We visited Universal Studios as part of a longer trip to the Orlando theme parks. This itinerary is based on visiting both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (IoA) in one day. For Universal Studios first-timers, there are currently two theme parks that can either be accessed separately at their entrances or by taking the Hogwarts Express Train that connects the two parks. Visiting both parks in one day requires a 2-Park ticket, even if you take the train ride from one to the other. This is important to understand and consider when buying your tickets and planning out the day. Also know that the Harry Potter worlds are in both parks – so if Harry Potter is the reason you’re going to Universal, you will likely want to pay the price for visiting both parks.

Our visit was in February 2024 – there will be much more to come (and more tickets to pay for) in Universal in 2025 when its third park, Universal Epic Universe opens.  

The Practical Takeaways:

• With advance planning, it is doable to experience both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in one day.
• Harry Potter World really is the experience here. Without it, I’d say skip Universal altogether.
• Time your 3D rides with breaks between, or, better yet, limit them – and bring some dramamine.
• Hard Rock Hotel is worth it for the Universal Express Pass, which is truly needed if you want to do this all in one day without frustration.

Accommodations

We had originally intended to stay at a moderately priced Disney World resort hotel for our entire trip to Orlando and planned to uber to Universal for the day. However, we switched to staying at the Hard Rock Hotel because the Universal Express Pass (which allows you to skip lines) is included when you stay there. Before making this switch, I compared the cost of staying in a cheaper hotel elsewhere and purchasing the Universal Express Pass versus staying at the Hard Rock Hotel with the pass included – the two options were practically the same price so we opted to stay at Hard Rock and be able to walk to the parks in the morning. It ended up being a great choice – a fun hotel, with music memorabilia throughout, and extremely convenient. 

Theme Parks

As mentioned, we had the Universal Express Pass, which allows you to skip the lines for almost all the rides. The exception to this is Hagrid’s Motorbike which can average waits of over two hours and requires a bit of strategy when planning the day. If you stay at a Universal hotel, such as Hard Rock, you can have early access to the parks and rush to Hagrid’s as early as 8am (though you need to line up to enter the park before 7:30am). We chose not to do this because our son is just barely 48” and we didn’t want to wake up extra early and then potentially be turned away from the ride (more on this later!). The itinerary below is based on a plan to attempt Hagrid’s as the last ride of the day. Also important to note is that our kids are ages ten (52”) and seven (48”) and our ride selection is based on this age/height range. If travelling there with younger kids, make sure you take a look at the Universal Studios app in advance to know the minimum height requirements for each ride.

Universal Studios

We walked to the park entrance around 8:30am and entered at 9am, making our way to rides in the following order:

• Villain-con: This is a new “conveyor belt ride” with a lot of hype. We thought it was pretty boring. 
• Jimmy Fallon Ride Through New York: As fans of Jimmy Fallon and Former New Yorkers, we loved this ride and laughed the whole way through. Side note: If you’re actually in New York City, check out RiseNY in Times Square – its as if the Jimmy Fallon Ride and Epcot’s Soarin’ were combined in one ride.
• Despicable Me Mayhem: We were glad to have the Universal Express Pass for this, though we still had to wait about 20 minutes. Without the pass, this 3D ride would not have been worth spending time in line (unless you’re a big Despicable Me fan).

We completed these three rides by 9:30am without realizing that the rest of the park would not open until 10am. To fill the time, we walked around and took photos with Betty Boop. In retrospect, we probably could have just slept in a little longer. 

• ET: This was a fun, no frills, throwback ride. Everyone enjoyed it.
• Simpson Ride: We were excited about this one…..and then we weren’t. All four of us thought we were going to throw up and had to close our eyes throughout the ride to settle our stomachs. Universal has so many 3D rides and I’d suggest picking and choosing the ones you really want, otherwise you may suffer from nausea for the rest of the day….this one was not for us. If you plan on riding the Simpsons ride, I’d recommend bringing some dramamine.  
• Men in Black: After the Simpsons, we were very happy to go on a ride that was not 3D. Men in Black was entertaining, though not terribly memorable. 

There are a few other rides in Universal we could have gone on before heading to Harry Potter World, however, they were all 3D rides so we skipped them. So….onwards to Harry Potter.

• We arrived in Diagon Alley around lunchtime and our first stop was the Leaky Cauldron. This themed restaurant was well worth the going to. The food was surprisingly good and the Butterbeer was delicious. I’d definitely recommend it as a first stop. 
• After walking around and getting lost in all the hidden alleys and watching the fire breathing dragon, we headed towards Escape from Gringotts. Yes, this is yet another 3D ride, but in the most fantastic and experiential way. Assuming your kids are tall enough, it cannot be missed.
• We then found track 9 ¾ and boarded the Hogwarts Express over to Islands of Adventure.

Islands of Adventure

After exiting the train, you transcend into Hogsmeade, with snow covered cottages and Hogwarts as the backdrop. It truly feels magical (if you can ignore the crowds all around you). Our first stops in IoA were all in Hogsmeade:

• Flight of the Hippogriff: We had a long line, despite our express passes, but were eager for a true coaster after all the 3D rides. This ride is short once you’re on it, but fast and very fun.
• Forbidden Journey: This was the first ride we went on that had a minimum height requirement of 48”. We were nervous that our son wouldn’t make it on and tried our luck. His head just barely hit the line and they allowed us all to proceed….and thank goodness! This was a crazy and fun experience.
• Before exiting Hogsmeade, we stopped at Dukes for Butterbeer Ice Cream – a delicious treat, not to be missed!
• Pteranodon Flyers: Once entering Jurassic World, this ride can be a bit hard to find and it does not accept the Universal Express Pass. However, after all the thrill rides it was nice to take a relaxing flyer ride, from which you can get a view of the whole park.
• Dudley’s Ripshaw: This water flume is deceiving – we had no idea how soaking wet we would get! We laughed the whole time, but exited completely drenched.

Given the required height minimums for some of the thrill coaster rides in IoA we skipped past them. We also declared ourselves done with 3D rides for the day, and headed to Mythos for dinner. I had read in advance that it was one of the most unique dining experiences in Universal and it did not disappoint.

• Hagrid’s Motorbike: I will start by saying that our experience of getting on this ride was unique and likely does not happen often. We planned to go on Hagrid’s after dinner with the assumption that if they determined that our son did not measure 48″, one of us would bring him back to the hotel while the other rode with our daughter. We knew this scenario could likely cause a tantrum, but at least it would be at the end of the day. When we got to Hagrid’s at 7pm the line was over 200 minutes long. Our son was measured and told he was a hair too short for it, and, as expected, a tantrum ensued. We explained to the “gatekeeper” that we’d all been allowed on Forbidden Journey earlier in the day (which also has a minimum height requirement of 48”). After a lot of hemming and hawing on what to do, we were handed a pass for all four of us to skip to the front of the line and be measured again without having to wait 200 minutes and, potentially, be turned away. In full disbelief, we ran past everyone, all the way to the front, where we crossed our fingers and toes as he was measured again (standing tall and holding his breath)… AND HE MADE IT! Was all this worth the planning and the debate on whether we should even attempt to go on this ride?! YES! With so many surprises jammed into a four minute thrill, it was undoubtedly the most fun of any coaster we’ve been on anywhere.

A Few Extra Tips

• If you have Universal Express Passes, bring lanyards to put them in for easy scanning access. 
• Download the Universal Studios app in advance to know wait times and locations.
• Mythos takes reservations. We snagged one a few days in advance.
• We skipped going to Citywalk altogether as the restaurants there can mostly be found in almost any tourist destination.
• If you are pairing this with a trip to Disney, check out my Disney World blog post.