YOUR GUIDE TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO / ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE / HARRY POTTER LAND!

I am so excited to get all my memories in writing, this was one of the most FUN trips of my LIFE!
Here's the thing, I take theme park vacations very seriously LOL. I cannot help myself. 

I love to research, read blogs, check crowd calendars and question any people who have been so I can put together a plan for my trip so I can get the MOST out of it without waiting in a line over 20 minutes. 

You guys, that kind of vacation is completely possible! I swear! You just have to know what you're doing. 

I had never been to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure OR Florida before so there was a lot to learn. I will walk you through our trip, tell you EVERYTHING I learned and how you can make your trip just as magical!!!

Welcome to #Universalschool !!!!

I will bold the key talking points, 

so you can skip to what matter to you!

We went to Universal because my bff Kenady and I were dying for a trip to Harry Potter World.
We gathered a group of 8 and got to planning. I listened to what everyone wanted to do, was able to plan the whole trip and the group just went along with the fun (a controlling woman's dream) LOL.

First things first. Would I bring my children? No. 

You know me. I love Disney more than anything. I bring my kids to Disney starting at 3 months old. 

Florida is just too far and masks are too much for a proper trip with young children, at least for me.

3 couples on the group all have children and we left them all home. Happily. Hahahah

Universal isn't geared to young children like Disney, so kids 5 + under, leave them home. 

Flights. 

We had Thursday - Sunday to make the most of the trip, so we left at 7am Thursday (Arrived 6pm in Florida) and left 2:30pm in Florida (Arrived 6:30pm in Vegas). 

PRO TIP! The only shift I would have made would have with travel been leaving on a red eye at midnight. Our kids we're all already settled in with their sitter bc we had to wake up at 4am, and then we would have arrived midday Thursday and could have gone to the park! 

Hotel and Ticket Packages. 

Justin used to be SO frugal as a single man when it came to certain things...no snacks at the movie, the cheapest food in the park...Boy I have changed him. LOL

PRO TIP! ALWAYS STAY ON PROPERTY. Universal has a few different hotels on property. We chose to stay at Cabana Bay and it was incredible. We didn't even have time to take advantage of the all the incredible parts of the hotel (the pool area was awesome!). 

We booked our package through Universal Studios website + we chose the Harry Potter Package. 

BEST DECISION EVER. If you love Harry Potter, do the Harry Potter package. (Do Harry's package LOL). 

The packages allow you to do a few things:

-Choose the hotel you stay at (SOME of the "on property" hotels come with a full express pass, but they are more expensive. Cabana Bay/Endless Summer properties do not give you this perk). 

-Gives you early morning access 1 hour before opening (comes with all hotels!). 

-On property hotels all have an INCREDIBLE shuttle system. It's a free Uber. 

-The Harry Potter package came with two free meals at the two Harry Potter restaurants (Lunch at Three Broom Sticks + breakfast at Leaky Cauldron). 

-The Harry Potter Package also came with the Shutterbutton's Studio session (a BLAST) and a keepsake box with a lanyard for each of us and three luggage tags. 

Current Promo through April- Buy 2 days get 3 Free. This was BRILLIANT. We did two days of park hopper tickets (Friday + Saturday) and then we used Sunday free :)) We didnt stay long enough to use the other days, but it was an awesome perk!! 

WHEN TO GO (And all about wearing masks + how to avoid lines) 

 I don't know if this is just me, but I CANNOT wait in long lines. I haven't waited in line over 35 minutes in all the decade of my twenties. I will not do it, EVER lol. But somehow, someway I still ride every ride. You just gotta know how to work it. 

First things first. CROWD CALENDAR. 

Before you book your trip, look at a crowd calendar. 

These calendars will tell you when "historically" are slower days in the park. Red days are a HECK NO for me. But even red days can work if you make a plan and utilize resources (early morning, express passes, etc). 

But if you can plan it, pick a lower crowd day. 

We were going to leave the first weekend of January, but the next weekend was a much lower crowd day (not the weekend after New years when everyone is off school). 

On Friday we walked on to almost every ride.

USE A CROWD CALENDAR...first thing. 

Masks. 

Masks in Florida are much chiller than most states but not at the park. It's masks on at all times EXCEPT when eating OR when you want to snap a quick photo :) But other than that, masks on. They have people whose only job is to remind you of that LOL. 

Listen to me carefully.....DO NOT GO IN THE SUMMER. Good Lawd. Summer would have been BRUTAL. HEAT. HUMIDITY. I had moments in the hotel lobby when I had my mask on and had to step outside for cool air. Summer time would have KILLED ME. 

HOW TO EXECUTE THE PARK!!!!!!!!! 

There are TWO Parks, Island of Adventure (more themed, with 'lands' like Disney. The more popular park) and then Universal Studios Orlando (like Universal Hollywood). Harry Potter has its own themed land in each park. To access the Harry Potter train that will take you from park to park, you must have a park hopper. It's a must. 

You will need two days at least to do it all. Here's how we do it, and how I would recommend it. 

Whatever days you are going, do Islands of Adventure on your least busy days. 

(Example : We went Friday / Saturday so we did Islands of Adventure/ Universal. Saturday is the busiest day at the park). 

Islands of Adventure Park Schedule
(How to skip the lines and maximise the fun) 

Islands of Adventure is in a circle. So we started at one point and worked our way around.

When you enter, WITH YOUR EARLY MAGIC HOUR, turn right and head to Harry Potter Land. It gets the busiest so it's fun to enjoy it without the crowd. 

The busiest ride (and the ride you CANNOT use your express pass on) is Hargrid's. It is one of the greatest rides of all time. Start there! No need to use your fast pass if you have one, you'll want to see all the detail in these lines, they are full SETS! 

This is the order we did rides in and the "lands" they are in: 

1. Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure 

2. The Castle (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Forest)

3. Ride through Hagrid's Pumpkin Patch 

(You now leave Harry Potter World, don't worry we come back ;) 

(This is the final scene of Hagrids, that's all I will give away ;)

Now put on your Poncho!!!! Jurassic World 

4. Jurassic Park River Adventure (water ride 3/10 wetness) 

5. King Kong Skull Island

Cartoon Land  

6. Dudley Do Right Ripsaw Falls (water ride 5/10 wetness)

7. Popeye & Bluto's Rapids (water ride 10/10 SOAKED) 

Marvel Land 

8. The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman 

9. Dr. Dooms Free Fall 

10. Incredible Hulk Coaster (the big coaster) 

Then you're back to Cat in the Hat (STOP AND SEE THIS CUTE LITTLE LAND!) They have 3 rides and they are all so fun and cute, reminded me of Disney. We walked onto all three. 

And then BOOM. Back to Harry Potter World. 

It was about 3pm by this point and we ate lunch at the Three Broomsticks (included in our package). 

Food was great! Loved the Fish + Chips. We shopped around then rode the train to Universal Studios. 

The train is a wait, so grab a snack and get in line. (Highly recommend the butterbeer SOFTSERVE). 

We hopped on the train, Hogsmede to Diagon Alley, and rode Gringotts, Men in Black and Simpsons and the park closed at six! We did Dinner at Cowfish at Citywalk (the equivalent to Downtown Disney) and called it a night! Cowfish is a burger sushi place. It was a B- to me. They have Burgooshi, burger sushi. I skipped that LOL.  

The train station. 

READ THIS NEWS AND BE HAPPY!!!

The "wait times" for the lines are very very inaccurate in the best way! Hagrids would say 60min and it would be 20. You are six feet apart in line so they clock it like your 60 minutes back but the gaps make it way closer. 

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO

This park isn't as crucial in my opinion. We also had an Express Pass this day (we did the basic one where you can skip the line once per ride, instead of unlimited. It was all we needed because Hagrids doesn't let you use the pass LAME. )

Only one big Harry Potter Ride at USO is Gringotts. The line was unreal with decor. The ride was so fun!

This isn't the ride, this is a shop where you can talk to the goblin and change your money for Gringotts money! The money is good anywhere in Universal! 

By this point on Saturday half our group was really struggling with motion rides. Lol 

1. Fast and the Furious

2. Race Through New York 

3. Shrek 

4. Despicable me 

5. Simpsons 

 

These are all motion rides. We were SO EXCITED to do E.T because it's not a motion ride, and it reminded me of Peter Pan at Disney. It was the highlight of Universal outside of Harry Potter. Men in Black is like Buzz Lightyear and I also loved it. It was SO FUN to ride new rides. 

That day we hopped from park to park to go BACK to Island of Adventure to use our express pass to hit all the rides we wanted to ride again (no water rides) LOL.

In Islands of Adventure they have a restaurant called Mythos (in between Cat + the Hat and Harry Potter)  that is the "Worlds Best theme park restaurant". So we had to try it and it was delicious! The decor was rad and the view was heavenly! 

At the end of the night, We ate at the Chocolate Emporium at 10pm (looks like Willy Wonkas Choc factory) at City Walk and Sunday we went back to the park to ride Hagrids one last time and shop before we left. I had to get some HP goodies :)

City Walk 

City Walk is like downtown Disney and you have to pass through it to get to the Park entrances. We ate at a restaurant there daily and our favorite by far was the Mexican place. SO GOOD. 

I don't know if I have ever shared this but I am an ELITE mini golfer. LOLOL

We played a round at City Walk at like 10pm on thursday after dinner. So fun!!! 

I am already getting nostalgia writing this, it was seriously the greatest trip. 

The greatest group (we all stayed in a 2 bedroom suite so we were never apart hahaha), and the greatest time. I really love making memories, laughing and eating with my friends, I live for it. 

Tell me how I can help you make your trip incredible! Comment, email me or DM me on IG with any questions, I am happy to help :) 

Thank you for the fun Florida!!!!! And never saw a gator, thank you Lord. 

xo Kels