Top 3, Bottom 3: Reasons to make a trip to Universal Orlando resort

on March 6, 2021

Each week, two members of the Crescent Lake Club tackle the best and worst offerings at theme parks and resorts. This week, Keeli and Ryan rank the pros and cons of taking a trip to the Universal Orlando resort!

Feeling daring? Ready to take a trip to the dark side? With the Covid-19 pandemic keeping park hours short, certain attraction and entertainment options dark and nighttime offerings nowhere to be found … why not take a trip down Interstate 4 to Universal Orlando Resort? This week, we offer up the three pros and cons to making your first trip to the Universal Orlando Resort.

Here’s Ryan with the Top 3 reasons you should include the Universal Resort in your Orlando trip plans:

Universal Orlando was not on my radar until recently. As I have gotten older I have wanted to experience new things and when the opportunity presented itself to check out Universal Orlando I took it. I want to preface this by saying I am not a Harry Potter fan and not a coaster enthusiast. I do however love great theming and great attractions. All of that and more can be found at Universal.

My first reason why you should visit Universal Orlando is the resorts. Now I have only stayed at Cabana Bay Beach Resort but I cannot wait to get back. Cabana Bay is highly themed and relatively affordable for families. It offers regular hotel style rooms to larger suites and views of Universal’s Volcano Bay. All Universal resorts offer transportation to the theme parks with some even in walking distance. The brand new Dockside and Surfside Inn and Suites offer even more affordable accommodations than Cabana Bay. Thats a set of resorts I am hoping to check out soon as well. Looking at the more deluxe options, those also highly themed experiences offer guests free express pass which depending on the time of year is a HUGE perk.

Second on my list is ease of access between the theme parks. Now, this will change when Epic Universe opens down the line as that park will not be within the same access as the current two parks. It is so easy and such a benefit that you can walk between both Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure. You also are able to take the Hogwarts Express between both parks which is an awesome thematic experience. Epic Universal certainly will have some sort of transportation to make visiting all three parks possible, but what that is has yet to be announced. I also haven’t been to Disneyland which I know offers a similar experience but one of the hassles of Walt Disney World is getting from park to park easily.

My final reason for heading to Universal Orlando is Harry Potter, but more specifically Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. As I said at the beginning I am not a big Harry Potter fan but I do love great theming. Universal has hit a home run and then some not only with the two Potter themed lands but also the attractions. From Forbidden Journey to Gringotts and everything in between. I am a huge Star Wars fan and have really enjoyed what Disney has done with that property in most cases. However when it comes to Hagrid’s its a different experience. It is like a coaster and dark ride in one. I have never smiled and enjoyed a ride experience more. Experiencing that in itself was worth the visit.

Universal can lack in some areas and I think they are working hard to fix that. If you haven’t been or haven’t been in a long time I highly recommend a visit to Universal Orlando.

It all sounds interesting – but is a trip to Universal Orlando right for you? Here are Keeli’s Bottom 3 reasons for visiting the Universal Orlando Resort:

For those theme park visitors used to traveling to Walt Disney World, the allure of being in the “Disney Bubble” and without influence from the outside world is one of the biggest reasons that guests keep coming back trip after trip. While Universal Orlando tries to establish its own Universal Bubble, it’s just not the same.

The Universal Orlando Resort is pretty landlocked in residential Doctor Phillips — a popular suburb — and is bounded by Interstate 4.

That said, once you leave your resort and head to the parks … it’s one stop to all the fun, very reminiscent of Disneyland Resort — both parks are a very convenient walking distance from each other (and, similar to Disneyland where you can take the monorail from Tomorrowland to Downtown Disney, you can take the Hogwarts Express back and forth between both parks), and also feature a nighttime entertainment district — in Universal’s case, CityWalk.

Want to cut the line? It’s gonna cost ya!

While not as much of a big deal since FastPass and FastPass+ has been discontinued at Walt Disney World due to the Covid-19 pandemic, gaining priority access to rides at Universal Orlando Resort is a purely pay-for-play venture. Universal offers what they call Universal Express — a multi-tiered level of no-wait, line-hop access to almost every attraction on property.

Depending on park access, day of the week and time in the year, you can find Express Pass access anywhere from $19.99 per person (which allows for one line-hop opportunity at select attractions at Volcano Bay) to $99.99 per person per day for unlimited access to available attractions (AKA Everything But Hagrid’s) at Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure.

However, guests staying on property at Hard Rock Hotel, Portofino Bay or Royal Palms receive Express Unlimited for free as part of their hotel stay perks — in addition to daily early-access to the parks and attractions (including Hagrid’s).

From the attractions to the food, to the influence on cocktails and nighttime special events — Universal Orlando Resort definitely caters to an older crowd. While there are still plenty of locations for the younger set to let off some steam — namely Curious George and Fievel’s Playground areas at Universal Studios, and Seuss Island at Islands of Adventure — the height restrictions for attractions is much higher than that of the majority of attractions at Walt Disney World. Universal Studios also boasts an in-park brewery — Duff Brewery in “The Simpsons”-themed Springfield area!

The crown jewel of the Universal Orlando Resort is their celebrated fall offering — Halloween Horror Nights. Each year, for multiple nights a week from the end of August through early November, the streets of Universal Studios become Scare Zones leading you to soundstages with some of the most immersive, overwhelming haunted houses — themed to horror movies from then and now. This hard ticket special event sells out almost nightly and is so popular, an annual pass-type ticket allowing a guest to visit repeatedly during Horror Nights season is available. It’s definitely the opposite of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!