A beyond magical experience for Harry Potter fans at Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay in Florida
Name
Universal Orlando Resort
What is it?
Universal Orlando Resort is one of the most famous and popular attractions in the world, welcoming millions of visitors a year.
It includes two theme parks – Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure – plus Volcano Bay water park.
Based mainly on the themes of film and tv, there are loads of amazing rides, attractions and shows.
A huge draw these days – and certainly for us – is the Harry Potter areas known as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The American resort also includes a shopping area called CityWalk and eight hotels.
Where is it?
It is in Orlando, Florida, US.
What did we think?
We absolutely loved our time here and were especially blown away by the Harry Potter parts as three out of the four of us are fans.
Highlights
*We loved, loved, loved the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Diagon Alley (Universal Studios)
We explored Diagon Alley first, which is in the Universal Studios park. It can be found through a gap in the wall which would be easy to miss. There is so much to see and do there – a multitude of shops like Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and places to eat such as the Leaky Cauldron.
Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes
What first catches your eye though is the tremendous dragon above which sits astride Gringotts Bank or more specifically, the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts ride. Every 10 minutes or so it breathes fire which can be quite a shock if you’re not expecting it. He emits a loud roar to warn you and it’s a great moment to capture on your phone. The Gringotts ride itself is spectacular, part roller coaster and part 3D experience, it’s perhaps too scary for young ones.
The dragon breathes fire over Diagon Alley
At Ollivander’s Wand Shop, there is a small show where Ollivander selects someone from the group and everyone watches while the perfect wand is chosen for them. He tries three different wands, the first two with disastrous results while the third provides a satisfactory and magical reaction. Our son was the person taking part, which made our trip even more special.
There are mountains of wands to buy in the shop itself, but if you buy a more expensive interactive one, you can do spells in set places which you find on a map.
Wingardium Leviosa with an interactive wand
There is so much to see and do here that you might miss fun elements like talking to an interactive goblin in the little Gringotts Money Exchange or tasting butterbeer.
The interactive goblin in the Gringotts Money Exchange
We also caught a show from Molly Weasley’s favourite singer Celestina and the Banshees.
Celestina and the Banshees
The Hogwarts Express
To get to Hogsmeade in the other theme park – Islands of Adventure – you can board the Hogwarts Express. This is a memorable ride in itself.
You enter Kings Cross station, walk through a wall to platform nine and three quarters, thanks to mirror trickery. I don’t know how this works but make sure to send your children through while you video it for them to watch afterwards. Then you emerge on to the platform to see the train itself.
The Hogwarts Express
Once on board, the windows are screens which make you feel you are passing scenes and characters from Harry Potter while the corridor side of the carriage you are in, features shadows and voices of characters as if they walking past. There’s even a dementor on the way to Hogsmead. The return journey is different again.
Hogsmeade (Islands of Adventure)
When you arrive at the other station, you are in the Islands of Adventure Theme Park. Here you will find a snow-covered Hogsmeade wizarding village with more shops like The Owl Post post office, Dervish and Banges and Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods.
There’s another Ollivander’s Wand Shop here as well along with the Three Broomsticks restaurant.
Hogsmeade is where the popular roller coaster ride Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is located, which takes riders into the Forbidden Forest. This has the longest queues of any ride at the park so if you are keen to do it, then get there early or wait until last thing in the evening.
Also here is the Flight of the Hippogriff Family Coaster which is a good first roller coaster for younger people for try – although can still feel very fast and dramatic!
And this park is where you get to see Hogwarts castle itself.
Hogwarts Castle
You only enter to do the ride there – Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
*Other rides
Other rides we enjoyed at Universal Resort were the classics like ET Adventure – it opened in 1990 and can seem quite dated to adults but it’s a relatively gentle ride and was one of our daughter’s favourites so we rode it twice.
ET Adventure
Next to the ET ride is one of the two areas of the park for younger children. Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse rollercoaster is a nice gentle one to start with and there are opportunities there to have your picture taken with film characters.
In another part of the park is an area dedicated Dr Seuss with a series of smaller rides in a nice colourful area. We enjoyed the Trolley Train which gives a good view over the whole site. This is a good, slightly quieter spot to eat a picnic or rest for a few minutes.
Shows
One great way to rest your legs and escape from the heat is to go and watch a live show.
We loved Animal Actors on Location. Talented animal actors from films and tv including dogs, cats, parrots and more perform mischievous tricks.
There are other shows around both parks, including the Bourne Stuntacular which is very popular.
Top tips
*How long do you need
We had two days at Universal and that felt plenty for us. But if you are a group who love the biggest and most popular rides including roller coasters and screen-based simulators, then you may need longer. The second day felt amazing. We got there early and walked in confidently, knowing what we were doing and where we wanted to go.
*Park-to-Park ticket
If you are a Harry Potter fan then you are going to want to visit both theme parks and have a Park-to-Park ticket. Universal has cleverly split the Wizarding World of Harry Potter into two, with Diagon Alley at Universal Studios and Hogsmead at Islands of Adventure, connected by the Hogwarts Express (which you can only ride with a Park-to-Park ticket).
*Express Pass
This is a way to skip the long queues and enter a much quicker line on around 14 listed rides in each park. There are two versions – regular which lets you miss the queue once per attraction and unlimited, which offers unlimited times you can use it per attraction. We had Express Passes and it made our visit so much more enjoyable, so I would really urge you to consider this if your budget allows and if the rides you are keen to try are included.
*How to get there
If you are not staying in a Universal hotel on site – and we weren’t – the best way to arrive and depart, if you are within a few miles is by using Uber or Lyft taxis.
There is a specific drop-off and collection point and it works very efficiently.
This works out cheaper and easier than a hire car if you are staying quite near.
*Lockers
You aren’t allowed bags on some rides but there are lockers near to them. There are also big lockers near the entrance that you pay to use.
*When to get there
Make sure you get there before ‘rope drop’ – the actual opening time – as you can’t believe the amount of people pouring into the parks and to enter when it’s a bit quieter is bliss. You can then head to the Harry Potter parts first – we got there really early on our second morning and Diagon Alley is a completely different experience – it starts to get more unbearable mid-morning.
A quiet Diagon Alley first thing in the morning
Volcano Bay
There’s a third park at Universal Orlando – a water park called Volcano Bay. It has a South Seas theme with a big volcano in the middle and feels like a tropical paradise.
Volcano Bay
Instead of queuing, you wear a TapuTapu on your wrist to book a ride time.
A Tapu Tapu
There are lots of amazing rides but our favourites were the wave pool and the lazy river.
There is a slide section dedicated to younger children under a certain height, but we couldn’t find any of the next level up to build confidence – just much bigger slides.
But it was brilliant for a change of pace and to cool down.
To get there you need to get a free bus from the City Walk transport hub at Universal.
Tip: Beware of extra costs. Take your own towels or pay $5 per towel. Locker rent is $20 so if one member of the party isn’t swimming, get them to watch the stuff from the sunbed.
For eating and drinking there are a couple of restaurants and a nice ice cream stall.
Video
Universal Orlando Resort information
Where to stay: We stopped at two nearby hotels – the reasonably priced Marriott Village Orlando and the very expensive, but absolutely fabulous Four Seasons Resort Orlando.
Food: There are loads and loads of places to eat, including the Leaky Cauldron (Universal Studios) and The Three Broomsticks (Islands of Adventure) from Harry Potter. Bring snacks with you if you want to try to save money.
Opening hours: Varies daily, check before you go as you want to arrive early: Universal Orlando hours
Cost: Prices start from $70 for Volcano Bay and $109 for Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. A Park-to-Park ticket covering two parks starts from $159 for children. Look out for offers such as four days for the price of two – Universal Orlando tickets, packages and prices
Best for: There’s something for everyone, even rides and activities for toddlers. Plus all the rides have a child swap (also known as kid swap or baby swap) option. This means even if a younger child can’t or doesn’t want to go on a ride, the rest of the family does not need to miss out. There are different ways this works depending on the ride so check first. We used it effectively on the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts Ride.
Time needed: Two days
Access and restrictions: Accessibility Information Universal Orlando Resort
Address: Parking address for the theme parks and Universal CityWalk: Universal Orlando Resort, 6000 Universal Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32819.
To book: Universal Orlando Resort
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*We received complimentary or reduced prices for review purposes, all views are our own.