Ultimate Guide To Universal Studios 2024

In this post I share with you a the ultimate guide to Universal Studios

Planning a trip to Universal Studios Orlando is really exciting, but you may be feeling a little overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. I will share with you everything you need to know for a first timer. I first visited when I was a teenager and loved it!

Since then I have visited many times over the year and a lot has changed since the first time I went. I found there is now lots of planning to do to get the most out of your stay. From the exploring Wizarding World shops in Diagon Alley to riding the hulk there’s so much to do and see. This guide first timers guide to Universal Studios will share with you everything you need to know.

Universal Studios Hotel Resorts

If you’re looking to stay on-site there are four types of hotels at Universal Studios. Premier, Preferred, Prime Value and Value. Each have their pros and cons depending on your parties needs and budget.

Premier Resorts

There are three premier resorts at Universal studios resort, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort. These hotels are deluxe hotels, They have large rooms, Spa’s and great restaurants. There are also great perks including early park access, free Express passes and are within walking distance of the parks.

Preferred Resorts

Loews Sapphire Falls Resort is a preferred resorts, This hotel is Caribbean themed and offers free transportation to the parks via water taxi or shuttle bus.

Prime Value Resorts

Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort and Universal’s Aventura Hotel both Prime Value resorts. Each resort has large food courts that offer a variety of different meals. At Cabana Bay there is a pool bar and at Aventura there is a roof top bar. Both hotels have a Starbucks which is great for getting your morning coffee.

Value Hotels

Universal’s Endless Summer Dockside and Surfside are value hotels which makes them a great choice if your looking for an affordable option. These hotels have a food court and huge pool.

One of the perks of staying on-site is you are eligible for a Universal Expres Unlimited pass for each member of your party. This pass gives you unlimited access to each ride or attraction to be able to use the skip the regular line and use the express line at selected hotels. I used the Express pass when visiting and it saved a huge amount of time which was such a benefit.

If you’re staying on-site you are also able to enter the parks unto one hour before regular guests which is a great perk if there is a particular ride you want to experience while the parks aren’t as busy.

You will also get free transport from your hotel to and from the hotel, you can choose from a water taxi to a shuttle bus.

Parks at Universal Studios

When you think about Universal Studios you may think Harry Potter and yes there is a Wizarding World land in a\each park but there is so much more. There are three parks at Universal Studios Resorts. Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure which are both theme parks and Volcano Bay which is a water park.

Universal Studios

There are seven lands in Universal Studios. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter- Diagon Alley, Springfield, San Francisco, New York, Hollywood, Dreamworks Land and Illumnation’s Minion Land.

Islands Of Adventure

In Islands of Adventure there are eight lands, Jurassic Park, The Lost Continent, Marvel Super Hero Island, Port of Entry, Seuss Landing, Skull Reign of Kong, Toon Lagoon and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter- Hogsmeade.

Volcano Bay

Volcano Bay is a huge water park featuring a Huge volcano in the centre of the park. If you’re looking for there are lots of water slides, an aqua coaster, body slides and a lazy river. Volcano Bay offers a system to help reduce wait time for rides, “TapuTapu”. When you have chosen what ride you want to go on, you will see the wait time and you can touch the TapuTapu on the totem pole and it will then put you in a virtual queue, you are then free to relax by the pool or get refreshments while you wait until your TapuTapu to let you know when you can ride. You are only allowed to join one ride queue at a time.

City Walk

You can also visit City Walk is located between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. there are a ton of shops, restaurants and other places of entertainment. As a lover of all things chocolate I loved going to The Chocolate Emporium, The chocolate here was amazing and well worth a visit!

Park Tickets

When it comes to park tickets there are a number of different options. The best option are either Universal Orlando 3 Park Explorer Ticket or Universal Orlando 2 Park Explorer Ticket. Both options allow you to park hop between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. The 3 park Explorer tick allows you to go to the water park Volcano Bay. A big tip is to purchase your tickets before you go, although you can purchase tickets when you arrive, the queues are long and you wouldn’t want to tase park time getting your ticket.

I always get my park tickets from Attraction Tickets, I find it’s easy to buy all my park tickets in one place and you can pay them in instalments which is a huge plus. Before I leave for my holiday I like to print my tickets as I prefer to have a copy of all documents when traveling. You can also buy them directly through Universal Orlando Resort.

If you’re staying off-site you may ned to consider buy the Express passes. There are six options for this. You can purchase express passes for individual passes for each park or you can purchase express passes that include both passes. The Universal Express Unlimited Pass allows you to ride each ride an unlimited amount of times. The Universal Express Pass only allows you to allow each ride once per day. Which ever option you choose you will need a separate ticket for entry. I bought express passes for my trip and found the wait time was really low, I would highly recommend using them if you are don’t want to wait in long queues.

Take a lanyard for each member of your party to put your tickets in. You will know where they are when you need them, express passes will need to be scanned each time you ride so you will want to keep them to hand and they keep them waterproof. This was a lifesaver for me as I didn’t’t have to spend time looking for my passes.

When to visit

When to go depends on lots of factors. For most people it will depend on school holidays or work commitments. If you are able to travel at any time you may want to consider going outside of the school holidays as it’s cheaper and less crowded. Throughout the year there are lots of seasonal event that you may want to experience.

From September to the end of October you can experience Halloween Horror Nights, This is a special ticketed event that have Terrifying Haunted Houses, Scare Zones and live entertainment. I have always wanted to visit at Christmas time to experience Holidays at Universal Orlando. This event runs from the beginning of November until early January an includes Grinchmas and Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’.

Another thing to consider when planning your trip is the weather. From June to November is hurricane season, which brings with it rain and high temperatures. I have generally visited during these times and found the weather hot with some rain in the afternoon but it wouldn’t put me off going during this time. Whenever you choose to go there is you will have a great time.

Length of Stay

The length of your trip will be personal preference. How long you go will depend on the time you have, your budget and personal circumstances. However if you’re looking to do the majority of rides and experiences 5 days is plenty of time to soak up all the Universal has to offer from riding VelociCoaster in Adventure to exploring Diagon Alley in Universal Studios.

Transport on-site

If your planning on driving there is parking outside city walk or at the hotels. You have o pay for parking which starts at $30 per day depending on where you park. Another way to get around is to use the free transport. There are two options a shuttle bus or water taxi. The water taxi start 30 minutes before the parks open and will take you directly to city walk.

Universal Studios Dining Plans

At present Universal Studios don’t have any dinning plan but hopefully it will return soon. It was cancelled in 2021. The previous dining plan had three options, Universal Full Service Dining Plan, Universal Quick Service Dining Plan and the Refillable Coco-Cola Freestyle Cup. If the dining plan returns I will update this post to give you all the information you will need.

Useful things to know

Make a plan in advance, this will save you time trying to work out what you want to ride and where everything is. To make sure you don’t miss the show or parades check the times at the beginning of the day this way you can plan around them.

Before you go install the Universal Orlando app, it will give you up to date wait times, you can also mobile order and book any dining reservations. I found this app a helpful guide for show times and there is also a map which will give you information on each ride with height restrictions and other useful information.

If you found this Guide To Universal Studios helpful, you may enjoy Disney World Planning Guide 2024 I hope you have a really great trip. x