crowds? This is the only weeks I can come due to a relative only gets these for vacation and not sure if either is a little less crowded!

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    1. Both weeks will be extremely busy. So for crowds, there will not be much of a difference. I would choose Christmas over the 4th of July though because you may be able to stand the crowds a bit better when it’s not 90 degrees outside with 100% humidity

  7. If you are going later in the year this year to Islands of Adventure, Skull Island Legend of Kong, is opening in April. That is going to be the biggest draw at opening for awhile. I would hot foot it to that ride as soon as the park opened. The rumor is, i think, that Toonland is coming down to make room for the Nintendoland.

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  8. Hi Tom,
    We have been scouring your blog, reading up on WDW, and found this post really helpful as well. My wife LOVES Harry Potter and we are planning our first trip to Orlando for October. We are travelling from New Zealand and making a detour trip on the way to my sister’s wedding in Toronto.
    I was wondering if you might have any suggestions for our tight itinerary. We arrive on a Thursday and staying in Orlando until Tues afternoon. We want to spend 2 full days at WDW and 2 full days at USO and IOA. As it’s such a short trip, we wanted to stay on site, but are unsure about the logistics of this, whether we should switch to USO halfway through the trip (I see that there are 2+1day free tickets for Universal so we were thinking of getting these, then using the free day for our half day on Tues). What would you recommend? In terms of getting to and from the airport, would it be best to stay at WDW the whole time? My wife is super keen for the early access to WWOHP though…
    Thanks!!

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  10. I’m am very grateful for your blog! I just spent a silly amount of time trying to find good info for a first timer, and was having little luck. I was so surprised at universals website, it’s a far cry from Disney’s picture filled and briming with information site! (No ‘moms panel’ there that I could find, lol)

    Anyway, on our last Disney trip in Septmber, my kids all rocked the bigger rides. So now I’m excitedly planning our next trip, which will include 2 days at Universal! We plan on staying onsite for one or two nights at universal, probably Hard Rock or Portofino, and 4-6 nights at Disney (Caribbean Beach). Which one would you do first? Does Universal pick you up from the airport? The uber fee for 3 car seats ($10 per!) makes Uber not a great deal for my family yet.

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    1. Universal does not have an airport pick-up service, but there is a Mears shuttle available that goes between Disney hotels and Universal (still probably going to cost you more than Uber with the car seat charge, though–your best bet might be a rental car).

  11. I also wanted to mention how bummed I am that the Hulk coaster will be closed when we visit Universal in late Sept!

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  12. My husband and I are huge Disney fans, but also total Potterheads. We’ve been considering Disney APs for a while, but since the Uni APs are significantly cheaper, we decided to do a year of Uni APs to “test the waters” and see how much use we really get out of them as we’re not locals (live in Baton Rouge, LA). Spoiler alert: we use them a LOT and so have experienced a ton of Universal this year.
    As AP-holders, we don’t necessarily go for volume of attractions in one day, and tend to interact with a lot of cast members, since we’re never in much of a rush. Here are a few tips and nuggets we’ve gleaned:
    If you want to (practically) guarantee getting chosen for the interaction at Ollivander’s, wait until about 30ish min before park closing in Diagon Alley. Then speak to the cast member at the door and let them know you’re interested in a private wand ceremony. When my husband and I did this, the cast member told us to come back 10 min before park close and we were the only two in the show! We both got to participate and our wands chose us, the interaction with Ollivander was top-notch, and it became such a special memory. YMMV on this, but the cast member at the door said that nearly every night they are able to accommodate private shows (obviously probably not at the busiest times of year) as long as there is no one waiting.
    The “exclusive” beers in both WWOHPs and Springfield are true exclusives, commissioned by a local brewery and not available anywhere else (not even with a different label, ahem, Safari Amber). We’re huge fans of Dragon Scale Ale and Hog’s Head Brew.
    The Lard Lad donuts in Springfield are local as well. They are driven to Universal every day (usually 3-4 times/day according to the cast member we spoke to) from a small mom & pop shop about an hour outside of Orlando. For a completely decadent, and basically only vacation-appropriate, snack or dessert the Lard Lad donut sundae is in.credible. Warm donut, sliced in half, filled with soft serve, topped with your choice (hot fudge, obvi), plus whipped cream and cherry. It’s diabetes on a plate but holy hell is it good.
    We’ve stayed at Royal Pacific (2x), Cabana Bay, and Portofino Bay. Probably will never stay at Hard Rock as the theme doesn’t really appeal to us. Quick breakdown of the hotels (IMO). We LOVED our first stay at Royal Pacific, not so much the second. Nothing egregious the second stay, we just weren’t impressed with value for money (we got a much better rate the first time, so that probably clouded our view). Probably would not stay here again unless we could get a sub $150/night rate, which is rare even with passholder rates. We got a great deal at Cabana Bay ($100/night for a suite plus 2 Blue Man Group tickets – NOT a passholder rate). Loved the theming, loved the pool atmosphere (esp. at night after it was closed and quiet and oh so pretty). Would stay here again in an off-season when Express isn’t necessary. My absolute favorite though, is Portofino Bay. I was enamored with the theming and really enjoyed the onsite restaurants. Our room was beautiful, and the bed was plush and comfy – making it very hard to get out in time for early entry!
    Blue Man Group was a LOT of fun, much better than I expected. I don’t think I ever would have considered going until we got “free” tickets with our CB stay, but now I’d like to go again! If you do see BMG, there is a “VIP experience” package that is not well-publicized but totally worth it. For $20/person you get access to the “Blue Lounge” before the show, two drinks per person (alcoholic or non), and a “meet & greet” with a Blue Man after the show (you also get a souvenir photo, but this is a pre-printed photo of Blue Men…so unless you’re REALLY into the BMG, you’ll probably toss this – we did). I put meet & greet in quotes because I was hoping to get to talk with the Blue Man and ask questions, but they very much stay in character (which is definitely fun in its own way) and just pose for photos. Given that adult beverages are around $10 each, if you’d drink two before and/or during the show (you can bring drink #2 down with you, but you can only get your “free” drinks up in the lounge before the show) then it’s a no-brainer.
    The Kitchen is the restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel – NOT the Hard Rock Cafe (we made that mistake). Somewhat off-menu is the Kitchen Sink Challenge which involves eating a burger, fries, and the biggest piece of cake I have ever seen in my life. Seriously. It weighs 3 lbs. The husband and I split the challenge and didn’t even come close to finishing the cake! A little out of the way, but totally worth it. Delicious burger, and a cake like you’ll probably never have again. I’d recommend each person getting their own burger and then sharing the cake with as many people as you can possibly collect.
    My two cents on Express Pass is that I would never pay for it directly, but as a part of a hotel stay it is absolutely invaluable. During the summer and the holidays, I would probably skip a trip to Uni rather than stay somewhere that didn’t offer the Express Unlimited.
    If you can time it, visit Diagon Alley for the first time at night. It’s a totally different, and I think more magical, experience after dark. And if you’re a Potterhead, definitely take the Hogwarts Express in both directions, but do Diagon-Hogsmeade first.
    You can’t bring alcoholic beverages outside the front gates of either park, BUT if you have a drink in hand and feel the urge to park hop, you can take it on the Hogwarts Express! Yes, even drinks NOT purchased in the queue!
    Yikes, now that I’ve written a novel, I hope some or all of this info is helpful!

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    1. This is most definitely helpful–I didn’t know a lot of it, so I appreciate you taking the time to share.

      Now I just want to know how I can score that deal on Cabana Bay and BMG. That’s excellent! 🙂

    2. So happy to hear that! When I planned my first adult WDW trip (honeymoon) back in 2012, this website was incredibly helpful to me so it’s nice to feel like I’m giving back a little. 🙂
      Looking back I feel like that deal at Cabana Bay was too good to be true! We booked it directly through Universal’s hotel page. Our travel was in early January 2015 (but post-NYE) and the deal was available for travel dates that fell Sun-Wed. Obviously that’s a pretty slow time of year for the parks, I believe you called it “Holiday Hangover” time (ha!), so fingers crossed that we can score something similar for Jan 2016.

  13. My husband and I will be heading back to Orlando in May 2016 (can’t wait) and we recently (Sept 2014) spent our Disneymoon there too. On our Disneymoon we planned two days at the Universal parks, we didn’t know about Uber then so we used a ticket that included transport with Mears from our Disney hotel. This was OK value – not as good as Uber sounds and we did have to stop to pick up others, probably took us 40 mins from Disney to Universal. Our first day we did Harry Potter, Diagon Alley then Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade then HE back to Diagon Alley, we then “filled in” the rest of the day at Universal doing MIB, The Mummy, ET, Rip Riding…, etc When we went back for day 2 we did IoA and then got HE back to Diagon Alley mainly just to really appreciate all the details, buy a wand etc We are huge HP fans though so this really worked for us. We really like Hard Rock for looking at all the memorabilia so we ate there one night and went back to Disney the other – side note I wasn’t very well on day two so we would have stayed and tried another restaurant had that not been the case. We also enjoyed margaritas at Margaritaville on the first day.

    That was a long intro to what our plan is for when we return in May 2016. Because we feel we “did” Universal last time and we have less time this trip and want to do more around Disney including exploring the other resorts more we are only planning one day at Universal. We will get a park to park ticket so we can see both HP sides again, these are the rides/attractions we would absolutely need to do:
    The Hulk (at least twice – possibly to finish off the day – we love it)
    Spiderman
    Wander through the Toon area to appreciate the theming, but not do wet rides this time – if you think Kali River gets you wet we think these are a whole new level of drenched.
    Jurassic Park River Cruise
    HP and the Forbidden Journey (I may just queue with my husband as this ride makes me feel so ill)
    Dragon Challenge (I wish they still dueled!)
    Hogwarts Express
    Escape from Gringotts
    Men In Black
    ET
    Blues Brothers
    Terminator
    Transformers
    The Mummy
    Rip Ride Rockit

    It will be a full on day but given our experiences of visiting in low crowd times this is do-able, we have also visited in July, this would probably take 3 days then! We may also be going with my parents who will be spending part of the trip with us and if this is the case we may start in Universal to do HP in the “proper” order and take the train from Kings X to Hogwarts and allow them to walk up Diagon Alley in the most striking direction first. If we are tight for time it would be the Universal side rides that we would drop first (MIB, Transformers and Terminator). We wouldn’t do Minion Mayhem again as neither of us liked it that much.

    Fab post Tom!

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  14. Wow. Thanks for the info on Universal. We are going in October. We decided to spend 1 day at Universal/Island of Adventure. Can you do a blueprint for those parks.

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    1. I would also love to see a blueprint! The excessive planner in me feels uncomfortable that we are only doing 1 day for both parks and do not have a solid plan.

  15. I would love to see a post dedicated to why you love ET Adventure – it’s one of my favourites for nostalgia reasons, but I’d like to see your fresh take on it!

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  17. Hi Tom!
    I really love your blog. I discovered it while preparing our trip from Spain to WDW two years ago and have been reading it since (hopefully we’ll be travelling next year to Japan and of course, Disney Tokyo).
    We spent 6 days in WDW and 3 in Universal, onde day for each park and the third to repeat our favorite rides and gain early access to Halloween Horror Nights: USF closes at 5 and reopens at 6 but during that time if you have both tickets (USF and HHN) you can easily do one or two houses before the crowd arrives.
    We didn’t stay in one of the Universal hotels but we booked our hotel through the USF website (Comfort Suites, just 15 minutes walking) and also could benefit from free Dining Plan and 1 hour early access to the parks (which was great for the WWOHP area). We loved Mythos too!

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  18. I might travel to Disney World and Universal next year. It’ll be my first time there since I’m from Argentina in South America. So, yeah, a dedicated posts like the Disney Parks ‘Daily Trip Blueprints’ would be very helpful for me. Your Disney itineraries were really informative, but I haven’t been able to find something like that when it comes to Universal, except for the Universal website sample adventures, which you can find here: https://www.universalorlando.com/Resort-Information/Ideas.aspx But I’d like to see a plan done by someone whose actually been there to have a second opinion at least.

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  19. Hi Tom!
    I laughed a little bit when I read your recommendations. The problem with an efficient touring plan at Universal Orlando is that if it is too efficient you could end up getting sick…….
    We arrived at Universal studios at 7.45 a.m. one morning this July and brought friends who had never been before. I had made a touring plan where the first steps were those first rides that you recommend. We did Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem , followed by Rip Ride Rockit, Transformers, then moved on to Revenge of the Mummy, the Simpsons ride and then Men in Black. We felt as if we were in front of a tsunami as we never waited more than 5 minutes for any ride and walked quickly from one ride to the next. When we came out from Men in Black two members of our party felt unwell and wanted to og back to our hotel……….So yes – we had achived a lot in a very short time – but I had forgotten to take possible motion sickness in my party into consideration. But our friends loved Universal studios and were very impressed with their “touring general” (me…).

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  20. Love the new look of the blog-nicely done! We just returned home from a 16 day trip: 5 night Disney cruise and 10 days at WDW with 1 day at Universal (we also visited Universal for a day back in 2012 when only Hogsmeade was there). I am a MASSIVE HP fan and I was dying to see Diagon Alley; it did not disappoint! For a super fan like myself, it was stunning, and with such incredible attention to detail. I could have spent an entire day and more just in Diagon Alley exploring every nook, cranny, window, and shop! We did park-to-park tickets to ride the Hogwarts Express- and because my parents were with us and they hadn’t experienced either park. We bought our children wands from Ollivander’s in Diagon Alley and used them all throughout the WWoHP (tip: in the first hour, there is no line to enter and see the “wand” show in Diagon Alley. It was myself, my mother, my 2 kids, and 2 other adults, so naturally my children were “chosen” for the show. Fast forward a few hours and people will be packed in there like sardines with a line outside and it will likely be worse at the Ollivander’s in Hogsmeade). Gringotts was fine, queue was incredible, but ride was not my cup of tea ( I still prefer Forbidden Journey).

    I did want to mention a situation that happened to us at both Universal and WDW and the vastly opposite ways it was handled. My father has limited mobility in his knee due to 2 total reconstructions. He can bend it and ride, but he has to be able to slide the leg in and then bend it to the ride. He was not able to do this on Gringotts, so the cast members escorted him out while we rode. When we met up with him after riding, he handed me 6 computer generated yellow slips, basically “front of the line” passes for our entire party. He said they gave them to him immediately, without any prompting, and apologized profusely that he was unable to ride. We later used them on Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogriff (daughter isn’t tall enough for FJ). At Disney, the same thing happened on Mine Train. We had used FP+ and he was unable to fit his knee into the car. No one said a word to him or offered him anything while he was escorted out. I was a bit shocked and until I explained that we had lost a FP+ for him because he couldn’t ride, then and only then did something happen. Even then the first the cast member said, oh, well, it’s not my call so let’s go talk to this other cast member and then we waited some more while they hand-wrote what was basically a FP+ for our party. I was disappointed that no one asked or offered anything when he first had to exit the ride.

    Overall, we had a great visit to Universal and I am looking forward to adding more days there when we visit WDW in the future. I wish all of Universal had the charm and detail that Diagon Alley has, but they still offer enough to get me to spend $600 on single day tickets!

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