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Undercover Tourist Review [Discounted Tickets, Hotels, and Car Rentals]

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Katie Seemann

Senior Content Contributor and News Editor

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Undercover Tourist Review [Discounted Tickets, Hotels, and Car Rentals]

What is Undercover Tourist?

Paper tickets vs. e-tickets, refundable tickets, travel insurance, undercover tourist crowd calendar, the frog guarantee and frog family promise, price comparisons, earning points on tickets, final thoughts.

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

Undercover Tourist is a popular website for purchasing theme park tickets at a discount. If you’ve planned a trip to Walt Disney World , Universal Studios, or SeaWorld, you’ve probably come across Undercover Tourist. But did you also know you can use this website to book hotels and rental cars, too?

In this post, we’ll go over what you need to know to use Undercover Tourist to find the best prices on amusement park tickets, hotels, and rental cars. Plus, we’ll go over some of the popular features of the site like the Crowd Calendar.

Undercover Tourist is a website that that’s been around since 2000 and is known for offering discounted tickets to theme parks across the U.S. The site is an authorized seller of tickets for all the major theme parks you know and love:

  • Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
  • Disneyland in California
  • Universal Orlando Resort
  • Universal Studios Hollywood
  • SeaWorld Orlando
  • SeaWorld San Diego
  • LEGOLAND Florida Resort
  • LEGOLAND California Resort

Undercover Tourist also has discounted tickets to non-theme park attractions like Ripley’s Believe It or Not, ski resorts, zoos, movie theaters, and lots more! Plus, it acts as an online travel agency for hotels and car rentals.

While Undercover Tourist offers a ton of ticket, hotel, and car options, the site is limited in the number of destinations it covers. You’ll only find options in the following cities:

  • Breckenridge, CO
  • Chicago, IL
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • New York City, NY
  • Orlando, FL
  • Park City, Utah
  • San Antonio, Texas
  • San Diego, CA
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Washington, D.C.

Options in Seattle, London, and Paris are coming soon.

Bottom Line: Undercover Tourist is a resource for discounted tickets to theme parks and other attractions in select cities across the U.S. It’s best known for offering discounted tickets to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios theme parks.  The site also acts as an online travel agency for hotel reservations and car rentals in these select cities.

Discount Tickets

Let’s review the steps to using Undercover Tourist to purchase discounted tickets.

You can start your search for discounted tickets from many different places on the home page. Click on Discount Tickets in the top menu bar, click on a logo underneath the menu bar, or click on any of the featured tickets in the middle of your screen to start your search.

Finding discounted tickets on Undercover Tourist

After choosing your destination, you’ll be able to see lots of information about your chosen theme park, including maps, hotels, tips, and more. Scroll down a bit to find the availability calendar and ticket options.

Disney tickets through Undercover Tourist

The tickets you buy through Undercover Tourist are exactly the same as if you purchased them directly from the park, except you’ll probably save some money.

After choosing the type and number of tickets you need, you’ll be able to see your final price and choose your travel dates. The price you see is what you’ll pay — taxes are included and shipping is free!

Price of tickets on Undercover Tourist

Hot Tip: Are you on a tight budget? Check out our full guide to using visiting Disney World for cheap using points and miles.

You may be inclined to have your tickets emailed to you, but there are some risks. E-tickets are non-refundable, and you’ll need to stop at Will Call at the gate to pick up your physical tickets. For Disney tickets, if you have a MagicBand, you can add the e-tickets to your account and proceed directly to the gate, but they’ll still be non-refundable.

Instead, it may be a better idea to have the physical tickets mailed to you. This option is also free and the tickets will be eligible for a refund. Plus, you’ll be able to go straight to the gate at the park which can be a huge timesaver.

Paper vs emailed tickets from Undercover Tourist

Many tickets sold on Undercover Tourist are refundable within 90 days of purchase. To get a refundable ticket, you’ll need to have tickets mailed to you vs. opting for email delivery. Refundable tickets will be clearly marked. Be sure to confirm the return policy for your specific tickets before completing your purchase.

If you need to return tickets that you purchased, you’ll be charged a 5% fee to cover the return.

Hot Tip: E-tickets are non-refundable. To get a ticket that is eligible for a refund, you’ll need to select the Mailed To Your Door  option.

Before finalizing your purchase, you’ll be prompted to add travel insurance. Before choosing whether or not to add insurance to your purchase, you’ll want to learn about all of your options.

Undercover Tourist offers insurance through Allianz Global Assistance , a popular travel insurance company. However, the policy offered by Undercover Tourist covers lots of areas that may already be covered through your credit card including trip cancellation and interruption , lost or delayed baggage, and travel accident insurance, so it may not be needed.

If you purchase tickets that are eligible for a refund, insurance is probably not necessary. If you’re also booking a hotel or rental car, take a minute to determine if you have a credit card with rental car insurance  before purchasing a separate policy.

The Undercover Tourist Crowd Calendar is a popular feature on the site that helps you identify the least and most crowded times to visit a specific park.

To access the Crowd Calendar, just click on Crowd Calendar in the top menu bar of the website.

How to find the Crowd Calendar on Undercover Tourist

You’ll be able to look at specifics for a handful of the most popular destinations:

  • Discovery Cove
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park
  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios
  • Magic Kingdom Park
  • Universal’s Islands of Adventure
  • Universal Studios Florida
  • Universal’s Volcano Bay

Undercover Tourist Crowd Calendar

Hot Tip: The Undercover Tourist Crowd Calendar is a color-coded chart that helps you predict which parks will be more or less crowded on a specific day.

Undercover Tourist mobile app

If you’re headed to Orlando, be sure to download the Undercover Tourist Orlando Planning App, free for iOS . This handy app will take the stress out of trying to navigate the parks on your own with features like an interactive map, up-to-date park information, park plans, and estimated wait times.

The app covers Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld Orlando.

The Frog Guarantee and Frog Family Promise are not price guarantees, rather they’re guarantees of quality and customer service.

The Frog Guarantee

When purchasing amusement park tickets through Undercover Tourist you’ll always receive:

  • Authentic tickets from an authorized seller
  • Free standard shipping
  • No hidden fees
  • 90-day refund/return policy (not applicable to e-tickets)
  • RFID enabled and Genie+ eligible Disney tickets
  • Next-day pickup or delivery availability

So, let’s answer the question you really want to know, “Can Undercover Tourist save me money?”

To do this, we priced out some ticket options for 1 adult on Undercover Tourist and compared those to what we could get directly from the park’s website.

In every single example we priced out, Undercover Tourist was the cheapest option! If you’re looking for discounted tickets to Walt Disney World and other popular theme parks, you’ll probably save money by using Undercover Tourist.

Hot Tip: You can NOT use Disney gift cards to pay for tickets through Undercover Tourist. So, if you’ve been collecting gift cards from stores with high points bonuses (like grocery stores ), you’ll need to purchase your tickets directly through the park.

Purchasing tickets to an amusement park can be expensive. So, of course, you’ll want to make sure you’re earning as many points as possible on your purchase.

Amusement park tickets usually code as “entertainment,” so if you’re purchasing them directly, you’ll want to use a credit card that offers bonus categories on entertainment purchases . The Citi Premier ® Card earns 2 points per dollar spent on entertainment purchases, including tickets to amusement parks.

However, purchases from Undercover Tourist code as “travel” which opens up the door to earn points on a variety of different credit cards. These credit cards all earn bonus points on the travel category, which will include amusement park tickets purchased from Undercover Tourist.

Earn 3x points on travel purchases with these credit cards:

  • Ink Business Preferred ® Credit Card
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve ® card
  • Citi Premier card

Earn 2x points on travel purchases with these credit cards:

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred ® card
  • Capital One ® Venture ® Rewards card

Hot Tip: If you have an American Express card, check to see if Amex Offers has any current money-back offers from Undercover Tourist. 

While Undercover Tourist is known as the place to buy theme park tickets, the site also acts as an online travel agency for booking hotels.

To get started, click on Hotels in the top menu bar. Then select your destination from the drop-down box and enter the number of travelers and your travel dates.

Your search results will be displayed in a format similar to other hotel booking websites that you may be familiar with (like Expedia , Priceline , Hotels.com , etc). Filtering options will be available on the left side of your screen and sorting options are located on the upper right-hand side, above the results.

Undercover Tourist Hotels filtering and sorting

Unlike with tickets on Undercover Tourist, the prices you see initially don’t include tax. You’ll have to click through to the payment page to see the full price with taxes and fees included.

Cancellation policies will vary by the hotel but will be clearly displayed once you add an item to your cart.

Undercover Tourist Hotel cancellation policy

Hot Tip: If you’re traveling to Florida to enjoy the theme parks, check out these places to stay in Orlando for your Disney vacation!

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples to see if booking a hotel through Undercover Tourist can save you money. For both of these examples, we priced out a week-long stay for 2 adults and 1 child. Prices include taxes and fees and are for the hotel stay only (tickets are not included).

The results are typical of most price comparisons we do — they aren’t consistent! Undercover Tourist had the best price for the first option, but Trivago came out with the best price in the second example. The bottom line is that you can definitely save money by using Undercover Tourist for your hotel stay, but not always.

The car rental search functionality on the Undercover Tourist website is pretty limited. You’ll only be able to search for car rentals at Orlando International Airport (MCO) from only 5 car rental companies — Alamo, Avis , Budget , Enterprise , and National .

Undercover Tourist Car Rental

We did a couple of searches to find out if booking your Orlando car rental through Undercover Tourist could save you money. We searched for the cheapest price for a week-long rental on 2 different dates.

In both of these examples, Undercover Tourist came out as the second most expensive option. Interestingly, Momondo  had the lowest price and Priceline had the highest price in both examples.

Undercover Tourist may be a great place to purchase theme park tickets, but it’s not a great option when you’re searching for a rental car.

Undercover Tourist is a popular website for purchasing theme park tickets on the cheap. It also acts as an online travel agency for hotels and car rentals, but only in select cities.

It’s a great site to use to save some money on theme park tickets, but the savings on hotels and cars aren’t as consistent.

Before you head to Disney, check out some of our helpful guides including re-opening plans , packing lists , and even how to visit virtually .

The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does undercover tourist give refunds.

Yes, most ticket purchases are eligible for a refund within 90 days of purchase if you choose to have your tickets mailed to you. E-tickets are usually non-refundable. If you choose to return tickets, you’ll be charged a 5% fee.

What is the Undercover Tourist crowd calendar?

The Undercover Tourist Crowd Calendar helps you identify the least and most crowded times to visit a specific park using a color-coded system.

Is Undercover Tourist legitimate?

Yes, Undercover Tourist is a legitimate website that sells discounted amusement park tickets and it acts as an online travel agency for hotels and rental cars. It’s an authorized seller for tickets to some of the most popular parks in the U.S. including Walt Disney World and Universal Studios.

Why is Undercover Tourist cheaper?

Undercover Tourist buys tickets at a wholesale price from the theme parks so they’re able to re-sell them to you at a discounted price. Plus, they don’t charge any additional fees so the price you see is the price you’ll pay.

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About Katie Seemann

Katie has been in the points and miles game since 2015 and started her own blog in 2016. She’s been freelance writing since then and her work has been featured in publications like Travel + Leisure, Forbes Advisor, and Fortune Recommends.

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Universal Orlando guide: Tips from frequent visitors

Andrea M. Rotondo

When I was a kid, we went to an Orlando theme park at least once a year. You had to plan a few things in advance, but visiting an amusement park wasn't what it is today. With all the apps, reservation timelines and rules, planning the "perfect" trip to any major theme park has become a massive endeavor.

Just thinking about planning the trip is enough to give me hives. The stakes are so high — pricey admission, reservation deadlines for everything from character breakfasts to dinners at popular restaurants and all sorts of add-ons to get into the theme parks before the masses and skip the lines. There's so much to know.

However, we really wanted to visit Universal Orlando on a family vacation , so I needed to overcome my planning paralysis. I'm happy to say that — with some strategic decisions upfront — we were able to execute an awesome visit to Universal with a minimal amount of advance planning.

If you're a first-time visitor to Universal Orlando, here's what you need to know to plan your own vacation.

Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more travel news, reviews and tips!

When to visit

The date for your visit to Universal Orlando may not be entirely up to you.

If you're traveling with school-age children, you're likely locked into visiting during school vacations, long weekends and summer break. If that's the case, you'll probably visit Universal when it's at its busiest. That's not the end of the world, though, since there are ways to reduce the waits for lines. More on that in a minute.

You can check expected crowd levels at crowd calendars like the ones at Undercover Tourist, Touringplans or Orlando Informer .

universal orlando undercover tourist

The slower times of the year are Labor Day through the first two weeks of November (before Thanksgiving) and the first two weeks of December (before the holiday rush). Note, though, that if you visit close to Halloween, it will be busier because of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights .

Most of January, except for the first week, is also relatively quiet, as is the first week of February. But then it gets crazy with spring breakers. Crowds thin out a bit after Easter and through May, then ramp up again for the summertime. June, July and August are always busy. Always. And, as an added bonus, it's extremely hot.

For our first visit in a zillion years, I picked a quiet time in early November so any planning blunders on my part would be minimized by the lack of intense crowds.

Related: 10 things no one tells you about Orlando

Where to stay during a Universal Orlando vacation

Once you've ironed out when you plan to visit Universal, you'll want to determine where to stay.

You have a ton of options, from hotels right on Universal property and nearby points hotels to rental homes and Airbnbs . There are so many choices that TPG wrote an entire guide to choosing the best Universal Orlando hotel for your trip .

Let's recap the high points here.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Benefits of Universal hotels

If you only have a few days to explore Universal and don't mind the cost, an on-site property may be your best bet. That's because guests of all Universal hotels receive early entry into the parks for specific attractions.

Which parks open for early admission vary by day and only certain attractions are available. However, they tend to be the popular rides with lines that grow once the gates open to regular parkgoers. There's a helpful page on the Universal site to figure out what's available to on-site hotel guests. With some rides in each of the two parks available, that should also help spread out the crowds just a bit.

It's a nice freebie, and it's the best strategy if you have your heart set on riding Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure without spending hours in line. Currently, this ride does not participate in Universal's Express Pass skip-the-line program.

universal orlando undercover tourist

If you stay in one of Universal's on-site hotels, you can take advantage of the park's complimentary transportation options to get between CityWalk, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and your hotel.

Some hotels, including Loews Portofino Bay Hotel , Loews Royal Pacific Resort , Hard Rock Hotel and Loews Sapphire Falls Resort offer complimentary boat shuttles.

Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort , Universal's Aventura Hotel and the above-mentioned hotels have peaceful walking paths and all resorts, including Universal's budget-friendly Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites and Dockside Inn and Suites, have complimentary shuttle buses.

universal orlando undercover tourist

The downside of staying at a Universal hotel is often the price. Rack rates are usually relatively high, though Universal's Endless Summer Resort — Surfside Inn and Suites and Dockside Inn and Suites — have rates that start at $91 per night on off-peak dates.

The mid-tier resorts, Aventura and Cabana Bay, start at closer to $130 per night.

Related: How to use points to save money at Universal Orlando

But if you prefer to stay at one of Universal's top-end Premier hotels (Royal Pacific, Hard Rock or Portofino Bay), you're probably looking at starting rates around $325 per night. However, you'll also get complimentary Universal Express skip-the-line passes for every guest staying in your room.

We'll explain that in more detail down below, but it's a huge timesaver and may be worth the extra per-night cost of staying on-site.

If you have The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum® Card from American Express , a great way to maximize a stay at Loews Portofino Bay is to book via the Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts collection .

This will get you not only the Express Passes for all guests of that hotel but also full daily breakfast for two, a $100 property credit, late 4 p.m. checkout and more.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Staying off-site

Universal is surrounded by plenty of points hotels, so if you'd prefer to stay off-site — on points or cash — you can easily do so. Some of TPG's favorite nearby points hotels are even within walking distance of Universal.

Related: Splash into fun: The 14 best hotel pools in Orlando

Here are a few points hotels within walking distance of Universal:

  • Hyatt Place Across From Universal Orlando Resort (Category 2, from 6,500 World of Hyatt points per night).
  • Hyatt House Across From Universal Resort (Category 3, from 9,000 World of Hyatt points per night).
  • DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Entrance to Universal Orlando (Around 30,0000 Hilton Honors points per night).

And some great points hotels that are just a short drive away:

  • Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress (Category 4, from 12,000 World of Hyatt points per night).
  • Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld (From 34,000 Marriott points per night on standard dates).
  • The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes (From 52,000 Marriott points per night on standard dates).
  • JW Marriott Grande Lakes (From 40,000 Marriott points per night on standard dates).
  • Hilton Orlando (40,000 to 60,000 Hilton Honors points per night).
  • Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek (40,000 to 60,000 Hilton Honors points per night).
  • Waldorf Astoria Orlando (63,000 to 80,000 Hilton Honors points per night).

Related: Choosing the best Universal Orlando hotel for your trip

All about Universal tickets

Visitors have a lot of options when it comes to buying Universal tickets, from the type of ticket to how you'll pay for them. Here's the skinny.

FOR NO-COST ASSISTANCE WITH PLANNING AND BOOKING YOUR NEXT UNIVERSAL VACATION, CHECK OUT TPG'S THEME PARK BOOKING PARTNER, MOUSE COUNSELORS .

universal orlando undercover tourist

Universal ticket types

There's a variety of ticket types at Universal Orlando. You can buy tickets that get you into one, two or three theme parks (i.e., Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay water park).

You can purchase tickets for one, two, three, four or five days. The cheapest tickets allow access to one park per day. So, if you start your day at Universal Studios, you can't use the same ticket to get into Islands of Adventure in the afternoon. You're limited to one park per day. This sounds good but isn't always a great choice.

Alternatively, you can buy the pricier Park-to-Park tickets that allow you to bop between the theme parks as you wish. These tickets may be more expensive, but they give you the greatest amount of freedom to visit more than one park on the same day.

Related: From Butterbeer to magic wands: Everything you need to know about Universal Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter

If you want to ride the Hogwarts Express between Hogsmeade Station and Kings Cross Station, you need a Park-to-Park ticket or an Annual/Seasonal Pass.

There's no way around that requirement since Hogsmeade Station is in Islands of Adventure and Kings Cross Station is in Universal Studios. Basically, Universal's got you cornered on this one.

universal orlando undercover tourist

If you're going to visit for more than a couple of days or potentially twice in 12 months, consider a Universal annual pass .

When I planned our trip, Universal was running a promotion that would have given us extra days in the parks for free. But when I crunched the numbers, a Florida resident annual pass was only $8 per ticket more expensive than the tickets for one trip, so we went with the annual pass.

Buying direct from Universal

Universal Orlando almost always has ticket specials on its website. Read the options carefully to see if any of the promotions make sense for you. The special may throw in a free day at the park(s), an Express Pass or discounted admission to the Volcano Bay water park .

Related: How to get the most out of one day at Universal Orlando

universal orlando undercover tourist

Buying tickets from other vendors

You can also buy tickets from reputable vendors like Undercover Tourist . What's great about Undercover Tourist is that it often has some older tickets available so when prices increase each year, you can often still buy a cheaper ticket from them.

It's worth bookmarking their site to comparison shop. Purchases from Undercover Tourist code as travel for the purposes of using a travel credit card or earning extra points.

Related: Best credit cards to use for Universal Studios

And although you can't typically purchase stand-alone Universal tickets at Costco, Costco Travel does sell Universal vacation packages that include tickets and on-site hotel nights.

You'll even get a Costco Shop Card after your visit. Check out pricing for your dates to see if it represents a better deal versus booking through other methods.

Using points to buy Universal tickets

Historically, it was possible to use Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou points to purchase your Universal Orlando theme park admission , though our most recent searches didn't turn up any availability.

Upgrade to skip the lines

Like so many amusement parks around the world that have skip-the-line passes , Universal has its own version called Universal Express. There are a few ways you can get Universal Express passes.

Related: Is Universal's Express Pass worth it? TPG tested how much time it really saves you in line

The best way is often to get it included in your stay, as mentioned above. Guests staying at any of the three top-of-the-line Universal Premier hotels — Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort — get Universal Express Unlimited for free as registered guests.

This is huge as the starting cost if purchased separately is more than $100 per day, per person. For a family of four, getting it with your room rate is almost certainly a better deal than buying it.

Note: The Premier level of the Universal annual pass includes Express Pass access beginning at 4 p.m.

Another option is to simply buy an Express Pass when you need it. How much you pay depends on the type of pass you buy and when you visit Universal, as passes cost more when crowd levels are high. Here are the three types of Express Passes you can buy:

Universal Express: This is the base version of the skip-the-queue pass. It allows you to skip the regular line one time per participating ride at both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure theme parks. Prices start at $79.99 per person, per day for one park and go up from there — sometimes as high as $279.99 per day.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Universal Express Unlimited: The unlimited pass lets you skip the regular lines at participating rides as many times as you wish at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

Passes for that privilege start at $109.99 per person, per day. Pricing for the unlimited passes seems to be running about $30 more per day than the normal express passes, which may make them the better value (assuming you can afford a second mortgage).

Volcano Bay Express: This pass is solely for use at Volcano Bay water park, where it allows you to skip the regular line one time per participating ride. The pass starts at $19.99 per person, per day, but you won't find that rate very often.

Participating rides and attractions are subject to change, so it's best to consult Universal Orlando's website before your visit.

universal orlando undercover tourist

When I visited, just about every ride we wanted was included in the Universal Express Unlimited, with the exception of Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

Hagrid's is an incredible ride that has also seen some incredible wait times since opening. Alas, unless you purchase a VIP tour, your anticipation of rides that aren't included in Universal Express like Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure will be rivaled only by your time waiting in line.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Take a VIP tour

Another way to avoid the lines is to take a VIP tour. There are small group and private VIP tours at Universal and both will help you cut the line.

Summer Hull, a director at TPG, took her family on a private VIP experience at Universal and it included walk-on ride access during the tour, as well as Express Passes and dining credit after the official tour was over.

A private tour will cost a few thousand dollars for the day for your group, but small group VIP experiences can be much less expensive, starting at less than $200 per person.

The primary difference between the two tours is the amount of access. The group tours are obviously less private but also only guarantee that you'll experience front-of-the-line access for eight to 10 rides. A private VIP tour is charged by the hour and operates at a faster or slower pace as you prefer.

Whether you decide to purchase an Express Pass or take a VIP tour will likely be determined by how crowded the park is during your visit, as well as your budget.

If it's off-season, you may be able to get away without a skip-the-line pass. But if you're visiting during a holiday week or school vacation, be prepared for long lines without a pass. On those dates, having an Express Pass will allow you to ride more attractions in less time.

Universal's child-swap policy

If you travel as a family, you know that not everyone will want to go on every ride. And some of your kids may not yet be old or tall enough to ride some attractions that your other kids are dying to try.

Universal solves the problem of the entire family having to choose between experiencing a ride or not with its child-swap program.

universal orlando undercover tourist

In fact, Universal's child swap is the best in the business as there are (air-conditioned) waiting areas in some key attractions. Most even have televisions showing whichever movie the attraction is based on.

This allows one member of your party to watch over small children while the rest of the gang waits in line and rides. Then you can swap places so the other member can enjoy the ride too, without another long wait. Just ask the attraction attendant to point you toward the designated waiting spots.

What's at Universal Orlando?

Although it's not as large ( yet ) as Walt Disney World , Universal Orlando has plenty for your family to see and do for several days. There are two theme parks, a water park and an entertainment, dining and shopping complex.

Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and CityWalk are arranged in a triangle around a small lake. The Volcano Bay water park is separated a bit from these three destinations.

Universal Studios

One of Universal's two theme parks, Universal Studios has eight sections. You enter through an impressive arch and, if you walk straight, are immediately in Production Central with attractions like Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and Transformers: The Ride-3D.

If you take a right after you enter the park, you're in Hollywood, where you'll find the NBC Media Center, Universal Orlando's Horror Make-Up Show, the Bourne Stuntacular and the Character Party Zone.

universal orlando undercover tourist

A lot of the attractions in both Production Central and Hollywood are better saved for when the day starts getting hot. You get to sit in blissful air-conditioning at these shows: Minion Mayhem, the Bourne Stuntacular and the Horror Make-Up Show.

If you've got little kids, turn right upon entry and walk through Hollywood so you can start immediately at Woody Woodpecker's KidZone.

universal orlando undercover tourist

From there, enjoy Springfield: Home of the Simpsons. I'm no kid, but I loved Kang & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl ride!

universal orlando undercover tourist

If your kids are older, bypass those kid-centric areas and make Men in Black Alien Attack in World Expo your first ride of the day. After you ride, you are perfectly positioned to enter The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley first thing in the morning.

Get in line for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts before the line gets too long.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Then, explore Ollivanders and Gringotts Money Exchange and see a few shows (we saw The Tales of Beedle the Bard and Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees). Kids love talking with Stan and the Knight Bus conductor. Don't miss a meal at the Leaky Cauldron or ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour.

If you have a Park-to-Park ticket, you can decide to take the Hogwarts Express from Kings Cross Station (next to Leicester Square) to Hogsmeade Station in Islands of Adventure.

If you have a one-park ticket, you won't be able to ride the Hogwarts Express and will instead continue your exploration of Universal Studios.

universal orlando undercover tourist

As you depart The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley, keep to the right to enter San Francisco.

If you didn't opt for a butterbeer in Hogwarts, this is a fantastic spot to stop for lunch or a snack since most of what you'll find here are restaurants, including the city's famous seafood restaurant, Lombard's. There is also one ride here: Fast & Furious — Supercharged.

From San Francisco, continue on to New York, where you don't want to miss Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon (another great get-out-of-the-heat, rest-your-feet experience) and Revenge of the Mummy. Hang around, too, to see some shows like the Blues Brothers or Marilyn & the Diamond Bellas.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Once you've had your fill of the Big Apple, continue back along the main thoroughfare to Production Central and Hollywood, if you skipped those in the morning.

In the evening, don't miss Universal Studios' nighttime extravaganza. Called the Cinematic Celebration and centered at the theme park's lagoon, it combines music, films, water and light.

You can also see a daytime fountain and music show at this same lagoon. Check the daily program or official Universal Orlando app for times.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Islands of Adventure

The second Universal theme park is Islands of Adventure. Your best call here is to arrive as soon as the gates open and walk quickly to Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure or Jurassic World VelociCoaster. Both are at the opposite end of the park from the entry gates, so it will be a walk but enjoying the busiest rides in the park without crushing crowds is worth it.

universal orlando undercover tourist

If roller coasters aren't your thing (and you aren't prone to motion sickness), get in line instead to see Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This is where you'll ride a broomstick and it really is a fantastic attraction.

After that, ride Flight of the Hippogriff, a gentler roller coaster. (If you can ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney World, Flight of the Hippogriff will be no big deal). Or you can simply walk around Hogsmeade for some fun photos without throngs of other guests in the background.

After you've done the ride, explore Hogsmeade itself and see some shows (we saw the Frog Choir and the Triwizard Spirit Rally) and watch a wand choose a wizard at Ollivanders (if you didn't see the same experience at Diagon Alley already).

Grab a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks or adjacent Hog's Head and then continue on to the other lands of Islands of Adventure.

universal orlando undercover tourist

When you leave The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, you can go in either direction. For our purposes, let's pretend you walk to Jurassic Park first. Here you'll visit Camp Jurassic where kids will enjoy the Pteranodon Flyers. You can also take the Jurassic Park River Adventure and have a "raptor encounter."

There are plenty of places to pick up fast food here, from pizza and ribs to burgers and nachos.

Next up, you can ride Skull Island: Reign of Kong before hitting Toon Lagoon, where your kids can cool off in some sprinklers, or you can all ride Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls flume (warning: you will get very wet).

As you dry off from that heart-pounding experience, head to Marvel Super Hero Island, where you can meet Marvel characters and ride The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk Coaster (it's an intense one).

If you have some daredevils in the family — or Marvel fans — you'll spend a good amount of time here.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Beyond the Incredible Hulk coaster is the entrance to the park. Continue from there to Seuss Landing.

Even though we didn't have any kids in tow, we still enjoyed walking through this bright and cheery land and we even rode the Caro-Seuss-el merry-go-round and The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride.

There's also a Seuss character zone and plenty of other rides and attractions that are specifically designed for the little ones.

universal orlando undercover tourist

The Last Continent is just beyond Seuss Landing. There's a neat interactive experience called The Mystic Fountain. Seriously, start talking to it and you'll be mesmerized.

You can also take on Poseidon's Fury in a special-effects guided tour or stop to dine on Mediterranean-style food at Doc Sugrue's Kebab House, Fire Eater's Grill or Mythos Restaurant.

Volcano Bay

Volcano Bay is Universal's water park. This park can close because of chilly weather or during lightning storms. Check Universal's schedule to see if it is slated to be open during your visit. Volcano Bay has everything you'd expect of an exceptional water park, like Waturi Beach with a fantastic lagoon for swimming and Kopiko Wai Winding River.

There are also some incredible waterslides and drops and the Ko'okiri Body Plunge that features a 70-degree fall through a drop door and 125 feet of what Universal calls "white-knuckle fun."

Thrillseekers love the Krakatau Aqua Coaster, where you plunge right through a waterfall, and TeAwa The Fearless River whitewater ride through churning rapids and waves.

COVID-19 restrictions are pretty limited at Volcano Bay. Masks are required when entering and exiting the park, as well as in restaurants (when you're not actively eating) and in retail locations. They're not permitted on the water rides themselves.

universal orlando undercover tourist

As if two theme parks and a massive water park weren't enough, Universal also offers CityWalk.

This complex of restaurants, shops and clubs is open during the day, but it really heats up at night with free self-parking after 6 p.m. You don't need tickets to enter, but you can buy tickets for shows at the Hard Rock Cafe.

You'll also find restaurants such as Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, Bob Marley — A Tribute to Freedom and Pat O'Brien's that offer live (and recorded) music. There's a movie theater (free parking with the purchase of two movie matinee tickets), karaoke club (CityWalk's Rising Star), miniature golf and the Red Coconut Club and The Groove for dancing.

universal orlando undercover tourist

There are plenty of spots to dine too. You can grab snacks like pizza, hotdogs and Panda Express Chinese food and sweets from Voodoo Doughnuts.

Or you can have a more substantial meal at restaurants like the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen, NBC Sports Grill & Brew, VIVO Italian Kitchen, The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and more.

We had a fantastic dinner at Bigfire, where the pork chop was the juiciest I've ever eaten.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Universal's boat shuttles that take you back to its resorts are right at CityWalk so it's convenient to spend the day at Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure and then have dinner at CityWalk and go shopping before heading back to your hotel for the night.

And a third park coming …

Universal Orlando announced a new theme park, a third gate at Universal Orlando, back in 2019. A massive 750-acre tract of land located not far from the two existing theme parks was to be the site for the new park.

Dubbed Epic Universe , the new park is rumored to house franchises like Fantastic Beasts, a Harry Potter spin-off, Super Nintendo World and Universal Classic Monsters. Construction was delayed due to the pandemic, but the new park is on track to open sometime in the summer of 2025.

The best credit cards to use at Universal

Now we get to a hot topic for points-and-miles travelers who are planning a trip to Universal Orlando. Which credit card should you use? That depends.

For example, how and where you purchase your theme park tickets will dictate how the charge will be coded. Historically speaking, Universal theme park tickets and VIP tours purchased directly from Universal have coded as "entertainment."

However, tickets purchased at an on-site Universal hotel and charged to the hotel have coded as "travel." Depending on how you purchase your ticket, you'll want to select either a card that rewards you for entertainment spend or travel purchases.

If you think your purchase will code as entertainment, two good credit card options are:

  • Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card — 4% cash back.

If, however, you know your charge will code as travel, you're better off using:

  • Chase Sapphire Reserve — 3 points per dollar spent.
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred Card — 2 points per dollar spent.
  • Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card — 2 points per every dollar spent.

The information for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

Universal is packed with rides, attractions, character meet-and-greets and more. Yet it's compact enough for you to cover a lot of ground in just a few days.

Universal Orlando can be a pricey but incredible adventure for your family. If it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience you're seeking, you may be best waiting until the pandemic restrictions are lifted.

However, if you're more "go with the flow," Universal Orlando has plenty to offer for fans of Harry Potter, Marvel and so much more.

Additional reporting by Edward Pizzarello.

Stuck on the Go

21 Top Tips for Visiting Universal Studios Orlando [2024]

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After a week in Orlando, Florida and three days spent at Universal Studios Orlando I am already planning a return trip. This was an absolutely magical place and perfect for all ages.

Universal seems to be a mixture of Walt Disney World which is perfect for children and Busch Gardens which is great for thrill-seekers. It’s for sure one of the best theme parks in the US !

I didn’t do quite enough research before my trip so I feel like my time wasn’t used as efficiently as it could have been. And I don’t want that happening to you!

So here are my top Universal Studios tips for 2023.

13. Buy Tickets in Advance

21. how much money do you need in universal studios.

Disclaimer: This post ma y contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through this link, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for keeping Stuck On The Go going!

What to Know Before Going to Universal Orlando in 2023

There’s no way you’ll have it all figured out before your trip, but it’s great to have a head start! These Universal Orlando tips and tricks will hopefully help you create a plan and know what to expect on your trip.

Globe with Universal written across the front over a fountain

1. Get to the Parking Garage by 8:30

We got there at multiple times during our stay and by far the easiest time to get in the park was at 8:30.

Since the park opens at 9 it seems like everyone wants to get there right then and there is a bottleneck effect.

When we arrived just after 9, it took us 40 minutes from the time we drove into the park to when we scanned our ticket since the morning rush hadn’t cleared out.

When we got there at 8:30 we were scanning our tickets into the park at 8:50. We were some of the first people in the park and first in line at the rides.

2. Make a Game Plan

Look at the park maps before you get there and figure out which rides you want to get on. Once you figure out your top rides, figure out which ones are close together.

You can group the rides together that you’d like to visit and then make a plan of which you’ll visit first.

You can also make a plan based on the region of the park you want to visit. Maybe you want to visit Harry Potter World first (like we did). I highly recommend this if you’re a big Harry Potter fan.

If you are spending one day in each park then this won’t be as big of an issue. A day gives you plenty of time to see everything in one park depending on how long the lines are and what all you want to ride.

3. Buy the Express Pass

Universal Orlando Resort express pass in front of a girl's face. Buying the express pass is one of my top tips for visiting Universal Studios.

Okay the Universal Express Passes are EXPENSIVE. In the app it kept saying starting at $99 for the Express Unlimited Pass well that’s on a weekday in the off-season.

On Friday April 23, 2021 they were $262 including tax. (That’s for only one.)

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Well, the Express Pass was, but maybe not the Unlimited. They have one pass that lets you skip the line at each ride only once and if I had it to do over again I would get that one instead of the Unlimited.

We didn’t have time to ride many things more than once. Try buying your pass ahead of time to see if you can get a cheaper price instead of buying it on the day of.

This may seem counter-intuitive, but if I had it to do over again I think I would buy the Express Pass on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Those were the cheaper days. There will still be crowds so it’s worth it but it’s cheaper.

We did not have the Express Pass on Thursday and only rode four rides… Yes, four rides because we were standing in line so long. On Friday we got the Express Pass and rode eleven different rides and two of those twice.

So compare getting to ride four things to riding thirteen and you’ll see why it’s worth it to me.

I absolutely hate waiting in line – I’m really not patient at all – and yes, I know that’s a terrible trait. So the Express Pass made my day infinitely better and purchasing it is one of my biggest Universal Studios tips for 2023.

Only you can decide if the price is worth it to you though.

You can buy the Express Pass cheaper on Undercover Tourist sometimes so be sure to check them out!

Just a note – I don’t always recommend buying the Express Pass for theme parks. Especially when you visit places like Dollywood or Busch Gardens .

4. Bring a Fanny Pack (Small Backpacks Work)

You may be thinking “Anna there is no way in heck I am wearing a fanny pack, you are insane.” Well when you see how functional they are at Universal you might just change your tune.

Fanny packs are allowed on almost all the rides at Universal which means you don’t have to waste time with the lockers before the ride and you can keep your phone or anything else with you.

The lockers can get very congested and it takes up valuable time trying to stuff your backpacks or anything else in them. More on lockers in a minute.

If you don’t have a fanny pack and are absolutely boycotting them then a small backpack (like this Kavu bag ) is the next best thing. Just note that these will have to be stored in the lockers.

5. There are Lockers for Most Roller Coasters

Circular barge on a water ride with bridge over the top

The locker situation is awesome for groups that don’t have a person who isn’t riding the coasters. There are standard-sized lockers available for free at many of the roller coasters that measure 5.5” tall, 14” wide, and 16.9” deep. This fits a small backpack or miscellaneous items.

They have larger lockers available for $2 if your things don’t fit in a standard size. These would be regular size backpacks or large souvenirs. These single-time use lockers are only good for a certain time frame – maybe an hour but don’t hold me to that.

If you are bringing items in that you won’t need all day then Universal also offers all-day locker rentals. There are lockers for $10 at Islands of Adventure and $15 at Universal Studios Florida. You’ll have unlimited access to these lockers during the day.

At the Popeye water ride you must pay for the lockers because they offer a covered place on the “barge” for you to place your things. However, they will definitely still get wet so if you have anything that can’t get wet definitely buy the $2 locker.

On Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and the Hulk Coaster you have to pass through a metal detector before you can go on the ride so you are required to put everything you have in a locker or with someone not riding.

6. Download the Universal Studios App

You can do so much with the Universal Studios App. You can get in the virtual lines for any attraction with that capability. You can order food and drinks on the app. The app holds your tickets, maps, show times, wait times for attractions, and general park info.

At many of the sit-down restaurants, you can mobile order – at least the ones in Harry Potter World. Then at restaurants with walk-up windows you can mobile-order and pick it up at a specific mobile-order pickup spot. It’s actually super efficient and you don’t have to wait in the long line.

Some rides go to virtual line only when the parks are at capacity. The Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure had a virtual line the first two days we were there and the third it was virtual until the afternoon.

On our third day there the Revenge of the Mummy was virtual and Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon was virtual all three days.

Honestly, this is one of the top tips for visiting Universal Studios. The app is so helpful.

7. Virtual Lines Open Before the Park

You can get a spot in virtual lines through the Universal App. It gives you the option to get a spot in line within a certain timeframe so all you have to do is show up at the ride and show the attendant your phone.

The Race Through New York ride opened by 8:30 everyday so you could get a spot. On the day we finally got there early enough to get a spot on Hagrid’s ride the virtual line for it opened at 8:45.

Hagrid’s ride always ran out of virtual spots so we were so excited to get in. By 9 all the spots were always gone and we never could find an opening throughout the day. Until the third day when they opened the line so you could physically wait in it instead of having to use the app.

Moral of the story is that if you want to ride something really bad, make sure to get there early and check the virtual line.

8. The Crosswalk Isn’t Always Open

There are three ways to get between the two parks – Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. This is only if you have a Park-to-Park ticket for the day.

First – You can walk out the exit of either park and through CityWalk by the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and Hard Rock Cafe and into the other park. The walk is about 15 – 20 minutes depending on where you’re at in the park.

Second – There is a crosswalk between the two parks, but it is not always open so not an option all the time. It wasn’t open during any of the three days that we were there.

Third and my personal favorite – Take the Hogwarts Express! This is definitely the most fun way to get between the parks. However, the line gets incredibly long as the day goes on. If you’ve already been on this ride then I wouldn’t recommend waiting over 30 minutes on the train.

9. Many Restaurants on Universal CityWalk Require Reservations

Two restaurants across the river on CityWalk. Making reservations is one of the top tips for visiting Universal Studios.

 We made the mistake of not making a dinner reservation on a Friday night and were out of luck when it came to eating on CityWalk.

Every restaurant either had an hour and a half wait or was reservation only. I’ve already told you how impatient I am so you know I’m not waiting that long to eat.

For those of you who exercise your patience daily, you can grab drinks and appetizers at little kiosks around the CityWalk while you wait.

10. Express Passes Get You In Regardless of Virtual Lines

If you couldn’t get in the Virtual Line, but still want to ride something you can use your Express Pass if the attraction has an Express Line.

Not everything has an Express Line, but most do. One very popular ride that doesn’t is Hagrid’s.

11. Wear the Right Clothing and Shoes

One of the most important Universal Studios tips for 2023 by far. I wore a dri-fit t-shirt and shorts that dried quickly because I knew that we would be getting on the water rides.

I also wore my Chacos ZX3 sandals . They’re comfortable and do so well with water.

Comfortable shoes are a must. If you don’t plan on riding the water rides then I would go with sneakers. I’ve actually put together a whole list of the best shoes for theme parks if you need some new ones!

My Chacos are super comfy and did well when we walked 6 miles. Our last day we walked 12 miles though and my feet were hurting pretty good at the end of the day.

12. You Can Bring in Some Food

shrimp, corn, potatoes, and sausage in a paper tray

Here is one of the ultimate budget tips for visiting Universal Studios. You can bring in snacks and food that you don’t have to heat. What you cannot do is bring in a picnic lunch with a main course and sides.

I would highly recommend bringing some snacks and if you really want to watch your budget then take sandwiches for lunch. A good ol PB&J will always do the trick.

You are also allowed to bring up to two liters of water into the park. We brought in two water bottles each and that was plenty for us.

If you buy tickets in advance you’ll save a bit from what you would pay at the gate. It won’t be huge savings but everything adds up. Again, check with Undercover Tourist to buy your Universal Studios park tickets .

You can also see if Express Passes are discounted if you buy them when you purchase admission tickets.

I loved having my tickets on my phone in the Universal App. It was super convenient and I didn’t have to keep up with any extra pieces of paper.

More Universal Orlando Tips and Tricks 2023

14. you must have the 2-park ticket to ride the hogwarts express.

If you want to ride this then be sure you purchase the 2-park ticket! Honestly, if you want to save money you can purchase the 2-park ticket for one day only and do individual parks for the rest of your stay.

The Hogwarts Express is a must for any Harry Potter fan. Be sure to take the train both ways as the video is different depending on which station you come from.

15. Choose the Right Accommodations

Staying on the resort property would be nice, but it’s very expensive. Sometimes the included perks are worth it though. Undercover Tourist also sells hotel packages where you can sometimes find a deal!

For example, I’ve heard that one of the hotels within Universal Orlando Resort will include Express Passes for your whole family if you stay on their property. Depending on the size of your family this might be worth it.

We stayed at Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort which is on the Walt Disney World Campus. It isn’t part of the Disney Resorts though so the weekly price is much cheaper.

I’ve also written a complete Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek Review if you want to know what to expect. This is sometimes an overlooked Universal Orlando tip!

16. Universal has Free WiFi

This will save your data plan if you connect to the free WiFi. It doesn’t require a password but if you don’t have an Xfinity account you’ll have to enter your email and zip code.

There is good coverage throughout both parks and most of CityWalk.

17. Buy Souvenirs Before You Arrive

Hogwarts Castle in Harry Potter World.

This is mainly for Harry Potter World but can apply to other sections of Universal.

Many people love wearing Harry Potter shirts and cloaks. You can buy these on Amazon before your trip for much cheaper.

There are also necklaces, scarves, and so much more sold in the park. The prices really are outrageous so if you can buy them ahead of time I would do that.

The one thing I would buy in the park is the interactive wand if you want that. It is really cool to do the magic in the park.

My sister got Snape’s wand for $58 but I didn’t want to pay that much.

18. You Don’t Have to Buy Your Wand at Ollivanders

Everyone wants to visit Ollivanders to buy their wand which can make the line incredibly long. There are so many other places to buy a wand though.

In Diagon Alley you can visit Wands by Gregorovitch when they are open. You can also go to Knockturn Alley into Borgin & Burke’s if you want a dark wizard’s wand.

In Hogsmeade you’ll find a cart between Hogwarts and the shops where you can buy wands. You’ll also find wands at Dervish and Banges.

19. How Many Days Should You Spend at Universal Studios Florida?

People walking under a bridge with the message "The Adventure Lives On."

I would say three at the very least. It takes a day or two just to get your bearings – especially if you haven’t made a plan. We didn’t make a good plan and we spent most of the first two days walking around figuring stuff out.

If you can make it on Tuesdays or Wednesdays those are the best days to visit too. Weekends are absolutely horrendous for crowds. I would hate to see the place when they weren’t limiting access.

Hopefully these Universal Orlando tips and tricks will help you take advantage of all your time there!

20. Visit During Shoulder Season

Unless you have to visit during the school breaks, I would make it a point to avoid those. You’ll spend your whole vacation waiting in line.

According to the Undercover Tourist, the best times to visit Universal over the next couple years will be weekdays during September through December with September being the best.

Our visit was in April and I’m sure the crowds weren’t bad compared to the summer months when school is out.

This is totally dependent on your preference. Do you plan on bringing a picnic and re-entering the park? Do you plan on buying souvenirs? Playing arcade games? Alcohol?

Another thing to think about is the CityWalk. Will you eat or shop here? The main extra expenses that you’ll have inside the park are food and souvenirs.

I would budget $60 per person per day especially if you’re doing two meals in the park. That will likely get you a snack too.

For souvenirs, I recommend setting a budget before you go. For example, I knew the only thing that I wanted was a refrigerator magnet and possibly a Christmas Tree ornament so my budget was around $25 for souvenirs.

Best Things to Do at Universal Studios Orlando for 2023

Okay here are some new things to do at Universal Studios plus some oldie but goodie memorable experiences that we had.

Number one – the Jurrasic World Velocicoaster is open! This looked like an absolutely epic ride so if you are a big coaster fan then check it out.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure TM , Escape from Gringotts TM , Revenge of the Mummy, Rip Ride Rockit TM , and the Hulk Coaster were our favorite rides. Again, these are for the big roller coaster fans!

Check out at least one of the shows while you’re here – they do a great job! Universal keeps a list of all the current shows.

Make sure to allow some time to explore city walk. It really is an attraction to itself. Grab some doughnuts at Voodoo Doughnuts where you can skip the line if you order on the Universal Studios app.

Do you love seasonal events? Then plan a trip to Universal around Halloween, the Holidays, or Mardi Gras! Check out their event list for other things throughout the year.

For Harry Potter fans, make sure you visit Hogsmeade at night if they are doing the light show at Hogwarts TM . They don’t do this every night though so ask an employee when you visit.

Oh and make sure you check out the Knight Bus TM right outside of Diagon Alley. Across from the bus, you’ll see 12 Grimmauld Place and if you hang out a bit you can catch Kreacher peeking out the window.

Make sure you eat all the Butterbeer in as many different ways as you can. Check out the Three Broomsticks for the atmosphere and Mythos is an award-winning restaurant in the park.

How to Get to Universal Studios Orlando

If you live in the southeast then you may consider a road trip to Orlando so you can drive to the park. Depending on where you live, Orlando is also a cheap place to fly into.

You can either fly into Orlando and rent a car or contact your hotel to see if they have a shuttle service from the airport. This will save you money, especially if you are staying at a Universal hotel.

Ubers are plentiful around Orlando in case you need to go somewhere other than the park. If you aren’t staying on property, many local hotels have a shuttle service that will take you to the park.

This just means you are at the mercy of the shuttle schedule or you’ll have to take an Uber depending on when you want to arrive and leave the park.

Other Things to Do Near Orlando

Here are a few fun things to do in Orlando or for day trips!

Museum of Illusions Ticket

Kennedy Space Center & Everglades Safari

Helicopter Night Tour Over Orlando Theme Parks

Crystal River Manatee Swim

Wekiva River Guided Kayak Tour

Things to Do in Everglades National Park

Where to Stay in Orlando

If Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek isn’t what you are looking for then check out the other Orlando hotels at the link below!

✅ Orlando Hotels on Booking.com ✅

WRap Up: Tips for Visiting Universal Orlando

I know that was a lot of info but I hope even one of these tips will help you! The most important tips for Universal Orlando are to figure out how to skip the crowds whether that is planning your vacation in the off-season or getting the Universal Express Passes and make sure you remember these budget tips!

I hope you’ll have a fantastic trip in Orlando and you’ve found these Universal Orlando tips for 2023 helpful.

Do you love theme parks? Here is a list of the best theme parks in the US !

Pin for later!

Looking for Universal Studios Orlando planning resources? These are my top tips for Universal Orlando in 2021!

Anna is a North Carolina native who grew up traveling the southern US with her family. Now she is a full-time travel blogger who loves providing trip inspiration and travel tips for traveling the US. Want to know more? Read my full story here.

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There are some really handy tips here! I visited a few years ago and we had tickets that lasted for 2 weeks as part of our holiday package and I really enjoyed the park.

Oh wow! That is really nice. It is such a fun park to visit.

Great tips! I heard they’re doing awesome deals on season passes too! I really want to go to Volcano Bay!

Thank you! Yes, they have some really good deals going right now. We didn’t make it to Volcano Bay but I’m sure it’s great!

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Privacy Overview

Universal Orlando Resort

Universal has offered some very good deals in 2023 so far and it has just been announced that a new ticket offer is now available for US and Canadian residents.

The offer gives you two additional days free when purchasing a 2-Park / 3-Day ticket. There is also the option to add Park-to-Park as well as Volcano Bay. 

Universal Orlando Resort

For extra savings on this discounted ticket visit Undercover Tourist . PLEASE NOTE: Theme Park Tourist is affiliated with Undercover Tourist. This ticket is valid for visits through February 29, 2024. The five days must be used within 8 days of the first use.

Alternatively, go to the official Universal Orlando Website by clicking here , for further details and to book this offer. It is great to see Universal continuing to offer discounts throughout 2023 and we hope to bring you news of more offers for Universal Orlando Resort in the near future.

universal orlando undercover tourist

Co-founder of the site alongside her amazing Husband Nick who had the vision and inspiration to create Theme Park Tourist from scratch. Natalie has always been amazed by theme parks and thinks nothing beats walking around a Disney Park soaking up the sights, sounds and magical atmosphere hand in hand with the ones she loves.

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

Hogwarts in the Wizarding World at Universal Orlando

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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 kid (shout out to the parents that 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

Jurassic Park River Adventure and Universal Globe - Need to Know Universal

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 into 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).

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 that 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 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 where they’ve predicted it’s a “busy day for the park” and it’s actually not. For example, 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.

universal orlando undercover tourist

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).

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’s 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

Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando

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

Gringotts at the Wizarding World - Need to Know Universal Orlando

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 Hogswarts 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
  • Hogwarts Castle
  • Forbidden Journey
  • Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
  • Flight of the Hippogriff
  • Olllivanders
  • The Three Broomsticks

Hogwarts Express and Hogwarts Castle in the Wizarding World

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 everyday… but remember you need that protection or you’ll be hurtin’ the next day.

And 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!!

jimmy fallon ride and shrek experience at universal

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 back pack (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 back pack that won’t weigh you down and can easily fit into the lockers provided at each of the rides.

need to know about universal orlando

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 everyday… 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.

hogwarts at night and the hulk at night at islands of adventure

Parks Close Early for Events

Universal puts on plenty of events every year, most of them 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’s 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!

outside the Mummy ride at universal orlando

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 that 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 on the same car!

Check the official website for deals

Yes, there’s 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 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!!

Volcano Bay and the entrance for Islands of Adventure - Need to Know Universal

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 line up 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!

311 in concert at universal orlando

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 it’s 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!! And 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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Tags : Florida , Universal Orlando

Reader Interactions

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I’m going to universal this spring at about April is that a good time to go?

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April is an amazing time to go! The weather is great and it’s not as hectic as summer (even though you will still get spring breakers). Hope you have a wonderful time!

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Universal Orlando Discounts and Deals

LAST UPDATE: 2/9/24

If you’re looking for Universal Orlando discounts , this is the right place! Universal Orlando includes two major theme parks:  Universal Studios Florida  and Islands of Adventure, plus a beautiful water park: Volcano Bay . You can easily spend two or more days exploring them. Fortunately, there are many, many Universal discounts and  special offers , which change constantly. On this page you’ll find Universal Orlando ticket discounts , special deals on Universal Orlando hotels , advice about saving money on meals and merchandise at Universal Orlando  and lots more!

Universal Orlando is building a new theme park scheduled to open in Summer 2025: Universal Epic Universe. Epic Universe will have 5 areas: Celestial Park; The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic; Super Nintendo World; How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk and Dark Universe. Sometime later in 2024 there will be an interactive preview center at Universal CityWalk with more details and a sneak peek at this new theme park.

All offers are subject to change without notice. Always call ahead and confirm before driving out of your way to take advantage of a particular offer! 

  • Universal Ticket Discounts & Deals
  • Universal On-Site Hotels: Tips, Discounts & Deals
  • Nearby Hotels: Tips, Discounts & Deals

Booking A Universal Orlando Vacation With a Travel Agent

Dining, entertainment & merchandise discounts, getting to universal orlando from walt disney world, parking deals, universal express passes, the wizarding world of harry potter, annual special events, universal orlando ticket discounts & deals.

  • Regular Gate Prices for Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure

Discount Tickets from Undercover Tourist

  • Advance Purchase Tickets – Universal Website or Hotel Desk

Power Annual Pass Deals

Annual passholder ticket discounts, aaa/caa ticket discounts at the gate.

  • AAA/CAA Ticket Advance Purchase Discounts

Warehouse Club Ticket Discounts

Florida/georgia resident ticket discounts, military ticket discounts.

  • University of Central Florida Ticket Discounts

Using Award Points for FREE Tickets

Regular gate prices for universal studios florida and islands of adventure.

Regular ticket prices for Universal Orlando last went up in October 2023. Annual Pass prices last went up in April 2023.

Universal Orlando sells tickets that vary in price depending on the specific dates you plan to visit. You must select your start date and how many days you want to visit to see a final price for your tickets.

One-day tickets are valid only on the specific date you select. Multi-day tickets are valid for three days longer than the number of days of admission, to allow for breaks or visiting other attractions. In other words, if you get a 4-day ticket, you can visit Universal on 4 different days within a 7-day range. Once you’ve visited the 4th day, or the full 7 calendar days have passed, the ticket is expired and no longer valid.

You can change your ticket to new dates, or add days, any time up to the end of the day on the last day the ticket is valid. For example, if you buy a 2-day ticket, and on the 2nd day you visit you decide you’d like to add one more visit to your trip, you can go to a guest services location or ticket window and add a day to your ticket, by paying the difference in price between the ticket you currently have and the ticket you are buying. If you bought your existing ticket from a discounter like Undercover Tourist, they will credit you the full price for the ticket towards a new one.

Important Money-Saving Tip

If you are buying multi-day tickets, there may be multiple ticket date ranges that will work for your trip, and each of those date ranges could have a different price! For example, say you want to visit Universal on February 9, 10, and 11, so you need a 3-day ticket. A 3-day ticket is good for any 3 days of admission within a 6-day range. You don’t have to get a ticket that starts on the 9th. There are actually four different date ranges that will work! You can get a ticket that starts on the 6th, 7th, 8th or 9th, since all of them will be valid for the 9th, 10th and 11th. By checking the prices of all four options, you can choose the one that costs the least. At times (such as right before a holiday), that can save you $40 or more on each ticket!

Here’s another example in the table below, using prices from 2024 for a 3-day park-to-park ticket. Let’s imagine you want to go November 22-24. Four different tickets are going to be valid on the three dates you want to go, but the price difference is a whopping $49 between the lowest and highest prices. We’ve bolded the three days you want to go in each set of dates. The key is that you don’t have to actually start using a ticket on the first day it’s valid! You can just show up on the 22nd and start using it.

PRICES BELOW INCLUDE TAX

One Park Per Day (Base) Tickets – 2 Park (No Volcano Bay)

These tickets are valid for visiting either Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure (but not Volcano Bay) each day. You can’t visit more than one park in a single day or ride the Hogwarts Express with these tickets.

We give price ranges for all tickets, representing the lowest and highest prices seen as of the last time we checked park prices. Usually the lowest prices can be found in the fall and early and late spring, and the highest prices are for long holiday periods like spring break, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Park-To-Park Tickets – 2 Park (No Volcano Bay)

Valid for visiting Universal Studios Florida  and  Universal Islands of Adventure (but not Volcano Bay) each day. You can visit both parks in a single day, and you can ride the Hogwarts Express with this ticket.

One Park Per Day (Base) Tickets – 3 Park (Includes Volcano Bay)

Valid for visiting either Universal Studios Florida  or Universal Islands of Adventure or Volcano Bay Water Park each day. You can’t visit more than one park in a single day or ride the Hogwarts Express with these tickets.

Park-To-Park Tickets – 3 Park (Includes Volcano Bay)

Valid for visiting Universal Studios Florida  and  Universal Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay Water Park each day. You can visit all three parks in a single day, and you can ride the Hogwarts Express with this ticket.

Volcano Bay Only Tickets

A 1-Day Volcano Bay Ticket costs $85.20 Adult (10+) or $79.88 Child (ages 3-9), tax included. During high waterpark season (summer), the price is $5.33 higher.

If you are already buying a 2-day or longer 2-park Universal Orlando ticket (either one-park-per-day or park-to-park), switching to a 3-park ticket and adding an extra day is always cheaper than buying a one-day Volcano Bay ticket, and gives you extra flexibility.

Annual & Seasonal Passes

Two-Park Passes are valid for visiting Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure. Three-Park Passes are valid for visiting Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay. Prices are the same for all ages (3+).

†Seasonal Pass has black out days (mainly Christmastime, Spring Break and mid-summer for Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure). Includes discounts at on-site resort hotels and discounts on select theme park & special event tickets. Not valid for separately ticketed special events. Does not include parking or food/merchandise discounts. The 3-Park Seasonal Pass also has black out dates for Volcano Bay Water Park (mainly Spring Break, late spring and summer).

^Power Annual Pass has blackout days (mainly Christmastime and Spring Break for Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure). Includes discounts at on-site resort hotels; 50% off regular daytime self-parking (after your first visit); admission to Mardi Gras and discounts on select theme park & special event tickets. Not valid for separately ticketed special events. Does not include food/merchandise discounts. The 3-Park Power Annual Pass also has black out dates for Volcano Bay Water Park (mainly late spring and summer). There are frequently deals on the Power Annual Pass.

^^Preferred Annual Pass gives admission every day to Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure for 365 days. Not valid for separately ticketed special events. Includes early park admission on select days for Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure; free self-parking (after your first visit); food and merchandise discounts; discounts at on-site resort hotels; admission to Mardi Gras and discounts on select theme park & special event tickets. The 3-Park Preferred Annual Pass also has black out dates for Volcano Bay Water Park (mainly summer).

^^^Premier Annual Pass gives admission every day to Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure for 365 days, plus Unlimited Universal Express Plus after 4:00 pm and early park admission at Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure only. Not valid for separately ticketed special events. Includes free valet parking or prime self-parking (after your first visit); one ticket to Halloween Horror Nights, admission to Mardi Gras; discounts on select theme park & special event tickets; food and merchandise discounts and discounts at on-site resort hotels. The 3-Park Premier Annual Pass also gives admission for 365 days to Volcano Bay Water Park. 

More often than not, we find that the best overall discount on multi-day Universal Orlando tickets is from Undercover Tourist , a highly reliable ticket broker that sells substantially discounted Universal tickets (and other Florida attraction tickets). Undercover Tourist sells real tickets that you can take straight to the gate (not vouchers you have to trade in when you arrive) and its prices include tax and FREE shipping , so be sure to account for that when comparing prices. If you’d like to know more, take a look at  why we recommend Undercover Tourist .

Undercover Tourist Universal Orlando tickets are refundable! This is a huge benefit — even Universal doesn’t offer refunds on tickets! There is a 5% restocking fee, so most of the time it’s better to change the tickets rather than refund them, but for those cases when you really won’t be able to use the tickets at all, it’s great to know you can get 95% of your ticket cost back. To be eligible for refund, your tickets must be unused and unchanged. Check Undercover Tourist for the full terms and conditions.

  • Save money on Universal Orlando tickets with Undercover Tourist!

Have some time before you need your tickets? Undercover Tourist offers its best deals on tickets exclusively for MouseSavers Newsletter subscribers. These special prices are not available to the general public and are not published here on MouseSavers.com. They are provided ONLY through a “secret” link in the monthly newsletter. They also run special limited-time sales on a few tickets (often including Universal Orlando) in a Hot Deals newsletter once per month, so if you want to see those special sales you’ll want to subscribe to the Hot Deals alerts as well.

  • Subscribe to the FREE MouseSavers Newsletter . The newsletter comes out on the 15th of each month (or the next business day) and we do not send out the “secret” link separately from the newsletter, so please plan ahead.

Advance Purchase Tickets – Universal Website, Phone Order or Hotel Desk

Save $21.30 (tax included) off the gate prices of multi-day tickets when you buy online at the Universal Orlando website, over the phone, or in person at a Universal Hotel ticket desk. When purchasing online, you can print them yourself, use kiosk pickup (go to the park and get them out of a machine), or use ticket-booth pickup. All of those options avoid shipping charges.

Prices displayed on Universal’s site do not include 6.5% tax, which is added further along in the transaction. Once you get to the final price, it’s always a better deal to buy tickets from Undercover Tourist , which displays its real prices up front, with all taxes and shipping included.

This deeply discounted Annual Pass has blackout days (mainly Christmastime and Spring Break at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventures and late spring and most of summer  at Volcano Bay for the 3-park passes). It does not include parking or food/merchandise discounts.

  • You can order it online at the Universal Orlando website. Florida residents pay a lower price.
  • The Orlando Auto Club South (AAA) office usually offers an extra discount or sometimes extra months on the pass.

Holders of Universal Premier, Preferred and Power Annual Passes get 15% off the gate price of multi-day tickets when purchasing at the front gate. Seasonal Passholder get 10% off the gate price of multi-day tickets at the front gate. For most tickets this is less than the regular advance-purchase discount for buying online, and usually much worse than the Undercover Tourist discount. There is no discount for 1-day tickets.

All AAA (American Automobile Association) and CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) members can save $4 on a 2-Day/2-Park ticket and $5 off a 3-Day/2-Park ticket when purchasing tickets at the gate. Valid for up to six people per membership card. This is less than the regular advance-purchase discount for buying online, and much worse than the Undercover Tourist discount.

AAA/CAA Advance Purchase Ticket Discounts

Each AAA (American Automobile Association) and CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) region has different Universal offers. Some have deals that are available to all US and/or Canadian members; some have deals available only to local members; a few (particularly in the West) don’t offer any Universal Orlando deals at all. The prices vary tremendously from region to region and change all the time, so contact your local AAA office to check. Other AAA/CAA advance purchase options:

  • Auto Club South offices in Florida, Georgia and western Tennessee allow AAA members from any region to purchase discounted Universal tickets on a walk-in basis (no phone orders). The nearest office is located at 783 South Orlando Ave in Winter Park (note that this is not very close to Universal — it’s about 25 miles away). Call (407) 647-1033 for hours and directions.(You can check the Auto Club South website , but only Auto Club South members can order online, and the prices are sometimes higher online.) Note that sometimes there is a delay of up to several days to get tickets, depending on the specific tickets you need, so definitely call ahead to make sure they have tickets in stock before showing up at their office.

The membership warehouse store Costco sometimes has great deals on Universal tickets, so it’s always worth checking at your local store, particularly if you live in the Midwest and Eastern US. At times Costco offers discounted tickets on its website and you don’t even have to be a Costco member to buy through the site. (Non-members pay a 5% surcharge, however.) There is a shipping charge, which varies.

Universal often has special ticket promotions and offers for Florida (and sometimes Georgia) residents .

Universal Orlando has special tickets for military personnel . Active duty and retired military personnel should also check with their local MWR/ITT office or with Shades of Green at Walt Disney World for discounted ticket prices.

Military Freedom Pass

2024 Military Freedom Pass

Active duty, retired US military members and their families can purchase a 2024 Universal Orlando Military Freedom Pass. The Military Freedom Pass is valid most dates November 16, 2023 through December 20, 2024. Blockout dates are December 25, 2023 – January 2, 2024 and March 25-31, 2024. The Military Freedom Pass can be added to a Military Vacation Package. 

  • The 2-Park Military Freedom Pass costs $210 per adult ticket + tax (age 10+), and includes admission to Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Valid in both parks on the same day. The Military Freedom Pass for children (age 3-9) costs $205 per child + tax.
  • The 3-Park Military Freedom Pass costs $245 per adult ticket + tax (age 10+), and includes admission to Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal’s Volcano Bay (open seasonally). Valid in all three parks on the same day. The Military Freedom Pass for children (age 3-9) costs $240 per child + tax.

The Military Freedom Pass is only available for purchase at your authorized Military Ticket and Travel Office. You may purchase up to 6 passes. You must present a valid Military ID at time of purchase, when activating the pass at a Universal Pass Sales window, and when entering the theme parks.

These passes must be activated before you can enter the parks. To activate your pass, go to any Universal Pass Sales window and present a valid ID. The military member or spouse must be present when the passes are activated and use one of the tickets.

  • To book the Military Freedom Pass as part of a Universal Orlando Military Vacation Package , we recommend contacting a travel agent who specializes in Universal travel.

Questions about the Military Freedom Pass?

  • More details about the Military Freedom Pass are available on Universal Orlando’s Military Deals & Specials page . 
  • Another great resource is Military Disney Tips ; they have a detailed post about these passes.

University of Central Florida – Universal Ticket Discounts

Students, faculty and staff at University of Central Florida can purchase 1-Day/1-Park, 2-Day/2-Park and 1-Day Park-to-Park Universal Orlando tickets at a significantly reduced rate. There is a limit of 2 tickets per 30 days. Tickets can be purchased through the SGA Ticket Center located on the first floor of the Student Union. Be sure to buy in advance because they do sell out at times. Thanks to Amanda for info.

Many different credit card rewards, hotel points and other awards programs allow you to redeem an award in the form of Universal Orlando tickets. Below are the ones that have been reported to us:

  • If you have the type of American Express charge card that earns  Membership Rewards points, you can sometimes redeem those points for Universal Orlando tickets (availability comes and goes on the Amex site). Thanks to Amy H for info.
  • You can redeem Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points to purchase adult or child 1-Day Park-to-Park Universal Orlando tickets on the Rapid Rewards site . Thanks to Donna I for info. 
  • You can redeem IHG Rewards Club points for Universal Orlando tickets. See the IHG Rewards Club site for details. Thanks to Lori B for info.
  • The Chase Ultimate Rewards program has Universal Orlando tickets as an award option. Thanks to Drew H for info.
  • You can sometimes redeem Regal Crown Club credits for Universal Orlando tickets. Thanks to David A for info.
  • Readers report that Canadians can redeem Air Miles for select Universal Orlando tickets. Thanks to Dawn N for info.

On-Site Hotels: Tips, Discounts & Deals

Universal on-site hotels overview, room-only versus package.

  • Undercover Tourist Hotel Discounts

CheapTickets and Orbitz Hotel Discounts

  • Book Directly with Loews Hotels
  • Book Directly with Universal Resort

AAA Hotel Discount

Booking universal orlando resort hotels through hotwire, florida, georgia and alabama resident hotel discount, annual passholders hotel discount, military hotel discounts, american airlines aadvantage miles hotel discount, portofino bay hotel – benefits for platinum card from american express.

The official Universal Orlando hotels are all operated by Loews Hotels . The three deluxe resorts (Portofino, Hard Rock and Royal Pacific) are all AAA Four Diamond Award winners.

  • Portofino Bay Hotel has an elegant coastal Italian theme and is the most luxurious of the hotels. It offers the most amenities, including a spa, and more restaurants. It is the furthest deluxe resort from the major parks, which means the longest walk or boat trip. That said, you can walk from the boat dock to the parks in 10-12 minutes of brisk walking, or it’s about a 6-7 minute boat ride. It has 750 rooms, including 45 suites.
  • Hard Rock Hotel is designed to look like a classic California mission-style hotel from the outside. Inside are the usual rock star memorabilia and signed pictures associated with the Hard Rock Café brand. The music is loud and continuous, but the amenities and food are quite good. It is the closest walking distance from Universal Studios Florida (about 4-5 minutes walk). It has 650 rooms, including 29 suites.
  • Royal Pacific Resort is a tropical paradise with a South Seas theme (primarily Balinese and Indonesian). It has lovely grounds, including a lagoon-style pool with a white sand beach. While this is usually the least-expensive of the Universal deluxe resorts, it is in our opinion the most attractive of the resorts, with our favorite on-site lounge (Jake’s American Bar). It is also the closest walking distance to Universal Islands of Adventure (about 4-5 minutes walk). It has 1000 rooms, including 51 suites.
  • Sapphire Falls Resort is a modern resort with some nice Caribbean-themed touches here and there, lush landscaping and, of course, lovely waterfalls. A large lagoon pool area has a sand beach, water slides, a kid’s water play zone and rockwork that is reminiscent of an old Spanish fortress. There’s a rum bar with a massive wall of vintage rums to try and Caribbean cocktails, plus the Amatista Cookhouse, which serves Caribbean-influenced food like jerk chicken and conch chowder. The amenities are roughly comparable to Disney’s moderate resorts, although with interior corridors and rooms that are more like a modern business hotel.
  • Cabana Bay Beach Resort is a value-oriented hotel, featuring a hip, vintage look, with 900 family suites and 900 standard guest rooms. The family suites are exceptionally nicely designed, with a three-way split bathroom (toilet in one room, sink/shower in another, and a separate sink outside). We were impressed by the nostalgic mid-century modern décor (think space-age 1960’s/Jetsons). The resort has much more extensive amenities than Disney’s value resorts, including a lazy river, two main pools, a water slide, and a bowling alley.
  • Aventura Resort  is a value tower hotel with a contemporary, clean feel. There are standard guest rooms, as well as 13 kid suites that sleep 5 and have a special interior area for the kids, for a total of 600 rooms. Prices are similar to Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Amenities include a pool, a splash zone and a virtual reality game room. There’s a rooftop bar and grill (Bar 17 Bistro), a modern food hall (Urban Pantry). In-room tablets allow guests to order pizza delivered to their room and to control rooms’ features like the TV and room temperature controls.
  • Endless Summer Resort has two value hotels: Surfside Inn & Suites and Dockside Inn & Suites . Surfside, with 750 rooms, has beachy, surfing-themed décor. Dockside, with 2050 rooms, has more of a beach retreat feel. More than half of the rooms in both hotels are 2-bedroom suites. These suites feature two separate bedrooms, a kitchenette and dining area, and a bathroom with a separate shower and vanity. The 2-bedroom suites sleep up to six people. Surfside amenities include a pool, and a food court. Dockside has 2 pools, a splash pad and a casual dining restaurant (which also has grab and go items). Both have pizza delivery and a game room. 

See below for benefits of staying at the on-site Universal hotels.

Universal offers bundled Vacation Packages that combine a stay at one of their on-site hotels and park tickets (and an optional dining plan , if and when those become available). A hotel stay by itself, without tickets or dining, is called a “room-only” reservation. Most of the time there is no real discount for buying everything together as a package, though typically if there are any current room discounts they’ll apply to packages as well, and sometimes Universal offers very good deals on package bookings. 

When Universal is not offering a special package deal, you’ll usually save the most by putting your own package together from the best deals in each category: book a room-only (non-package) hotel reservation, buy your tickets from a discount vendor such as Undercover Tourist , and use our tips to save money on food . It does take some time and energy to put together the pieces yourself, so it’s really a judgment call for each person as to whether the savings are worth it.

Our recommendation for booking Universal vacation packages is always to book using a good full-service travel agent . You get significantly better service than from Universal’s own sales people, and it doesn’t cost you a dime; the prices are exactly the same as booking directly with Universal.

Our recommendation for booking hotels & tickets separately (i.e. room-only) is to look for the best available discounts from online travel agencies for the room (or take advantage of one of the other discounts below), and buy tickets from a reliable discount vendor . And you may also want to consider looking at off-property hotels near Universal ; the savings can be considerable.

Undercover Tourist Hotel Discounts

Long-time MouseSavers favorite Undercover Tourist also offers hotel bookings at the official Universal Orlando Resort hotels! Their base rates typically reflect the existing Universal/Loews discounts, plus they offer an additional discount on at least some resorts and room types. The biggest discounts seem to be on the Deluxe resorts, as you’d expect, but we’ve seen some discounted rates for the Cabana Bay and Sapphire Falls resorts as well.

Compared to other self-service travel websites like Expedia or Orbitz, Undercover Tourist has good prices year-round with no messing around with special codes, as well as friendly customer service with live human beings. They offer the same generous cancellation and change policies as Universal Orlando with no extra fees.

Undercover Tourist is a great company that we have recommended for years for  Universal Orlando Tickets and other Florida attraction tickets as well as car rentals ; they’re well worth considering for hotels as well. Read more about why we love Undercover Tourist .

  • Book a stay at an official Universal Orlando resort with Undercover Tourist!

CheapTickets  and  Orbitz  are operated by the same company (and are owned by Expedia), but they don’t always offer exactly the same deals. CheapTickets and Orbitz only offer “room-only” reservations. It’s definitely more work than using a full-service travel agent , but if you’re comfortable doing your own research, the savings can be worth it. Be sure to read the caveats in this section carefully, as well as our  general advice about booking with online travel agencies , and compare different options before booking.  

When you check out, they will typically offer you park tickets as an upsell, but typically you can get better ticket prices from other vendors . Be sure to compare prices before you throw those tickets into the cart. If you want to book a Universal Vacation Package with tickets and a hotel stay (and an optional dining plan , if and when those become available), you’ll want to use a full-service travel agent .

Note that Orbitz has their Orbitz Rewards program  that rebates 1%-5% of your booking cost back as “Orbucks” you can use for future travel. This can make the Orbitz deal come out ahead, if you can use the Orbucks before they expire.

For a long time, Orbitz/Cheaptickets overcharged for children because of a glitch in their booking system. When we have checked recently, the glitch appeared to be fixed and we were able to book children normally without being overcharged. However, we’re still getting intermittent reports of readers being charged extra for children under 18 at Universal hotels, which is not Universal policy. It may be that Orbitz is still working out the kinks from their merger with Expedia, and depending on your exact browser, device or something else, you may be getting the old booking engine with the old behavior. Just in case, if you are booking an official Universal hotel with children under 18, check if the price goes down if you remove the kids from the booking. If it does, book with just the adults listed, but make sure you’re booking a room that can hold the whole family. When you get to the hotel to check in, tell them the total number of people you have. As long as you booked a room that can hold everyone, there’s no problem with adding children at check in. You can also call or chat with Orbitz/Cheaptickets customer service to add the children in advance, but it’s not really necessary.

Booking Directly with Loews Hotels

The four Universal Orlando resorts are operated by Loews Hotels, so always check the Loews website . Often you’ll find special deals on the Universal Orlando resorts.

Booking Directly with Universal Resort

The online rates and specials you’ll see by checking Universal Orlando’s site are the same as the Loews Hotel site , so it’s generally not worth checking the Universal site if you’ve already checked Loews.

Sometimes it’s worth calling the Universal Orlando Resort directly at (877) 589-4783 (or have your travel agent do so) and ask if there are any “promo” rates for the time of your stay. There may be discounted rates available to the general public that aren’t listed online — you just have to ask! Thanks to Danielle for info.

The AAA discount is usually available, but the amount of the discount varies by season. To book with the AAA discount, you must call Universal at (877) 589-4783 , or a travel agent can book this rate for you.

Three of the official Universal Orlando hotels (Portofino Bay Hotel, Royal Pacific Resort and Sapphire Falls) sometimes show up on Hotwire at bargain rates (this is more likely in the extreme off-season, such as January or September).

The Hotwire Hot Rates option (which will pop up once you enter Orlando and your dates on the front page and start your search) allows you to get some amazing deals on hotel rooms, but you aren’t told the hotel’s name up front. You select the general location and then Hotwire gives you a list of prices for unnamed hotels in various star categories (i.e. a 5-star hotel will be a luxury resort, while a 1-star will be a low-end motel) and with specific amenities. At that point you can choose to accept or reject the offered price for a hotel that has a rating and amenities you want. Once you have accepted the price, you are charged in full. It is only at that point that you’re told the hotel name. There are no refunds or exchanges.

Although the names of the hotels aren’t listed, it’s sometimes possible to tell if it’s a Universal Orlando hotel being offered in the Hotwire listing. This information is subject to change and there is never any absolute guarantee that you’ll get a specific hotel, but here are some hints that have worked for many people:

  • On the map, select only the “Universal Orlando” area.
  • Select only 3, 4 and 5 star ratings. Portofino Bay is rated 5 stars, Royal Pacific and Sapphire Falls are 4 stars and Cabana Bay is 3 stars. The Hard Rock doesn’t tend to show up, but if it did we would guess it would be 4 or 4.5 stars.
  • You’ll see some hotel selections. The listings displays star ratings, amenities and prices.
  • Portofino Bay will have at least  Golf, Tennis, Business Center and  Spa (plus other amenities)
  • Royal Pacific Resort have at least  Golf, Tennis, Business Center and  Resort (plus other amenities)
  • Sapphire Falls will have at least  Pet Friendly and Smoke-Free (plus other amenities)
  • Cabana Bay will be listed as a Resort and will have Golf and Free Internet  (plus other amenities)
  • Universal Orlando hotels will NOT list “Kitchenette.”
  • These hotels aren’t available through Hotwire for all dates! You may find just one or none of them being offered for a particular set of dates. They tend to show up only in the short term – less than 2 months before arrival.

Remember, this information is subject to change and there is never any absolute guarantee that you’ll get a specific hotel when using Hotwire !

A discount for local residents is not always available, and varies by season. At times this may be the deepest discount available. Call Universal Resort directly to book, or a travel agent can book this rate for you.

Florida residents should ask for discount code FLO — you won’t necessarily get the best discounts just by going to the Florida Resident section of the Universal site or calling without the code.

Discounts for Annual Passholders are not always available, and vary by season, but sometimes these are excellent deals.

Call Universal Resort directly to book Annual Passholder rates, or a travel agent can book these rates for you. Or go to the Loews website , fill in your reservation details and type APH in the promo code box. You must show your annual pass at check-in.

Eligible US service members can get a discount at Universal Orlando hotels – up to 40% off stays at Cabana Bay Beach Resort and up to 30% off stays at other Universal Orlando hotels.

  • To reserve a room with the military discount , contact your Military Ticket and Travel Office. 
  • To book a Military Hotel Discount as part of a Universal Orlando Military Vacation Package , we recommend contacting a travel agent who specializes in Universal travel.

If you have an American Airlines AAdvantage membership, using their special hotel booking web site  to redeem for discounts on hotels can produce some really great results with certain hotels at certain times. The best deals seem to come up on short notice bookings (<3 months away). Sometimes the best value is by using their minimum point spend (1000 per trip) plus cash to effectively get a discount on the room. The typical rule of thumb is that airline miles are worth an average of $0.02/mile, so any use that nets you more than that per mile is typically a good use, and a deal where you get less than that per mile is not as good.

When we do sample bookings at the various Universal hotels, we’ve seen situations where you could spend 1000 points to get one of the Deluxe Universal hotels for $206/night instead of $358/night, which means you’re saving $152, or $0.15 per airline mile! Before you get too excited, that’s unusual: as you increase the number of points you use, the cash cost goes down, but the effective discount per point goes down as well. To book that same $358 room with all points and no cash is a whopping 35,400 points per night, which is only about 1 penny per mile. We’ve seen other bookings where your points are only worth $0.005 (half a cent) per airline mile. So it’s worth checking, but get out your calculator and figure out what you’re saving, and always consider whether you could make better use of your miles some other way. Thanks to reader Edwin M for info.

If you have the  Platinum Card from American Express *, you can book Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando through the Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) program*. By booking through this program, you get:

  • A room upgrade when available, upon check-in.
  • Daily Continental breakfast at Trattoria del Porto for 2 adults.
  • $100 food & beverage credit, good at Mama Della’s, Trattoria del Porto, Sal’s Market Deli, Splendido Bar & Grill, Room Service, Bar American and/or Thirsty Fish.
  • Guaranteed 4:00 pm late check-out.

Note that the FHR rates are sometimes higher than rates you might find elsewhere, so you’ll have to weigh that against the value of the extra benefits. MouseSavers.com founder Mary Waring used FHR to stay at this hotel and for the date she selected in early October 2010, it was a great value. She got a $259 rate for a Bay View room, with all those extras.

*The FHR program is only available to those who have the Platinum Card® from American Express. This is a charge card that requires a substantial annual fee and is NOT the same as an American Express Platinum credit card, such as the Optima, Costco or SkyMiles Platinum cards, which do not qualify for FHR.

Nearby Hotels: Tips, Discounts & Deals

Staying off-site at a hotel near Universal can be a great way to save money. Compared to the on-site hotels you can get a room that is just as good, and in some cases better, at a price that’s significantly easier on the wallet. All of these hotels offer FREE scheduled transportation to and from Universal Orlando.

Our top choice for offsite stays near Universal is the Drury Inn & Suites near Universal Orlando Resort . It offers excellent value and in a great location for exploring Orlando. We’ve negotiated special offers for MouseSavers readers that make this hotel hard to beat.

If being within walking distance to Universal is important to you, check out the Doubletree by Hilton at the Entrance to Universal Orlando .

  • Drury Inn & Suites near Universal Orlando Resort (Intersection of Sand Lake and Turkey Lake Roads)
  • Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at the Entrance to Universal Orlando

Drury Inn & Suites near Universal Orlando Resort

The Drury Inn & Suites near Universal Orlando Resort  is at the intersection of Sand Lake Road and Turkey Lake Road, and is an easy 5-10 minute drive to Universal Orlando; about 10-12 minutes to SeaWorld   (as well as Discovery Cove and Aquatica ).  This well-managed and maintained 238 room property offers  exceptional value , particularly for the area near Universal Orlando. Your room rate includes  FREE hot and cold breakfast, FREE evening “Kickback” with assorted hot and cold foods and beverages including soft drinks and alcoholic beverages (beer, wine & mixed drinks) , FREE Wi-Fi, FREE parking, and FREE shuttles to Universal Orlando. Rates are low to moderate, and there is no added daily resort fee. MouseSavers readers get an extra 10% off best available nightly room rates!

Drury Inn & Suites near Universal Orlando Resort is a Universal Orlando Partner hotel , which means the hotel offers FREE scheduled transportation to Universal Orlando , and there is an on-site Universal Orlando desk where you can purchase tickets and get bonus benefits including discounts on merchandise at selected theme park locations, and discounts on food and non-alcoholic beverages at select Universal CityWalk and theme park locations. These bonus benefits are available even if you’ve already purchased your Universal tickets!

Comfortable  king rooms  or queen rooms that sleep up to 5 include Wi-Fi, 32″ LCD flat-screen TVs, a microwave and mini-fridge, coffee maker, hairdryer and an iron and ironing board. Larger 1-bedroom suites can sleep up to 6 people (not including a child in a crib). The 1-bedroom suites feature a separate living room with a pull-out queen sofa sleeper and a private bedroom with two queen beds or one king bed an an additional TV.

In addition to the FREE hot breakfast, the FREE evening “Kickback” includes soft drinks and alcoholic beverages as well as salads, soup and a light entree such as a penne pasta with pesto or make-your-own beef tacos– easily enough to constitute a free dinner! If you don’t want to dine at the hotel, you are within easy walking or driving distance to Sand Lake Road’s “Restaurant Row” – where you’ll find numerous casual and fine dining options. Read more about what the Drury Inn & Suites near Universal Orlando Resort has to offer.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Entrance to Universal Orlando

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Entrance to Universal Orlando is the closest of the hotels located off Universal property. It’s an easy walk of about a half-mile to the entrance of Universal Studios. There is FREE scheduled shuttle service to Universal, SeaWorld (which also provides easy access to Discovery Cove and Aquatica ) and Wet ‘n Wild. The hotel is located on the I-Ride Trolley route, which gives you access to a wide variety of restaurants.

Standard rooms are good-sized (about 350 sq ft) and equipped with Sweet Dreams plush-top beds (either one King or two Queen beds), 32″ flat screen television, mini refrigerator, voicemail, in-room safe, iron and ironing board. The guest rooms have floor to ceiling windows, some with views of Universal. The DoubleTree offers Starbucks Coffee in the lobby, warm chocolate chip cookies upon check-in and a junior Olympic-sized heated pool. There is a lobby bar, a restaurant and a deli.

If all this information about Universal is making your head swim, consider consulting a travel agent who knows Universal and can book your vacation without any extra cost to you. Whether you want to book a trip to both Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World, or a stand-alone Universal Vacation Package, our recommended travel agency, Small World Vacations , can help you.

Small World Vacations agents are required to experience the destinations they sell. They are extremely knowledgeable about Universal Orlando and oriented toward saving you money. They understand the various discounts that are available, and they know the best tricks for maximizing your time and money when planning a Universal vacation.

If you want to book a combination Universal Orlando & Walt Disney World vacation , Small World Vacations has agents who are experts on both destinations and can handle everything, including transferring you and your luggage between the two resort areas. Read more about why we recommend them wholeheartedly! To book a Universal Orlando add-on of as little as two nights (on-site Universal hotels only) to a Walt Disney World vacation:

  • Go to the Small World Vacations’ Walt Disney World request a price quote form. Fill it out with the details for the Walt Disney World portion of your trip. When you reach the “Special Requests” section, add a note saying that you’d like to add days at Universal Orlando and which on-site hotel you are interested in. A Small World Vacations agent will get back to you, usually within one business day!

Small World Vacations can also book a stand-alone Universal Orlando vacation package , including the popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter Vacation Package or a custom package with the exact tickets and hotel options that work best for you. (On-site hotels only. 3-night minimum for hotel and ticket packages.) To book a stand-alone Universal Orlando vacation:

  • Request a price quote from Small World Vacations  and a Small World Vacations agent will get back to you, usually within one business day!  Please note:  Small World Vacations has a minimum booking requirement of 3 nights at  on-site hotels only.

Tips for Eating at Universal

The great feast platter at three broomsticks, september is orlando magical dining month, refillable drinks & popcorn buckets.

  • Universal Dining Plan

AAA/CAA Discounts

Annual passholder discounts, restaurant.com, deals at the palm in the hard rock hotel, costco deals on restaurant gift cards, mandara spa discounts.

MouseSavers.com reader Jen W offers these great tips on Universal food and drink, plus an edible souvenir idea:

  • Buy your butterbeer in a souvenir mug ($9 for an empty mug, $14 filled with butterbeer), or buy one of the many other souvenir mugs throughout the park, and use it to get soft drink refills for $1.19 (plus tax) at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. Sadly, butterbeer refills are not discounted, just coke products, tea, lemonade and apple cider. Icees and slushies are also discounted, but cost about $3 (about $1 off). Check before you buy the mug. Some mugs are part of the refill program, and some (like the Hog’s Head mug) are just souvenirs.
  • While in The Three Broomsticks, ask a server for a free soft drink refill before you leave. This may work at other restaurants, but we didn’t try it.
  • Fresh whole fruit is the cheapest food in the park at $1.79 plus tax.
  • Order the kids burger at Captain America Diner. For $7 it’s exactly the same as the adult burger, but you’ll have a side option of fries, grapes or apple sauce. Adult burgers have a choice of fries or side salad — but you have to ask for the salad.
  • Head straight to a sit-down restaurant at non-peak meal times. We were approached by staff all three times we did sit-down restaurants and were amazed by their friendly and accommodating attitudes. If nothing else, it’s faster than quick service or a cart.
  • Consider lunch or an early dinner at Mythos Restaurant. The theming is incredible and it’s a welcome respite from the crowds. Even if you don’t want to pay the reasonable prices, ask if you can walk through and take pictures of the amazing pizza oven and other details.
  • Check the candy shop in Seuss Landing for affordable souvenirs without the long lines of Honeydukes. We spent $10 on 4-packs of rice krispy treats with “Thing 1” through “Thing 4”, or just $2.50 per kid.

MouseSavers.com reader Jatinder reports: “the family dinner at Three Broomsticks in Harry Potter was a great bargain and decent food for an amusement park. For $60 (10% off with AAA) you get a large salad with Italian dressing, 4 pieces of chicken (2 each breast/wing and leg/thigh), 4 ribs, sautéed vegetables and roasted potatoes. Nothing fried and all quite tasty, both rare in an amusement park.”

MouseSavers.com reader Jen W agrees: “The Great Feast at The Three Broomsticks was such good food (and such a good deal w/AAA discount) that we had it twice during our 3-day visit.”

Each year for the entire month of September, participating high-end Orlando restaurants feature three-course, prix fixe dinners at an exceptional value. Typically some of the top restaurants at Universal Orlando participate.

Visit Orlando Magical Dining’s website for details.

For cheap snacks, you can’t beat the refillable soft drink mugs and popcorn buckets available at Universal Orlando. Prices below are subject to change at any time:

  • Many locations throughout both theme parks and CityWalk sell a refillable souvenir cup . The basic model costs $8.99 plus tax and you get refills for $1.19  forever. There are other souvenir cups (like a butterbeer mug, Minion-shaped bottle, etc.) that are refillable that cost more but are refillable under the same system, and some souvenir cups that are not refillable; they’re just souvenirs. Be sure to ask before purchase if a particular cup/mug/bottle counts as a refillable soda cup.
  • There is also a separate Coke Freestyle Souvenir Cup program, which costs more (about $17), but offers FREE refills, only from the Coke Freestyle machines, and only for that day. You can pay a fee on subsequent days ($5.99 last we checked) to reactivate your Freestyle souvenir cup for another day.  Thanks to Clement P for info.
  • Many locations throughout both theme parks (but not CityWalk) sell refillable buckets of popcorn for $5.99 plus tax. Refills cost $1.29  plus tax, refills on flavored varieties cost $2.99 plus tax. Although the signs suggest that the refills are good on the day of purchase only, in reality you can bring your bucket back on future days and get the cheap refills.

Universal Dining Plan

Universal Orlando has stopped offering all of their dining plans, including the standard plan and the quick-service plan, as of July 2, 2021. If you have an existing package booking with a dining plan, the price of the package will be adjusted accordingly and any amount you’ve already paid towards the dining portion of the package will be refunded.

Members of the American Automobile Association (AAA) or the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) save 10% at select dining and merchandise locations. You may be asked to show a special “Discounts & Rewards” voucher along with their membership card. You receive the voucher from participating AAA clubs when you buy tickets or a vacation package from AAA. It still may be worth asking for a AAA discount even if you don’t have the voucher, especially at independent restaurants like Margaritaville and Hard Rock Cafe.

  • 10% off select locations in the two theme parks. (Offer excludes merchandise or food carts, tattoos, alcohol, tobacco, candy, film, collectibles and sundry items.) If you belong to AAA or CAA, be sure to ask at every theme park restaurant and shop whether there is a discount.
  • 10% off Universal Orlando CityWalk restaurants and shops. (Offer excludes merchandise or food carts, tattoos, alcohol, tobacco, candy, film, collectibles or sundry items. Discount on food, non-alcoholic drinks and merchandise at all CityWalk restaurants and shops with the exception of Emeril’s, Bubba Gump, Fossil and Fresh Produce.) Valid up to six people per AAA membership card. Show your membership card to get the discount.

Holders of the Preferred Annual Pass (but not the Annual Power Pass) get a host of meal, merchandise and entertainment discounts.

Save money at some Universal-area restaurants by purchasing discounted certificates from Restaurant.com . Most certificates are for a specific amount (usually $25) and you get them at a discounted price (usually $10 or less).

The Universal Orlando area restaurants offered through Restaurant.com change frequently (search for restaurants near zip code 32819).

  • Read more details about Restaurant.com and possible discount codes that can save you even more!

Check The Palm’s website  to see their current offers.

If you plan to be a repeat customer (at any of the locations of The Palm), consider joining the 837 Club for $25 and receive a $25 gift card towards your next meal or happy hour bar visit. Once you become a member, you’ll receive Club Points every time you visit The Palm that can be redeemed for special rewards ranging from a complimentary dessert to a weekend getaway for two.

If you are a Costco member and you plan to eat at one or more restaurants that are part of a chain, it’s always worthwhile to check out the restaurant gift cards available through your local warehouse, which are typically discounted by 20%. Keep in mind that a gift card for a particular restaurant brand in the chain might also be accepted at other restaurant brands owned by the same chain.

Mandara Spa at Portofino Bay Hotel offers the usual massages, facials, and pedicures, as well as exotic therapies such as the Elemis Stone Therapy (small stones placed on key energy points during your massage) and Elemis Aroma Spa Ocean Wrap with Massage (using seaweed, sage, and essential oils to wrap your body, followed by a body massage). For reservations call (407) 503-1244 .

  • Check the Mandara Spa website for specials (select the Offers tab).

If you plan to book a Universal vacation package (such as the Harry Potter Vacation Package ), your travel agent can add transfers from any Walt Disney World resort to any Universal resort and between any Universal resort and the Orlando International Airport.

If you’re not booking a vacation package and only want to visit Universal for one day, the cheapest way is usually to rent a car . Often you can get a one-day rental for as little as $30 plus tax, which is usually cheaper than the other options and gives you tons more flexibility. You will have to pay the current parking charge when you get to Universal, but even with that figured in this is usually the best value (though Lyft can be pretty close, depending on where you’re staying and what kind of rental deals you can find). Driving to Universal is very easy – take I-4 East and three or four exits away there will be signs telling you to exit for Universal. Follow the signs and they will lead you directly to the parking garage. Your hotel can give you specific instructions for how to get to I-4, or there are road signs on all the major Walt Disney World routes that will direct you.

If you don’t want to rent a car, other good options are a taxi (about $30-$45 each way plus tip, depending on traffic and where you leave from) or a chartered limo, sedan, or van . Usually a chartered sedan will be fairly competitive in price with a taxi. With chartered cars you know the price up front, while the price of a ride in a taxi varies depending on traffic and the specific route the driver chooses. On the other hand, there are always taxis available immediately at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, whereas with a chartered sedan you need to schedule a time to be picked up. Most limo services will pick you up earlier or later if you find that you get tired or need more time to see everything, but it depends on them having a car and driver available.

Lyft is a viable in Orlando now, and it works fine. Cost will be around $16-$35 each way depending on where in Walt Disney World you’re coming from and which Lyft variant you select. For more information and tips, see our complete guide to using ride services (i.e. Lyft) in Orlando .

Technically, you could take the city bus . This is really cheap, but not recommended. It takes about 1.5-2 hours each way from Disney’s Transportation & Ticket Center to Universal and requires you to change buses at the Orlando Central Bus Station, which feels more than a little sketchy.

Regular Parking Prices at Universal Orlando

Check the current parking rates at Universal Orlando.

Discounts/Deals on Parking at Universal Orlando

If you leave and return on the same day, present your parking receipt and you won’t have to pay again.

Avis and Budget car rentals from the Orlando International Airport can get a FREE upgrade to Prime Parking. (Voucher required.)

Self-parking is FREE after 6:00 pm (except during Halloween Horror Nights ). This is primarily intended for those planning to eat/shop/go to a movie in CityWalk, but you can, of course, go into the theme parks if they are still open.

Power Annual Passholders get 50% off regular daytime self-parking after their first visit (except on holidays & special events) at the theme parks every day.

Preferred Annual Passholders get FREE self-parking after their first visit (except on holidays & special events) at the theme parks every day.

Premier Annual Passholders get FREE valet or Prime self-parking and FREE valet parking (except on holidays & special events) at the theme parks every day.

Universal Unlimited Express and Early Entry For Universal’s Hotel Guests

Guests staying at Universal’s hotels receive special theme park privileges:

  • Guests of all official Universal Orlando hotels get early entry to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (though in the off-season sometimes only one park is opened early each day).
  • Guests of the Deluxe Universal Orlando hotels (Royal Pacific Resort, Hard Rock Hotel and Portofino Bay Hotel) receive a Universal Express Pass for both main Universal Orlando theme parks (Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure).

The Universal Express Pass is a fantastic benefit that allows guests to use the Express entrance for attractions as many times as they want (for attractions that offer it, which now includes the main Harry Potter attractions). In our opinion, the Universal Express Pass feature alone is worth the extra cost of staying in one of the deluxe Universal hotels , because you to get a lot more access to the attractions in a lot less time.

While it used to be that Universal reserved the Unlimited Express Passes for the Deluxe hotel guests, now they are selling Unlimited Express Passes in limited quantities each day, allowing guests to stay anywhere they want and just pay for the Unlimited Express Pass separately (if they’re not sold out or blacked out on that day). Usually if you price it all out, it’s still cheaper for a family to stay in a Deluxe Universal resort, especially since you get one more day of Express pass than the number of nights you’re staying at the hotel (see below for more). But if it’s more convenient to stay somewhere else and you want the unlimited Express pass, check and see if they have any available for the day(s) you’ll be there.

Guests at all Universal resorts get free transportation by boat, tram, and/or bus to and from the theme parks and CityWalk, package delivery to their hotel room and use of their hotel room key card to charge purchases. Guests at deluxe Universal resorts also get priority seating at select Universal Orlando restaurants.

Guests of the Deluxe Resorts do not get special express access at Volcano Bay, but there are Volcano Bay Express Passes that can be purchased separately.

Something useful to know: if you stay one night at a deluxe Universal hotel, you actually get two days of Unlimited Express Passes . That’s because you can check into your hotel early on the first day and collect your room key and Express Pass, which you can take into the park and begin using right away. (Your room almost certainly won’t be ready that early, but the front desk will store your luggage and you can call or come back in the afternoon and get your room number.) The room key remains valid for Express Ride Access even after check-out on the second day: you can use it until the parks close that night. This works for longer stays as well: if you stay two nights, you get three days of Express Ride Access.

There are many different hotel discounts at Universal Orlando — be sure to check them out.

Buying Universal Express Pass & Universal Unlimited Express Passes Separately

Universal Express Pass

The Express Pass  gives you access to the Express entrance for each attraction that participates, though only one time per attraction. There is no need to pick up a separate pass or make a reservation for each attraction. You just show up, show the pass, and they send you through the Express line. Depending on the attraction, there still may be a wait, but it’s always substantially less than the regular line (except at off-peak times when neither line is very long). It does not include admission; you will still need a valid ticket to get into the park.

The Express Pass for one park (Universal Studios Florida  or Universal Islands of Adventure) costs an additional $85.19-$276.89 (tax included) per person per day, depending on the time of year, when purchased in advance. For two parks (Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure) the price is $95.84-$287.54, about $10 more than a one-park pass. The price varies depending on season, with peak and holiday season prices the highest (naturally). It can also be purchased at the park. Thus if you’re not sure if you’re going to need it, you can go to the park, check out the wait times, and see if you feel like it’s worth buying. However, they sell out of Express Passes during peak periods, so if you’re going when it’s busy, it’s probably worth getting the pass in advance.

There is also a separate Express Pass and Express Plus Pass for Volcano Bay, which works slightly differently ( see section below for more ).

Universal Unlimited Express Pass

The Unlimited Express Pass  is like the Express Pass, but lets you use the Express entrance for each attraction that participates as many times as you want . It used to be that the Unlimited Express Pass was only available as one of the  Universal Deluxe Resort special benefits , but Universal now makes it available as a separate daily pass for people who already have tickets or an annual pass.

The Unlimited Express Pass for a single main park (Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure) costs an additional $117.14-$308.84 (tax included) per person per day, depending on the time of year, when purchased in advance. For both main parks (Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure), it’s $127.79-$319.49, only about $10 more than a one-park pass. The price varies depending on season, with peak and holiday season prices the highest (naturally). It can also be purchased at the park, though they can and do sell out of these passes during high season.

Volcano Bay Express Passes

The Express Passes for Volcano Bay work a little bit differently from the Express Passes for the two main theme parks. The standard Volcano Bay Express Pass gives express access once per day to a selected group of rides (all of them except a handful that are both popular and lower capacity). The Volcano Bay Express Pass Plus gives express access once per day to all of the rides. There is no Unlimited version of the Express Pass for Volcano Bay – they’re all good for one ride per day.

The regular Volcano Bay Express Pass varies in price from $21.29-$106.49 (tax included), depending on how busy they expect the park to be. The Volcano Bay Express Pass Plus varies between $42.59-$138.44 (tax included). These prices are subject to change at any time, but in general the Plus pass costs about $20-$30 more than the regular pass.

Combo Tickets That Include Express and Unlimited Express

You can also buy a combo with a park-to-park ticket and Express or Unlimited Express . You get Express or Unlimited Express on each day you use the ticket. The first ticket day must be used on a specific day you choose in advance, but any additional visits can be used on any day in the next 14 days after that.

The combo is almost always cheaper than buying the tickets and the Express or Unlimited Express Passes separately , but for one-day tickets, the savings may be almost nonexistent. You really save the most money with the multi-day bundles. However, there may or may not be a combo available for the number of days that you plan to visit the parks, as the offers change. If one is available that works for your travel plans, compare the cost of the combo with the cost of buying the items separately to see which is the lowest.

We think the Express and Unlimited Express passes are worth the extra money only if you’re visiting at peak times, or if you know you aren’t going into the park early. If either of those apply to you, an Express Pass or Unlimited Express Pass may be worth considering. In the lowest seasons, these passes generally don’t provide that much benefit, because most of the rides in the park just don’t have long waits until the middle of the day.

For most families of 2 or more, staying in a Deluxe resort is going to be cheaper than buying an Unlimited Express pass for everyone in your family plus staying in a Moderate or Value resort, and often even cheaper than buying regular Express Passes. When doing the price comparison, remember that a one-night stay in a Universal Deluxe resort includes two days of Unlimited Express Pass.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure puts guests inside the magical world created by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter books and films. The fully immersive, themed land enables guests to visit the village of Hogsmeade, the mysterious Forbidden Forest, and even Hogwarts Castle itself. You can drink butterbeer and pumpkin juice, shop for wizard merchandise, and even experience a wand selection! The theming absolutely fantastic. The village is adorable: it’s like walking right into the books. The effects in Hogwarts Castle are amazing. If you are a Harry Potter fan, it is definitely worth a half-day of your time. On a weekday in the off-season you can do and see everything in about 3 hours.

The newest attraction is Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, a freewheeling coaster flight through the Forbidden Forest aboard magical motorbikes. Another big attraction is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a state-of-the-art thrill ride that brings the magic, characters and stories of Harry Potter to life.

On select nights, The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle projection show runs every 15-20 minutes. This fantastic show celebrates the four houses of Hogwarts with lights, music and pyrotechnics. There are two seasonal shows that will be shown instead: Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle is shown during Halloween and Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts is shown at Christmastime.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley  in Universal Studios Florida more than doubles the size of the area already dedicated to Harry Potter’s adventures, expanding it across both Universal theme parks. You can travel between the two areas aboard the iconic Hogwarts Express (a Park-to-Park Ticket is required to ride the Hogwarts Express).

Diagon Alley, a bustling, wizarding hub within the Muggle city of London, has shops and dining experiences. The main attraction, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, is a multi-sensory, multi-dimensional journey. You can visit Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, for all your magical joke needs; Borgin and Burkes, a shop specializing in a wide variety of Dark objects; and stop in for a meal at the Leaky Cauldron.

There is a greatly expanded Ollivanders wand shop that can handle many more people, which reduces the incredibly long lines that Ollivanders in Hogsmeade has had. The Ollivanders in Diagon Alley has exactly the same short but cute show, and it’s certainly worth seeing once, but if you’ve seen the Hogsmeade show, don’t bother with the Diagon Alley one.

At multiple times during the day several different shows are performed on a small stage in the back of Diagon Alley. A company of players will present one of two different Tales of Beedle the Bard, using bunraku-style puppets that are wonderfully detailed. And Celestina Warbeck (Mrs. Weasley’s favorite singer) performs a short set with a trio of backup singers. Both shows are well worth checking out.

Admission to either Wizarding World of Harry Potter is included with your Universal Orlando theme park admission or Annual Pass. To visit both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley on the same day and to ride the Hogwarts Express, you need a Park-to-Park Ticket or Annual Pass.

Tips and Tricks for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Tips and tricks for harry potter and the forbidden journey, tips and tricks for harry potter and the escape from gringotts, the wizarding world of harry potter vacation package.

  • If you plan to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley on a weekend, holiday or other busy time period, you would be wise to get in line at the front gates of Universal Studios Florida at least an hour before the official opening time. If you visit mid-week in the off-season, lines are not too bad.
  • The crowds in Hogsmeade, the original Harry Potter area in Islands of Adventure, have dropped significantly since Diagon Alley opened. During peak periods, you still may want to get there before park opening, but lines build much slower than before, and on weekdays in the off-season you can show up in the middle of the day and not wait very long for anything.
  • Especially during busy time periods, you may also want to consider staying at one of the official Universal Orlando resorts . Resort guest  Unlimited Express Passes now give express access to the Forbidden Journey, Escape From Gringotts or Hogwarts Express rides, AND you get early admission (one hour prior to official opening) to either Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley (you don’t get to choose which one; there will be signs at your hotel saying which one is open early). If staying on site, it’s currently recommended that you line up outside gates of whichever park is opening early by 7:30 am for 8:00 am early admission to the park.
  • Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is the newest ride in Hogsmeade, so get in line for this first.
  • Ollivander’s is a very cute 5-minute show that Harry Potter fans will enjoy. (If you’re not a Harry Potter fan, just skip it completely.) Due to the show’s small capacity, the line can be very long. If you want to experience the show, try first thing in the morning. If the line is already long when you get there, wait and try again at lunchtime, or in the last hour before the park closes.
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is the “big” ride that you don’t want to miss. See below for tips and tricks.
  • Shopping – All of the shops are small and there can be long lines to get in as the crowds build. If you want a wand, the same ones sold at Dervish and Banges (which almost always has a long line to get in) are for sale at a cart near Forbidden Journey.
  • Three Broomsticks/Butterbeer – If you don’t care about eating a meal in Three Broomsticks, go in during a non-mealtime and get a Butterbeer. The staff in Three Broomsticks may tell you to go out on the patio if you “only” order Butterbeer. Try to ignore those instructions, because the patio is not themed to any degree. You want to be inside, where you can enjoy the owl special effects. (Note that during non-mealtimes, it’s MUCH faster to get a Butterbeer in Three Broomsticks than to wait in the long lines at the Butterbeer carts on the street! Also, almost everyone seems to like the frozen Butterbeer better than the regular.) There can be long waits at mealtimes for Three Broomsticks during busy times of year, so if you want to eat there, either book a vacation package that includes breakfast, or try to eat at an odd hour.
  • Flight of the Hippogriff – The line for this ride, which is an old ride that has been re-themed, is usually not significant. If you’re staying at one of the official Universal Orlando resorts , you’ll get access to the Express Line anyway.
  • Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts develops long lines early, and is a signature ride you don’t want to miss, so get in line for it right away.
  • Ollivander’s doesn’t develop quite as long lines in Diagon Alley as the location in Hogwarts, as they actually have up to three shows running at a time in Diagon Alley. But it’s still worth doing early to minimize the wait.
  • Carkitt Market shows – All of the shows are well worth seeing, so check out the schedule and make a point to come by when they’re happening. We especially liked the Tales of Beedle the Bard, but the Celestina Warbeck show is also quite entertaining.
  • Shopping and sightseeing – All the shops are worth a visit. They’ve developed a really wide variety of souvenirs and each shop has at least a few things that are unique to that location. In addition, the theming and decoration of each shop is well worth seeing. Make sure to visit the money exchange, which has an animatronic goblin who will respond to questions.
  • Leaky Cauldron – Definitely go in here even if you don’t need food, and admire the amazing attention to detail. But if you are going to have lunch in the park, this is one of the better choices. The pub-style food is tasty and not wildly expensive compared to other choices at Universal.
  • If you are visiting for at least two days, we recommend doing each “side” of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on separate days, so you can visit each of them first thing in the morning, then tour the rest of either Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure for the rest of the day. Do ride the Hogwarts Express on one of the days at your leisure when the wait time is posted at 20 minutes or less, and then turn around and ride it back.
  • If you have only one day and have early entry, then go to whichever side has early entry and ride the main ride(s) (either Forbidden Journey, Gringotts, or Hagrid’s Magical Creatures) and go to Ollivander’s (it’s the same show in either location). If you’re in Hogsmeade, ride the secondary ride (Flight of the Hippogriff). In either area, spend the rest of the time sightseeing until the other park opens and you can ride the Hogwarts Express to the other area, then visit the primary attractions in the second park (skipping Ollivander’s unless you want to see it twice for some reason), then explore the whole Harry Potter area at the second park, and finally ride the Hogwarts Express back to the first park to finish your sightseeing.
  • If you have only one day and don’t have early entry, generally your best bet is going to be to go to Diagon Alley first and ride Gringotts, then head immediately over to Hogsmeade and ride all the rides there, starting with Forbidden Journey. Then explore Hogsmeade thoroughly and head back to Diagon Alley to finish your sightseeing.
  • The single rider line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey usually goes very fast. “Single rider” means you’re willing to fill any empty seat and not ride with the rest of your party. Everyone will get on the ride within a minute or two of each other, but you won’t ride together on the same bench. Signage is minimal for the single rider line: ask a Team Member at the beginning of the line outside the Castle.
  • The single rider line bypasses the amazing Castle effects, which you will definitely want to see, but there may be a way around that. Depending on how they have the lines set up, they may be running a  “tour” line  for folks who want to see the castle interior but not ride. Ask any Team Member at the castle if the tour line is open. If it is, you can take your time, enjoy all the animations and stick around to see the multiple versions of each one. Then when you’re ready to ride, go in the single-rider line. MouseSavers.com reader Jeffrey L reports, “The normal line was 60 minutes or longer, but I took the tour and rode 3 times [in the single rider line] with almost no wait each time.”
  • Lines for the lockers outside of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey are long and cause big bottlenecks. To avoid this, try not to bring things like camera bags or day packs that will have to go in a locker. Alternatively, pay for an all-day locker at the front of the park. A small waist pack or small items (cell phone/camera/sunglasses) that you can stuff in a pocket will allow you to skip the lockers. However, if you are borderline on fitting into the seats (see below), you won’t want anything in your pockets or around your waist that could bulk you up.
  • The Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction has significant size restrictions . There is a minimum height requirement of 48 inches. Also, some larger-sized adults do not fit in the unusual overhead seat restraints. Seats on some cars now have modified restraints that accommodate more body types. If you are in the “obese” BMI category ( check your BMI here ), like more than 30% of American adults, you may need one of the seats with the modified restraints. People with large chests (about 48″ or more), large midsections and/or large thighs may also need to use the modified restraints. Sample seats are available at the front of the attraction and offer a “traffic light” system: red light, you can’t ride; yellow light, you can wait for one of the newly modified seats; green light, you can take any seat. If you think you may be borderline on fitting into the restraints, be sure to wear thin, stretchy clothing (synthetic workout gear is great) and put everything you’re carrying, including the contents of your pockets, into a locker before riding.
  • Thanks to MouseSavers.com readers Lew C, Jeffrey L and Maria B for tips.
  • The single rider line is a great option to save a lot of line waiting. “Single rider” means you’re willing to fill any empty seat and not ride with the rest of your party. Signage is minimal for the single rider line: ask a Team Member at the beginning of the line. You’ll all ride at approximately the same time, just not seated next to each other.
  • You’ll need to put any backpacks or loose items like cameras in a locker . However, you can get in line first (especially if it’s in the morning and the line is snaking through the entire area) and when you get to the entrance of Gringotts ask a team member for a locker return ticket. One of your party can take the return ticket, go off with everyone’s stuff and put it in a locker, then show the ticket to the team members at the entrance, which will let them rejoin their party via the single-rider line, which runs parallel to the main queue.
  • The size restrictions  on Gringotts are not quite as bad as they are on the Forbidden Journey ride, but big or tall people should ask for the back row, which has a little more leg room than the other rows in each vehicle.

Fun idea shared with us by a reader: announce your visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter by sending your kids a Hogwarts Acceptance Letter !

You can buy a wide variety of Harry Potter merchandise, including wands , at HarryPotterShop.com , the official online store of Harry Potter merchandise from Warner Bros.

There is a somewhat different (but overlapping) selection of merchandise (including the interactive wands that work at Universal Orlando) available from the Universal Orlando online shop . Usually when something is available from both, we find it’s a little cheaper from HarryPotterShop.com, but take a look at both just in case.

If you’re looking for Harry Potter t-shirts for your family to wear when you visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, HarryPotterShop.com  has quite a few, as does  Zazzle.com .

This EXCLUSIVE vacation package includes:

  • 5-Night hotel accommodations (available at the official on-site Universal hotels* and at Universal Partner Hotels)
  • 2-Park/5-Day Park-to-Park ticket^
  • Early Park Admission** to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter !
  • Breakfast at the Three Broomsticks – one per person
  • Breakfast at The Leaky Cauldron – one per person
  • 8 days of admission to select live entertainment venues in Universal CityWalk
  • A Shutterbuttons Photo Studio session to create a moving portrait, also includes a DVD photo album
  • A themed Keepsake Box that includes a welcome letter, travel planning guide, luggage tags (one per person) and a Hogwarts Railways lanyard (one per person)

Note that this package offers the ONLY way to reserve breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, minimizing time in line. (Three Broomsticks is a counter-service restaurant at lunch and dinner, and lines can be long!)

4-Night minimum stay required. Travel must be completed by 12/31/24.

*If you stay at one of the official on-site Deluxe Universal hotels, you’ll get an  Express Pass to most rides .

^The 5-Day Park-to-Park Base Ticket entitles one guest admission to 2 Universal parks (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure) on the same day for the duration of ticket. Ticket is valid for any five calendar days during a seven consecutive calendar day period which includes the first day any portion of the ticket is used during normal operating hours. Unused days will be forfeited. Ticket excludes parking, discounts on food and merchandise, and separately ticketed events. Additional restrictions may apply which are subject to change without notice.

**Early Park Admission begins one hour prior to regular scheduled park opening at one Universal Orlando theme park. Valid at selection attractions at each park.

  • Request a price quote from Small World Vacations  and a Small World Vacations agent will get back to you, usually within one business day!

Please contact them at least 21 days in advance of your trip (45 days for international visitors). The Harry Potter package can also be booked as an add-on to a Walt Disney World package. Read more about booking a combination Universal Orlando & Walt Disney World vacation.

Rock the Universe

Mardi gras at universal orlando, halloween horror nights, holidays at universal orlando, new year’s eve at universal orlando.

Overall Notes:

  • Most events happen every year, so for annual events (or new events that we assume will become annual) we leave the information in place after the event is over, so you can see the time of year the event happens and what it was like the year before.
  • Information on events that have already happened are colored gray. Once we get details about the next occurrence of that event, we update our information and change the text to black again.
  • You can also take a look at the Universal Orlando’s seasonal events page to see current and upcoming special events.

In 2024, Rock the Universe was held January 26-27.

Rock the Universe is an after-hours event at Universal Studios and requires separate admission. Contemporary Christian music acts perform on three different stages for two nights. Select rides and attractions will be open throughout each night. There are also autograph sessions where you can meet some of the performers. On Saturday evening at 11:45 pm there is a special Saturday Ceremony performed by one of the headline performers.

2024 Rock the Universe Regular Ticket Prices

There are 2 types of tickets for this event. Event-only tickets allow you to enter Universal Studios after 4 pm and also attend the event. Rock Your Weekend tickets give you admission to the theme parks during the day (1 park per day and park-to-park tickets are available) and admission to Rock the Universe in the evening.

2024 Tickets prices, tax included are:

  • 1-night Rock the Universe ticket: $89.45
  • 2-night Rock the Universe ticket: $133.11
  • 2-Park or 3-Park Rock Your Weekend Base Ticket (1 park per day): $160.80
  • 2-Park or 3-Park Rock Your Weekend Park-to-Park Ticket: $208.73
  • You can add a Rock the Universe Express Pass After 4 pm – One Time Per Ride for an additional $31.94
  • You can add a Rock the Universe Express Pass After 4 pm – Unlimited Times Per Ride for an additional $42.59

These tickets are only good for the Rock the Universe Weekend dates. Annual Passes and Complimentary passes are not valid for this event. Groups of 10 or more receive a discount on tickets, one FREE ticket for every 10 purchased and and access to Youth leader lounges with complimentary snacks and/or refreshments.

  • For more information about Rock the Universe and a list of performers, go to the Universal Orlando Rock the Universe page .

In 2024, Mardi Gras at Universal Studios will be offered every night February 3 – April 7.

The main attraction during Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando is an evening parade, with floats, street performers, stilt walkers and dancers. Beads are thrown to the crowd at this family-friendly event. During the Mardi Gras parade, most or all of the attractions are closed. 

On select nights there will be a concert on the Music Plaza Stage in Universal Studios. There may also be live performances in the French Quarter Courtyard and Cajun food is available for purchase.

Mardi Gras festivities are included in the regular price of admission to the park.

  • For more information about Mardi Gras, go to the Universal Orlando Mardi Gras page .

In 2023, Halloween Horror Nights was held select nights September 1 – October 31.

Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) is an after-hours event at Universal Orlando that is held on select nights in late Fall, including Halloween night. This is a scary event that is NOT appropriate for young children — we would not recommend taking a child under 12. It includes gruesome displays, actors with chainsaws and other intense stuff, in addition to haunted houses and a creepy parade. Park guests are not allowed to wear costumes. 

2023 Halloween Horror Nights Regular Ticket Prices

Specific date single night ticket prices start at $85.19, tax included, when purchased in advance.

Advance purchase single night ticket prices, tax included, are:

  • $85.19 for September 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 20, 21, 27, 28; October 4
  • $88.38 for September 24; October 1, 5
  • $90.51 for October 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26, 31
  • $95.84 for September 8; October 15, 22, 29
  • $99.03 for September 15, 22, 29
  • $106.49 for September 1; October 6, 8, 13, 20, 27 
  • $110.75 for September 2, 3, 9, 16, 23, 30
  • $122.46 for October 7
  • $127.79 for October 14, 21, 28

Halloween Horror Nights requires separate admission. This event frequently sells out.

Halloween Horror Nights Express Pass costs $117.14 – $234.29, tax included, depending on the date. This add-on allows you to skip the lines one time at all haunted houses and participating rides and attractions during HHN. Please note: this add-on does not include admission to HHN.

  • Undercover Tourist sells HHN tickets at a discount . This ticket broker is completely reliable, prices include tax and shipping is FREE. If you’d like to know more, take a look at  why we recommend Undercover Tourist .
  • For more information or to purchase tickets to Halloween Horror Nights, go to the Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights page .

In 2023, Holidays at Universal were held November 17 through December 31, 2023.

Holiday events at Universal Orlando include the music and festivities of “Grinchmas” as Seuss Landing in Universal’s Islands of Adventure is transformed into a wintry wonderland. Enjoy the “Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular,” a live retelling of Dr. Seuss’s holiday classic, the Wonky Tree Lot, strolling Whos, and a chance to get your picture taken with the mean green one himself. The Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s takes place in Universal Studios Florida, with floats and balloons, along with characters like the Minions from Despicable Me , DreamWorks characters from Madagascar and Shrek – and even Santa Claus.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter also celebrates the magic of Christmas. Diagon Alley and London have festive décor and special holiday treats and drinks. King’s Cross Station features buskers singing holiday favorites and Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees have a special show prepared just for the occasion. Hogsmeade shops are decorated with garland and lights. The Frog Choir sings seasonal melodies and there are special treats and drinks available. At night, a special projection show, The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle, transforms the castle and brings memorable Christmas moments from the Harry Potter series to life.

In-park holiday events are included with your regular Universal admission.

There is a Holiday Tree Hunt scavenger hunt. Use the Holiday Tree Hunt brochure to find themed holiday trees in Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Universal CityWalk and get a stamp in your brochure for each one you find. The Holiday Tree Hunt brochure can be purchased for $10.60, tax included, at select merchandise locations (while supplies last). Bring the brochure to one of the designated locations and exchange it for a holiday ornament. You do not need to obtain any tree stamps to exchange the brochure for an ornament. 

If you stay at one of the  official Universal Orlando resort hotels , you will be immersed in the spirit of the season including Christmas tree lighting ceremonies, visits from Santa and Hanukkah candle lightings, holiday crafts and more. There are special menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. There are also special meals for the holidays which may require a ticket. 

  • For more information about Holiday at Universal, go to the Holidays at Universal Orlando page .

On December 31, 2023, New Year’s Eve was celebrated in Universal Studios Florida, Universal Island of Adventure and Universal CityWalk. Both parks were open through midnight that night. These celebrations were included with theme park admission.

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Has anyone safely used undercover tourist for universal theme park tickets ? Is it reliable/safe to purchase from here as buying my directly from universal ? I ask because someone mentioned it’s safest to buy tickets directly from the park website and third party sellers are not as reliable.

I’m looking to travel inbMay and nervous to buy non cancel labor tickets so much in advance. Undercover tourist’s refund policy will take care of this problem ! Express unlimited passes I will get with my hotel booking..

' class=

Where are you based?

Your answers will be different based on what country you live in.

I am visiting from India..

universal orlando undercover tourist

Yes undercovertourist is safe to buy tickets from. If you have a Universal hotel booked (?) you can just buy your tickets from Universal along with the hotel, that's what we normally do :)

Undercover tourist is a perfectly safe, legitimate ticket reseller. We have used them several times for tickets and hotels.

Another option is

https://www.attractiontickets.com/en

They have the 14 day Universal Explorer tickets which are excellent value if you’re planning to visit the parks for a few days as they are about the same price as a 3 day park to park ticket. They will deliver to India. The current US based 3 day tickets are offering 2 free days though so those are pretty good value as well.

Thank you for your msg. I intended to do this originally and then found out they’re not cancellable, that’s why looking for other options.

Thank you I will look at attraction.com as well.

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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universal orlando undercover tourist

COMMENTS

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  21. Undercover tourist for universal tickets

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