If you’re reading this then hopefully you’re ready to go with flights and accommodation and park tickets from checking out our TMTO planning pages here. So, here is our guide to the ultimate theme park resort. As a family we’ve been lucky to visit Universal Orlando many times since our first trip in 2013. And here are few things we’ve noticed and our honest opinions about the rides and attractions we’ve experienced.

Universal Orlando is Florida’s second most popular theme park resort after Walt Disney World. These parks are aimed at older kids, 6 years and up, to teenagers and adults. It still has a good number of attractions for toddlers but no where near as many as you’d find in WDW. But what it does have are some of the best 3-D simulator rides and roller coasters anywhere in the world. There are 2 great theme parks – Universal Studios and Islands Of Adventure and the Volcano Bay water park which opened in 2017. ‘Ride the movies’ is what Universal claim their parks are all about and, this is evident with most of the attractions based around movies, TV shows and comic book characters which include Transformers, Despicable Me, Marvel Comics, Jurassic Park, King Kong, The Simpsons, E.T. and Dr Seuss (The Cat In The Hat). The most impressive sections of these parks are those devoted to The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter in which fans of the books and movies can revel in the detailed areas of Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley and even take a trip on the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 ³/₄.

All the resort parks and hotels are squeezed into a few blocks just south of downtown Orlando. The 2 theme parks are actually situated side by side making it easy to hop from one to the other which is great since all UK tickets have the park-to-park facility. Park hopping is made all the more easier by using the Hogwarts Express train ride. CityWalk restaurant, shopping and entertainment mall acts as the main thoroughfare to the theme parks from the 2 multi storey car park structures. The car parks rows are named Spider-Man, Cat In The Hat and E.T. in one of the multi-storeys. The other is Jurassic Park, King Kong and Jaws.

Parking for Volcano Bay is usually on the ground floor of Spider-Man/Cat In The Hat/E.T. From here a shuttle bus picks you up for the short trip to the entrance of Volcano Bay.

Universal Orlando’s main entrance is on Universal Boulevard just off the I-4 at Exit 75A.

TMTO TIP: The traffic can sometimes build up on the slip road (off ramp) at Exit 75A. Two lanes turn left towards Universal, the other turns right towards I-Drive. Get in the correct lane for the resort car parks by keeping to the middle lane on the slip road (see photo above). Here you’ll be able to turn left onto the flyover across the I-4 and then be in the correct lane to make the right-hand turn into the resort car park keeping the Universal sign to your left.

Worth noting is that these parks can get busy in the afternoons and evenings especially at weekends as Florida residents with annual passes will often come in the parks after school and work and then stay for the restaurants and nightlife in CityWalk which closes at 2am. Many also take advantage of the free parking after 6pm.

TMTO TIP: Unlike Disney there’s no PhotoPass/Memory Maker type deal to be had here with your park tickets so any photos with characters are purchased separately near the exit to the parks. But the crew at the character meets will be more than happy to take pictures for you on your camera or phone. Most full costume characters will also welcome a hug or a hi-five (not the Transformers though – Megatron’s not a hugger!)

Harry Potter Themed lands

Probably one of the biggest draws for most visitors to Universal are the two Harry Potter lands that feature in each of their theme parks (and a third land – the Ministry of Magic, will be added when Epic Universe theme park opens in summer 2025). The Wizarding World is represented in Universal Studios with Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village and Hogwarts Castle in Islands of Adventure.

Both of these are very immersive and faithful recreations of the film sets where you can actually walk in and buy merchandise and food/drink like butterbeer and chocolate frogs from many of the shops and restaurants which feature in the movies. These are probably the most impressive lands constructed in any theme park (yes, we think it’s better than Disney World’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge!) Just about every kind of Harry Potter merchandise is on sale for fans – although you’ll need deep pockets! One souvenir most visitors come away with is a magic wand. These are interactive wands (they use bluetooth technology we understand) and can operate some of the ‘magical’ features and window displays around the two lands. You also can take part in a wand choosing ceremony if you wish.

You can purchase a replica wand of one of the film characters or there are a range of unique designs available – older generation wands start at around $65 +tax and the new generation ones with lights are approx $85 +tax. Non-interactive types are also available for around $55 +tax. They all come with a box and the interactive type also come with a spell guide and map of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade to help you find the areas where you can make the magic happen.

Theme Parks

Here a quick rundown of the two Universal theme parks and links if you want to know more.

Universal Studios

Universal Studios theme park opened in the early 90s and has a lot contemporary attractions based on popular TV shows and movies from the last 30 years including a Despicable Me 3-D ride, Transformers 3-D ride, The Simpsons and the oldest ride at the resort – E.T. Adventure. It also has a replica of Sunset Boulevard LA complete with the Hollywood Walk of Fame with actors names set in a star in the pavement. One of the most detailed and impressive areas of all the Orlando theme parks is Diagon Alley and Kings Cross Station as featured in the Harry Potter films.

Islands Of Adventure

Islands Of Adventure is Universal’s second theme park with each ‘island’ dedicated to Dr Seuss stories, Jurassic Park and King Kong, the lost city of Atlantis and classic 1930s and 40s cartoons like Betty Boop and Popeye. The Marvel Comics island features the ultimate roller coaster – The Hulk. New for 2021 is the Jurassic World VelociCoaster which Universal claim to be the fastest and highest roller coaster in Orlando. At the back of the park is Harry Potter’s Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle which has a light projection show every evening just before the park closes.

Coming in 2025!

Building work is currently underway at Universal’s third theme park – Epic Universe.

It will feature hotels, shops and restaurants and the park will have 5 themed lands – The main entrance will be the stylised space themed Celestial Park with a two track ‘duelling’ roller coaster and the 4 other lands will have a ‘portal’ tunnel to access them. They will be: The Isle of Berk from How To Train Your Dragon, a Super Nintendo Land complete with a Mario Kart ride, The Ministry of Magic London and Paris locations from Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts and lastly, The Dark Universe which will feature Universal’s classic monsters such Frankenstein’s monster and the Werewolf. It will be situated about a mile from the current Universal parks just off I-Drive on Sand Lake Road with constant bus services to and from the existing Universal theme parks and hotels.

Volcano Bay

Volcano Bay is Universal’s Polynesian inspired water park. There’s a lot of great slides to do here and 2 lazy rivers (although one of them is more a rapid river than a lazy river!) A free 5 minute shuttle bus transports you down to the entrance from the main car park area unless you’re staying in Universal’s Cabana Bay hotel where you can use the footpath which takes about 2 minutes. All the slides use a virtual queue system so each wait time should not be more than around 30 minutes. This is booked using a free electronic wrist band which you receive on entry to the water park.

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Universal Orlando Resort Map