10 tips for a perfect day at Universal Studios Florida!

With all the theme parks located in the Orlando area, it can be hard to decide, which one to splurge on. Especially with the $100+ price tag per person per day! Universal Studios has multiple parks and is a great choice if you have been dying to experience Harry Potter World! Here are 10 tips for a perfect day at Universal Studios Florida!

Stay in a local hotel that offers a free Universal Shuttle. This is a great option if you don’t want to pay resort prices ($$$) for the Universal Resorts. (One benefit of staying in a Universal resort is you get 1 hour early entry into the park. This may be worth it if you are going on a holiday or weekend). We paid $70 per night for a local hotel that included free breakfast and had a free shuttle. This also saves you from paying the $26 fee for parking at Universal.
Plan your trip for a non weekend and non holiday. Unless you love long lines and crowds, try to choose a week day during the school year. We attended on a Tuesday in October and enjoyed almost no lines for most rides.
Arrive as soon as the park opens and go straight to the ride that typically has the longest lines (usually the newest ride). Allow yourself an extra 30 minutes to walk from the shuttle stop or parking lot and to get through security. You have to walk through the Universal City Walk (kind of like a big outdoor mall with restaurants and shops) to get to the parks and this is a decent 15 minute walk.
Bring a poncho. There are multiple rides at Universal that will get you soaking wet! Be wise and bring a disposable poncho so you can ride these without being wet all day.
Pack light. Universal has lockers at the large rides where you can leave your bags, phones, etc. These lockers take extra time to check in and out and if you want to maximize your ride time it’s easier to bring less stuff.
Buy your Harry Potter/Marvel/Jurassic Park shirts and gear in advance. The prices at Universal are exorbitant to say the least. $57 for a T-shirt anyone?
Splurge on the stuff that matters. Buy the $8 frozen butter beer! (But skip the pumpkin juice!). There are some really great dining options in the park that are fun for a one time splurge.
Be prepared for a hike! You will be doing so much walking (there are very few shortcuts so getting to a ride in another part of the park takes forever!). Leave the high heels, flip flops and crocs at home unless you can walk in them all day comfortably!
If you don’t buy the 2 park pass, you can go to guest services and upgrade later. The day we went, the lines were so short that we could have easily taken the Hogwarts express train to the other Universal park and spent the second half of the day there.
Download the Universal Studios app to see wait times for the rides as well as a helpful map to help find your way!

Happy Travels!

Park and ticket information can be found here: https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us