First Timer Guide to Universal Orlando Resort

We visited the Universal Orlando Resort for the first time in October 2021, and thought it would be good to share some opinions that could help other newbies. We travelled with our 2 boys age 8 and 11, who like cool rides but not so much the fast rollercoasters.

Regarding the park rides, even on a low-key weekend in October the lines were huge. The only time when they’re manageable it’s in the morning, before 11am. Then the top rides go to 2-3 hours waiting. For some of them, there might be shorter lines at various times in the afternoon. People say it’s also fine just before closing but we didn’t find that to be the case.

Our regular schedule would be to get in the park around 9am, do about 3 rides, then have lunch, go back to the hotel to relax or spend time at the pool, and return in the evening, either for some last minute ride or simply for dinner at CityWalk.

Since we came here for the parks, the hotel is not really relevant. We stayed at the Hyatt House which was a very nice hotel across from Universal, but honestly it was mostly a place to crash, or stay for half hour at the pool. I don’t get the appeal of the fancy resort hotels. When you pay the big money for the park tickets, you’d probably want to spend most of the time in the parks.

You probably know that, but there are 2 parks here, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. The latter one is much bigger, but I thought the rides are better in the former (except for Harry Potter, which is like a park of its own).

The main attraction of the Universal Resort is no doubt the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was so much more than we expected. We thought it would be a few cool rides, but once you step into Diagon Alley or get off the train at Hogsmeade, it’s like you’re teleported to the magic world of the Harry Potter books and movies. So to start with, here are the main wizard attractions:

• Diagon Alley: As soon as you step through a narrow gangway in Universal Studios, you find yourself in the middle of the bustling London neighborhood. You’ll find all the familiar stores and eateries, with the menacing dragon towering over the Gringotts bank. The kids had a lot of fun buying their wands, and then using them to cast spells at the many stations in the area, creating their own magic (some would spit water, others would light a fire, others would simply put things in motion).
• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is the main ride in the Universal Studios Park. It’s a motion simulator with very cool special effects. Not a rollercoaster, but movement is well simulated with turns, bumps, tilts and so on. Very immersive. The line (expect it to be 50-60 minutes even early in the morning) is interesting at times, especially the beginning inside the Gringotts bank.
• Leaky Cauldron is the main restaurant in Diagon Alley. The line can be long at lunch time, but it moves fast. It looks really cool inside and has a variety of English foods, my favorite being the toad in the hole.

• Hogwarts Express connects the Harry Potter areas in Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. It’s more than just a shuttle, it’s a ride by itself, one of our favorites actually. We only took it from Universal Studios where the lines are always quite long (much faster the other way), but it’s interesting as you weave through the station. One of the highlights is the effect of disappearing through the wall when you get to platform 9 3/4. Make sure you stay back to take a video of the rest of your party going through. The train is just magnificent once you’re in the boarding area! Once inside, you’re crammed into 8-people compartments, and instead of a window you see a screen which depicts the captivating story of traveling from London to Hogwarts. There will be cool stuff happening on the other side as well, as shadows through the door.

• Hogsmeade is just as impressive on arrival in Islands of Adventure, as you get off the train into the station. It’s again a fascinating replica of the village, with familiar buildings, stands selling butter beer (it’s a sweet slushie, with no alcohol), stores, the Three Broomsticks restaurants and much more. And then around a corner, the impressive Hogwarts Castle towers over the park!
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride takes place inside the castle and it’s probably my favorite ride from all the theme parks I visited so far! The line is action packed, as it goes through the castle, with Dumbledore in his office, talking paintings, Harry and his friends making an appearance, and so much more. The ride itself is very innovative, it’s a slow moving train mounted on a robotic arm, and the effects are just amazing, an immersive combination of realistic movement in sync with almost 360-degrees screen action, alternating with sometimes terrifying animatronics. It’s hard to describe, you just have to do it!

• Flight of the Hippogriff ended up being the only ride we did at Islands of Adventure. It’s a simple kids-friendly rollercoaster, with no upside-down loops, but plenty of accelerations and fast turns.

Now for the other rides we did at Universal Studios:

• Despicable Me is first as you enter, and lines are manageable even if they grow slightly throughout the day. It’s a cute one, with a static (theater-like) seat simulator as a movie is projected in front of you. The kids enjoyed the pre-show on the line as well.
• Transformers is a slightly more aggressive motion ride with sudden moves, shakes and tilts, as you go through a series of Transformer battles. The 3D effects are really cool, especially when a rocket heads into you and you feel the heat of the explosion.
• Fast & Furious was probably our favorite non-Harry Potter ride. It starts with a pretty fast line (seems to never go to more than 10-15 minutes throughout the day), which goes through Dom’s garage, and there’s no dead waiting time, you always look at cars or follow the story on the screens. Then you board a “bus” that provides all the motion simulation as you race through the town. Very realistic 4D effects, including water, fire and more.
• ET Adventure is an easy, kids-friendly adorable ride. It immerses you in the woods where ET and his friends were hanging out, and the ride itself feels like a flying bicycle. It’s a enchanting ride with animatronics and no cutting edge effects but still a cute one.
• Men in Black is an action-type of ride. The ride vehicles go through a town infested with aliens that you have to shoot. Each passenger has their own gun and will see their own score as their car drifts among the targets and starts spinning if hit by another ride car.

We haven’t done much (other than the Harry Potter section) at Islands of Adventure, not enough time on a first visit, so there will be more to talk about it another time.

Meanwhile, I want to mention two Shows at Universal Studios:

• The Daily Parade goes around 1-2pm close to the entrance, and it’s an enchanting succession of the characters represented in the park. There are floats and entertainers depicting the Minions, Secret Life of Pets, SpongeBob, Dora the Explorer and more.
• Bourne Stuntacular was quite a surprise. I expected an outdoor stunt show with cars and explosions, but instead it was an indoor theater-like performance that’s almost mind-boggling. It’s a fast-paced succession of action scenes that are a combination of actors and props, and big screen projections. At times it’s hard to make the distinction between what’s real and what’s projected. Often you think How did they do that? It’s better to be seen than explained.

Finally, to talk about dining options. What we learned on our first evening is that you do need reservations. They have walk-in options (on a Thursday night in October the wait was at least an hour), but it’s much better to reserve your table. And do it in advance, since on that Thursday we found little availability for the rest of the weekend. But here are the restaurants in CityWalk that we tried:

• Bigfire is a classic American grill, with good food and big enough to accommodate people who didn’t know they need reservations.
• Antojitos is a Mexican restaurant, in an impressive building, with a very good ethnic menu and a good selection of tequilas (even a tasting). There will also be music performances through the night.
• Margaritaville is the standard Jimmy Buffet establishment, with delicious margaritas and a larger menu to satisfy everyone. Nicely designed interior, and also a cool outside bar on the water, under the wings of an airplane.
• Cowfish was our favorite restaurant, a Japanese fusion joint with a nice top patio overlooking the CityWalk. They boast the several variations of sushi/burger combos, and they were outstanding!