Our Trip to Universal Studios Orlando-The Advantages of Staying Onsite and a Few Other Tips

Last October, the kids and I went to Universal Studios in Florida to celebrate Brodie’s 16th birthday. I’ve been a huge fan of the Harry Potter books (and movies too) since they were released. As Brodie got older, he read the series and really loved them too. Tylar was our holdout! She really didn’t read much of anything except assigned reading from middle school through grad school. As an adult, she is just now reading the Harry Potter books for the first time. All of this background information is so it is clear that we mostly went for the Harry Potter rides and experiences, and they were amazing! It was like we were immersed in Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, the Ministry of Magic, and the list just keeps going. I’m ready to go back now. I fully recommend the trip for any Harry Potter fan.

Since the kids and I were traveling alone and flying to Orlando, I made the decision to stay onsite. While we could have saved money staying offsite, I wanted the safety and convenience of the package that Universal Offers. We bought the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Exclusive Vacation Package, which is a 3-day package, including 1 day at Epic, and 2 days in which we could go back and forth between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We did not go to Volcano Bay. I would definitely recommend staying a minimum of 3 days if you want to go to the 3 main parks.

Below, I’ve listed advantages of staying onsite and of the Harry Potter package.

1. Convenient shuttle to and from the airport: again, this worked well for us since we had no need to rent a car since we weren’t planning to leave Universal.
2. Onsite shuttle between hotel and parks: shuttles were lined up outside the hotel and parks that would take us back and forth. I never had to worry about parking or traffic! We could also shuttle over to CityWalk to eat.
3. Special add-ons: as part of the package, we received breakfast/lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, the Three Broomsticks, and Cafe L’air De La Sirene. We were able to try a traditional English breakfast and French crepes. We also received an ice cream flight from Florean Fortescue’s.
4. Early park access: we received access to the parks 1 hour before opening each day, which we took advantage of!

I chose not to upgrade our hotel (the package came with a couple of hotel choices, but I could have paid more to stay at some of the hotels), so we stayed at Cabana Bay Beach Resort. We were upgraded for free to a family suite, which had a small kitchen area and living area. It was clean and decorated in a retro beach theme. We were more than satisfied with the room and the amenities the hotel offered. We were mostly there to sleep.

One of the best parts of the Harry Potter sections was how realistic everything seemed! We really felt like we were in Diagon Ally, Gringotts, the Ministry, Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, etc… The list goes on and on! We were in awe the entire trip!

The Harry Potter rides were all enjoyable, but here are my favorites.

1. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure-the best by far! (at Islands of Adventure)
2. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (at Islands of Adventure)
3. Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts (at Universal Studios)
4. Battle at the Ministry (at Epic)
5. The Hogwarts Express (runs between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure) A train ride? Yes! It’s like you’re there, and you even get to walk through the wall into Platform 9 and 3/4!

Here are a few other pointers to help make your visit more pleasant.

1. Comfortable shoes are a must: this should seem obvious, but I saw so many people wearing wedges or other shoes that aren’t for walking. We walked around 20,000 steps each day, and we stood in line when we weren’t walking, so good shoes were so important.
2. Plan your day (somewhat): we were flexible, but we did try to plan our days so that we weren’t crisscrossing the park, and we also wanted to ride the Hogwarts Express both directions, so we planned our trips to Universal and Islands of Adventures with that in mind.
3. Just my opinion, but October isn’t the best month to visit if you aren’t interested in Halloween Horror Nights: I know Universal is always crowded, but it was exceptionally crowded in October. The person who checked us in at the hotel told me they and other hotels were at full capacity. Example: we went to Islands of Adventure an hour early, waited in line to get in, and went straight to Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure and waited in line 2 1/2 hours. It was worth it because that ride was our favorite by far, but wow!
4. Plan for butterbeers: you may have heard or read, but the hot and frozen butterbeers are the best choices (skip the iced version). We tried the hot with breakfast, and it was really good. The best by far were the frozen butterbeers! You will need to plan for at least 1 each day, and they are pricey-around $10 each.
5. Take advantage of the single-rider lines if you don’t get the express pass: the unlimited express pass is around $120 per day/per person. I wasn’t willing to pay that, so we started taking advantage of single rider lines. Since we had an odd-numbered group, we sometimes had to separate on rides anyway, so we thought we would give it a try. It was worth it! Almost every time, at least 2 of us ended up sitting together anyway, and sometimes all 3 of us did. Using the single-rider line sometimes saved us over an hour of wait time. This is especially good when riding a ride multiple times. We would have done the single-rider line on Hagrid’s ride because of its wait time, the fact it was our favorite, and because the rooms we went through while waiting weren’t outstanding. Also, the Ministry ride at Epic is perfect for using the single-rider line.
6. Don’t forget to eat and drink plenty of water: because of our desire to see all and do all, we sometimes didn’t eat or drink enough, and we regretted it! Be sure you have water and maybe snacks with you before you enter those longer lines. We were sometimes so thirsty or hungry in line and didn’t have a way to get any relief!

We really enjoyed our time at Universal Studios Florida! It was an amazing experience, especially for Harry Potter fans. We are already talking about when we can go back, and all this reminiscing makes me want to go back now!