Universal Orlando Resort is a super fun vacation for families with older kids and teens!
Basic Info:
- 3 Parks (with a 4th coming soon): Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay (water park)
- There are on-site hotels that provide free transportation and early access to the parks
- There are Harry Potter sections at BOTH Universal Stuidos and Islands of Adventure
- Buy tickets through Universal: https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/tickets-packages/park-tickets or check for discounted tickets through Undercover Tourist: https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/universal-orlando-resort/
- Special ticket prices for Florida residents
Advice and Tips:
- Check for deals – sometimes they do deals like buy 2 or 3 days, get 2 free
- If you stay at a top-tier resort, Express passes (skip the regular line on most attractions) are included. You get these passes for every day you stay INCLUDING the day your arrive and the day you leave. You can save cost (especially if you’re a family with multiple kids) by staying an a cheaper hotel part of the time and staying 1 night at a top-tier resort to get Express passes included for everyone for 2 days.
- If you want to ride the Hogwarts Express attraction that goes between Hogsmead (the Harry Potter section in Islands of Adventure) and Diagon Alley (the Harry Potter section in Universal Studios), you MUST have a park-to-park ticket.
- If you have the Express pass, it is possible to do Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios in one day (although it will be a long day), but 2 days would be better.
- If you don’t have Express passes but are staying onsite and can utilize early entry and will stay all day, you can accomplish each park in a day with the right strategy.
- If you don’t have Expresses passes and are staying off property, or if you don’t to stay from open to close with no breaks, or if you’re visiting during a holiday or high-crowd time, you may need 2 days per park.
- Volcano Bay can be done in 1 day.
Budget:
This is not a cheap destination. If you thought it was cheaper then Disney parks, it’s not unless there’s a good promotion going on. BUT you can save by looking for deals on the Universal website, and/or by staying off-site at an affordable hotel or rental. You can also save by maximining your time so you’re there for less time overall. Examples below: