Universal Studios Florida opened June 7, 1990 and welcomed nearly 10 million visitors last year. Its sister park, Universal's Islands of Adventure opened in 1999, creating an expanded Universal Orlando Resort.
In addition to its regular lineup of attractions themed to popular movies and TV shows, Universal Studios Florida hosts Halloween Horror Nights on select evenings in September and October, closing early on those days for this after-hours, hard-ticket event.
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Starting with turning right the Today Cafe and heading down Hollywood Boulevard.
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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley
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Universal Studios Florida is part of the Universal Orlando resort, located near the intersection of Interstate 4 and Florida's Turnpike in Orlando, about 17 miles from the Orlando International Airport (MCO).
If you are renting a car while visiting Orlando, you can save on toll road fees by getting a Visitor Toll Pass at the Orlando airport rather than renting a toll transponder from your rental car company: Toll Discounts Return for Orlando Theme Park Visitors
Before you go: Get your tickets in advance. Note that you will need a Park-to-Park ticket (Universal's term for what Disney calls a Park Hopper) to ride the Hogwarts Express, which shuttles riders between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. If you don't care about Hogwarts Express, do the one park per day Base Ticket if you would prefer. Once you have your tickets, download and create an account on the Universal Orlando app [Apple | Android], which you will use for Universal's Virtual Line for select rides and Mobile Ordering for food.
Universal offers a paid front-of-line ticket called Universal Express, but the resort gives that access away for no extra charge to guests at its three Premier hotels: Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, and Royal Pacific. With Universal Express Unlimited benefits starting at $90 per person per day for everyone else, you might find splurging to stay at one of Universal's top three hotels well worth the higher room prices. You get the front-of-line benefit from the day you check in until the day you check out, so a one-night stay at a Premier hotel gets everyone in your family (up to five people) free Universal Express Unlimited access for two days.
Early Park Admission: If you stay at any Universal Orlando hotel, on select dates you might get Early Park Admission, which will get you into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley and sometimes other attractions one hour before the park opens to everyone else.
Morning of your visit: If you are not staying at a Premier hotel, wait to make a decision about buying Universal Express until you get into the park and see what the day's crowd level is actually like. Look at the posted wait times on the Universal Orlando app, and if they seem reasonable to you, skip the upcharge. If you want the front-of-line access, you can buy Universal Express inside the park near the front gate and at designated shops. If you have Universal Express - whether from your hotel or through a direct purchase - you don't need to worry about strategy. Just ride what you want, when you want to.
If you are visiting alone, take advantage of potential single rider lines to reduce your wait times. Single rider often is available on Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, Men in Black: Alien Attack, and Revenge of the Mummy.
The longest mid-day wait times in the park are for Gringotts and Despicable Me, followed by Mummy, Transformers, and Fast and Furious. Note that park strategy will change after Villain-Con opens, but for now, do Despicable Me at park opening, followed by Gringotts, then Mummy, and then Transformers, if you can get to it before 11am. Otherwise, leave it for the early evening. Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit usually has a mid-afternoon lull, if you want to hit it then. Pick up other attractions around the park at your convenience.
Just don't bother with Fast and Furious if it has more than a minimal wait, however. The overwhelming consensus here is that the longer you wait for this experience, the less you will like it.
