Planning a vacation of any sort can be daunting: figuring out where you're going, what to do, where to stay, and deciding on a budget, it can honestly be mind numbing. While planning a theme park vacation cuts out the "where you're going" and "what to do" questions, it comes with several other questions as well, like what will I have time to do, what should I budget for. I will go over as many of these kinds of questions as I can think of in this post, though I know I don't have all of the answers. Join me while we unravel Universal over the next several posts.
Universal Orlando has 3 parks: Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay water park. Another big part of Universal is City Walk which is open to anyone, even those without a park ticket. There are a dozen restaurants, a few stores, and a few clubs, activities, and shows that happen there. I have not visited Volcano Bay, so this post, and all other Universal posts, will strictly be about Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure until I get the chance to go to the water park.
Budget
This is a hard section to write because discussing a budget on such a big trip seems a little absurd. If you scroll through any posts or articles on a Universal page, it won't take long for you to find comments about how expensive the parks are, how a trip there isn't for the "average family," or how Universal is simply out of touch with those that want to visit the parks. Depending on all the factors that will be discussed in this post, a Universal trip for 4 days could cost anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 (or really unlimited) per person.
I will discuss several factors that impact the total budget below, but I want to touch on the overall budget first. Although Universal is by no means cheap or something that can be done on a whim, there are ways to make the vacation more manageable if you give yourself time to plan accordingly.
Start planning and saving early - giving yourself more time will make the trip less stressful when you are there.
Decide what is important to you: does staying at a fancy hotel matter more or do you want to splurge on food and drink? Or do you want to find all of the dozens of gift shops and bring something back for everyone you know?
Be okay with changing your plan a little while there; between dozens of different food locations and the hundreds of awesome souvenirs, some last-minute decisions will need to be made.
In a future post, I will break down the budgets for my Universal trips and explain what I learned each time and what could be improved on. This post, however, is simply an overview of planning, what to take into consideration, and some pros and cons of the options.
Timing
This section is going to talk about the weather and events throughout the year. As of November 2022, I have gone to Universal three times: March, September, and November. All the trips have had weather that is warmer than my home State of Nebraska. March was already warm enough to sit by the pool comfortably (70's and 80's), September was a little too hot sometimes (mostly 90's, we found ourselves looking for air conditioning a little more than we would have liked), and November was mostly nice (high 60's, low 70's, a little cool when the sun went down, mid-50's, and it seemed frigid when it rained for an entire day).
Universal is rarely not preparing for an event or actively celebrating an event and they transition between them quickly.
Late February to late April: Mardi Gras - includes themed parades, special street shows, pop-up food vendors, and themed music through much of the parks.
Late August: preparations for their Halloween event, Halloween Horror Nights.
September and October: Halloween Horror Nights come to life with late-night haunted houses (at an additional cost), themed food,and decorations for the season.
November and December: Winter Wonderland including a Christmas parade, Christmas music through large parts of the park, a huge Christmas tree in Universal Studios, and other decorations throughout the park.
These are the three big holidays they decorate for, but Universal also does smaller things for other holidays. If you have a favorite holiday, it is worth visiting around that time to see what is going on.
Lastly on the note of tickets, prices do vary based on when in the week and year that you go. Pricing varies by day and generally increases Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and is generally less expensive on Monday through Thursday. Holidays also impact ticket prices, and not just the festive holidays - anything that could make for a long weekend vacation at the parks will make the prices increase.
Transportation
The easiest way to fly to Universal Orlando is to fly into Orlando International Airport (MCO). MCO is a big airport, allowing your choice of airline. When booking flights, I have found that it is sometimes cheaper to book a one-way ticket there and a one-way ticket back, instead of a round-trip ticket. This also provides more return flight times as you will have all airlines to choose from.
From the airport, you have a few options to get to Universal property: if you are staying at a Universal hotel, you can use their Super Shuttle, rent a car, or take an Uber or Lyft.
The Super Shuttle must be booked at least 24 hours in advance and be tied to a Universal hotel reservation.
Pros: The shuttle will drop you at your hotel; the driver will take care of loading and unloading your luggage
Cons: There will be a wait at the airport for other passengers to arrive; the shuttle services all Universal hotels so the ride can take extra time; scheduled times to return to the airport mean you may end up at the airport far in advance of your flight.
Cost: Approximately $40 per adult, $30 per child, 2 and under ride free. Prices are for one way only.
Rental car
Pros: Own transportation if you plan on venturing out to other parts of Orlando
Cons: Paying for a rental car for it to simply sit in a parking lot
Cost: $200-$600 for one-week rental + guest parking at Universal ($18-$30 per day, depending on which hotel you stay at)
Uber/Lyft
Pros: Can order on demand while grabbing luggage from baggage claim
Cons: Wait times vary based on the time of day and driver availability
Cost: $30-$60 each way, depending on where you are getting dropped off, time of day, and what service you use
If you are staying at one of the Universal hotels, there are a few options on how to move around on Universal property. From the Universal hotels, you can use any of the following transportation, though they all take about 15-20 minutes.
Take a Shuttle
Pros: Available at any Universal hotel; drop-off point is 1 minute from City Walk security; each hotel has a specific shuttle; runs prior to park opening until 1 hour after City Walk closes
Cons: Possible wait times while shuttle loads and waits for full capacity; Security checkpoint is shared with everyone not staying at a Universal hotel
Water Taxi
Pros: Security on "hotel" side; central drop off location, hotel-specific water taxi; runs 30 minutes prior to park opening until 1 hour after City Walk closes
Cons: Only available at 4 of 8 hotels
Walking
Pros: On your own time; leads directly to City Walk with separate security for hotel guests; walking path connects 6 of 8 hotels, walking times between 5-20 minutes
Cons: Already walking 10-15 miles per day just in the parks and this will add more mileage to an already exhausting day.
Tickets
There are several ticket options available and which one you choose (single-day, multi-day, or annual pass) is up to you and depends on what you want out of your time at the parks. To purchase tickets, you can:
Call the Universal 1-800 number: everyone I have talked to is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable and can explain all available options
Visit Universal online or on the app: but this can be a little confusing if you don't know what you are looking at.
Visit the ticket windows at the front of the parks.
Check third party website: before purchasing, do your research to make sure the site is a licensed seller of tickets. Orlando Informer is a great, legitimate resource for tickets.
Go on base: If you are military (or "related" to someone that is), the best way to purchase tickets is to go on base and buy an annual pass - I promise it is cheaper than any other ticket option.
When buying park tickets, there are some other things to consider. In my opinion, a park-to-park pass is a must. This is the only way you are able to ride the Hogwarts Express and it allows you to spend time in both parks on the same day, switching back and forth as you please. Another thing is if you want an Express Pass, which will allow you to skip the line on most rides and ride each ride more quickly. As with regular park tickets, the express passes also change price based on the day and have a couple of options. There is a "one-time use" pass, which is good for one use on each eligible ride, or an unlimited pass, good for unlimited use on eligible rides. One perk of staying at one of the "top tier" hotels is that everyone in the room gets an Express Pass included with the stay.
To make ticketing just a bit more complicated, Universal has created different packages that include various things such as special photo ops, character meals, food vouchers, special goody bags in the hotel, etc. There are also several types of VIP passes you can buy for full- or partial days to go behind the scenes on select rides. These packages are as close to "all inclusive" as Universal gets, and they change fairly often, so always be on the lookout for the deals that interest you.
Food
Food is always a big expense on trips and even more so when visiting a theme park. Universal boasts many wonderful restaurants, it will be hard to choose where to eat. When I plan a trip, I include restaurant research in my planning, so I have a starting point when I am on-site. In the future, I will post restaurant reviews as I am able to eat at more locations. For any of the City Walk sit-down restaurants, I highly recommend reservations. Many of the quick-service options have mobile ordering through the Universal app.
Hotels: each Universal hotel has a few dining options available to hotel guests, totaling about 25 restaurants across the 8 hotels.
Parks: There are 30 quick service options throughout Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure and about 10 sit-down options. This is not including snack carts and drink stations.
City Walk: A dozen sit-down restaurants and another dozen quick service spots as well.
There is certainly no shortage of food to be bought while at the parks and on property, but you are also able to bring in your own food and drinks (no outside alcohol and no glass containers, among other stipulations that can be found on their website).
Souvenirs
No vacation is complete with souvenirs, and this is doubly or triply so when at a theme park with so many big entertainment properties (Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Minions, King Kong, etc.). Universal knows this and has placed gift shops and merchandise carts all over the parks, including at the end of almost every ride.
My tips for planning on souvenirs at Universal are two-fold:
Consider how you are going to get it home. Imagine hauling your purchase(s) through the airport, having to check it, or figuring out how to carry it on the plane.
Don't buy souvenirs on the first day. Each shop has different souvenirs and seeing as much as possible first will give you a better idea of what you are going to purchase.
Look for special deals on souvenirs, Universal has them often. Sometimes it’s “buy one get one” half off at the same shop, other times it's “buy a merchandise card of $X amount and receive a free wand.” Keep an eye out for these signs as you go through the park and start planning your souvenir purchases.
I hope that this overview has provided at least starting information for you when planning a trip to Universal. It seems overwhelming at first, but breaking it down by section makes it more manageable. You may have noticed that I did not mention specifics about the hotels in this post even though the hotels are such a huge part of any stay and a big part of planning and budgeting. I will review each hotel as I stay at them in a future post that will be constantly updated (or as constantly as I can).
Thanks for joining me on my adventures. If you have a Universal planning question that I didn't talk about or answer, comment below and I will either add it to this post or add it to a future post.
Be sure to come back next week for more Universal tips and tricks.
See you next time!
Sami
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