Universal Orlando Review

Lovely place to spend time with family and friends, enjoy your weekend here

I like the age-specific areas (SeussLand, Harry Potter, Marvel, etc,). The new Hagrid ride was freaking awesome! We'd done the train on a prior visit--remember to get the ParkHopper if you do want to do the Train. Also remember you don't have to get a park ticket to eat at the restaurants, play putt-putt, or go to the movies located in the common areas outside the parks.

I went to universal for my 20th birthday and I absolutely love it. This was the first time I had done something for my birthday. Me and my mother in law had a blast in Orlando

Loved it! Absolutely a big fan!!! Thank you for the fun and hospitality! Loved the restaurants as well. An amazing time guaranteed

The whole family had a blast here. I'm not going to compare this with any other theme parks because it stands on its own merits. Covered parking was a real surprise and a welcome amenity. Lots to do for both young and old. We definitely will return.

They need to improve handicap access Disney is more advanced in this area. Although the staff is great they don't seem to be trained enough to deal with the handicapped. The rides are great the hotel top notch. Can't give stars due to this issue.

It was good considering we had to wear mask but the kids had a ball and the lines were short. If you want to go, right now is the time. Also the had plenty of hand sanitizer. I felt safe the whole time.

A great experience for the entire family. Parking was a breeze. Ticket check-in could be improved. Overall a great trip. Plenty of things to do for all ages. Extremely clean.

This is my second time coming to this place and Iam planning to come again next year. I always buy 2 park tickets , islands of adventure and universal studios Florida. I love the rides, different themes and the live shows. Sometimes the rides have long waiting times up to 65 minutes, I think it depends with which season you choose to go.

I'm actually doing this for my brother as I already rated it. LOVED the Express Pass options. Much better than Disney's Fast Pass options. Liked easy access to all parks. Too cold for Volcano bay so can't comment on that. Also loved the people dryers after getting wet on River ride.

Great place to visit with friends, family or lover.
Indeed use the Express pass for weekends and holidays, because the line can be a problem.
Prefer to visit on spring or autumn when the temperature are not that high and either not that cold.
Great place to enjoy a beer or two and have fun

Went to islands of adventure - fun but most rides are 3d simulations which tend to make people dizzy. They need to have more old school coasters like Disney. Butter Beer from harry potter was really good.

Had a really good experience. It's not my first time going and surely not my last time. What's great about this place is all the amazing rides that they have. Many rides has the option of child swap in case your child does not meet the height standard one parent or guardian will wait until the other have ride and swap places to go on the rides. Last time we had went it was on September 20, 2020. We got there at 1000 and was barely any line to enter the park. Most rides were quick and easy. Less the 45 mins or even less than 20 minutes such as the E.T ride, the Simpson's and others. During the pandemic, they had maintained the safety procedures of 6ft (2 m) distance. All the rides were spectacular and we were treated very well by the team members. The food there was also great, highly recommend the turkey leg. In the Harry Potter area you should order the Butterbeer.
Important notice: Before September ends you should get the tickets offer of paying $164.00 for an adult (10+)and $159.00 for a child (3-9) and those tickets are for both parks Universal Studios Resort and Island of Adventure unlimited until December 24, 2020.

Awesome attractions. Tickets were a bit pricey, but it was expected. A very fun time over all! Guest Services was outstanding with help. Staff was great with help and answering questions. Will definitely go again when we re in town!

Islands of adventure and universal studios Orlando her action-packed parks. Definitely for the thrill seeker. Family friendly, however I feel that the parks are more teenage - adult themed.
We were able to check out the new Jimmy Fallon ride on the studio side was extremely impressed with it.
These two parks and everything in between a great to spend time at.
My only complaint is there Wi-Fi throughout the park is terrible, and the app isn't always available.
To save money pack a lunch. They allow you to bring food and drink into the park. To save time try going during the weekdays. Weekends are always busy. You can take advantage of the "single rider" lines and make it through the park quite quickly.
Be smart plan ahead, and you'll have a great time.

If you aren't a fan of the Disney Universe, Universal Orlando is a fantastic alternative. Or first choice, if you're like me. It is three parks with the wonderful City Walk restaurant and retail Mall in the middle, which had no admission.

Note that most of the rides are virtual, and that won't sit well with everyone, but I actually love the hybrid virtual/practical rides more than the physical abuse of roller coasters.

The food is also really good!

Love this place if I could be here everyday I would never go home

Absolutely a blast. The park was clean. the attractions were cute and fun and the employees were so nice and i loved that they played the parts they worked at. The annual pass is definitely worth it if you plan on going a few times a year.

Always a great experience. A true escape from the daily grind. The only theme park whose roller coasters rival that of the I-4 Ultimate Project!

So much fun! A super day at the mardi gras parade, well worth a trip!

Always fun, but people don't observe the six feet social distance

One of the primere theme parks in Florida. Second probably only to Disney, and even that is highly debated.

Ok so I went today to give it a spin as I was going too often to Disney Springs. And although this place is nice. I wouldn't go again. First the insanely $26 parking fee... What's that? Then waiting about 15 min to enter the parking lot. 15min walking until reaching citi walk to find a bunch of restaurants that serve fast food. So yeah, didn't have the experience I was expecting

Highly recommended. We went July 18th 2020 and the park was empty.

Harry Potter fans! It's must go to really feel like you've entered the world of Hogwarts! Parents and kids will ALL have a blast with that attraction alone, not to mention everything. Plan 2 whole days. You will need it lol.

Nice rides and shows for kids. Kids will really enjoy.

What a fantastic experience! The Wizarding world was the highlight, the attention to detail was outstanding. It gets very busy, so try and get there early. Other rides were good, some are a little dated now. All in all, an amazing day out, may much better by the Harry Potter experience.

For a place like this handling that many people during a holiday is impressive. In credibly busy. Long lines. Weather was great. Food and souvenirs were expensive.

Bought our tickets online for a certain day because of the hours posted online. Got to the parks and they posted there that they closed an hour earlier than stated online. Had to pick up our tickets at will call, they had ONE person working the entire line. Took another hour of our time in the park just trying to get our tickets. So due to the lack of people working the line, and their decided to change the schedule we lost 2 hours we had paid for. Pretty frustrating for sure

Diverse restaurants and shops surrounded by festive lights and decorations.

Great family fun. So much to see and do that you need at least three days to take it all in without feeling overwhelmed.

Good place nice food. Lots of things to look around and experience. Harry Potter experience is a delight to watch and feel it. Takes time and make sure to have 2 days to cover everything in the park.

The pain point is waiting in the line which is frustrating even the Expresslane does not work faster sometime.

Great! Lots of updates and changes over the years. Prime parking got us to the park quickly - only $10 more than regular parking. Food is good, parades, Jimmy Fallon ride was really good - race through NY City.

I have lots of enjoying in this place with my family

Short scenic walk or nice boat ride to City Walk restaurants or parks...Chocalate factory restaurant and other venues along the water were beautiful...

What an amazing to visit. I would recommend atleast 3 to 5 days to see everything as there is just so much to do. Staff are super friendly. You may want to plan in advance what it is you want to do if time is limited rather than grabbing a map and winging it!

Universal/Islands of Adventure is our favorite theme park in the country. Period!

Went down the week before the 4th during the covid issue. Wait times at the most was 15-20 min for rides, which is unheard of at amusement parks. The only reason why i didn't give it 5 stars, is because it is very expensive. For a 2 day ticket was $300 per serson. :(

Sorry, but Universal Orlando (specifically this park and not Islands of Adventure) is getting a bit dated. All the latest additions are lamer than what they replaced. The Simpsons area is cool, but at the expense of Back to the Future? You could have gone with Rick and Morty - at least something kids (and 30-something parents) would relate to...

No question Fast & Furious is the worst ride. It's literally a bus ride in an oval, with all the action on a theater screen. But, y'know, TURBO BUS. Even if it is stationary most of the time. Hard to believe it replaced Disaster (the earthquake in the subway train).

And Jimmy Fallon... Sorry, but I find his show irritating. And I've been in his studio. I've heard he is a great guy in person but the format of his show doesn't let him shine, so why would a fake 3D car chase in a motion simulator based on the show be somehow better? Disclaimer: ok the ride might actually be better than the show, because the scenery in the line and the memorabilia is great. Better than the ride.

Love the parks lots of amazing rides especially the 4d rides. The work that is put into them to create them is absolutely amazing. I do wish the park employees were a little more helpful. They tell you inaccurate Info all the time. Other then that it's a great place for a family trip.

Way too many people.You have to have an express pass for any decent ride.Unfortunately all the rides were full for the day. Did get on one roller coaster with a 2-hour wait.I guess you're just supposed to walk around and shop and eat. I bought the Florida pass but I'm not going back

Had a great time today for our daughter's 13th birthday. Lines were acceptable nothing too outrageous. It had been a while since our last visit so lots of new stuff to see. Would go back again for sure.

Great costumer service . At plus everything amaizing

Better than Disney. I love this place! There's something for everyone and the Harry Potter world is fantastic! Oh and my boyfriend proposed on the Hogwarts express so this place will always be special

VERY expensive...very!! Their overhead has got to be high. Security was very good! Felt safe! Food was great. HARD ROCK CAFE was fantastic: clean, organized and staff was outstanding. Thank you!!!

Always the best experience at Universal. It truly is my happy place as others have said in the passholder FB group. I just being immersed into another world when going to universal studios and islands of adventure.

I was fun and exciting to see it at Christmas time .

Its always a pleasure and a happy place to stay at Cabana Bay.

My favorite Orland park. Wife is a Disney baby but I swear by Universal. Better value entertainment and food choices hands down.

I love coming here! It's one of my favourite places to go to! Definitely would come back again! So many choices of rides, foods and attractions, tickets are not cheap but it's worth the experience.

Universal is smaller park in comparison to Disney s (hyped up world), they have better ways to manage crowd, though their $60 express pass is priced up on top of already expensive prices. One thing is common across Disney & Universal they slow you down intentionally as much possible at various places.

One of my all time favorite places. I love the HP castle ride so much!

Waited my whole life for this glad I went fast an adult.

Oh my! The attention to detail and focus on the experience on the Harry Potter resort is amazing. Must see it to believe it!

Family loved Universal. We stayed at the Royal Pacific Resort and got the fast passes with our stay, they are worth every penny. The resort was beautiful and the walk to City Walk/Theme park was easy and allowed for fast access to the park.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was amazing. We bought interactive wands at Olivander's, which allows you to do many spells on objects throughout the land. The butter beer (cream soda and butterscotch) was amazing, a must try. The train ride from London to Hogsmeade is another fun trip that takes you over to the castle.

We visited Simpsons land and tried Duff beer, not bad, and also the Flaming Moe @ Moe's. Got our picture taken with Bart.

One word amazing, great place to have fun for the whole family and really enjoy yourself. Best burger place in Florida to me. My family and myself enjoyed ourself every single time we went amazing place enjoy yourself!

The 3d rides are a whole new experience ..better than Disney and able to cover all rides in a day inspite of the wait times ..

So much fun every time! Rules are a bit too lax at times but I will be going back soon

So much fun, the express pass made the day even better!

Needs more attractions and less shops. Harry Potter world was great though. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium was also a great experience. Had lunch for a good price and had some great chocolates and macaroons.

My daughter's school field trip was awesome they had a great time.

Great everthing! Staff accomadated my special needs son superbly. Will. Be back again soon. Thnx

Great place to be I wish I was there now. I took my family about two years back and was planning on visiting again but with this corona thing going on who knows when anyone will ever be able to to get their not to mention will be able to ever vacation again. But I do know one thing if it's open on my next time We get to Florida me and the family will be there and thats a promise.

Universal has about the highest hygiene standards you can expect from an establishment with thousands of moving sweaty bodies. The rides and the experience are great. We stayed all day, went on a most amazing adventure, and saw magical and breathtaking things. However, the longer the day went on, the more irritated the workers got and the magic seemed to have faded away. They weren't very happy to be working until close, to say the least. It's for this reason I have knocked 1 star off the review.

Harry Potter world is awesome and the frozen butter beer is a must!

We planned a visit in late July with our granddaughter. We purchased tickets with the Express pass for a Monday. We experienced no issues upon arrival to obtain the tickets at will call. However, the food service in the park was very poor. The personnel had no time for customers. One employee at the San Francisco pantry store indicated they were out of product because customers purchased items. The wait staff at Mythos was no where to be found.
The Harry Potter area was everything advertised. Our granddaughter loved it. However, the park was not as clean and well maintained as other parks.
Finally, this place was quite expensive. The value was not there.

Great time had by all of us here.. Harry Potter world was great.. very well done..

For a person who has severe social anxiety, this is my happy place. Everyone is always so courteous when approached. My family would rather go to the parks 1000x then go somewhere new. Being an annual pass holder has such amazing perks and is worth it. The memories that are made here last a life time.

Great place for older kids and adults. By far my favorite of all the parks.

One of the best place to spend time with family but get ready to spend big money. If I was you I would take a bookbag with water and some snacks.

Absolutely loved this park. Would come here over and over if I could. They have really created something amazing. With the fast past, we didn t wait longer than 20 minutes for any ride! Food is top notch as well. All things Harry Potter are phenomenal even if your not a huge fan. And the Mummy ride, even if it s older, is still one of the best.

Had a fabulous day at Universal, the folks were very kind and understanding. The rides were fun and the Macy Parade was phenomenal.

Amazing place for the family. I felt like I was about to enroll in Hogwarts! I loved the detail and all that they had to offer. It was very crowded so I highly recommend the express pass. It's very expensive for a working stiff like me however my time waiting in line was cut in half. Our food experience was just about normal for a park salty and Very Expensive! Bring your check book and paycheck.

It Very long lines...the park advertises that it stays open until 9 pm however many things closed up a 7. I took My 5 year old for her birthday and she was so dissapointed. She rode 3 very Unimpressive rides, ate at one of the restaurants which was way too expensive for the poor quality of food. By the time we did those 4 things they were sending everyone out to their cars. My daughter said I am sorry I wanted to go there but I thought itvwas like it shows on TV. She said she had more fun swimining at caribe royal pool and playing in her "fancy villa". Could've saved close to $500.00 and taken her to old town instead. Wont be back to that theme park again.

Pick up rider's from here and drop off here. Listening to their stories from their stay sounds like they had wonderful time

Universal is always awesome! Although slightly eerie with the empty lines right now. Enjoy it while it lasts!

This was my boyfriends first time experiencing the wizarding world and he was so blown away. It's so worth every penny. Everytime I go i find something new and even more immersing about the place. Butterbeer is absolutely delicious and I recommend it for the whole family.

This place took me back to 20 years ago with Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean and much more movies to remember
My kids loved the place. No thriller or big drops so everyone were enjoying

Had a blast and got a great tan I really enjoyed the Simpson village and the Harry Potter's ride I can't wait to go back

Express pass gets too expensive on or a day before the trip. Starts from $70 and gets to $200 if you buy at the entrance. This is on top of the park ticket. For a family of 4 this can easily cost thousands. It's better to stay at their resort.

Mummy ride is good. Jimmy Fallon ride is super fun. Transformers and spiderman are good too. Worst is men in black. It's just plain nonsense.

Stayed at Cabana Bay. I absolutely adore the Retro theme. Teal is my favorite color and being surrounded by it is super cool. The free buses to the park made everything super easy. And having a Starbucks right in the building made the morning quick and easy. The classic cars out front are a nice touch too.

I was surprised at Universal. I haven't been here for 20+ years and I thought that it was better than Disney and the rides were up to date. Most rides were 3D/4D with great effects.
Pros:
+Indoor ride lines with shade and some with AC
+Queue lines looked great with the theme of each ride
+The hotels were close and you could walk to the theme parks
+The effects on the mummy ride were great
+Since we stayed in property, we were able to get into the park an hour before. This worked out great.
+Seemed to walk less than Disney (max day was 20,000 steps)
+Water rides at Islands of Adventure were perfect. We rode them at the end of the day before we left for the park close with little line. Ride least wet to wetest: Jurassic Park (rode twice without getting wet and one time got a little wet), Ripsaw Falls (pretty wet), Popeye (soaked)
Cons: (which really aren't that big a deal) -The meal plan snacks are only good in the parks and there are no packaged snacks to take with you
-Having to keep up with tickets instead of armbands like Disney
-There were curbs that made it more difficult for strollers and scooters in some areas

My kids love Universal Studios. They're big Harry Potter fans. Personally, I kind of think there's always a few spots here where the staff just doesn't want to be here. Not a major complaints, though. Most of the staff can be above and beyond nice.

We had a tough start to the day with a little disappointment and Kelsey from NBC Studios went out of her way to make this family's day great. She was professional, super sweet, and her beautiful spirit showed through in the kindness that she offered us. We loved the tour of the studio after the amazing Mardi Gras parade and the Race through NY ride was a blast! Maureen was also helpful and fun in celebrating our 2 kids' birthdays. Thank you!!

Always a blast. Loved passholders appreciation night. I hoped it would've included Islands of Adventure too.