An Idiot’s Guide to UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT

one of the most iconic and talked about theme park resorts in the world a vacation destination for the entire family to enjoy seems as though Universal is finally coming into its own with new hotels and attractions and epic plans on the horizon well it's not as complex as the house of mouse down the road newcomers planning the best possible trip may need a helping hand hi I'm a Frugal Brit and for this video I'll be providing an open up guy to Universal Orlando resort it's a four-part video covering Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure attractions dining City Walk volcano Bay tickets Express passes and hotel resorts with timestamps so you can easily skip past anything you don't need if you're headed to Universal anytime soon don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell for future Universal Orlando starting with a super simple basic stuff so it all began as a single theme park Universal Studios Florida but in the following years we've seen it evolve into the huge Universal Orlando resort complex to rival the nearby Walt Disney World Resort as a multi-day vacation destination now boasting two theme parks both featuring their own Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands which you can travel between via the Hogwarts Express train to get to the theme parks guests will have to travel through the City walk Entertainment District which is Universal's dining shopping and nightlife Hub surrounding City walk on all sides are eight different Universal resort hotels within four different price categories to the west of our map we have the volcano Bay water park which Universal's marketing team does often like to refer to as their third theme park but most classic as a water park albeit a beautifully themed one but a legit third theme park Universal Orlando is currently in the works Universal's epic universe is scheduled to open by summer 2025. I'll link to the latest information on this in the description so that is the lay of the land when it comes to Universal Orlando so now it is time to take you guys on an updated attraction tour of universal Orlando's Parks Universal Studios Florida opened in June 1990 inspired by Universal Studios Hollywood and its Flagship Studio Tour attraction today Universal Studios Florida has the same p-shaped layout around its man-made lake and contains little of its original attraction lineup but still features movie and TV themed rides and shows we'll begin our Tour on City walks East bridge over the universal waterway that connects most of the resort hotels and next to the iconic Universal spinning globe the equally iconic Universal archway entrance takes guests through the turnstiles and into the first line of our tour which is production Central originally themed to Universal Studios production facilities and sound stages but its Main Avenue will soon get a minions re-theming our first attraction within production Central within a few yards of the turnstiles is the Despicable Me minion Mayhem motion simulator ride which no longer requires 3D glasses which most consider a downgraded the experience but still a lot of fun given its location near the entrance I recommend experiencing it in the late afternoon unless you can be there first thing that rope drop on the opposite side of the soon to be thed Avenue is the upcoming illuminations villain con minion blast due in summer 2023 which will replace the former Shrek 4D attraction down the Avenue will arrive at the music Plaza stage below this is the Rip Ride rocket Steel music themed roller coaster guests are required to drop their bags off at the lockers compared to Disney World lockers do play a much bigger role but fortunately small lockers are complimentary if bags aren't allowed more info on Lockers in the video description but back to Rip Ride rocket guests get to choose the genre of music they want to hear for the ride before they ascend a terrifying 17-story Hill that leads to a steep drop towards a number of twists and inversions and weaves impressively through the Park's New York land if we head east towards the Central Lake we'll eventually come to the Transformers the ride 3D which is a multi-sensory 3D Dark Ride guests enter under a 28-foot tall statue of Optimus Prime before being transformed into Nest recruits to help save the planet and you'll be joining Optimus Prime Bumblebee and sideswipe to protect the All-Star from Megatron and his villainous Decepticons Transformers fans may also be interested in the nearby character meeting group for the second land in our tour we're going to double back towards the music Plaza stage then we're headed north of this for the New York land where the streets of the Big Apple are recreated in this production ready back lot containing meticulously crafted facades that include all the wear and tag you'd expect from real life storefronts on the east side of New York there is the race through New York starring Jimmy Fallon 3D simulator ride which is housed inside a replica of NBC's iconic 30 Rock offices in Manhattan where the tonight show is taped and contains a mini Museum of The Tonight Show in the upper level guests are entertained with live daily performances from The Ragtime Gals barbershop quartet and interact with hashtag the panda before being led to Jimmy Fallon's studio for a 3D Adventure through the streets and Subways of New York and the moon After exiting race through New York we'll take the short walk down Fifth Avenue and on the left hand side is the Revenge of the Mummy combination Dark Ride and roller coaster based on the mummy movie series starring Brendan Fraser guests enter the ride through the massive Museum of Antiquities facade under the premise that you'll be touring the mummy movie set the ride begins as a slow Dark Ride and passing through various Chambers guests soon learn that the mummy Imhotep is trying to gain immortality by feeding on The Souls of guests who experience a number of impressive special effects from flames and fog to animatronics through speeds of up to 45 miles per hour and a 40-foot drop on the other side of Fifth Avenue is Delancey Street where the Blues Brothers show resides based on the 1980 movie and featuring Jazz and Mabel who were later joined by The Blues Brothers Jake and Elwood who take the stage to perform several songs including their signature Soul Man tune for those looking for more live entertainment in the area then you also have the singer acapella group on the same street and on Fifth Avenue you have Marilyn and the diamond Bella show for the first time in our tour we're going to walk along the Waterfront towards the top of the park for the San Francisco Land one of the smallest lands within Universal Orlando based largely on San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf complete with a replica of the famous Clock Tower in girandelli square featuring a few different dining options tucked away on the pier next to Lombards is the Jaws replica a sad reminder of this land's better days when a Jaws ride Reigns Supreme today San Francisco features just the one attraction near the clock tower which is Fast and Furious supercharged a car chase motion simulator ride based on The Fast and Furious movie series guests are taken through a garage full of cars and real props from the movies after boarding the 48 passenger party buses guests then ride along with dom Letty and Roman on a high octane Street Chase and threw a 360 degree projection tunnel on hydraulic platforms featuring some hilariously cheesy over-the-top moments for our full flame in the tour we're going to head over the water back towards the entrance for the Hollywood land right next to production Central near the front of the park guests enter the heart of Tinseltown for Universal's Hollywood Backlot featuring historic Hollywood landmarks to recreate the glamor of Hollywood's Golden Age including Schwab's drugstore Mills driving our first attraction when entering from the park entrance side is the born stunt tacular live action stunt show contained within an art deco office building guests are LED into a large waiting area where they're briefed on Project Rubicon before heading over to the 700 seat virtual surveillance observation room where you follow Jason Bourne as he outruns Sinister characters through rooftops and helicopters if we walk up through the Hollywood Hall of Fame past Mel's driving we'll come to the long-running universal Orlando's horror makeup show one of only two attractions still in operation since opening day which resides inside a recreation of the Pantages Theater after viewing the horror movie displays inside the lobby guests enter the theater for a live demonstration of Universal Pictures Legacy of horror movies with particular emphasis on prosthetic makeup and hilarious improvisation with the audience if we head towards the Lagoon we'll arrive at a dedicated viewing area situated in Central Park which hosts the Cinematic celebration nighttime spectacular using 40-foot wide water curtains as movie screens featuring scenes from famous Universal movie franchises performed Once a Night most days of the year if we head south of Central Park we'll arrive at the artist formerly known as Woody Woodpecker's Kid Zone which is currently undergoing quite a big transformation with most of it currently closed for construction which includes feeble's playground Woody woodpeckers not house coaster the Curious George Goes to Town water play area and DreamWorks destination the land is currently rumored to return as a DreamWorks themed land containing characters from the likes of Shrek trolls and Kung Fu Panda but nothing set in stone as of yet but at the time of making this video guests are still able to experience the two main attractions over here the first of which is the animal actors on location which is a live show featuring performing dogs Birds pigs and a menagerie of other animals in a covered outdoor stadium the second attraction still in operation is ET Adventure a dark ride inspired by Steven Spielberg's 1982 film you'll take a winding path through the Towering Forest of trees to Bicycle shaped suspended ride Vehicles before taking to the air over the city and into the Stars eventually arriving at the Green Planet and greeted by a brightly lit group of friendly animatronic aliens a short walk North will take guests to the Springfield home of The Simpsons land which aims to recreate parts of the colorful animated town from the long-running TV series containing Recreations of Kwik-E-Mart Moe's Tavern the Jebediah Springfield statue and other landmarks for our first ride in Springfield we have kangan kodo's twirl and hurl alongside the Lagoon a themed aerial Carousel with spinning ride Vehicles shaped like small spaceships fitted with control so guests can rise as high as 10 feet off the ground opposite kangan kodos is Springfield's Main Attraction The Simpsons Ride where guests are transported to the Krusty lamb theme park with custom carnival games surrounding the giant Krusty the Clown head entrance the colorful cue takes guests to Krusty's Carnival Midway before taking to crusty shaped ride vehicles that face an 80-foot IMAX Dome that simulates an adventure through the Krusty Land Theme Park filled with jokes and Springfield sights and sounds and Sideshow Bob in Hot Pursuit on the far East of the park is the the nearby futuristic looking World Expo land which has seen a lot of changes in the decades following the Park's opening with only one attraction remaining in this shrunken land contains the Space Age Coca-Cola kiosk where guests can fill up their freestyle cups and cool off in the air conditioning the sole attraction is Men in Black alien attack and interactive dark Thrill Ride guests enter the Pavilion building expecting to see a World's Fair exhibit before being asked by an agent to become a new recruit for the mibs in their secret headquarters guests are loaded onto six passenger spinning ride Vehicles fitted with laser guns and taken into a training room but training is quite sure when it's revealed that an alien spaceship has landed in New York requiring you to help save the city and defeat the aliens whilst competing with your friends and family for the highest score with only one land left in our Universal Studios tour we'll head towards the top of the map where the Jaws ride used to live for the most immersive land that Universal has ever created The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley where they're traveling from World Expo or San Francisco guests arrive at the London Waterfront lined with authentic london-themed facades at the top you'll find creature and grimald place and the windham's theater guests can also interact with Stan schum Pike on the night bus on the West Side there's an impressive Recreation of King's cross station which will be heading inside later in the video for now we're headed for Diagon Alley hidden away from Muggles behind the brick wall next to Leicester Square station entering into Diagon Alley is without a doubt one of the most magical theme park experiences with a fire breathing dragon perched Atop The Dome of gringott's Bank between the brick wall entrance and the dragon are a number of familiar Wizarding shops along the cobblestone streets including the Ollivander shop as well as the Leaky cold and quick service restaurant next to this is a dark and creepy pathway for Nocturne alley containing spooky special effects in the shop windows to the east of Diagon Alley you'll find the car kit Market section which hosts live shows including celestina warback in the Banshees you can also stop at the nearby Gringotts money exchange where you can trade your US currency for gringott's banknotes Diagon Alley has just the two attractions its headline is Harry Potter and The Escape from Gringotts 3D dark ride roller coaster hybrid located at the top below the Dragon Inside Gringotts Bank guests enter its elaborate queue and through a marble adorned Lobby filled with animatronic goblins hard at work after watching two fun pre-shows you're taken into a bumpy elevator which sends you nine miles into the ground with convincing projections after boarding the ride Vehicles you're taken deep into the bank's Vault on a dangerous adventure and witness Harry Ron and Hermione break into the bank to retrieve the horcrux to help defeat Lord Voldemort for our second attraction within the Universal Studios Wizarding World we're back to the London Waterfront over on the San Francisco side for the Hogwarts Express which I should highlight guests can only use if they have a park to park ticket as this attraction doubles as a form of transportation to Islands of Adventure guests are bound for platform nine and three quarters but its passage is concealed to Muggles with guests forced to walk through a solid brick wall after a short wait on the platform you'll be invited to board the steaming Hogwarts Express train once it starts moving you'll want to keep your eyes on the frosted glass doors and the train windows for some fun projections throughout the ride as you pass through the Streets of London and the Scottish Countryside guests will depart the trains at a station within the Wizarding Village of hogsmead in the Scottish Highlands the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter land within Universal Orlando I should mention you can travel in the opposite direction from the station with a different ride experience but for now we're going to explore hogsmeade Village entering through a grand Stone Archway which reveals the Village shopping and dining Hub filled with stone cottages and shops with snowy slate roofs and crooked chimneys on your right past the steaming Hogwarts Express train is hogsmeads headliner attraction Hagrid's magical creatures motorbike Adventure he launched steel roller coaster the longest coaster in Florida and one of the most expensive ever built depending on crowd levels Universal May adopt a virtual line system I'll leave a link in the description explaining how this works I after dropping off all your belongings at the lockers Riders begin a walking tour of the gardens before entering the ruins alongside the Forbidden Forest upon entering the boarding 's motorbike complete with hanging side cars After exiting guests enjoy the first launch through the castle ruins before meeting up with Hagrid and his creatures in an abandoned Hut and other launch leads guests to a vertical Spike but for our backward Helix Into Darkness north of the village stands The Towering Hogwarts Castle flanked by The Forbidden Forest in hogsmead you'll find another olivander's Wand Shop and guests can queue for the popular one choosing ceremony experience olivandes as well as several other stores in The Wizarding World sell interactive wands which can be used for the many spell casting locations scattered around both The Wizarding World lands a few steps from olivanders you'll find a stage which hosts regular performances of the Frog choir and pallet group as well as the tri-wizard spirit rally martial arts performers a trip to the Wizarding World wouldn't be complete without a pint of butter beer for those that don't know he can get butterbeers and cold Frozen and hot varieties so next we're gonna head past the castle entrance for the Flight of the hippogriff outdoor junior roller coaster based on a magical creature which first appears in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban whilst pretty short and not the most thrilling it features a cool Recreation of Hagrid's Hut and offers incredible views of hogsmead for our final attraction within hogsmead we'll head straight for the castle for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey motion simulator Dark Ride guests approach the castles imposing winged Gates beneath Hogwarts Castle set upon an elevated Cliff which beckons you inside the queue is one of the most elaborate ever created taking guests past numerous landmarks the talking portraits and famous artifacts such as the Sorting Hat guests border moving ride vehicles that levitate with the help of Hermione when your adventure begins through many famous locations around Hogwarts with visits from famous characters and creatures from the movies in the evening on select nights guests can celebrate the four houses of Hogwarts with an amazing show of music and light with the nighttime lights at Hogwarts Castle a five minute projection mapping show narrated by the Sorting Hat with the iconic John Williams score and a brief fireworks finale since we arrived to hogsmead Via the Hogwarts Express I've technically already started our tour of Islands of Adventure which opened in 1999 and transformed Universal Studios into the multi-day vacation destination it remains themed around a journey of exploration containing eight thematically diverse lands or Islands as they're known as here spread around its large Central Lagoon day guests will arrive at Islands of Adventure via the west bridge at CityWalk beneath the farros lighthouse one of the Park's main icons which sends out a bright beam to lead visitors to and from the parks Gates once you pass the turnstiles you'll arrive at the Exotic Port of Entry island with theming drawn from Middle Eastern Asian and Mediterranean Styles and a stone Archway which commands the order of the day report eventually you'll find one of the best views of the park which gives you a taste of the adventures that lie ahead from this point in my tour we're going to travel clockwise from hogsmead which I've already covered so that would take us to the Lost Continent which was once one of islands of adventure's largest Islands but as with San Francisco it was largely annexed by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter leaving only the Arabian and ancient Greek portions intact despite these setbacks the Lost Continent remains gloriously themed and contains the award-winning Mythos table service restaurants with its stunning exterior featuring lavish water pools that pour down the ancient rocks you also have the interactive Mystic Fountain which talks to guests the Island's sole attraction is the Poseidon's Fury walkthrough theater show possibly the most impressive thing about Poseidon's Fury is its exterior guests enter through the imposing broken statue remains of the silent arm holding a trident before arriving at the Sea Gods Ancient Temple you'll be led by a nerdy archaeologist through a series of chambers within the ancient crumbling people of Poseidon who eventually takes you through an awe-inspiring water tunnel before you find yourself caught up in a fight between Poseidon and Lord darken on with only Poseidon able to get you out alive [Music] for our next Land South of the Lost Continent we're headed back towards the entrance next to the port of entry for Seuss Landing Island based on Dr Seuss's famous children's books with buildings and attractions that replicate a Whimsical brightly colored cartoon style with exaggerated features and rounded lines and features many of Dr Seuss's most beloved characters we'll start at the top of the island for the high in the sky Zeus trolley train ride just past the gate for the Lost Continent this is a slow-moving trolley ride that slides along elevated tracks throughout Zeus Landing with themed audio which tells guests a story as you ride with fantastic views of the Lagoon and its surrounding Islands located in the middle of Zeus Landing is the karasus L gentle Merry-Go-Round Carousel Ride that incorporates non-traditional mounts and music to provide a susian feel Riders can use controls and Reigns to make some of the characters move blink and more towards the bottom of the island and past the Circus mcgurkus Cafe stupendous is the colorful One Fish Two Fish Redfish Bluefish aerial Carousel Ride Ride vehicles are shaped like fish and rotate around a center point with riders able to raise their fish 15 feet in the air at the bottom close to the entrance when traveling from Port of Entry is the Cat in the Hat Dark Ride very difficult to miss with its giant red and white striped hat entrance this gentle Dark Ride retells the story of the same name with the Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 and Thing Two causing Mayhem covering 18 scenes from the book to finish our Seuss Landing tour we have the if I run the zoo interactive outdoor play area with a young Gerald macroux imagines what it would be like to have his own Zoo filled with strange animals collected from exotic places around the world it's now time to head east of the Lagoon for the first time for Marvel Superhero Island themed after popular Marvel Comics superheroes which guests traveling from the entrance will access over a short Bridge the architecture for the island is modeled after Marvel Comics including cutouts of many of the most popular Marvel characters despite Disney owning Marvel universal did acquire the rights for most Marvel characters in Florida before the acquisition our first attraction is also the Island's most popular and intense which is the Incredible Hulk coaster themed around Bruce Banner and his famous Alter Ego whose towering figure greets guests whilst holding up a salvaged piece of the old ride guests are required to drop off all of their belongings in the nearby lockers before entering the queue on the metal detectors once boarding the shiny Green Ride Vehicles guests enjoy one of the most intense roller coaster launches out there going from zero to 40 miles per hour in two seconds and flung upside down into a zero gravity barrel roll with plenty more rolls and Loops to follow including a trip under an underground tunnel one of central Florida's most impressive roller coasters a few steps away from the hawk coaster entrance you'll find the storm force accelitron and X-Men themed classic cup style spinning ride with a wheel at the center to control how much or how little your pod spins during the ride if we head north we're going to take a left at the kingpins arcade for Yancey Street also known as villains alley and lead you to the doctor Doom's fearful towering Thrill Ride that revolves around Dr Doom who seeks to harness the fear of Park guests by accelerating them up at 199 foot tower for a Shore to put incredibly thrilling ride which can be seen from miles around and provides guests with a great view of the park and surrounding areas by day and night next we'll head north for the second headliner attraction within Marvel Superhero Island which is the groundbreaking Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man 3D simulator ride the adventure begins with a trip to the Daily Bugle where you get to see the workplace of Peter Parker after boarding you'll set off through New York City with digital projections combined with real sets and props to immerse guests in the various dangers caused by the Marvel villains before Spidey comes to your rescue above Marvel Superhero island is the vibrantly colored two lagoon island which is sort of the Water Park area for Islands of Adventure and often a way to counter Florida's sweltering Heat this Whimsical lamb is themed around the Sunday morning newspaper comics of King features Syndicate not exactly the most recognizable content for the kids of today but has a charm that many really appreciate tune Lagoon contains three attractions we'll start with Dudley do rights rips or Falls Flume ride apparently based on the Royal Canadian Mounted character Dudley do right to get to the ride guests must first navigate the lengthy queue that winds through Snidely whiplash's Hideout guests board log-shaped Vehicles which run along an underwater track through dark corridors but for a number of medium-sized drops which lead to a 75 foot drop that sends you plummeting into a large pool of water at the bottom of the sawmill be prepared to get very wet much more so than Splash Mountain so it might be best to grab a poncho or leave this one until later in the day or you can just watch it from the bridge over the eastbound Bridge into Laguna you'll arrive at the Popeye and Pluto's bilge wrap barges white water raft ride located in the Sweet Haven section of toon Lagoon guests start the experience by clamoring into a 12-person barge which sails down a man-made Canyon of gushing Rapids waterfalls twists and turns you're almost certainly going to get completely soaked on the off chance you manage to come off lightly you'll often have to ensure the water cannons fitted atop our next attraction which is the me ship the olive a three-story interactive water playground with a ship a great place to let the kids run off some steam and as mentioned cannons to spray the barges down below so that finishes our tour of two Lagoon next we'll head north over the two Lagoon Bridge arriving at school Island themed to the Mysterious Island inhabited by strange species including King Kong barely qualifies as its own land with just one ride and a couple kiosks its sole attraction is the Skull Island reign of Kong a multi-dimension safari truck ride guests enter inside an ancient Temple inhabited by a hostile Kong worshiping indigenous tribe the path inside the temple takes you to Giant open-sided Vehicles similar to The Fast and Furious ride the ride begins with a short Loop Through the Jungle ending at the massive tour trained doors in the center of school Islands imposing Stony facade before encountering a number of prehistoric creatures projected on the 3D screens including a battle between the T-Rex and King Kong the ride finishes with a face-to-face encounter with a giant king kong animatronic it's now time to head north towards our final Island at Islands of Adventure located in between hogsmead and toon Lagoon which is of course Jurassic Park an island based on Steven Spielberg's Blockbuster movie series in which humans have recreated living and breathing dinosaurs spread around an island filled with tropical foliage and the sounds of John Williams score through hidden speakers as well as the odd prowling Predator when traveling from two Lagoon and Skull Island the first attraction we come across is Camp Jurassic which is a large and elaborate kids playground you can explore swaying suspension bridges battle with cannons and Venture into caves that hold prehistoric Secrets easily the most impressive of all Universal's playgrounds the best place to let the kids run free during those busy midday hours at Universal based inside this playground lies the entrance to Pteranodon Flyers which is a slow-moving family coaster designed for little ones which provides the best views of the playground this is a very gentle ride so a good pick for any sensitive children provided they're not afraid of heights the cons for this ride are that it's very low capacity so super long weights also only guests riding with one child per adult can get on and that child needs to be under 48 inches as we exit Camp Jurassic we're a short walk away from one of the Park's original headline attractions the Jurassic Park River Adventure raft ride the queue serves as a welcome to Jurassic Park with a miniature Island new blog greeting guests at the entrance before covered walkways that lead guests to their riverboat guests will travel through the Jurassic Park gate for a relaxing and smooth ride amongst the Park's herbivore dinosaurs were later knocked off course into a heavily damaged Raptor containment will be taken up into the water treatment plant with Sirens blazing before eventually coming face to face with the enormous T-Rex with your only Escape being an 85-foot Plunge Into The Unknown if we continue our way towards the top of the park we'll arrive at the Raptor encounter meet and greet attraction we will meet a raptor expert who'll guide you through your interactions with the Raptors including Blue from Jurassic world as well as a baby Raptor that comes out from time to time next we're going to walk towards the bottom of Jurassic Park for the Jurassic Park Discovery Center one of the most recognizable symbols of the franchise so this is the northern entrance for the top floor and inside you have a great view of the central T-rex skeleton the more impressive entrance for the ground floor is on the south side next to the Lagoon with its impressive fossil entrance facade on the ground floor you'll find interactive play center features and several areas where Dyno enthusiasts young and old can unearth mysteries of our planet's prehistoric past and if you're lucky you'll catch a baby Velociraptor being hatched right inside the lab it's now time for the headliner of Universal Orlando which is of course the Jurassic world velocity coaster located next to the Discovery Center on the shores of the Lagoon Universal's fastest roller coaster the ride's backstory puts you in Jurassic world shortly before the events of the Jurassic world film so before the arrival of the indominus Rex as you make your way through the end entrance you'll encounter two towering bronze Raptor sculptures within the queue you'll be feet away from the 70 miles per hour launch whilst Raptors Screech past you before meeting Delta and Echo caged and muzzled in the examination room following this you'll arrive at the lockers with their unique two-way design so you'll pick up your belongings after the ride on the other side of the wall once exiting the station Riders are launched zero to 50 miles per hour in two seconds immediately after the launch the train passes through the island new blah Rock work with a number of twists and inversions before reaching the 155 foot top hat which gives the illusion of flying over Islands of Adventure before dropping 140 feet down at 80 degrees following this the ride enters its signature element a heart line roll at 53 miles per hour followed by an off-axis airtime hill before reaching the brake run conclusion foreign Parks covered if you've enjoyed the video so far do consider hitting the like button to support the channel and subscribe so you don't miss out when future videos are posted would be awesome if I could hit 50 000 Subs by the end of the year but anyway we still have a 28 acre water park to go through known as volcano Bay which opened back in 2017. the theme of the park is around the culture of the watori Islanders who happen to stumble across this Tropical Paradise and decided to make it their home before adding all the slides and water experiences that make up the park today to get to volcano Bay day guests will arrive through the City walk Transportation Hub where you'll find regular buses taking you to its entrance at the turnstiles you'll be handed a taputapu wristband which is used to make payments inside the park but more importantly they used to tap into the virtual queue for each slide so unlike other water parks you don't just enter the standby line you'll only be able to enter the line after you've waited in the virtual queue I'll leave a link with more detailed info in the video description volcano Bay consists of four separate Villages which are wave Village krakato volcano River Village and the rainforest Village we'll start with the wave Village nearest the park entrance once through the turnstiles on the winding pathway the lush tropical Oasis unfolds transporting guests to a Polynesian Paradise with dense palms and Tiki carvings off in the distance you'll get your first look at the Towering 200 foot water and fire volcano surrounded by the watori beach wave pool with a stunning series of waterfalls that pour into the sparkling Lagoon adjacent to the Military beach is the reef providing guests with a more relaxing pool area and features its own private waterfall and an impressive view of one of the Park's headliner slides which is Kokiri body plunge The Joint tallest drop capsule slide this one involves a 70 degree fall through a drop door down 125 feet of slide Krakatoa volcano is not just there for the eye candy several slides travel through it also containing Caverns that guests can explore inside you'll find colorful fountains surrounding vole the spirit of the mountain who Converses with guests to a digital projection if we continue our counterclockwise tour of the park we'll come to River Village for families and young visitors first up is the kopeka Y winding river which is the center [Music] pie volcano Bay including the Krakatoa volcano and its hidden caves for those of you with any young children in your group you'll want to check out runnemucker Reef which is a three-story coral reef inspired water playground containing twisting slides Sprinklers and other fun features you've also got the nearby top Tiki Reef for the Park's youngest guests lastly for River Village you have onu and the Ikea Moana multi-person raft slides despite being located in the Charles Friendly Village these stomach dropping slides are certainly not short on thrills we finish our volcano Bay Village tour we're headed west for the rainforest Village which contains the most adrenaline pumping attractions but the exception to this is the puka Oli Lagoon which is a small pool designed for swimming and relaxation nearby you have the oh no and oh yeah drop slides where you'll plummet down through twists and turns and saw out six feet above the ten foot deep pool next we have two more multi-person raft slides which are maku and puihi maku features three high-banked saucer elements and over on puihi you'll careen through the dark winding Cavern before exploding out into the far side of its funnel at the heart of the rainforest Village is the te AWA The Fearless river which you'll need a life vest for as it's roaring white water rapids throw you down the river amongst chopping waves beneath the slides inside the volcano next we have taniwar tubes which consists of four separate Easter Island inspired slides or similar but not identical the best thing about this slide is that they're always right now so no need to queue with your tapu tapu towards the center of the path we have ponga races where single Rider guests are sent on their manta ray mats sliding down four lanes through underwater sea caves next we'll take the 200 step climb for Kala and Thai Nui with your high speed body slides that Traverse the Krakatoa volcano The Joint tallest drop capsule slides in the world featuring trapped or starts sending guests through 225 feet of twists and turns the final slide for volcano Bay is the headliner krakatau aquacaster a unique slide that combines both roller coaster and water slide elements and propels your four-person raft canoe uphill using induction Motors and through dark twists and turns whilst you may be primarily interested in seeing the theme parks no guests visiting Universal Orlando will be able to avoid the City walk Central Hub with pretty much everything connected to it CityWalk is in a nutshell Universal shopping dining and entertainment complex similar to Disney Springs over in Disney World I tend to separate it into two main areas divided by the main water taxi Lagoon to the north of this you have both theme park entrances and a couple headliner restaurants in between the parks then south of the Lagoon you'll find the vast majority of the bars restaurants and shopping Etc in terms of getting to City Walk a day guests will be signed posted to one of the two giant multi-story parking structures linked to City Walk after the main toll at the time of making this video parking costs 27 per car but it is free after 6 p.m after getting through the toll you'll be directed over to one of the parking structures guests head of a volcano Bay will be separated at this point so be sure to keep an eye on signage these two parking structures contain over 19 000 spaces Universal has helpfully split them up into themed sections highly recommend that you take a picture of the row your Park back to avoid disaster at the end of the day for those traveling via Uber or Lyft you'll be dropped off and picked up from the Jurassic Park section in the designated Uber waiting area but the left service will also use this area there are a few other options of getting to CityWalk for Resort guests which I'll be covering in part four but most guests are dropped off at CityWalk behind the main security screening and once through this you'll be directed to City walks famous moving walkway we'll start with shopping and activities one of the first things I guess we'll come across is the Hollywood Drive in golf containing two 18-hole mini golf courses the 50s sci-fi themed Invaders from planetport and the horror flick themed Haunting of ghostly greens if steps away next to the main City Walk entrance bridge is the Cinemark movie theater where visitors can catch new releases on 20 Cinema screens citywalk's newest entertainment offering is their great movie Escape rooms house in the former Groove nightclub featuring Adventures based on Back to the Future and Jurassic World for your shopping needs the most popular location is the Universal Studio store which allows you to pick up a variety of universal souvenirs including a substantial Harry Potter section the second most popular shopping choice is the universal Legacy store which sells retro themed merchandise and familiar props and costumes featured at the parks in years past [Music] I think it's fair to say City Walk is most famous for its dining options which are better than those in the Parks although I will say not quite up to the same standard as Disney springs for this part of the video I'll do a super quick breakdown of the most popular locations at CityWalk as well as the theme parks in reverse order of their online ratings excluding some of the less interesting fast food chains we'll do Quick Service followed by the table service options in citywalker before doing the same for the two theme parks which means we'll start in CityWalk with Ben the bow at number four which serves a variety of fluffy bow and sake as well as other less notable options a little too pricey hence the low review ranking for number three over on the west side of CityWalk we have the hot dog Hall of Fame which serves a variety of hot dogs and toppings themed after iconic baseball stadiums around the US for number two we have bread box handcrafted sandwiches which serves gourmet hot and cold deli sandwiches my personal favorite Quick Service Choice then at number one is Voodoo Donuts which serves a number of creative donuts with an eye-catching interior called also families in search of a snack on a tight budget moving on now to the table service restaurants in City walk again in reverse order of their online rating at number 10 is red Oven Pizza Bakery and open air pizza restaurants serving Neapolitan pizzas within a 900 degree stone-lined oven the best place for pizzas at Universal for number nine we have NBC Sports Grill and Brew containing 100 TV screens to immerse guests in a stream of sports coverage as you drink and dine with a giant menu and giant portion sizes at number eight is the vibrantly colored Antojitos authentic Mexican food restaurant designed to be a celebration of Mexican culture serving Tapas style dishes and an extensive selection of custom cocktails next at number seven we have Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant famous for its caribbean-inspired food and Stacked Burgers cocktails and its volcano that are up to Margarita lava and number six we have the unique Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar with its unique Decor that mixes Japanese and American culture featuring an excellent Burger selection Sushi and combinations of both for number five we have the steampunk and chocolate themed tooths and chocolate Emporium and savory kitchen serving American fare but most famous for its extravagant Sundaes and milkshakes at number four is big fire with its rustic Outdoors Vibe reminiscent of Lakeside summer vacations specializing in open fire cooking with flame grilled Meats one of the better value places to get a steak at Universal for number three next door to Cowfish is Vivo Italian Kitchen specializing in familiar Italian dishes with a modern twist amongst its modern and Sleek Furnishings is its open Expo kitchen with pasta mozzarella and pizza freshly made before your eyes the second best restaurant according to Google reviews is Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant and Market themed to the Bubba Gump character from Forrest Gump serving a versatile Seafood menu but the best table service restaurant according to Google reviews is the Hard Rock Cafe restaurant in between the two theme parks where music memorabilia takes center stage and features a wide variety of American Classics in hearty portions including Burgers sandwiches salads and Seafood so as mentioned CityWalk does provide the best dining options overall but of course it's often not practical to lose time heading out of the parks to grab something to eat so we'll go through five of the best dining options according to Google reviews for both parks given that the parks only have two table service restaurants each I'll cover Quick Service and table service together starting over at Universal Studios at number five is the today Cafe over in the Hollywood section themed to the long-running NBC morning show and offers a variety of light breakfast lunch and dinner options in my opinion this is where you'll get the best coffee on property at number four is the incredibly popular leaky cauldron over in daigon alley serving traditional British fair at breakfast lunch and dinner with its interior modeled after their grubby Pub and in from the Harry Potter movies this restaurant is very popular so expect long weights to be seated and the best quick service restaurant according to Google reviews is the Tex-Mex Cafe La Bamba for breakfast it's only open for VIP tour guests but earlier this year a lunch menu has been made available for general admission guests which includes burritos bowls tacos and salads for the second best restaurant at Universal Studios we'll head to the Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco for the nautical themed Lombard Seafood and Grill specializing in seafood and offers great views of Springfield on the other side of the Lagoon but the trophy for the best restaurant at Universal Studios Florida has to go to Finnegan's Bar and Grill located in the New York land a lively Irish American themed Local's favorite restaurant with live music serving hearty Irish fair if we make our way over to Islands of Adventures dining lineup at number five is the three broomsticks restaurant over in hogsmead serving sort of British Cuisine but with some more standard barbecue options as with the other Wizarding World restaurant in the other Park be prepared to wait longer compared with other options at number four is Thunder Falls Terrace over in Jurassic Park serving barbecue Cuisines such as rotisserie chicken and ribs with both indoor and outdoor seating fantastic decoration inside with great views of the River Adventure finale the best quick service location for Islands of Adventure according to Google reviews is the Green Eggs and Ham Cafe located in soos landing which nowadays specializes in tater tot dishes including buffalo chicken pepperoni pizza and its namesake Green Eggs and Ham varieties for the the table service options we have confisco Grill located over in the Port of Entry section themed as an exotic haunt for traveling merchants and adventurers serving up multiple Cuisines with inspiration from Asian Mexican Mediterranean and Greek dishes Google reviews has determined that the best table service restaurant at Islands of Adventure is the Greek mythology themed Mythos Restaurant located over in the lost continent with its towering rock formations and cascading waterfalls within its equally impressive interior Mythos serves a mixture of Mediterranean Asian and American Cuisine before we move on to the next part of the video I did just want to mention the importance of booking your restaurant reservations whilst nowhere near as important compared to Disney World often you can walk up to many of the universal restaurants for the likes of Finnegans Mythos Marvel character dinner and toothsome will get booked up pretty quickly so we'll leave a link to the page on how to make your reservations lastly this feels like the right time to mention the Coca-Cola Freestyle souvenir cups which you can purchase at certain dining locations freestyle machines here's the current pricing to purchase one of these with discounts on purchasing more than one cup these allow you to get unlimited refills of a large number of soda varieties including the Frozen slushies but only once every 10 minutes or so it's worth crunching the numbers to see if you're likely to spend more than this individually per day on soda well complicated but essentially there's three things you need to decide on so there's how many days you need to visit whether you want to visit volcano bay at any point during your visit and whether you want the option to visit more than one park in one day this is called the park to park add-on Universal's term for Park hopping so let's say you want to stay at Universal for four days with a visit to volcano Bay on two of those days and I want to visit multiple parks on any given day then I'll click four days at the top the park to park tickets automatically show at the top but I can filter these in or out if necessary and then because I want to visit volcano Bay as well I'll click on the three Park option if you're wondering whether you need the park to park add-on the answer is almost certainly yes otherwise you won't be able to ride on the Hogwarts Express Universal also offers a variety of annual pass options which I'll link to in the video description probably the question I get asked the most is how many days do you need this is kind of like asking how many Voodoo Donuts you should buy it really depends on your appetite and budget but if the question is how many days do you need to visit all attractions at the two theme parks then two days is the minimum but three days will make it a lot more relaxing and enjoyable if you're gonna add volcano Bay in then I wouldn't recommend less than four after five days or Donuts you've probably had your fill for guests in the UK and Ireland the most popular ticket to purchase is the 14 day ticket which I believe is exclusive to the European third-party ticket sellers this comes with volcano Bay and park to park access the two Market leaders for these tickets are Florida ticks and attraction tickets but you also have Orlando attractions.com which has been the cheapest for Disney and Universal the last few times I've looked which I've used for my next family trip in May for those of you willing to spend money to save time at the parks Universal provides a way to skip the lines for most of the attractions with its Express Pass system whilst more expensive compared to Disney's landscaping services you don't need to make any reservations you can just enter the line whenever you want with this in mind you'll get on far more rides using Express Pass compared to Disney's Genie plus and lightning Lane selections there are three different varieties of express pass you have the standard Universal Express Pass which allows one person one ride on each participating attraction the second is Universal Express Pass unlimited which allows one person an unlimited number of rides on participating attractions the pricing for both of these is variable so for example you'll pay a lot more during spring break compared to the end of January lastly you have the on-site Hotel Universal Express unlimited pass which guests staying at one of the three Premier Resorts will benefit from however the resort guest Express passes are not valid at volcano Bay I'll be covering Hotel unlimited Express passes in more detail in the following hotel resorts section important to note that none of the express passes offered by Universal will work at Universal's two most popular attracts which are Velocity coaster and Hagrid's something I'm very grateful for given how long the lines for hagrids can get I'm often asked whether Express passes are worth it again it depends it is undeniably great to have but for my circumstances it's very rarely worth the money because of the variable pricing the days when I think I'd make good use of it it's always too expensive as is often the case with these sort of things kind of comes down to how much time you have and what your budget is for me I found that just using an efficient itinerary makes more sense for those that aren't aware Universal hosts an incredibly popular Halloween event known as Halloween Horror Nights in September and October this is a separate ticketed event in Universal Studios Florida after the park closes many of the parks buildings will be transformed to heavily themed haunted houses and the parks Avenues are transformed to scare zones all of which are updated every year to keep guests wanting to come back so yeah this is a separate ticketed event and the unlimited Express passes you get at the premier Resorts won't work after the park closes for horror nights so you'll need to buy a separate horror night express pass given how long the queues can get for the houses these do offer a lot of value as touched on previously since the beginning of the century Universal has evolved from a theme park to a multi-day vacation destination with a hotel resort lineup that has grown to eight different hotels within four price categories which all value Prime value preferred and Premiere categories in this part of the video I'll provide a guide on what to expect when staying at each of these Resorts including the differences and amenities and perks we'll Begin by taking the journey out of the main Universal resort complex along Universal Boulevard and South of International Drive this is where Universal's two Valley Resorts reside which are the Endless Summer Surfside Inn and Suites to the west and the much larger Endless Summer Dockside Inn and Suites to the east both Resorts contain a sunny Seaside aesthetic but Surfside has a brighter surf theming whereas Dockside has a warmer color scheme inspired by sunsets docks and Piers Dockside has two large pools where a Surfside has one smaller pool both Resorts offer affordable two-bedroom family suites the distance the parks made a suede guest from staying at one of these Resorts however both of these Resorts provide frequent shuttle buses taking guests over to the parks throughout the day before and after the parks close much more efficient compared to Disney Resort Hotel buses another perk that Endless Summer Resorts get as well as other on-site Resorts is early Park admission which allows you to enter one of the two theme parks an hour before day guests which tends to to be Islands of Adventure most of the time with only hogsmeade and velocity coaster open early Pocket Edition also allows you to enter volcano Bay half an hour early just like the parks you can also buy coke freestyle cups to use at the hotels but these will require separate activation the Endless Summer Resorts offer incredible value when visiting Universal however the walls are a little on the thin side it's not uncommon to overhear arguments amongst other things in the neighboring guest rooms for the prime Value Resort category we need to head back towards the main complex up Universal Boulevard and onto Adventure way we'll start with Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort themed to Florida beach resorts from the 1950s and 60s located next door to volcano Bay with its own special entrance to the water park it features two giant pool areas one with a water slide and the other with a lazy river there's also a bowling alley on its second floor Cabana Bay also offers affordable family suites which sleep up to six guests and more space than the Endless Summer Resort in addition to having a special entrance to volcano Bay you can get to the parks by Fort using the beautiful shaded Garden walkway which all other Resorts excluding the Endless Summer resorts are connected to on the other side of Adventure way we have the other hotel in the prime Valley Resort category which is the Aventura Hotel a modern 17-story curved all-glass y-shaped Tower the smallest Hotel on property no real theming here but it does focus on technology such as the iPads fitted into every room and its relay robot which can deliver items to your room Aventure Hotel also has a special entrance to volcano Bay and its Rooftop Bar 17 Bistro is another highlight the main downside to Aventura is its small pool with no slide definitely a resort that is geared towards budget conscious childless couples next door to Aventura is Lowe's Sapphire Falls Resort on its own in the preferred Resort category and themed to a Serene Caribbean getaway in the heart of the tropics set around a lagoon and waterfalls despite not offering Express passes the pool area at Sapphire Falls punches above its weight with its amenities in particular the water slide through Caribbean inspired waterfalls and rock features arguably the biggest selling point for Sapphire Falls is its incredible Water Taxi Transportation which takes guests on a Scenic trip through the Lush foliage of the garden walkway under bridges before arriving at Universal Studios in around seven minutes moving on now to the premier Resort category for Lowe's Royal Pacific resort which is closer to CityWalk and the theme parks which is one of the main perks of paying the premium on a premier Resort for those planning to spend most of their time at Islands of Adventure Royal Pacific is the closest to that particular Park the theming for Royal Pacific is inspired by the Golden Age of air travel when the South Seas were opened up to island hopping World Travelers guests enter the resort on a bridge above an artificial stream Royal Pacific has arguably the best themed pool area surrounded by palm trees and Lush plants whilst there's no water slide here it instead provides an interactive water play area for kids the main perk for staying at Royal Pacific or any other Premier Resort is of course getting unlimited Express passes for every guest staying in your room the way this works is your hotel Key will combine as your unlimited express pass so let's say you arrive at your hotel at 6am on the day you're checking in wash your room won't be available you can drop your luggage off and they'll give you a room key card that will act as your unlimited Express passes so you can head out for early Park admission that day using your unlimited Express passes these Express passes won't expire until both theme parks close on the day you're checking out so you can see why a lot of universal fans will often book a cheaper Resort for the majority of their stay then book one night at a premier Resort so that everyone staying in the room gets two full days worth of Universal Express passes if Express passes are important to your trip I would definitely consider doing this for our next Premier Resort we need to travel through CityWalk and past both theme parks to the east of Universal Studios where you'll find the smaller Hard Rock Hotel which is the resort closest to this park themed in a style of Rockstar's mansion with Californian mission style architecture inside guests listen to a carefully selected playlist of rock Classics synced throughout the resort which is also filled with iconic music memorabilia and art whilst not as tropical as Royal Pacific the hard rocks pool area is very easy on the eye and it has the best pool atmosphere and also contains a water slide for our final hotel resort we need to head to the east of Universal Studios and the Hard Rock arriving at the luxurious Lowes Portofino Bay which is modeled on the seaside village of Portofino nestled around a man-made picturesque Harbor to immerse guests in a romantic Mediterranean Escape Portofino babos the best amenities on property with seven different dining options most of which are spread around the harbor Piazza as well as three different swimming pools including the Mediterranean themed beach pool and Roman aqueduct water slide feature I should also mention that the rooms are the largest on property well that's it for this video well done for making it this far thank you for watching if you're also visiting the house of mouse I previously did a similar hour-long Disney World guide lastly if you're interested in future Orlando vacation content don't forget to subscribe

Channel: The Frugal Brit - Orlando

Views: 474,373

Keywords: Guide to Universal Orlando Resort, Hard Rock Hotel, Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Orlando Rides, Universal Saphire Falls Resort, Universal Studios Florida, Universal studios Orlando, Universal's Islands of Adventure, Universal's Volcano Bay, Universal's cabana bay, citywalk, citywalk orlando, dockside inn and suites, endless summer resort, first time at Universal Orlando, orlando rides, surfside inn and suites, the frugal brit, universal studios rides

Id: 6qV8227lAr4

Length: 53min 7sec (3187 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 21 2023