My parents bought these tickets for us for my birthday, which was really sweet of them. I was beyond excited for this daytrip having heard great things about the park and knowing that it was home to both mine and Harry’s childhood fandoms, it seemed like a great place to spend the day.

The Layout of Universal Studios Orlando

There are three different parks at Universal Studios Orlando: Universal Studios Florida, Universal Island of Adventure and Volcano Bay. Volcano Bay is separate from the other two (a short drive down the road).

Once you are past security, you will find yourself in an area called CityWalk, which opens an hour before the parks. CityWalk is a collection of shops and restaurants for everyone to explore even if you don’t have tickets (it even has a cinema!).

Universal Studios Florida and Universal Island of Adventures are connected to CityWalk (as well as each other via the Hogwarts Express).

Universal Studios Florida

Home to Diagon Alley and Springfield is Universal Studios Florida, or at least that’s how I remember it, as those were the two areas that held our attention the most.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley

So, part of the reason that I had wanted to visit Univeral was that I was a massive Harry Potter fan growing up. Because of this, Diagon Alley was our first stop here, despite Harry’s dislike of the series (spoiler: He ended up really enjoying the rides!).

Walking through the brick wall and into Diagon Alley, my excitement was at an all time high, and the first thing I noticed was Weasley Wizard Wheezes which brough a smile to my face. However, my attention was quickly drawn (as everyone seems to be) to the fire breathing dragon set atop Gringotts.

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

The queue space for this ride was amazing. I’d heard many good things about it but didn’t truly appreciate it until I saw it for myself. The attention to detail is superb, from animatronic goblins to the moving “photos” in the newspapers left on the bank’s tables.

The actual ride was fast paced with scenes that will appeal to many fans of the franchise with appearances from Griphook, Bill Weasley, Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort.

Olivanders

We were lucky enough to get to witness the interactive wand choosing a wizard experience. We were led into the shop, looking as it had in the Philosopher’s Stone, where one of the guests was chosen to choose their wand. The chosen guest gets to try several wands just like Harry did before his journey to Hogwarts.

After the experience you are shown through a door into the actual shop where you can buy your own wand that can potentially be used around the park (not all of the wands are interactive!).

Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour

Like in the stories, you are able to buy an ice cream from Fortescue’s. With many unique flavours which aren’t available anywhere else, such as Butterbeer or Earl Grey and Lavender, it is definitely a location that I would recommend for the more adventurous visitors to the park.

The Leaky Cauldron

We didn’t eat here on our trip, choosing instead to have dinner at The Three Broomsticks instead. However, apparently the Leaky Cauldron serves authentic British food, such as Toad in the Hole and Bangers and Mash (some of my favourites actually).

Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes

One of the most exiting shops in Diagon Alley, at least for me, was definitely WWW. I won’t lie to you, it was packed, so we couldn’t really move around the shop more than following the general direction of the others and the merchandise was very similar to the rest of the shops in the Harry Potter portion of the park.

However, this was another area of the park where the attention to detail shone. Harry may have gotten a bit fed up with me pointing out the little things that had been a part of the stories I had grown up with (but I think he was secretly enjoying my excitement!).

Knockturn Alley

At one point we sought out the shade, discovering that we had wandered into Knockturn Alley. It had wanted posters over the walls along with snake motifs and a Borgin and Burkes. It is here that souvenirs related to the Dark Arts can be found.

Hogwarts Express

Somehow we managed to time our trip on the Hogwarts Express when it was rather quiet (or at least the first one), which meant I managed to get a video of me walking through the barrier at “Kings Cross”.

The audio on the Hogwarts Express was slightly jarring for me though, as the woman who was voicing Hermione was definitely not Emma Watson. This ruined my experience slightly as once I’d heard it, I couldn’t unhear it.

Springfield: Home of the Simpsons

For both Harry and I the Simpsons was a TV show we watched consistently as children, then rewatched together, so it was a no-brainer as to whether we would explore this section. I can’t say that it was very busy there, but for a fan of the series it is a great place to visit.

Dining Options

Your food options are incredibly similar to the places that the characters would visit. While it was a lot smaller than on the show you can get food and drink from Moe’s Tavern, or if you wanted you can visit Krusty Burger for a typical Simpson dinner.

Rides

There are only two rides in this section, Kang and Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl, and The Simpsons Ride. WE didn’t go on the Twirl ‘n’ Hurl (although it looked like a lot of fun), however we did get the chance to go on The Simpsons Ride. It was one of the shortest queues of our trip, and the graphics were definitely dated, however, it was great fun and we really enjoyed it.

Universal Islands of Adventure

There are two ways to enter Universal Islands of Adventure, either through CityWalk, or if you have a multi-park ticket, via the Hogwarts Express from Universal Studios Florida.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade

If you are arriving at this park after a journey on the Hogwarts Express this is the area that you will arrive in, as we did on our holiday.

Hogsmeade is a village scene that is stuck in Winter, all of the buildings have a constant layer of snow on their roofs as that is how we are introduced to the location in the third Harry Potter. It also has Hogwarts Castle looming in the background which is a beautiful sight.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

So, this was the first ride we went on in Universal Islands of Adventure. Even Harry, who doesn’t like the franchise (as I may have mentioned), claimed that the only thing wrong with this ride was that it should have been longer. It was amazing! Fast paced, with well known locations and characters from Hogwarts.

The queue area was amazing as well. You begin in the Greenhouses, then go through the entrance with the hourglasses, Dumbledore’s office, the moving staircases (complete with talking portraits) and the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom.

Flight of the Hippogriff

Queueing for this ride wasn’t great if I’m being honest. We were in direct sunlight for a good portion of our wait time, making it uncomfortable from the start, but it was also one of the most boring queues of the trip, as well as having us wait longer than the advertised 45mins.

The ride itself was fun, if a little short given the duration of the queue. You’re travelling around in what looks like a wicker Hippogriff through scenes/sets of the grounds of Hogwarts. Audio of Hagrid’s lesson is even playing in the background at the start of the ride.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

I will admit that I was quite disappointed that we didn’t get to go on this ride. It kept breaking down and then the queue time would shoot up which meant that we would have spent the majority of our time at Universal queueing. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this ride though.

Basically, for this ride you are seated either on Hagrid’s motorbike, or its sidecar, and fly around visiting various magical creatures from the films.

The Three Broomsticks

We met up with one of Harry’s friends while we were here and she suggested having dinner at the Three Broomsticks. I’m glad she did as I spent a large portion of our dinner looking at our surroundings instead of eating. The interior definitely looked as if you had walked straight onto set, I really couldn’t stop myself from staring at it. The menu offers very stereotypical British food, although I can’t say that I have ever seen a whole leg of lamb on a British menu but maybe I’m going to the wrong places!

Marvel Superhero Island

This was definitely Harry’s section. I may not have read all of the comics when I grew up but he did and I have learnt a lot through osmosis over the years. He absolutely loved the area, pointing different things out to me that were references to the comics that he knew well.

There were only a couple of rides in this part of the park, which was a shame, even if we didn’t go on either of them because of time constraints. We did, however, get the chance to eat lunch in this section.

The Rides

As I mentioned, there are only a couple of rides in Marvel Superhero Island (four to be exact) and they all revolve around a character or event from the comics.

There’s Dr Doom’s Fearfall, which is a drop tower. We probably wouldn’t have gone on this ride regardless as Harry doesn’t like drop towers.

Storm Force Accelatron, which is a ride that I probably would have enjoyed. It’s a little bit like the teacup rides and is based around Magneto, Storm and Professor Xavier for its theming.

Another ride in the area is based around Spiderman and is a very well-known attraction, so you can possibly guess its name. The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman is a virtual, 3D ride where you can battle bad guys and scale buildings with the superhero himself.

The final attraction in this area is one that Harry wanted to go on, but I was too scared to. It is the Incredible Hulk Coaster, which is a high-speed rollercoaster complete with tall loops. If you are looking for a rush of adrenaline, then this is it.

Captain America Diner

As I said, we decided to have lunch in the Marvel area of the park, choosing the Captain America Diner, which I would highly recommend. It wasn’t very busy and offered a lovely view across the lake. The diner had the mobile ordering option which was great for us, and we found that we could order a souvenir cup and refill it anywhere in the park all day!

The art on the ceiling was stunning as well, depicting different scenes from the comics, almost all featuring Captain America (of course).

Locker Rentals at Universal Studios Orlando

You may be wondering what will happen to your belongings while you are on the rides, especially if everyone’s wanting to go on. There’s no need to though because outside the rides that you can’t take bags or loose items on are lockers which are free to use for a certain period of time.

Simply scan your ticket and it provides you with a locker to stow your belongings and tells you how long it’s free for. However, if you end up waiting in the queue for longer than anticipated they will make allowances (Harry and I had to check at one point because it would have been close!). You just have to have been on that ride.

Honestly, I think this is a great idea. You need your ticket to access your belongings and its way safer than leaving them where you get on and off the ride.

Universal Studio Orlando’s Mobile App

Like with Disney, Universal Studios Orlando have a mobile app. I would definitely recommend you downloading it, as it made our trip easier.

Firstly, a lot of restaurants allow you to use the app to order food and will tell you when it’s ready and which “window” to collect it from. Or you can send in an order and wait until you’ve found seats to click “prepare my order” so you know there’s space for you.

You also have the choice of setting up a “wallet” which will include things like your tickets, but also a payment card to be used in shops and restaurants when ordering digitally.

There is also a map on there which was pretty handy because as well as helping you to not get lost, it also shows the ride wait times etc. Knowing the ride wait times was really good as we managed to wait a lot less, it also told us when rides (Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure!) had broken down, so we knew not to go then. If you set it up to, the app can even send alerts when the wait times are low.

Travelling to Universal Studios Orlando

We were lucky enough to have a shuttle running from our hotel, even if it was packed because there was only a single time slot available for both ways. Some hotels do provide this service, but you will need to check that out when you book your accommodation.

As always there is the option of driving yourself, although parking at Universal Studios isn’t free (it’s between $50-60), there are discounts if you’ve got a car rental and offer code from either Avis or Budget though.

Or you can get dropped off and picked up by either a taxi service or friend/family member, if you’d prefer.

Tickets for Universal Studios Orlando and Offers

As always make sure that you look around and purchase your tickets online before you visit after all it will be cheaper (like I always say) and mean that you aren’t waiting in queues for tickets while others are exploring the parks.

Another thing to be aware of is that because there are three different parks at Universal Studios Orlando, there are several different types of tickets. If you are wanting to ride the Hogwarts Express you will definitely need the ticket for two parks (Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida). We got the 2 parks in 1 day ticket, which allowed us entry to both parks. But if you are also wanting to visit their waterpark, Volcano Bay (which I’ve heard is pretty good), you might want to consider a ticket for all three parks. Buying your tickets this way works out cheaper than buying individual tickets for each park.

The Shows at Universal Studios Orlando

As well as numerous rides and attractions available, Universal Studios Orlando also have various shows running throughout the day. Unfortunately, we missed all of these when we were there, so if they are something that you’d be interested in doing make sure you know the timings and plan around them.

A lot of these shows demonstrate techniques and visual effects that happen behind the scenes, for example when we were there, one of the shows was on stage make up.

Conclusion

Universal had a slightly different feel to Disney, but we loved it just the same. There were times that it felt as though the park was trying to emulate Disney and falling short (like their Nickelodeon and Minions parade), however when they weren’t trying to copy Disney, Universal was really good (for example their virtual reality rides).

I can understand why people compare the two theme parks, but they are very different in their own way and have aspects that appeal to all ages.

This is possibly my longest blog post, and I didn’t touch on every attraction in the Universal Studio Orlando’s theme parks (only mentioning the ones we visited or tried to). I might go back at a later date and add more information, particularly if we return and get the chance to try more but for now this post feels complete.

Universal is definitely a place to add to your wish list if you are a fan of Harry Potter, superheroes, Dr Seuss, the Minions, or The Simpsons.