Universal Florida Basics: Part 1: Getting in the Park
Chances are if you’re reading this, you’re new to Universal Orlando. That’s great, as a new Passholder, I was new to Universal just last year! I had been a couple of times, but my parents were always with me, so I didn’t have to worry about things like parking and navigating my way through the park.
That’s where this guide comes in. I’m sure you have lots of questions, so I wanted to cover some of the basics so you can be prepared for your trip!
Welcome to the first part of my Universal Florida Basics series!
Here’s what’s covered:
Parking
First of all, both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure share a parking garage. Volcano Bay goes through the same parking entrance, but parks in a different location. So no matter which park you’re headed to, you’ll pay for parking in the exact same location.
Right now, parking is $26 for cars, and prime parking is $36. Prime parking just means you’ll be on the third level (meaning you won’t have to go down any escalators to get to security), but it does not guarantee that you’ll be close to security, because you might be at the end of a row.
There are two main parking garages, and the parking attendants will direct you on which garage to go to, they mix it up, so you won’t know which one until you get there. Just follow the other cars and there will be a Team Member (Universal Employee) directing you to which parking spot to park in. In all your excitement, make sure you don’t forget to take a picture of which section and row you park in!
If you listen closely while in the parking garage, you can hear sounds that are on theme with the section!
Security
*Right now, you’ll go through temperature checks before you get to Security*
From the parking garage, you’ll walk through a covered walkway and then wait to go through Security. There are many security stations, sometimes there is a Team Member directing you to go to a certain station, and sometimes you get to pick which one you go to. Remember, look all the way to the right, as sometimes the ones on the far right have the shortest line.
At Security, you put your bags and anything in your pockets in a tote box, just like in airports, and it will go through an X-Ray machine. You will walk through a metal detector.
Twirling Tip: If you cross your arms in front of your chest in a “Wakanda Forever” style, your watch/smartwatch is less likely to set off the detector.
From there, collect all of your belongings and head toward the moving walkways. The moving walkways will take you into CityWalk
CityWalk Basics
CityWalk is Universal’s restaurant and shopping area. CityWalk does not require a ticket to get in, unlike the Parks. There are quite a few restaurants, shops, and bars at CityWalk. There is even a Guest Services window (to the right of Starbucks) window where you can pick up your tickets or annual pass. If you’re headed to the parks, you’ll just walk right through CityWalk, but at some point, you’ll definitely want to check out some of the restaurants there!
To get to Islands of Adventure, keep walking straight through CityWalk. Head toward the giant lighthouse structure, and Team Members will direct you to which line to get in. This will depend on if you have tickets already or not, but more on that later.
To go to Universal Studios, take a right after the construction walls (soon to be the Universal Studios store) and head toward the giant arches. From there, Team Members will also direct you on which line to get in. If you’re picking up will-call tickets, head to the right of the arches, on the far right of the ticket sales window there is a will-call kiosk where you can print your tickets.
Tickets
There are many types of tickets for Universal Orlando. You can buy tickets on Universal’s website, or from a Universal travel agent. I would avoid buying from third party discount sites, as sometimes these tickets can be fake.
There are two main types of tickets: One Park Per Day and Park-to-Park. One Park Per Day only lets you access one park per day, so you would have to choose between Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios each day. You would not be able to ride The Hogwarts Express with a One Park Per Day ticket.
The Park-to-Park ticket allows you to go between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios as many times as you want throughout the day. This ticket also allows you to ride the Hogwarts Express.
Volcano Bay tickets can be purchased separately or as part of an Annual Pass. Occasionally Universal will run a promotional ticket that offers a day at Volcano Bay as an add on for a reduced price. Check the Universal website for promos.
From there, you can decide how many days you want to buy tickets for. If you are planning on visiting more than 5 days, an Annual Pass might be the best option for you.
Be sure to check the Universal Website often, as they run deals for free days of park tickets from time to time!
Early Park Admission
For Universal Hotel guests and select Annual Passholders, Early Park Admission is available. Occasionally, both parks (Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios) will open an hour before their scheduled time just for hotel guests and Passholders. Usually though, only one park is open early.
To take advantage of this, you might want to arrive 15 to 30 minutes before early admission is set to start. You will still have to wait in line to get into the park, and everyone will be allowed into the park, but you will have to show your annual pass or hotel key in order to be allowed into other sections of the park.
Only certain areas of the parks are open during this time, and Team Members will have barriers set up to make sure you don’t go into an area that’s not yet open.
You can see which parks are offering Early Admission on which dates, and which attractions are open here. (You can also see Volcano Bay Early Park Admission information there as well).
*Not all Annual Passholders have access to Early Admission every day. Check the Annual Passholder schedule here.
Getting in The Park
Once you have your ticket, you’ll listen to the directions of Team Members to tell you which line to get in. If there’s a long line to get in the park, Team Members will tell you which one to get in (usually the lines are the same though, and they branch out later). To get in, a team member will scan your ticket and then you will need to touch your finger on a fingerprint scanner. If you’re uncomfortable with touching the scanner due to Covid, you may ask to show your ID instead. It’s usually a good idea to have your ID out anyway, as sometimes you will need to show your ID to get in the park.
Be sure to look for more parts to this series in the coming weeks!
