Universal Studios Orlando is such a fun place to be but it can be a little overwhelming if you don’t prepare in advance. These ten tips will help you make the most of your days in the park so you can focus on making memories with your family.
1. Dress for the weather
Florida weather can be pretty varied depending on what time of year you are there so make sure you look ahead at the forecast but still plan for some changes.
- Dress in layers – mornings and evening can be cool with very warm afternoons
- Bring ponchos – depending on what time of year you’re there you could get rain or thunderstorms in the afternoon. It’s so much nicer to just throw on a poncho and keep enjoying the parks
- Sunscreen – temperatures are high and the sun is warm, put on sunscreen
2. Wear running or supportive shoes that can get wet
We average 25,000 steps per day when we are in the parks, you do not want blisters or sore feet! I cringe at some of the footwear choices in the park. Support your feet and your bodies and minimize injuries! Also, some of the rides have your feet dangling (i.e. The Forbidden Journey) so if you’re in slide on shoes you will need to sit on them if you don’t want to lose them; not the most comfortable situation.
3. Stay on Site
We always stay on site. The hotels are great and they offer a variety of options to suit your budget. Some come with the advantage of express passes (read more about this on my “Picking your Universal Hotel” post, coming soon!). They all offer complimentary shuttles to the parks which come very frequently and you get an extra hour in one of the parks in the morning which is a great time to wander without the crowds.
Compare Universal Orlando on site hotels here.
4. Get to the parks early
I’ve never understood why this hasn’t caught on yet but, none the less, take my advice and get there early. About 30 minutes before the park opens is generally enough. The parks are much less busy first thing in the morning and you can get on a lot of rides quickly. I guess people like to sleep in on their vacations, I recommend not being one of those people! Take a nap in the afternoon instead (more on this below!)
5. Eat at City Walk
The food inside the parks is not bad, I’m sure there are some great options but the food in the city walk is AWESOME! Even when we are in Florida and not going to the parks, we make a trip to City Walk to eat dinner. There are lots of great lunch, dinner and dessert options and the portions and prices are great (more on this in my “Restaurants of City Walk” posts, coming soon!)
6. Eat your meals early
This is similar to the “arrive early” approach. Most people tend to eat their lunch a little later because they get into the park a bit later, then, in turn, do the same for dinner. Waits for tables at prime meal times can easily reach an hour or more. As someone that loves to be on the go, it’s just not how I want to spend my vacation. Instead, we will generally take some grab-and-go breakfast snacks into the park with us in the morning to tie us over until lunch at 11:00-11:30 am. At this time you’re able to get a table immediately and when you’re leaving everyone is clearing out of the parks to get lunch and you can head back in! Do the same for dinner and you’re all set.
7. Use the single rider line
This is a feature that we take advantage of a lot! You still wait in line with your party but when you get to the front they split you up and use you to fill in seats on other cars so the rides are always full. Advantage – you wait a much shorter time….Disadvantage – you generally miss the interactive lines which can be quite good depending on the ride, some of them you definitely don’t want to miss! (more on this in my Rides post, coming soon)
8. Take a break
Mid-afternoons in the parks are hot and busy. You will experience your longest waits at this time of day. We take this time to head back to our resort and take a nap or enjoy some downtime by the pool. The pools at the resorts are beautiful and are generally not crowded at this time of day because everyone is at the parks.
9. Get a Park Hopper Pass
We seem to go back and forth between the parks every day we are there. Also, if you’re a Harry Potter fan you can’t ride the Hogwarts Express without it because it travels back and forth between the two parks. So definitely worth the extra cost.
Check out Universal Orlando theme park ticket prices here.
10. Pick your time of year to vacation wisely
Like everything else in Orlando, Universal has its busy times. Summer, Christmas, March breaks are all busy times. Keep in mind that the USA has different holidays and you may need to plan around those too. There are also a lot of cheerleading competitions that take place in that area and they all seem to go to the parks so check that out too. There are great crowd calendars that take all of these things into consideration and can really help you plan your trip! Check out my favourite crowd calendars here…
