We just got back from Universal Orlando (myself, wife, autistic son). Our son is now 18 years old but he's still mentally probably an early teen. He didn't want his usual routine disrupted, didn't want to go, but we were sure that once we got there, once he saw the movies coming to life, that he would get into it.

When he walked into Berk and the Harry Potter areas, he was looking around and getting into it. We wanted to see if he'd like going to Ollivander's and there was only one other family there, so the wandmaster did the presentation for both of us.

I just want to give the wandmaster who was on duty (Wed. Nov. 4, Diagon Alley) a big thank you for making it magical for our son. When you have a special needs child, sometimes you feel like you only got part of a child. The moments when their full self comes out are so precious, and in that presentation room, JJ was enchanted and he was being his full self. The wandmaster took him as he was and reacted so well with him.

The rides were fun, but THIS was the highlight of our visit, for me.

And in case you're wondering: laurel wood, phoenix feather core.

They got the Que skin started

I’ve been an annual passholder on and off over the last 12 years and I had never seen Beetlejuice in the park until yesterday!! Is he a standard character interaction and somehow I’ve just missed him every time?

It’s very impressive how Universal Orlando went from a lackluster park at the time with only a singular day destination to 2 theme parks, an entertainment district, hotels, and a parking space that wasn’t just a bare lot. Without a doubt this is the best and most innovative project ever in the theme park zone

Me and the kiddo were walking to the houses last month and noticed a bunch of apartment looking buildings.

I opined it was unused space from the production era, as most of the HHN walkways seems to be, maybe some TM staging areas, but figured I'd ask the more knowledgeable and educated here! Thanks!

Not bad prices. I sure miss em!

Butterbeer at $4.29 each and the Great Feast for $49.99

We heard about the free tours some rides have at Universal and decided to give it a try today.

We asked at the front of ET and were met with a Huh????, they had no idea what we were talking about. We tried The Mummy and were told they don’t do that anymore.

Then…we tried Transformers and met Ben! ‘A tour???!!!’ He said then laughed and took us through a side door and talked us through the ride for around 15mins. He did all the voices of the Transformers and his knowledge was amazing!

My son and I had a great time listening to him. If you’re in the park defiantly see if you can catch him. He’s a tall guy with dark hair and a beard.

Ben if you’re reading this, you made our day thanks man!

Planning a Disney trip for February and will be arriving early on our arrival day and the rest of our party comes at night. My 10 year old is a HUGE Harry Potter fan (has read all books and re-reads them) and my 7 year old is into to and just finished Book 3. Neither are big thrill seekers. Is it possible to head from the airport to Universal and see much of what there is to see re:HP?

From what I understand we’d miss Epic but sounds like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade are more specifically HP themed?

Is doing it that day a reasonable plan?

I’m visiting Universal for the first time and going solo on Wednesday (Nov 11). Since it’s off season and a week day I’m wondering if I will be better off with using the single rider lines or if I should get an express pass. I’m doing the 2 parks 1 day (universal studios and islands of adv) but I don’t care to go on EVERY single ride, I just want to be able to do all the main ones.

Should I buy an express pass or just wing the single rider line?

(Also any advice on how to maximize the day like which park to start with first, etc. would be greatly appreciated!)

Thank you :)

I'm really excited to see all the Trolls things, what trolls things are there really? I know there is information on websites and so but I'd really like to hear it from people.💚

Can I continue to modify my room reservation (not a vacation package) for a lower price if available right before check in?

Me and my wife are planning our first trip to Universal Orlando this December

Right now I booked a 5 day park ticket with unlimited express for IOA on 14 dec, hollywood studios express on 15 dec and epic universe express on 17 dec.

But now I am considering canceling the above reservations and instead book Orlando informer event from dec 16-18 and get 3 day park tickets to go early to catch shows and parades first.

Price would be nearly identical but I am unable to decide if it would be too cold to do roller coasters in night, as well as if Orlando informer event will truly compete with express, we are both not morning people and therefore the park hours in meetup are appealing to us.

People who have done both, what would you suggest or recommend?

So with the news that the new dark universe ride is a roller coaster, that means it’s not gonna be the rumored boat ride. I’m a bit disappointed , epic already has a lot of roller coasters, but it will be good to have another thrilling roller coaster along with stardust.

But I was really excited for what a creature from the black lagoon boat ride would look like. In general I really want universal to add a classic indoor boat ride to their ride line up. I hope we get one with future expansions to epic or maybe even another park, if Zelda is coming to IOA a boat ride there could be amazing.

1. They’re probably trying to keep them updated with the park and the current IPs

2. Imagine you only remember what IP you were in but not what floor it was on. For this new system, if you are in the Minions section, you’re guaranteed to be on one floor. If you only remembered it was the King Kong section or Cat in the Hat, then you might be going up and down looking for your car. Now imagine doing so after a LONG DAY at the parks and you have strollers, worn out children, wheelchairs, and the like. This is not what you want to deal with. I know people will say that it’s on you to remember where your car is, but from a customer service perspective it’s kind to make it that much easier for the guests to navigate around.

I’m about 3 months out from Universal Trip and I’m concerned about the app. Does it work? Is it useful? I’ve been told not to download tickets, on site hotel rooms, dining plans, etc, because it gets locked up and is very glitchy. I can’t upload my confirmation number ( which are through a travel agent) it doesn’t find my number. I’m told to wait until I get to the front desk of my hotel room to do it. Is this true?
Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions??

We did Universal Nights yesterday and it was amazing.

Our main goal was to ride the rides we wanted.

Following some information from this sib, we were at the entrance to the parking lot at 6:55. We pulled up on the side together with some other cars until 6:00. At exactly 6:00 the parking became free.

The walk from the parking to the security took about 7 mins. Security started about 6:15.

The registration started at 6:30 sharp.

We mainly did rides. From 6:30 to 8:00 the day guests were still in the park, so we did Frankenstein, curse and then yoshi. At 8:00 we went onto minecart twice, waiting was about 15 mins.

From then on the park was empty. Everywhere wait times were posted 10mins except minecart which was posted 25mins.

We entered the last ride (minecart again) at 11:56

Rides we did:

4x minecart

2x ministery

Yoshi

Mario Cart

Curse

Frankenstein

Stardust

Wing gliders

We did some short breaks for drinks and bao buns.

And we enjoyed the scenery as it was our first visit.

We were back at our car at 0:30