Universal Orlando Vacation with Kids

If you’re looking for a fun vacation destination for your family members who love thrill rides, the Harry Potter franchise, classic movies and warm weather, then check out this post which highlights all the tips to have a great Universal Orlando Vacation with Kids!

DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post contain affiliate links, which come at no cost to you. Know that I only promote products I personally use and stand behind. To learn more about my affiliates, please review my disclosure policy.

My family of 4, which included a 9 and 11 year old, just returned from a 5 day visit to Universal Orlando Resort and we had a BLAST! My kids have a mix of bravery levels, but we found something for everyone at this expansive park. I also got lots of questions from friends and followers who were looking for all our tips for traveling with this tweens, so look no further than this post!

WHERE WE STAYED

Stay at one of the Universal Resort Hotels, like Aventura Hotel!

The Aventura hotel is considered one in the Prime Value hotel level at Orlando resort which mean we get lots of perks including a free shuttle to the Universal parks and Citywalk. While they said it came every 10 minutes, we never had to wait more than 5. Staying at a Universal Resort hotel, and purchasing park tickets, we were allowed early entrance to the Harry Potter portions of the Islands of Adventure park. We basically walked on all three of those rides before the rest of the park started to fill up!

The rooms were a modern style, with an ipad to control all the lights and tv or chat with the front desk. The lobby area included a Starbucks and food court areas, where we enjoyed the wood fire pizza one night and gelato another afternoon. We took full advantage of the HUGE pool area mid day everyday! It allowed us to cool off before a second run at the parks in the afternoon. They have plenty of seating, a small splash for younger kids and a large hot tub.

Tip: Don’t call the front desk for missing items, like shampoo or more towels. Text them on the ipad app in the room and ask them if Relay the Robot is available to send up the goods. It’s a fun surprise for the kids!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE UNIVERSAL ORLANDO PARKS

When we booked our trip, only 2 of the 3 adventure parks were available to book tickets as Epic Universe wasn’t yet open to the public. We also opted to pass the water park so the “buy 2 days, get 2 free” ticket promo we bought allowed us to visit both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios for 2 days each. Note: we did NOT buy the “park to park” level tickets so the only ride we couldn’t ride was the Kings Cross Hogwarts Train which connects Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.

Islands of Adventure – The name says it all as this park is filled with thrill rides, including the famous Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure ride in Hogsmead (got here first when it opens!) and the Jurassic World VelociCoaster, which are awesome if you’re big into roller coaster fun! Best rides here that my tweens loved: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (3d goggles simulator ride), Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges (they got wet!), The Incredible Hulk Coaster (my oldest loved this coaster!). Note: The Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride is pretty intense with it’s simulator movement and scary scenes, but my girls were brave and we rode this 3 times during our trip!

Universal Studios Florida – This is the more movie focused park with areas that look like famous cities around the country, including San Francisco, Hollywood and New York City. There are more simulation type rides here, where you sit in a vehicle that moves and provides interactive parts but you’re mostly looking at a screen and sometimes never even going anywhere! My not so tall 9 year old was tall enough to ride everything (but she didn’t lol). Don’t miss the cool (air conditioned) shows! We loved the The Bourne Stuntacular, which is a really cool stunt show that includes a really large interactive screen, Universal Orlando’s Horror Make-Up Show, where the host pulls someone from the audience and includes them in some behind the scenes horror movie magic and Animal Actors on Location!, which was a super cute feature of famous pet actors. There’s also a movie parade with rolling floats and one larger Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster. Best rides here that my tweens loved: Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon (we rode this simulator ride 3 times!), MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack! (always love a shooting game ride), and The Simpsons Ride (a must part of the park for all millennial men).
Epic Universe – During our visit, they opened this park up for hotel residences as a preview but we didn’t take part since we already had tickets booked. I hear the highlights of this park include: another Harry Potter area, Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon and one with traditional movie monsters like Dracula and Werewolf.
Volcano Bay – This is the water park which we didn’t visit BUT if we did, we would still stay at our hotel as it was the closest to the park and you could walk to it from our hotel!

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO VACATION TIPS

Ride Lockers are free! There are two sizes of lockers in the park near select rides where you cannot bring in any carry on items. The smaller locker size is long and skinny so we were easily able to fit in 3 cross body bags, 4 water bottles and 2 long wand boxes. There are larger lockers available for rent that hold more square items like small backpacks.
Drawstring or Cross body bags are preferred! While YES you CAN bring in a bookbag with snacks, food and accessories, the lockers offered for free for rides won’t be able to fit them and you’ll need to rent the larger locker. Tip: Bring a fold up reusable bag to carry around water bottles or any purchased items. This allows you to easily carry them but they can also go on their side and fit in the locker.
Bring snacks and drinks! You’re allowed to bring these into the park so we hit the local Walmart on the first day to stock up for the week. I highly suggest bringing drinks with a closed cap that you can lay on their side in the locker for many of the rides. Bonus tip: Bring a Sharpie in your luggage so you can easily write each family members name on the cap if you’re not into sharing. You can refill water bottles at any of the freestyle drink machines!

Get to the park early! While the park times listed 8am or 9am openings, they actually open the gate 15 minutes prior to that and we were at the “rope drop” opening each day. The lines were the shortest and the temperature was the best!

If you’re planning to get the interactive Harry Potter wands, visit the Ollivander’s Wand Shop Show before you buy. During it, one lucky child, like my daughter, is picked to get paired with their wand by completing a few spell attempts. They start at $70 and can be used in all Harry Potter areas of the parks. There are symbols in the streets that direct you to the motion and phrase to recite to complete the special spell. Tip: Don’t miss Knockturn Alley in Universal Studios Orlando as there are some dark area spells that light things up, kill spiders and make fun things happen! Note: The wand boxes DO fit in the free lockers!

Get the Universal Resort app! You can easily check the ride times, book food reservations or even keep your park ticket digitally in the app. Bonus tip: bring a portable charger since you’ll no doubt be taking lots of photos and videos and checking your app for ride times!

WHERE WE ATE

While YES most of the things we ate on this trip were on the go purchases at the park, I wanted to highlight a few good meals we enjoyed on the trip. At Universal Studios Orlando, we liked the burgers at Richter’s Burger Co. and the fish and chips at Leaky Cauldron. At Citywalk, we had delicious meals at Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food, NBC Sports Grill & Brew, and glazed donuts at Voodoo Doughnut.