Whether you get front-of-line access for attractions or not, you'll need to call in advance to secur

The Universal Orlando Resort expanded to two theme parks in 1999 with the addition of Universal's Islands of Adventure , the first park built by Universal that wasn't themed to a movie studio. Today, Islands of Adventure is best known as the home of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter , the 2010 addition to the park that's helped make this park the most popular non-Disney theme park in America.
Universal Orlando offers what might be the best deal in the theme park industry, one you should consider as it makes planning a visit to this and sister park Universal Studios Florida vacation packages to orlando florida ridiculously vacation packages to orlando florida simple. Anyone vacation packages to orlando florida who books a stay at one of Universal's three on-site hotels gets front-of-the-line access to almost all attractions at the two parks for the duration of his or her stay, at no additional charge. With unlimited vacation packages to orlando florida front of line access, you don't need to worry about itineraries or strategies -- just do what you want, when you want to, with no more than a five-to-10-minute wait for each ride.
This "Universal Express Unlimited" begins on your check-in day and ends on your check-out day, so a single night's stay at one of these hotels can get you two days of front-of-line access, for up to five people in one room. Universal hotel guests also get one hour of early admission to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, before it opens to "regular" park visitors. Since the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride (the one located in Hogwarts Castle) is the only major ride in the two Universal Orlando parks that's not covered under the Universal Express Unlimited front-of-line access, using this extra hour is essential for getting the most value from your stay at the resort.
You will need to buy theme park admission in order to use this perk, of course. And Universal charges the same rate for parking overnight at its hotels as it charges day guests for its parking garages, so don't forget that cost when pricing a trip. However, Universal's two theme parks are located within easy parking distance of one another, and a reasonable walk from each of the three hotels, so you might not need a car when you visit the resort. Along with the Disneyland Resort in California, Universal Orlando is a very walkable theme park vacation destination.
You can price on-site hotel rooms and packages at Universal vacation packages to orlando florida Orlando's website , and check out its special offers page while you're there. (Rates start at around $225 a night at the Royal Pacific, which tends to be the lowest-priced vacation packages to orlando florida of the three.) Make sure that you book an "on-site" hotel, and not an off-site "partner" hotel, vacation packages to orlando florida for the front-of-line access. And also note that the on-site Cabana Bay Beach Resort that opens in 2014 will not offer the front-of-line access to its guests.
If your budget leads you to stay off-site, price Universal Orlando tickets on the Universal vacation packages to orlando florida website , then ask if your human resources department, student union or credit union offers discounted tickets to the parks. Despite vacation packages to orlando florida the two parks' close proximity, you shouldn't pay extra for the "park-to-park" ticket unless you're planning to spend at least two days at the resort. There's just too much to see at these parks to do them both in one day (unless you're staying on-site and have that unlimited vacation packages to orlando florida front-of-line access.) Universal Orlando does not offer a "no expire" option on theme park tickets, so there's no point in trying to get a better deal by buying extra days for future trips, as you can at Walt Disney World. Buy tickets just for the days you'll be visiting vacation packages to orlando florida the park on this trip. If you'll be visiting SeaWorld during your trip, look into an Orlando FlexTicket (available on the Universal Orlando website), which covers Universal Orlando vacation packages to orlando florida and SeaWorld with one ticket, with an option to add SeaWorld's Busch Gardens Tampa park as well.
Even if you're not staying on-site, vacation packages to orlando florida you still have opportunities to skip the park's queues. Universal offers paid front-of-line passes for visitors not staying vacation packages to orlando florida at its resorts . An unlimited front of line pass will cost between $51-$102/day per person over the cost of a daily admission ticket, depending upon the day you visit. vacation packages to orlando florida A "one-skip-per attraction" basic Universal Express pass costs between $25-$61/day per person, over the cost of park admission. When you consider the cost of an unlimited Universal Express pass for a family vacation packages to orlando florida of four on summer vacation, you're essentially getting a four-star hotel room for free if you book a night at one of the Universal hotels, when you compare the hotel room cost to the price of the Express passes bought separately.
If skipping lines isn't exclusive enough for you, Universal will hook you up with a VIP tour guide , for the right price, of course. Prices start at $229 per person, on top of park admission, to join a scheduled VIP group. You can book a private tour for up to 10 people, starting vacation packages to orlando florida at $2,750 for eight hours. (Again, that's on top of the admission tickets for everyone in the group.)
Whether you get front-of-line access for attractions or not, you'll need to call in advance to secure reservations at either of Islands of Adventure's two table-service restaurants, vacation packages to orlando florida Confisco Grille vacation packages to orlando florida and former Theme Park Insider Award winner Mythos Restaurant. Call 407-224-4012 vacation packages to orlando florida in advance of your visit. Reservations are not difficult on most days, so you don't need to call weeks in advance. A few days should suffice.
Universal Orlando's parks do experience significantly vacation packages to orlando florida smaller vacation packages to orlando florida crowds vacation packages to orlando florida during the school year, with the exception of September and October, when the popular vacation packages to orlando florida Halloween Horror Nights after-hours vacation packages to orlando florida event runs over at Universal Studios Florida. If you can plan your visit during weekdays during other months of the school year, avoiding popular vacation weeks around spring break, you might be able to avoid significant waits on most attractions without needing to pay extra for a Universal Express pass or on-site hotel room.
Parking costs $16 per vehicle ($5 after 6pm) and you'll park in the same parking garage whether you're visiting IOA or Universal Studios Florida. From the garage, it's a bit of a haul across several moving sidewalks into Universal Orlando's CityWalk shopping and dining district, on your way to the parks. Bear left for Islands of Adventure and right for the Studios, when you get through CityWalk.
Plan to arrive at least an hour in advance of the park opening during the summer and holiday vacation packages to orlando florida seasons, vacation packages to orlando florida to give yourself time to park and walk to the front gate to queue to be among the first in the park, if you don't have front of line access. (Otherwise, vacation packages to orlando florida show up whenever you want.) Remember that Universal hotel guests already will be inside the Wizarding vacation packages to orlando florida World of Harry Potter when the park opens, so you might spend this time better visiting other attractions in the park that don't have people in their queues yet, and saving Harry Potter for later in the day. (Many fans think the atmosphere in that land is best at night, anyway.)
Theme Park Insider readers' top four attractions vacation packages to orlando florida in Islands of Adventure, outside Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, vacation packages to orlando florida are: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man Incredible Hulk Coaster Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls
All four are located to the left when you enter the park and walk through the Port of Entry area to the park's central lagoon. Start with Spider-Man, then move on to Hulk, Dudley Do-Right and Popeye. Note that the last two are water rides that will soak you, so if it's a cool or overcast day -- when the Orlando sun won't dry you immediately vacation packages to orlando florida -- you might choose to leave those until just before you head back to the hotel. Fortunately, cool and overcast days tend to be those school-year off-season days when waits are short enough that you don't need to worry about visiting strategies.
Families with young children might choose instead to start their day by walking to the right and spending the morning in Seuss Landing enjoying the multiple Dr. Seuss-inspired attractions there. Start with the High In The Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride then return to One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and The Cat in the Hat rides to minimize wait times.
There's one more way to minimize your waits, vacation packages to orlando florida even if you didn't spring for the Universal Express pass. Six of Islands of Adventure's attractions have single-rider lines, though vacation packages to orlando florida they might not be marked and you'll have to ask a ride attendant at the attraction's entrance for directions to the single-rider queue: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man vacation packages to orlando florida Doctor Doom's Fearfall Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Incredible Hulk Coaster vacation packages to orlando florida Jurassic Park River Adventure
You will miss some of the Hogwarts walk-through if you use the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey single-rider line, but you still will see the Gryffindor common vacation packages to orlando florida room, Dumbledore's office, and an alternate version of the portrait gallery. On busy days, small groups can see more of the park in less time by splitting up and using the single-rider lines than they would be staying vacation packages to orlando florida together and going through the regular queues.
Drinking a Butterbeer in the Wizarding vacation packages to orlando florida World of Harry Potter might be one of the park's most popular attractions, vacation packages to orlando florida even more than some of the park's highly lauded rides. But don't queue up for the big Butterbeer cart parked in the middle of the land. Instead, duck inside the Hog's Head Pub to order your (nonalcoholic and very sweet) Butterbeer -- there's a much shorter, and often non-existent, wait there.
The Hog's Head shares its space with the Three Broomsticks restaurant in the Wizarding World, which offers another popular option for breakfast, lunch or dinner in the park. It's counter service and takes no reservation, so arrive outside of traditional meal times to avoid a wait.
Outside of Three Broomsticks, Mythos and Confisco Grille, Islands of Adventure offers a fairly standard selection of counter-service theme park fare, mostly burgers and pizza, with ribs available over in Jurassic Park (natch).
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