Universal Studios – Orlando
Magic, mayhem, and Butterbeer — a two-day adventure through the Wizarding World and beyond.
The Adventure
Universal Epic Universe — the newest and largest park in Universal Orlando Resort — opened May 22, 2025, and was still buzzing with energy when we visited in early February 2026. A full day was just barely enough to cover it. Day two, we tackled both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida back-to-back. Here’s my honest take on how it all panned out, so you can use it to plan your own trip!
Day by Day
Sunday, February 8 , 2026 — Arrival
Orlando Airport
Our flight into Orlando airport (MCO)was later in the evening, and we were impressed by how clean and gorgeous it was. It is among the best airports I’ve ever been in (we flew Jetblue, so we were in Terminal C). From decent meal options to interactive displays and spacious waiting areas, Disney money has clearly transformed this airport into something completely modern and dare I say, entertaining.
Aventura Hotel
For our Universal theme park trip, we booked the Aventura Hotel, which is a Universal Studios – Orlando hotel. We chose it because we wanted to stay at the resort for convenience and for a more immersive experience. It ended up being the cheapest option for the dates we were looking at visiting, even though it is their middle-tier hotel, or “Prime Value” hotel. There are three tiers of hotels they offer: Value Inns & Suites, Prime Value, and Signature Collection, from most budget friendly to most luxurious, respectively. There are 11 Universal Orlando hotels to choose from.
We quite liked Aventura because it is modern and clean. I will say though, if you’re looking for a “themed” hotel, this isn’t for you. It felt like just a normal, mid-level hotel with crisp design elements. Everything in our room was controlled by an iPad. We booked the smallest/lowest level room for budget, and it was still plenty spacious for the two of us. It was spotlessly clean, the bed was comfortable and the layout was very practical.
One of the highlights of this hotel was actually the staff. I found them to be extremely knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. We asked quite a few questions to iron out our logistics and they were accommodating each time. There are several places to eat at this hotel, a pool, arcade games, a Universal merch store and, most importantly, easy transportation options to-and-from the parks.
A special note: When you stay at a Universal resort hotel, you get early admission into the park (8 a.m.) and this ended up being incredibly valuable to us. If you upgrade and stay at some of the fancier resort hotels, those come with additional perks, like Express Passes.
Aventura Food Options
There are technically 5 food options in Aventura. The night we arrived was Super Bowl Sunday, so we watched the game at the Bar 17 Bistro, which is a rooftop bar with stellar views of the parks. We ordered a bottle of champagne to celebrate our vacation and then a few appetizers and mains. The food was “just fine”, but I’d say it was one of the better food options we’ve had at the park. It was overpriced for the quality, but the portions were huge, so if you have a family with big appetites, it will work well for you.
We ate breakfast in the parks themselves for the next two days, but on check-out day, we ate at the hotel’s Urban Pantry and I had a surprisingly good Acai breakfast bowl. My husband had a chorizo breakfast burrito that he liked, and it was one of the more affordable eateries associated with the park. They also have a legit Starbucks there, which we visited on our check-out day as well for a tasty, caffeinated treat.
In Aventura, you can also find Bar Sol, which is the poolside bar, and barVentura, which is in the main lobby. While we didn’t try these during our stay, there were visitors there having cocktails. It was a nice atmosphere at both bars.
Monday, February 9 — Epic Universe
Our first day of park exploration was spent at Epic Universe, which is Universal’s newest park in Orlando. We gave it a full day and needed every minute of it.
We got up early, got down to the hotel bus stop at 6:50 a.m. and caught the shuttle bus. Since we had early admission to the park, we got in at 8 a.m. rather than 9 a.m., which definitely saved us time with lines. This was a great perk that was well worth it.
A special note: We did purchase the Universal Express Passes for all three parks we went to, and they were 100% worth it in my opinion, especially when you’re trying to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. While they aren’t cheap, they are significantly less expensive compared to Disney express passes.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ — Ministry of Magic™
Our strategy was to go to the Harry Potter section of the park first because it has among the most popular rides in the park and since we had early admission, statistically we’d be contending with fewer people earlier in the day. Plus, that particular ride was closing early that day (watch out for those notifications, because it does happen). This strategy worked out really well for us. Even though there was a delay due to mechanical issues, we skipped hours of the line and were among the first on the ride that day. This ride was my favorite in the entirety of Universal Orlando – I won’t provide any spoilers though ;).
On the note of theme park rides, I am a giant chicken, so there were some rides that my husband went on solo. I’ll tell you about those later, so if you’re a chicken like me, you know which are doable, and which to let the kids, friends or spouse do without you.
Without giving too much away, I will say, the Ministry of Magic™ part of the park does not disappoint — it was the highlight of my day. We bought wands, did interactive wand activities and tried Butterbeer. The only thing that didn’t meet the hype in this part of the park was the food. We went to Café L’air de la Sirène for breakfast, and while the setting was cool (it reminded me of a cafe we saw in Porto where J.K. Rowling supposedly wrote parts of the first book, though she has denied ever having been there), the food just didn’t seem very fresh and was quite expensive.
Dark Universe
Our next stop in Epic Universe was the Dark Universe section of the park. The Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment ride pushed the boundaries of what I am willing to sit through on a ride in terms of thrills — I was actually initially pissed that my husband tricked me onto the ride — BUT I ended up being really impressed with the ride and would do it again. The animatronics and design were wow-worthy.
My husband did Curse of the Werewolf without me, as that was more intense than I like. He loved it though, so if you’re a fan of rollercoasters, add this to your list for sure.
How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk
Since I find How to Train Your Dragon to be among the most adorable franchises, I loved this part of the park. The set design was endearing and this was where we had the best food in Universal– we had a bread cone stuffed with macaroni and cheese at Hooligan’s Grog and Gruel and we thought it was quite creative and tasty. Am I dying to eat it again? No. But it was the best food we had in the park and worth the wait in line, in my opinion.
The rides were a mixed bag for us, but really only due to weather and time. February’s chill ruled out Fyre Drill, which I’d have loved to try in warmer weather. My husband thoroughly enjoyed Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, and Dragon Racer’s Rally was unfortunately a casualty of our packed schedule — one for next time!
Celestial Park
Celestial Park is beautifully designed and pretty awe-inspiring. While I ran out of time to do the Constellation Carousel (because, let’s face it, you’re never too old to ride a carousel), my husband LOVED Stardust Racer. He said it was by far the fastest, most adrenaline-pumping ride in the park. We chatted with another couple that did the ride twice and couldn’t stop raving about it, so if rollercoasters are a passion of yours, this is one not to miss.
SUPER NINTENDO WORLD™
Okay, so Super Nintendo World™ was so nostalgic for me, I may be biased when I say, I LOVED this part of the park. While I’d consistently rank the Harry Potter worlds as my top favorites, Super Nintendo World™ came in second. The theming and set design were excellent, the rides were fun and adorable and you truly felt fully immersed here.
Super Mario Land™ was everything I wanted it to be and Donkey Kong Country™ was a blast too. The only part of the park that both my husband and I found to be a bit of a letdown was actually the Mine-Cart Madness™ ride. The line for this was a bit long (nothing crazy, but at least 45- 60 minutes with the Express Pass). I rode this ride, even though it pushed my limits, but was a bit underwhelmed given how short the ride was for the wait time. You should still absolutely try the ride, but don’t expect the same magic as you’ll feel from some of the other rides.
Tuesday, February 10 — Islands of Adventure & Universal Studios Florida
Day two was a double-header: Islands of Adventure in the morning and Universal Studios Florida in the afternoon. We started our day early again with the early admission passes and found that the lines were not nearly as long as Epic Universe. I suspect this may simply because Epic is the new hot thing, and these other two parks are much older.
Islands of Adventure
Islands of Adventure was our first stop. It has 8 “lands” within it, each separated out by theme.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter ™- Hogsmead
We were dying to see Hogsmead and it did not disappoint. The attention to detail in the set design is obsessive in the best possible way — cobblestoned streets, snow-dusted rooftops, shop windows packed with magical curiosities, and a soundtrack that puts you squarely inside the films. These areas deserve every bit of the hype.
My husband immediately got in line for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™ (it was too intense for me), which again ended up being a good call as first stop since it accrued the longest line fastest. I explored Hogsmead and melted into the nostalgia. Without spoiling anything, I will say that Hagrid’s ride was among my husband’s favorites.
We had breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, and while the food was lackluster, the atmosphere was absolutely perfect. It’s very easy to feel fully immersed in this section of the park. Hogwarts Castle™ was INCREDIBLE. We loved the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™ ride – me especially – I like the 3D Motion Simulation rides even though I don’t like rollercoasters.
Speaking of rollercoasters, my husband got me to ride Flight of the Hippogriff™. This is a kid-friendly ride – I was convinced to go on it when I saw the toddlers riding with their parents (again, big chicken over here). If you’re travelling with a little one, this is a great entry-level rollercoaster to take them on. If you’re an avid rollercoaster rider, you can likely skip this ride. The set design is amazing with Hagrid’s hut and the Hippogriff, but the ride itself is short and – as I said – designed for the kiddos in terms of thrills.
Sadly, Hogwarts Express was under maintenance while we were there, so we didn’t get the chance to ride it over to Universal Studios Florida.
Jurassic Park & Skull Island: Reign of Kong
Jurassic Park is where we spent the least amount of time in the park, though it is a really nicely designed area. My husband rode VelociCoaster, which looked absolutely insane to me. There are drops and spins that I’m sure I would hate, but he absolutely loved. If you like rollercoasters, that is definitely a ride worth adding to your list. There was no line when he went, but he did use his Express Pass.
While I waited for him, I checked out the Jurassic Park Discovery Center, which felt dated, but had some fun interactive displays with dinosaur eggs and the like that the little ones would enjoy. There is a water ride in the park, but it was chilly that morning so we didn’t do that one.
There is really only one ride in Skull Island: Reign of Kong, which is the 3D Motion Simulation ride. I liked that ride and would recommend it. Without spoiling anything, be prepared for a couple jump scares.
Marvel Super Hero Island®
This is the most obviously dated part of the park, but to be honest – I kind of liked it that way because I am a 90s child, and this park felt like something straight out of the 1990s. If you ride The Amazing Adventure of Spider Man, you’ll see what I mean. That was a fun ride and for those of us that grew up with comic books, it’s very satisfying.
My husband rode The Incredible Hulk Coaster® and thoroughly enjoyed it. He was tempted to ride it a second time. This is a ride where you go upside down and there are drops, so I’d consider it to be one of the more intense rollercoasters in the park (which was why I just watched from below).
We skipped Doctor Doom’s Fearfall® because neither of us are into that type of ride, but if you like rides with drops, the screams were audible throughout the entire park, so I’m sure it’s a hit. Don’t miss Marvel Super Hero Island if you like rides or want to take a trip back in time to your younger self!
Seuss Landing® & Toon Lagoon
We admittedly only walked through Toon Lagoon because it looked like a much younger crowd. If you’re traveling with your young child, this is probably among the best parts of the park for them.
Seuss Landing on the other hand, we spent a fair bit of time in despite also being for a much younger crowd. I made my husband ride One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish™ with me and the Caro-Seuss-el™, both of which were adorable rides that made me feel like a kid again.
The Lost Continent & Port of Entry
There aren’t any rides in these sections of the parks, but they’re fun to explore. We were running low on time at this point, so we didn’t spend a ton of time in The Lost Continent and only passed through the aptly named Port of Entry. There are food options here though if you’re hungry, and plenty of shopping.
Universal Studios – Florida
On our way over to Universal Studios – Florida, we stopped and had lunch and a margarita at Margaritaville in CityWalk. The views were really nice and the Skinny Marg was a nice treat before we embarked on the next leg of our theme park adventure. I recommend grabbing lunch in CityWalk if you are doing what we did with two parks in one day. We got to CityWalk around 12:30 p.m., so it split up the day nicely.
Universal Studios – Florida also has 8 “lands” in one park, so for many, this would merit an entirely separate day. For us, we had limited time and found that one day was enough time to do these two smaller parks, plus CityWalk.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagonal Alley™
Once again, the Harry Potter area in this park was my favorite. It was just so well done with the set design and the dragon that breathes fire every 20 minutes was so cool. I had another Butterbeer here and we explored Diagon Alley and immersed ourselves in the magic. We did the Escape from Gringotts™ ride and really enjoyed it. Again, the Express Pass saved us quite a bit of line time here.
While I’d already purchased a wand at Epic Universe and did some of the interactive wand activities there, I indulged in a second wand from the iconic Ollivanders™. We did the interactive activity at Ollivanders (which, if you have a small kid, I think they’ll really love) and then explored the shop, which, true to the books and movies, has walls lined floor-to-ceiling with wand boxes.
Illumination Minion Land & DreamWorks Land
While Illumination Minion Land felt like a smaller area in the park, it was also newer, and it was absolutely adorable. This is a must visit if you have small children – and if you’re an adult, it’s still a must-visit. The Villain-Con Minion Blast wouldn’t make my list of top activities in the park, but it was still cute and worth the time.
We did not explore DreamWorks Land, as we ran out of time and it seemed more geared toward a younger crowd. If you have small children, I think this part of the park would be among the best to visit.
Springfield U.S.A: Home of the Simpsons
My husband and I love to rewatch episodes of The Simpsons, so we spent some time in Springfield U.S.A: Home of the Simpsons. We enjoyed the set design and The Simpsons Ride™, though I will say, it is definitely one of the more dated rides in the park. Similarly to the Marvel section in Island of Adventure, the 1990s vibe suited this area of the park and doubled down on the nostalgia.
Hollywood, New York and San Francisco
We strolled through the Hollywood section of the park, but didn’t linger because at this point, we were starting to feel our blisters and wanted to strategically use what time we had left before we were too exhausted to continue.
We did however, do the Transformers and Jimmy Fallon rides in the New York section of the park. These were fun, and are great options for a wide range of ages. My husband did The Revenge of the Mummy ride and loved it. That is an indoor rollercoaster and not for the faint of heart.
The Fast & Furious – Supercharged ride in the San Francisco area of the park was probably among my least favorite rides. That being said, it’s still worth doing, especially if you love the franchise. I just found it to be too similar in sensation to other rides, and not as exciting in terms of set design. It will be closing soon though to make way for a new Fast & Furious ride, which is scheduled to open in 2027.
World E.X.P.O.
World E.X.P.O. was the final part of the park we explored. We did the MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack ride, which, even though it was dated, was pretty hilarious and fun. I recommend it, especially if you have kids – they will enjoy this ride.
One-Off Destinations & Other Parks
There are some one-off destinations in the park I’ll mention here, as they may be of interest to you:
For a truly vintage experience, we did the E.T. Adventure Ride. This was a trip back in time and was exceptionally weird (but in a good way). The ride was like a bizarre acid trip with strange creatures, noises and twinkling lights. If you embrace the weird, you will like this ride. It’s not thrilling in any way, but it is entirely unique and entertaining.
Right next to the E.T. ride is a Spongebob store. While there isn’t a ride to accompany the Spongebob theme, Squidward’s house is in the store to pose with, along with other iconic Spongebob memorabilia. As a personal Spongebob fan, I would’ve loved to have seen some more Spongebob theming here (wink, wink, hint, hint, Universal).
New to the park is a Wicked store. We didn’t go into this store because we ran out of time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that area of the park expands because that franchise has been such a hit.
Since we were there in February, there were a lot of Mardi Gras Carnival activities that looked like a unique and fun experience. There are parades, concerts and exclusive merch for this. I think it’s an annual event, so if you find yourself visiting in February/March, it may be worth looking into.
Since the weather was cooler, we didn’t do the Volcano Bay water park this trip. We could see it well from our hotel though, which is quite close to the water park, and it looked pretty spectacular. I would assume this is more catered to children, so if you have kids and you’re visiting FL in warmer months, it may be worth adding to your itinerary.
To wrap up the day, we took a boat shuttle back to the hotel. I strongly recommend this if you’re looking for a unique experience that’s just as quick and convenient as the buses. It’s only available for certain hotels though, so keep that in mind.
My Key Takeaways & Tips:
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- Get the Express Pass in advance. They sell out, and if you’re trying to cover a lot of ground in a limited time-frame, they’re totally worth it.
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- The Early Admission passes are also worth it and they come with your hotel bookings if you stay at a Universal hotel.
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- I recommend staying in a Universal hotel, not just for the immersion, but also the convenience and added perks.
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- Don’t be afraid to get dinner outside the park at the end of the day. There are plenty of great dinner options in Orlando that offer better food and better prices. We particularly liked Sixty Vines, which is actually a small chain, but great quality.
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- Give Epic Universe its own full day. As Universal’s largest park, it cannot be rushed. Plan a dedicated day — ideally two if your schedule allows.
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- Budget extra time in the Wizarding World areas. Between the rides, the wand interactions, the shops, and the Butterbeer, it’s easy to spend half a day here without noticing.
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