Universal Studios Florida: An Honest Park Review

Is Universal Studios Florida worth it now that Disney finally has a real rival down the road? We spent three days at Universal Orlando Resort finding out, and the short version is yes, with caveats. The resort used to be the easy thing to skip on an Orlando trip. It is not anymore. As of May 2025 it has a brand-new fourth gate, Epic Universe, which means the place people once waved off as “the Disney alternative” is now a multi-day destination in its own right.

For the record, the resort now includes several hotels, three theme parks — Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe — plus a water park, Volcano Bay. The two original parks exit into City Walk, which is comparable to Disney Springs. It consists of shops, restaurants, and people heading to Da Club who forgot to cover their underwear with skirts. This post is about Universal Studios Florida, the original park.

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Quick Verdict: Is Universal Studios Florida Worth It?

Yes, it is worth a visit. Universal Studios Florida is a great park: the theming is genuinely impressive, the attractions are well done (though nauseating — pack the Dramamine), and the kid areas are solid. Disney is still better top to bottom, but Universal has come a long way from the days people compared it to Six Flags as an insult. Here is the cheat sheet before we get into it:

• Best part of the park: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley, by a mile. Hit it first thing.
• Don’t-miss seasonal event: the Mardi Gras parade (the 2026 season runs February 7 through April 4).
• Time needed: a full day for this park alone; more if you’re hopping to Islands of Adventure or Epic Universe.
• Biggest planning gotcha: the free hotel Express benefit covers Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure only — not Epic Universe or Volcano Bay.
• What’s changed: the old KidZone is gone, replaced by DreamWorks Land. Fear Factor Live, Curious George, and Fievel’s Playland have all closed.

We spent three days hopping between the two original parks. The kids liked the themes of a lot of the rides more than Disney, which distracted them from the fact that all the rides were basically the same. Universal has the market cornered on simulator rides — not that anyone needed to corner that market. Again: pack the Dramamine.

Should You Stay at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel?

We stayed at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, one of the on-property hotels. I chose it for one reason: it includes Universal Express Unlimited, which gives everyone in the room front-of-the-line access on most rides. One important update since our trip — that free Express benefit is valid only at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. It does not cover Epic Universe or Volcano Bay. Only three hotels include it at all: Portofino Bay, Hard Rock Hotel, and Royal Pacific. If skipping lines is your whole strategy, know exactly which parks it works in before you book.

I booked Loews Portofino Bay Hotel using Citi ThankYou Points earned mainly from signup bonuses on the Citi Premier card. Heads up: that card has since been rebranded as the Citi Strata Premier. Points redeem through a travel portal, so they work on most travel. The annual fee has held at $95, and the welcome bonus has typically been around 60,000 ThankYou Points after a few thousand dollars of spend — but offers fluctuate, so check the current offer before you apply. If you’re new to all this, our guide to earning travel points is a gentler place to start than learning on the fly with a hotel deadline looming.

Big change worth flagging: Citi is ending person-to-person ThankYou Points sharing. The last day to send or receive points between separate accounts is May 16, 2026, and the feature stops the next day. The old “my husband and I combined our points to cover the stay” trick — where shared points expired 90 days after the transfer — is going away entirely. Pooling points across your own Citi accounts still works. So if you were planning to combine points with a spouse to swing a redemption like this, do it before the cutoff. If you cancel a trip and your shared points have already expired, they are gone. For more on whether a card like this earns its keep, see our take on annual fees and retention offers.

Which Universal Studios Florida Tickets Should You Buy?

Universal offers both single-park tickets and park-to-park tickets. Unlike Disney World, the two original parks are within walking distance, and they share Hogwarts Express, a train attraction that shuttles you between them. You cannot ride Hogwarts Express without a park-to-park ticket. This is how they get you.

My kid really loves Harry Potter, and I’d heard Hogwarts Express was special, so I sprang for park-to-park. We only switched parks one of the three days we were there. The train was cool, but the experience did not justify the added cost. If you would not switch parks otherwise, save the money. One new wrinkle since Epic Universe opened in 2025: multi-day tickets now come in tiers, and access to Epic is usually bundled separately, so read exactly which parks a ticket covers before you buy. Lowest-tier 2026 single-day prices have started around $124 for Universal Studios Florida and run higher on busy dates, so always check current pricing rather than trusting a number you read months ago.

You can often find tickets at a discount through Undercover Tourist and Viator. Undercover Tourist sends a newsletter that sometimes includes extra discounts, so if you have time, wait for one before you buy. Already planning a Disney trip too? Our post on adding Universal to your Disney vacation walks through how to fit both into one trip without losing your mind.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley

Universal Studios Florida is well themed throughout, and each section is distinct. There is a lot to see everywhere you turn. With that said, none of the other sections can touch The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley.

My son’s love for Harry Potter is the reason we made the trip. Since Harry Potter is not featured on the Real Housewives of New Jersey, I haven’t kept up with it. Even so, even a non-fan can appreciate Diagon Alley. The amount of detail that went into this land is above and beyond what I expected.

Walk in and you no longer feel like you’re in the rest of the theme park. They did a great job secluding it. It is like its own town.

There are storefronts, some decorative and some real.

It has its own bank.

There is a Knight Bus with a talking head in the driver’s seat.

The best part of the decor is the fire-breathing dragon perched over Gringotts Bank — and yes, it really does breathe fire.

We did not do this, but there is a store called Ollivanders where you can customize a wand. There are interactive spots throughout the land to use said wands. They don’t seem to work all that well from what I saw. Enter Ollivanders with caution. I’ve heard there is a little show where a wand “picks” a kid. So cute — until you figure out you have to pay for that wand or be labeled the worst parent ever for years to come. My son borrowed a wand to do this because I fall into the bad-parent category.

Diagon Alley is the best part of Universal Studios Florida by a long shot. Unfortunately, this is the worst-kept secret of all time. By midday the crowds are swarming like a bunch of middle-aged party-pantsers were just told White Claw has been discontinued and the last available case is at Trader Joe’s. It went from “Oh, this is so cool!” to “Get me the f— out of here” quite rapidly. Hit this section first thing in the morning. If you’ve got little ones in tow, our roundup of visiting Universal Orlando with toddlers covers how to make Diagon Alley work for the stroller set.

Is the Universal Mardi Gras Parade Worth Seeing?

This. Was. AWESOME. We loved it, and I cannot say enough good things about it. It felt genuinely authentic to New Orleans. It was high energy. The floats were amazing. Good news: Mardi Gras is still an annual seasonal event. The 2026 run, themed “International Flavors of Carnaval,” is scheduled for February 7 through April 4, with a nightly parade of around a dozen Kern Studios floats.

Everyone marching in it was enthusiastic.

There was no shortage of beads thrown, despite the minor children keeping their shirts on.

Highly, highly recommend. This was my favorite thing we did the entire trip. I read that you can sign up to ride on one of the floats through a Float Ride experience. We didn’t try it because our kids didn’t qualify, but I’m sure it would have been fun. If you’re there during Mardi Gras season, this is a must-see.

Which Universal Studios Florida Shows Are Worth Your Time?

Animal Actors on Location

Animal Actors on Location stars domestic animals who run around and do tricks, and it is still going over in the Hollywood area near E.T. Adventure with several shows a day. It was super cute. I feel guilty visiting establishments with animals, but this was no SeaWorld. I’m not sure where the dogs reside outside of business hours, but they seemed happy. My son was selected to volunteer in the show. It is a special memory for him, despite his being accused of instructing a dog to bring him a bra. Low-hanging fruit.

FEAR FACTOR LIVE (Now Closed)

Update before you go looking for it: Fear Factor Live is permanently closed. It went dark in 2021, and the stadium has since been demolished. I will mourn it the way you’d mourn a parking ticket. To be clear, when it ran, the name was in all caps because that is how Universal listed it — not because the show was anything to get excited about. It was as cheesy as they come: two dads with Napoleon complexes reliving their Polk High glory days, battling it out to win nothing.

Between the dad bouts, they’d put some guy’s head in a box and drop scorpions on it, then two men would drink a blender full of rotten seafood and milk. Call me lame, but I don’t need to watch grown men puke to have a good time. So in this one rare case, “closed permanently” is not a tragedy — consider the demolished stadium a public service.

Beat Builders

I dropped the ball on this one. My youngest son is obsessed with anything construction-related, so I assumed Beat Builders was a construction show and built it up to get him excited. In reality, it is some guys in orange vests drumming on buckets up on scaffolding. Think Stomp meets Village People for approximately four seconds. At the end of the very short show, my son asked when they were going to start building something. It’s still performing in the New York street area as of this update, so you can catch it — just pause to watch if you’re walking by rather than staking out a spot ahead of time.

What Are the Best Kid Play Areas at Universal Studios Florida?

Major update for anyone planning a 2026 trip: the kids’ areas we visited no longer exist. The old Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone closed in January 2023 and was replaced by DreamWorks Land, which opened June 14, 2024. The new land brings together Shrek, Trolls, and Kung Fu Panda — including a Trollercoaster and Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp — and it’s now the go-to spot for little kids at this park. Minion Land (with Villain-Con Minion Blast and Despicable Me Minion Mayhem) is another current draw. I’m keeping our original write-ups below because the spirit of the review still stands, but treat them as a record of what used to be there, not a current to-do list.

Curious George Goes to Town (Now Closed)

Heads up: Curious George Goes to Town is gone — its old site is now Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp in DreamWorks Land. When we visited, it was a cute play area and splash pad where kids could operate water guns to spray others. I had to give one kid the Meet the Fockers “eyes on you” signal to stop him from spraying me more than once.

The interior had a large play area with foam balls you could shoot and send whooshing through tubes into the air.

My kids could have entertained themselves in there all day. If your crew is the same, DreamWorks Land’s play areas now fill that role.

Fievel’s Playland (Now Closed)

Fievel’s Playland was much smaller than Curious George Goes to Town, but a lot was packed into it. Everything was enlarged to give the impression the child was the size of a mouse.

The highlight was a water slide you could ride on a raft while fully clothed. I can’t think of another time I’ve seen that.

The kids had fun and all, but can you name a single person born after 1992 who has seen any of these movies? Fievel was hardly relevant, and I said back then it was time for an update. Be careful what you wish for: Fievel’s Playland has since been completely demolished, and the Shrek area of DreamWorks Land now sits in its place. My petty complaint became reality. You’re welcome, Universal.

Universal Studios Florida Characters

Universal Studios Florida has some pretty great characters, and boy do they use jazz hands. Shaggy and Beetlejuice definitely did some method acting before donning those wigs.

Where to Find Gluten-Free Dining at Universal Studios Florida

A quick note before the specifics: we ate gluten-free here on our visit, and the options below reflect what was available then. Theme-park menus and allergy offerings change, so confirm with the restaurant when you go.

Bumblebee Man’s Tacos

Bumblebee Man’s Tacos is a food truck in Springfield. When we visited, they offered gluten-free corn tortillas even though they weren’t listed on the menu — so it’s worth asking.

I’m not sure how safe it would be if you’re worried about cross-contamination, but they did ask about allergies, so I assume some precautions are in place. The price was reasonable given the theme-park location. The tacos were just OK — but they did come out of a truck with a demented bumblebee man on top, so they met expectations.

Leaky Cauldron

Leaky Cauldron sits in Diagon Alley. We went for breakfast, and as with the rest of the land, the restaurant is beautifully themed.

You order at a counter, then a staff member seats you and brings the food out, so it skips the chaos of a lot of other fast-food spots.

Again, the gluten-free option — pancakes — wasn’t listed on the menu, so you have to ask.

It was pretty pricey, and they don’t have Diet Coke (let’s not get carried away with the theming there, Harry), but I’m glad we tried it. The food was decent, particularly for a counter-service theme-park restaurant.

Universal Studios Florida FAQ

How many theme parks does Universal Orlando have now?

Three theme parks — Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe (which opened May 22, 2025) — plus the Volcano Bay water park. Epic Universe is the big new one, with five worlds including Super Nintendo World and a second Wizarding World, the Ministry of Magic. If you’re trying to fold all of this into a Disney trip, our guide on adding Universal to your Disney vacation helps you budget the days.

Do you need a park-to-park ticket for Hogwarts Express?

Yes. Hogwarts Express only runs between Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, and you must have a park-to-park ticket to ride it. If you don’t plan to switch parks anyway, the upgrade usually isn’t worth it for the train alone.

Does the free hotel Express Pass work at every park?

No. The complimentary Universal Express benefit at Portofino Bay, Hard Rock Hotel, and Royal Pacific covers Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure only. It does not work at Epic Universe or Volcano Bay, which is an easy and expensive thing to get wrong.

When is the best time to visit Diagon Alley?

First thing in the morning, full stop. Diagon Alley is the most popular part of the park and gets shoulder-to-shoulder by midday. Get there at rope drop and you’ll actually enjoy the detail before the crowd swallows it.

Is Universal good for toddlers and little kids?

It can be. The kid scene has shifted from the old KidZone to DreamWorks Land (Shrek, Trolls, Kung Fu Panda), plus Minion Land. For the full rundown, see our post on visiting Universal Orlando with toddlers and the companion Universal Orlando packing list.

Final Thoughts

Universal Studios Florida is a great park. The theming is awesome, the attractions are well done (although nauseating), and the play areas — now under the DreamWorks Land banner — are nice. Universal Orlando was an afterthought to Disney regulars for a long time, the place people compared to Six Flags to be mean. That era is over. With Epic Universe now in the mix, Universal has gone from “the other Orlando resort” to a legitimate multi-day destination. I still think Disney is better overall, but Universal has come a long way. It is worth a visit. For more on what’s still standing and what to ride, see our deeper dive into Universal Studios Florida attractions and our list of the must-dos at Universal Orlando.