Check the You’ve Arrived! page first for airport info and driving tips. Keep reading this page for all the general info applicable to both WDW and Universal. Click the buttons below for more detailed info on each resort.
Here are a few bits of very handy info you can arm yourself with before entering the parks like how to get on the Wi-Fi, keeping cool in the Florida heat and most importantly getting through the queues. Also worth a mention here is that all the parks get a bit busier in the evenings and weekends with locals making use of their annual passes. Disney’s Lightning Lane and Universal’s Express Pass can make your day go smoother but we don’t consider them essential. Naturally, week day mornings are often the least busy times especially outside local school holidays but most theme parks remain quite busy compared to our UK ones.
All the major parks have an app now where you can view ride wait times and even order food to pick up. It’s certainly worth downloading these and get used to navigating each one.
Theme Park Merchandise & Collectables
Also check out our Shopping page for additional info.
Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando have many really good quality and highly collectable items for sale especially if you’re a fan of some of their movies and TV shows.
Universal’s big merchandise seller is Harry Potter and if you’re a fan you’ll find a lot of replica props and clothing that you cannot buy anywhere else in the world. Some of the character wands for sale have a bluetooth function where you can ‘magically’ operate displays in the shop fronts in the two theme parks. You can also take part in a wand selection ceremony at one of the wand shops within each of the Harry Potter themed lands. However, all of the Universal Orlando brand items are sold at a premium price; you’re going to need a lot of spending money! Also worth a mention is that Universal have great one-of-a-kind merch from Transformers, Minions, The Simpsons, Jurassic Park/Jurassic World and Marvel Comics (Disney own Marvel but Universal own the theme park rights!).
Walt Disney World in recent years bought the rights to the Star Wars films and made Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios theme park – a land devoted to Star Wars. This not only has items for sale like toys and clothing but also experiences such as a lightsaber building workshop and a droid making facility. And most of these items are only available in Galaxy’s Edge. You will not find them anywhere else in the theme park or resort. The Avatar movies are also represented in Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park and also include Banshee and Avatar doll experiences. And of course, you’ll find many exclusive items relating to classic Disney characters like Mickey, Donald, Minnie and the Disney Princesses. Again expect to pay premium prices for these. Epcot’s World Showcase also has Disney items for sale exclusive to that country’s pavilion and not available anywhere else.
But a word of warning to parents! There is a lot of poorly made and low quality items for sale especially seasonal Christmas and Halloween merch which your kids will be hankering over as they go around the parks. These are usually sold on mobile trolleys but still come at a premium price. The point is buy something that you know your kids will love and will be a lasting memory of your time in Florida and avoid paying for expensive tat that you’re likely to just throw away after your holiday ends!
Target and Walmart
As with all Disney and Universal merchandise some standard items like plushies, dolls and action figures and definitely autograph books and pens will be much cheaper in stores like Target, Walmart and smaller independent shops in the Orlando and Kissimmee area.
Theme Park Wi-Fi
Free Wi-Fi is available in most areas of the parks near to shops and ride entrances so you can use the park apps to check for ride wait times. Naturally you’ll also want to send photos and messages to family and friends back home, or add to your social media feed. For those on holiday with you, it also gives you a means of arranging a meeting place if you split up in the park.
Select Disney Guest to connect to Wi-Fi in Disney Theme Parks, water parks and Disney Springs.
Universal will give you 2 options – Xfinity for Xfinity customers only and Guest. You need to choose Guest and the ‘I am 18 or over’ tick box to log on to the free Wi-Fi.
The Wi-Fi isn’t always the most reliable especially if the park is busy so you may need to be patient if you’re downloading/uploading a video but messages should still work all of the time.
Pushchair Parks (strollers in the USA!)
Each area in the parks will have a few designated stroller parking areas. If you leave your pushchair unattended anywhere outside this area a cast member will almost certainly move it to the nearest stroller park. Also they like to keep the stroller parks in neat lines and will often shuffle the push chairs around. So, even when you do park in one of the designated areas your pushchair may not always be exactly where you left it!
Keeping Cool in The Florida Weather
Take water bottles to fill up for everyone as there are water fountains in various locations throughout the parks and staff at the drinks stands will fill your bottles with tap water for free. If it’s a very hot day you can also ask for some free ice to use in your water bottle too! Universal self service machines will often dispense free tap water.
To help keep cool, dive into a shop or an indoor attraction when you can to make use of the air-con. We do recommend buying a battery powered spray fan especially if you’re visiting in the summer months. Official theme park ones are not cheap (around $18+tax) but you can find cheaper versions ($10+tax) in the local supermarkets and shops outside the parks. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the most problematic when it comes to keeping out of the heat simply due to the design of the park and the nature of many of the attractions. Here you’ll spend a lot of time outside so keep the spray fans at the ready.
TMTO TIP: Ask the drinks and snacks sellers in the theme park to add some ice to your spray fan so it’s spray is ice cold. They should also provide you will free ice tap water on request in a plastic cup.
Most parks (WDW, Universal and SeaWorld) have some splash park wet play areas. Staff are instructed to ensure that shoes and clothes (not underwear only) are worn at all times so take either a change of clothes or a swim costume. You might need a towel but in the heat you will tend to dry pretty quickly anyway. If you don’t want the kids (or your) shoes getting too wet in these areas then Hot Tuna wet shoes from Sports Direct are ideal. They are small and lightweight so do not take up too much room in a bag. Universal do some Minion and Sponge Bob themed ones for around $10.
Be aware that Florida can suffer from heavy thunder storms particularly in the summer months. The resort operators closely monitor the weather and if a thunderstorm is likely they will close all the outdoor attractions until it has passed. A small rain coat or poncho will come in handy for these occasions so bring ones from home or purchase them locally in Target or Walmart but avoid buying them in the theme parks as they are expensive.
Theme Park Car Parks
Walt Disney World parks are $30 per day standard car parking and $45 to $55 (depending on season) for ‘Preferred’ parking which is a bit closer to the entrance of the park. There is no charge at Disney’s water parks – Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach or Disney Springs. Universal car parks are free after 6pm but during the day the standard parking charge is $30 and $50 to $60 (again depending on season) for ‘Prime’ parking (all 2024 prices).
TMTO TIP
Always keep your receipt safe in the car if you need to re-enter later in the day and avoid paying again. You may need to go back to your hotel or villa if you forget something! Also for park hopping at Walt Disney World you only need to pay once a day for the car park regardless of how many parks you visit so keep the receipt handy.
Also keep to the left lanes (Universal and Disney) as you approach the pay booths at the toll plaza for the car park as most people tend to gravitate towards the right lanes.
TMTO TIP: The cashier will be able to take money from either side of the car so if all the lanes for the driver’s side are busy the passenger can pay the cashier.
The car park staff at every theme park we’ve been to run a very slick operation and will keep you moving as much as possible. You’ll be directed to a row and then a parking space by the staff.
To get from the car park to the theme park entrance in each of the main parks, WDW runs a ‘tram’ – a tractor which pulls a series of coaches down the centre of each car park. These are handy as it saves walking especially if you’re parked towards the back of the car park. However, as we’ve discovered, if you have a pushchair you are required to fold it up to board the tram. So, if you have a lot of bags etc on the pushchair it can take so long, that most of the time it’s quicker to load up everything on the pushchair at the car, not use the tram at all and walk down to the park entrance.
Parking at Universal is at one of the two multi storey blocks (parking garage they call it). Once you’ve parked then use the moving walkways at level 3 of the car parks to access Universal Studios and Islands Of Adventure via Citywalk. A shuttle bus on the ground floor will take you to Volcano Bay water park. Worth noting is that no pushchairs are allowed on the moving walkways to and from CityWalk and the car parks.
Theme Park Security Bag Check
Before entering each park Security staff will conduct a bag search. The security staff will check all bags, lunch boxes and any pushchair stowage. At each WDW park this is just before the entrance where you validate your ticket. At Disney Springs there are scanners in each car park. Universal has an airport style X-Ray scanner which is situated in the large circular building with the huge video screen between the car park walkways and CityWalk.
TMTO TIP: If you’ve got an umbrella ensure you’ve got it out of your bag before the security check and hold it up as you go through the scanner or the security staff will need to check your whole bag which could slow down your rope drop!
Fingerprint Scans
Both WDW and Universal have Mission Impossible level security! In addition to scanning your ticket, all adults are required to scan their fingerprint each time you enter a park.
After getting into the car park, getting through the security/bag search, the ticket and fingerprint scanner is the last thing to do before you (finally) get into the park. Nearly all year round every scanner/turnstile will be open. Most people go straight for the middle scanners so look to see if the queues at the far left and right are shorter.
On your first visit you’ll need to remember which finger you’ve used at the scanner/turnstile. Stick to the same finger if you’re visiting WDW and Universal to avoid confusion!
Queuing Strategies
You are going to the theme park capital of the world and whilst the Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane system (if you purchase it) and the Universal Express Pass (again, if you purchase it) do alleviate some the queues there will be a lot of attractions that you will still use the Standby Line for. So, we’re here to help you with a bit of queue prep and hopefully your sanity will remain intact for the holiday! Check out all the tips below for getting through the queues with as little stress as possible! Remember a line is US speak for queue!
Games and activities
Some standby lines like the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train you will find the occasional game or activity for the kids to play, whilst others have great photo opportunities such as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey where you pass through scenes from the films. Some attractions will have handy info videos playing (Minion Mayhem) that tie in to the attraction. The Flying Dumbos has an indoor play area for little ones with slides and rope bridges. The cast member here will give you a device which buzzes when it’s your time to go on the ride.
Rope Drop
The most popular rides will usually have a long wait time all day but getting to any theme park when it opens and heading straight for the typically popular rides is one way to tick them off your itinerary. This is known as rope dropping where you will actually witness the staff member take away the rope barrier to open the whole theme park or the ride. It does mean getting up and out early so set your alarm! But it is a really effective way to get your day going in the theme parks; just don’t expect to have the energy to stay for the evening fireworks!
Stay until the end
The other effective strategy to completing those popular rides without waiting hours in line is to enter the queue near the end of the day (providing there’s no evening special ticketed event). Staff will let you into the ride queue right up until the park closing time. This is often a good time to do Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom or Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure in Islands Of Adventure. Also during evening firework displays wait times can also reduce as people go to find a good viewing spot – Epcot is an obvious example here. So use this to your advantage and get those rides ticked off!
Skip the Parade
If you’ve already seen the parade on a previous visit then another way to reduce your wait time for some rides is to enter the ride queue not long before a parade is due to start. This is because large amounts of visitors will flock to the parade viewing areas often leaving some rides with a shortened queue. However, this is only useful in Magic Kingdom especially during the Festival of Fantasy Parade or at Universal Studios during the Superstar Parade. But it’s not always the case if the park is very busy already. The other Disney parks (Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios) and Universal’s Islands Of Adventure do not have a any parades so doesn’t apply at these.
WDW Special Event Days
Throughout the year Walt Disney World have special events which take place on selected evenings. These may include Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and After Hours Events. The park which have these events are weirdly less busy on those days due to people waiting until the event starts so it is sometimes a good idea to get in the park early and make use of the lower crowds.
Make use of the free Wi-Fi
Of course, the best way to pass the time queuing is to entertain yourselves. Make use of the free Wi-Fi to make a video call to friends or family back in the UK as the queues are often the only time you’re standing still! Also games and Netflix/Prime/Disney+ videos downloaded so they can be played offline to you phone can be a big help. The Apple App store and Google Play have charade apps for kids where the whole family can join in.
The Play Disney Parks app comes into its own when you’re in a long queue. Have your location enabled in the phone’s settings to play games on the app based on the WDW attraction you are in line for.
Old fashion games
Our kids often have their own small backpack with snacks, a water bottle and a pad and pencil. We often buy a cheap pen/pencil and a pad in with a waterproof pouch from Target or Walmart at the start of the holiday. Not only will these keep budding artists occupied but could also be used for a game of hangman or Pictionary type games and also double as a character autograph book!
Don’t forget a drink and snacks
If you’ve got toddlers or babies then most of your bags will likely be left outside with the pushchair when you enter a ride. But take some snacks in with you to fend off anyone’s hunger while you’re waiting in line. Some attractions have water fountains situated in the line so certainly take at least a water bottle in with you.
If you’ve purchased a theme park refillable popcorn bucket then get it refilled just before entering a long queue. This is something we always have to hand as most popcorn buckets can be used if you visit again next year.
Be aware that in some indoor areas the theme park staff don’t like visitors bringing food/drink other than water with them in a queue so you may have to be a bit discreet!
Bag stowage
Some of the rides will have a stowage pouch in or around the ride seat to store a small bag or backpack. The bigger thrill rides (Universal especially) will have free lockers you can use as they won’t allow bags on the ride and have airport style metal detectors at the ride entrance so even make you remove items from your pockets like phones, keys and wallets.
Unfortunately queues are part and parcel of this type of holiday but if you’ve read the above tips then hopefully we’ve helped to reduce some of the stress!
Parent Swap
If you have babies or toddlers which don’t meet the height restriction of a ride that the older kids want to go on you can make use of the theme park’s parent swap. One parent at a time can ride with the older kids and swap the baby care duties at the ride exit. It can still be used with WDW’s Genie+ / Lightning Lane. Speak to the WDW or Universal staff member at the ride entrance and they will give you a parent swap card. The kids that meet the height restriction can then ride twice with each parent. You just need to show the staff member your baby to qualify!
Single Rider
Some thrill rides have a single rider line. This means you can get on the ride if there is a spare seat available and it can sometimes have shorter wait than the Standby Line but not always! Using this line with other family/friends might mean you still get on the same roller coaster but you’re unlikely be seated next to each other.
Take Me To ORLANDO! 