Florida Travel – Universal Studios Orlando Florida

My first visit to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, finally happened in 2023, and I already want to get an annual pass! You all know that we are die-hard Disney people.  We have been Disney annual pass holders since 2017 and go to the parks at least four times yearly, if not more.  But you guys, I have been captivated and surprised by how much I enjoyed Universal Studios.

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My first visit to Universal Studios Florida

My first trip was with my best friend in June of 2023.  I still can’t believe I have lived only 2 hours away from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for almost eight years before I finally went to see it.  I have been obsessed with Harry Potter books and movies since 2000. Still, to this day, I will reread the books and marathon the movies at least every other year. 

This first visit was a dream come true and helped me escape the reality of losing my dream job in May.  We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club – Parc Soleil for three nights.  My best friend did the timeshare presentation and got us a fantastic deal on our stay.  I will feature more about this hotel in the future. It was an easy 20-minute Lyft ride to Universal, where we used the two-day park hopper tickets for Florida residents. 

Universal Studios Orlando for Florida Residents

Pro Tip:  Universal takes their Florida Resident tickets very seriously. This means you can not buy Florida resident tickets for your out-of-state friends or family because to enter the park, you must show your Florida ID, plus your photo and fingerprint are taken upon entry. 

Universal Islands of Adventure

Our primary mission for the entire trip in June was to see everything Harry Potter.  While we know there are a lot of other lands and attractions at Universal – we focused only on doing everything possible for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Harry Potter is cleverly split between two of the three current parks at Universal Studios Florida- you will find Hogwarts Castle and Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure and you will find London and Diagon Alley in Universal Studios.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

We arrived just as the parks opened at 9 AM and entered through Islands of Adventure first – we had to see Hogwarts Castle, of course! We walked from the Port of Entry through Seuss Landing, into The Lost Continent, and into Hogsmeade, where the Hogwarts Express greets you.  My high school heart exploded, and we were 100% ready to experience everything at that point! We headed straight to the castle for our first ride: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

Learn about Universal Lockers

Pro Tip: Learn about the Lockers before you go! Knowing how the lockers work at Universal Studios Orlando is to your advantage and makes your visit much more manageable.  

Here’s everything we learned: There are two kinds of lockers – The ones that charge a daily flat rate and those attached to certain mandatory rides, but most do not require payment. 

Daily Rate Lockers
At the front of Universal’s theme parks, you will find lockers available to rent for the entire day, which you may open as many times as you’d like.  We never used these lockers during our visit, but we used the attraction lockers a lot! 

Attraction lockers
Certain Universal Orlando attractions have lockers for guests’ convenience, and some are mandatory. The ride-locker system can be a bit frustrating, but once you have used the lockers a few times, you will see how easy it is.

For the safety of all guests, you are not permitted to bring bags or loose articles of any kind to certain attractions; in these instances, complimentary lockers are provided for the time it will take to queue and ride the following rides:

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit 
The Incredible Hulk Coaster
Jurassic World VelociCoaster

All items and bags, including cell phones, must be stowed, and guests will pass through a metal detector before entering the queue. Side Note for Velocicoaster – the lockers are inside the ride queue, and you do not have to use the ones outside the ride.  This was very helpful so we could have our phones with us until we were just minutes away from getting on the ride instead of not having them for the entire 90-minute wait. 

Other attractions where lockers are provided:
Revenge of the Mummy
Men in Black Alien Attack
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey 
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure 
There is a little more leeway and no metal detectors for these rides. 

These intuitive little lockers automatically consider the time you’ll spend both waiting and riding – with a few bonus minutes  – and won’t charge you during this period. Going over that window will cost you $3 for each additional half-hour (up to the $20 daily maximum).

How do I use these lockers?

Currently, they use ticket-based locker systems, so your process might differ depending on the type of locker used at various locations.

Each locker area will have a light that indicates the locker’s availability. Green means that there are plenty of lockers available, yellow means that the area has lower availability and red means that the locker area is full or closed. Once you find a locker area with a yellow or green light, find the size locker you desire and scan your theme park ticket. We had two different styles of lockers during our last visit. One was that we could scan our ticket in the app from our mobile devices, and the locker popped open.  Two was for rides with metal detectors where you can not have your phone on you – an attendant is standing by to give you a paper ticket.  Scan your paper ticket, and the locker will pop open. Remember your locker area and number, and keep your paper ticket. Then enjoy the ride! 

To retrieve your items, return to the locker area and scan your ticket (paper or phone). The receptacle will click open after displaying a warning that you can only access your locker once.

Three rides do not require you to stow your loose items but do provide lockers because these are the attractions where you and your stuff might get soaked:

Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges
Jurassic Park River Adventure

Because you are technically allowed to take your stuff with you on these rides, using these lockers is not free, with the price again depending upon the size: $4 for the smaller ones and $5 for large ones. These rates will get you 90 minutes of locker time.

Okay, I went off on a locker tangent, but this was one of the most significant differences between Disney and Universal, so I wanted to share all the knowledge we gained. Honestly, the lockers are incredible, and Disney will start to implement this more as well, which they just showed us with the newest attraction in Magic Kingdom – Tron, which has these lockers, and you use your park ticket or magic band! 

Ok, let’s get back to it!

Hogwarts Castle houses the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride along with one of my favorite gift shops in all of Universal. While this ride is pretty epic, don’t worry – no spoilers – I struggle with it due to the rocking motion and frequent 3D effects.  It is worth riding at least once, but for me, it’s likely not one I will ride again, which is a shame because the ride queue is so cool! You are walking through a life-like rendition of the castle from the movies.

Next, we went on Flight of the Hippogriff, next to the castle.  This was a cute ride and something I would do again if there weren’t a long line, but it reminds me of some of the roller coasters at Disney that are more or less for families with kids – think Barnstormer. The best part is the view of Hagrid’s house and Buckbeak! 

Naturally, we had to get photos in front of the castle.  We found a great view on the wooden bridge to the left of the castle on your way towards Jurrasic Park, just past the Hogsmeade arch and sign. After that, we had to buy wands at the Olivander Wand Shop! If the line isn’t long, I loved the cute little show in Olivanders – it’s a scene straight out of the movies! The newest wands are interactive throughout both areas – Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. I’m not going to lie. We both left this trip with multiple new wands, haha!

Can you buy alcohol in Harry Potter Universal Florida?

Pro Tip: We had a couple of yummy cocktails at Hogs Head, the only place within the Wizarding World Hogsmeade to buy quick-service alcohol besides the sit-down restaurant – Three Broomsticks. Hogs Head is a bar area attached to Three Broomsticks to the right of the main restaurant entrance.  There is a queue for Three Broomsticks, and you can mobile order food while in line to make things easier. Hogs Head is just a walk-up bar that sometimes forms an extensive line since it is the only place for adult beverages.  

We rode what is now my favorite ride in the entire park next – Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.  I would have ridden this 30 times if the queue hadn’t always been 120 minutes.  Hopefully someday they allow you to use Universal Express Passes – this one is worth doing either way! 

The Hogwarts Express

Since we bought park hopper tickets, we decided to take the Hogwarts Express into Universal Studios (the other park) and check out Diagon Alley.  The Hogwarts Express requires a park hopper ticket, and what you see differs depending on which station you depart from. The train uses screens instead of windows to show the passing countryside and arrival at Hogwarts. On the reverse trip, you see entertaining silliness thanks to Fred and George Weasley before arriving in London. During your train trip, you can hear and see shadows of various storyline themes outside your train compartment. It’s so incredible and immersive! 

Universal Studios Park – Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley became my favorite area. The Hogwarts Express transports you from Hogwarts to Kings Cross in London, where you can see the Night Bus and 12 Grimmauld Place, the home of Sirius Black. Watch closely because you might catch a glimpse of Kreacher, the house elf, peeking from the windows!

You enter Diagon Alley through an almost unnoticeable opening across the street from the Night Bus and next to King’s Cross Station.  Ensure you listen carefully to hear the “bricks magically moving” as you enter Diagon Alley.  Shops line the streets with a breathtaking centerpiece to the area – Gringotts Bank and the iconic fire-breathing dragon perched on top.  It stops you in your tracks and is a sight to see in person. 

My second favorite ride in the Harry Potter lands is – Harry Potter and The Escape from Gringotts.  It features all my favorite characters, and the ride queue is fantastic for fans. Escape from Gingotts combines 3D effects, a mild roller coaster, and a great storyline, including he who shall not be named himself.

This area has more interactive wand prompts and loads of unique gift shops and merchandise you can’t find in Hogsmeade, including a magical creatures pet shop.  My favorite store is in Knockturn Alley, which you might walk right by and not even know you should venture into the darkness.  At the end of a dark alleyway, you will find Borgin and Burkes – Traders of Dark Arts objects and oddities – it’s the best! You also have to check out Fred and George’s shop – Weasleys Wizard Wheezes – it’s perfect!

Diagon Alley also has one restaurant and a spot for adult beverages, which is The Leaky Cauldron, of course!  Same as Three Broomsticks, it is best to mobile order from your phone app, then be seated inside, and they deliver your food when it’s ready.  This was a much-needed resting spot because we were here in June, and it was hotter than the sun’s surface.  The food in The Wizardly World of Harry Potter fits the mood for the books and movies by serving traditional British fare.  Think fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, turkey legs, and more.  The restaurants are dark, moody, and have a great rustic vibe but are always very crowded. We also enjoyed an adult beverage from The Hopping Pot as well as butterbeer at The Fountain of Fair Fortune.

At the end of our first day, we decided to walk the “long” way out of Universal Studios to see some of the other areas.  There are eight lands in Universal Studios – 

Production Central 
New York 
San Francisco 
Hollywood 
Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone 
Springfield: Home of the Simpsons
World Expo 
Diagon Alley (hidden area in London with Harry Potter and Escape from Gringotts ride and the boarding station for the Hogwarts Express).

We enjoyed a drink at the Duff Beer Bar in Springfield in the Simpsons area, another cocktail at Finnegan’s Bar & Grill in New York, and finally, we found the iconic spinning earth Universal sign! We returned to the hotel exhausted and got to bed because we still had another day at the parks!

We spent our second day revisiting some of our favorite gift shops and exploring the lands we didn’t get to see in Islands of Adventure –

The Lost Continent 
Suess Landing 
Marvel Superhero Island 
Toon Lagoon 
Skull Island 
Jurassic Park 

My absolute favorite ride in all of Universal that is not in Harry Potter and is a must-do anytime you go to Universal is… The VeliciCoaster in Jurassic Park.  Hands down, it is one of the most incredible thrill rides and is only second in my heart to Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot in Disney. 

This first of many trips to Universal was epic and will forever remind me of a time when I learned many life lessons and became stronger than I thought I could.  I am so thankful that my best friend pulled everything together for us!

Since June, I have now returned to Islands of Adventure for a second time.  This time, it was a family affair – my sister, brother-in-law, niece, Mark, and myself headed over for just the day – on the day after Thanksgiving! It was great to share this time with them and see my niece at the best age imaginable to be interested in Harry Potter. 

For this trip, we spent much time in Harry Potter and ventured into the rest of the lands a bit more.  We managed to ride every thrill ride in the Island of Adventure park that day and left exhausted, but it was worth it. I even got to see the Hogwarts castle at night – which isn’t possible in the summer due to the parks closing before sunset that time of year.  Both were magical trips, and I can’t wait to go again and learn even more tips and tricks.

We are so excited that they are expanding Universal in Florida with a brand new area called Epic Universe that is due to open in the summer of 2025 with rumors of four new lands including – Super Mario World, Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts World, How to Train Your Dragon and a Classic Monsters land.  I Can NOT wait!! What do you think – are we about to become pass holders to Universal this year? Time will tell! 

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