After months of waiting for our big trip the day finally arrived for us to go to Universal Studios Orlando. For the next 6 days Orlando, Florida was our new home.
First off, once you’re telling people you’re going to Florida, the first thing people will ask you is, “Oh, are you going to Disney World?” and when you say no, there’s a disappointing look on their faces like they feel sorry for you that you’re not going.
But there’s so much more to Florida than you think. To make the most of any trip you go on, it’s always best to map out what you will do before you arrive. Yes, my family does wing many trips, but when you sit down and plan what you will do at each location, you get to experience a lot more.
Also, you will get more bang for your buck when you map out trips.
That’s why I’m writing a ride guide for your next trip to Universal Studios, Florida.
Know before you go
The one thing we have noticed with visiting places in recent months is that they require reservations to guarantee your entry.
There once was a time, you could show up at an amusement park, a zoo, a play, or a restaurant, and you could just stand in line to purchase your ticket. In more recent years, we are starting to realize by walking up to a ticket booth to purchase your ticket, there is a significant probability the tickets will be sold out for that day, or you’ll probably end up paying more at the facility than you would have if you would have purchased the tickets online.
I recommend going online to make reservations for anywhere you plan to go.
We purchased our tickets for Universal Studios Florida from the resort we were staying at.
The concierge told us that purchasing the tickets from her would save more money instead of buying them once we got to the park.
I purchased 4 theme park tickets which came to a total of $720. I believe the pricing for getting into Orlando theme parks varies based on the season.
Parking at Universal Studio Orlando
We paid for parking once we got to Universal Studios Orlando parking garage. For general parking, we paid $27, which is okay because that’s around the same amount that most theme parks charge.
To give you a reference on the type of car you can have for that fee, we rented a Nissan Armada while in Orlando.
If you are visiting the park in a R.V. or a bus, the parking fee will start at $37.
Prime Parking
Once we got to the ticketing booth of Universal Studios parking garage, the parking attendant gave us the option to do economy parking or Prime parking.
We were informed that prime parking was $60. The benefit of Prime parking was having a shorter walk to the theme park.
Since we would be walking the entire park anyways, a long walk to the theme park wouldn’t hurt our little legs. (Honestly, I was being cheap.)
Shuttle bus
If you are staying in the Orlando area for some time and you are going to be visiting a couple of theme parks, you can also use a shuttle bus.
Most resorts provide free shuttle bus services to the park. The only thing about the shuttle services is they run on a schedule, so you can’t arrive or leave the parks when you want to.
Sometimes there’s a wait when leaving the park due to long lines of people waiting for the shuttles.
Depending on which hotel or resort you are staying at, the shuttle bus may have a couple of stops before getting to your destination.
Taking the shuttle is good for you and your family if you have a flexible schedule and patience.
Check where you parked
Once we finally got settled and got everyone and everything out of the car, our journey to the park began. Something told me to stop to check where we parked.
The parking levels are based on Universal characters, which is a great idea because that will help the kids remember what level we are on. For a busy person like me, the space in my brain is already full of from unnecessary mom stuff, so I had to take a picture to remember our parking spot.
We had “Cat in the Hat” 257. Thank goodness I took that picture because the kids forgot the character by the time we made it back to the parking garage.
Pre-Enterance
Before you get to the park entrance or on the property, you must go through a security check. Security will check your bags and have you go through an x-ray machine. Going through Universal’s security is like being at the airport all over again.
City Walk
After the security check, you still have a ways to walk before you arrive to the entrance of Universal Studios. Nope, you’re still not there. You have now entered a place called City Walk.
In City walk, there are different types of shops and restaurants for you to enjoy. Some good photo ops along the path of City Walk will be great to share with your family.
I would carve out some time to explore City Walk while you’re there. I heard the Chocolate Emporium is a must-visit.
Which way to go one you entered City Walk
Once you enter City Walk, you can go to the right for Universal Studios or to the left for Adventure Island.
We chose to go to Universal Studios, so that’s what we will talk about next.
Don’t forget to take a picture in front of the world-famous rotating globe with “Universal” going across it.
Entrance to Universal Studios Orlando
Once you get to the entrance of Universal, the ticketing agent will ask you for your tickets. After you show them your ticket with your name on it, they will scan your fingerprint.
Can you imagine how many fingerprints Disney’s database has?
Can you bring food in Universal Studios Orlando
The theme park will allow you to bring non-alcoholic drinks and lite snacks into the park. We only brought in water bottles because carrying around a bookbag all day is not my idea of fun.
While waiting to get on the rides, we saw families pulling cheez-its out of their book bags.
I know they got them from somewhere other than the park because they were stored in clear ziplock bags.
Rides at Universal Studio Orlando
*Revenge of the Mummy
*Transformers
*E.T. Adventure
*Harry Potter and the escape from Gringotts (My favorite ride)
*The Simpsons Ride
*Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
*Men In Black
*Woody Wood Pecker’s Nuthouse
*Kang & Kodos Twirl’ n’ Hurl
*Jimmy Fallon’s race through New York
*Despicable Me Minions Mayhem
*Bonus ride-Hogwart Express (King Cross Station). To ride this ride, you have to have tickets to both parks, Universal Studios, and Adventure Island.
Shows at Universal Studios Orlando
*The Night time lights at Hogwart Castle
*Raptor Encounter
*Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees in Diagon Alley
*Universal Orlando’s Horror Make-up show
*Universal Orlando’s Cinematic Celebration
*The Bourne Stuntaculor
*The Blue Brothers Show
***If your family likes theme parks, check out this article I made for Legoland Resort. *****
Motions sickness
Most rides were 3-D rides that spinned, turned, and jerked. I can’t say that as an adult, I enjoyed all of them. I was on the verge of getting sick on a lot of them. The big guy had to sit out after we got off the Fast and Furious ride, which wasn’t that bad.
So I had to be the default parent that got on the remaining rides for the rest of the day. Let me tell you, I was one more spin away from being seasick.
I advise adults to know their limitations and even if you don’t think you will get sick, still take something for motion sickness. I had Dramamine in my wallet, which happened to be in the car in the parking garage. If you take the Dramamine, take the non-drowsy one.
I saw adults with the motion sickness patch behind their ears throughout the park while others had the motion sickness wristbands.
Macy’s Day Parade
Every year on Thanksgiving Day, Macy’s has its world-famous Macy’s Day Parade, and every year I say I am going to go but never make it.
I can’t believe it took for my family to visit Florida in December to enjoy the same parade that happens every year, only an hour and a ten-minute drive from my house in New Jersey.
Well, that’s okay because my family enjoyed the Universal Studio Macy’s Day Parade. No, it does not have the same float that NYC has, but the floats they did have were just as cool.
Some of the characters we could enjoy were the minions, Gru and the girls, the characters from Shrek, and Santa.
Conclusion
Overall our trip to Universal Studios was a decent one. We went on a day that was only 75 degrees, so it was not too hot or too cold. Also, it was a Tuesday in December, so the park was not crowded, and the lines for the rides moved very quickly.
If you are planning on visiting any Disney Parks download the park apps so you can make the most of your trip. The app will be able to let you know where all of the rides are and the wait times for each ride.
Try going to the parks during the off-season and in the middle of the week when the parks will be less crowded.
Universal Studio Orlando
6000 Universal Blvd
Orlando, FL 32819
Thank you again for coming along this journey with my family and me. If there’s any place you feel my family would enjoy visiting, please tell us in the comments below. You can also put any questions in the comments if there are any questions I have not answered about the our adventure to Universal Studio .
