If you are looking for action during your Orlando vacation, then this just might be the place for you! Geared toward a slightly older audience than the Disney parks, Universal Orlando offers two different action-packed theme parks to thrill those that are looking for something a little more cutting edge than “The Mouse.” When they opened their first park, Universal Studios Florida, people saw it as something else to do during their Orlando vacation after finishing up Walt Disney World. Now with two theme parks and a high octane pulse, Universal Orlando has become a destination unto itself and is rated by many visitors as the best theme park pair in Orlando.

The purpose of this section of the web site is not to tell you which is better - Universal Orlando or Walt Disney World. Instead, its purpose is to serve as an informative guide so that you can choose which parks might be best for you during your Orlando vacation. Although the thrill rides make the Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure theme parks more popular with teens, there are still large areas in each park set aside for the little ones as well. Also, When compared to Walt Disney World, the relatively compact size of the Universal Orlando theme parks means that your feet and legs may not take as bad of a beating when visiting them.

One of the things that makes Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure unique, is their proximity to one another. If you want to jump between the two Universal Orlando theme parks, you wont have to even think about moving your car, since they are almost side by side, share the same parking facility and the walk from one to the other is at the most, ten minutes. If you would like to take a break in the middle of the day and cool off, Wet ‘N Wild is just a short five minute drive away and might be the perfect add-on to your Orlando vacation,

The Inside Spin:

Although there aren’t as many secrets and tips to share with you about the Universal parks as there are with the Disney ones, I will point them out to you whenever possible in a section on select web pages called “The Inside Spin.” This area may include tips or inside secrets related to one or more of the Universal Orlando attractions. For instance, at Disney, they have something called “Disney Extra Magic Days” for their resort guests and “FastPasses” to help speed your way onto the more popular attractions. Universal has their own spin on these concepts, offering four different ways to move ahead of other people waiting in ride queues.

1. Front of the Line Access: If your Orlando vacation plans include staying at any of the three luxury resorts at Universal Orlando, this will give you the best opportunity to jump ahead of the masses at each attraction. All guests of the Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific or Hard Rock Hotel need to do, is simply show their room key and they will be permitted to enter the special Front of the Line access area for each attraction. This permits them to leap-frog guests who do not have this advantage. What makes this especially advantageous, is that Universal Orlando resort guests can do this an unlimited number of times for any and all of the attractions at the Universal theme parks.
   
   
2. Universal Express Plus: If your Orlando vacation budget does not include staying in the luxury hotels found at Universal Orlando, this is the second best option for keeping ahead of the crowds. People with Universal Express Plus passes do not have to go to a machine for an assigned time to enter an attraction. Instead, they are permitted to enter an an Express Pass queue that seems light years faster than the standard lines. You may only use a Universal Express Plus pass once for each ride. These passes may be obtained from the Universal Orlando ticket windows before entering the theme park(s) for an additional $20.00 each. Only a limited number of these passes are sold each day. If you want one, get it early or they may very well be sold out if you enter the park too late.
    
3. Universal Express: This free option is available to anyone visiting either of the Universal Orlando theme parks. At the entrance to each of the popular rides, is a row of machines from which you may obtain a Universal Express pass. Simply insert your admission ticket, select a ride, and you'll receive a slip of paper with a one hour time frame marked on it. During that hour, you can board that ride using the lightning-fast Express lane.

Generally speaking, you are only allowed to acquire one Universal Express pass at a time. You can get another one after you've used your existing pass, OR after your one-hour time slot is up, OR two hours after you obtained an unused pass that has not expired.

Please Note: On busy days, you may discover that all of the Universal Express passes have been given out by mid-afternoon for the most popular rides. The best way to avoid this is to have a plan before you get to Universal Orlando and to arrive early (BONUS TIP: They usually start letting guests into the Universal Orlando theme parks as much as 1/2 hour before their published opening times). For instance, make a list ranking your Must Do rides and obtain a Universal Express pass immediately upon entering the park for your top rated one. Get in line for your next highest ranked ride and do as many as you can in descending order of importance until it is time to ride the one that you have obtained an Universal Express pass for. Immediately upon exiting that ride, obtain another Universal Express Pass for the highest ranked ride still on your list and continue in this manner until you have done them all. If you do this, you will undoubtedly find that your trip to Universal Orlando is less hectic, giving you more time to relax or do a few more things during your Orlando vacation.

4. Single Riders: To help fill in vacant seats caused by an odd number of people in any particular grouping of passengers, many of the rides at Universal Orlando will let single riders up to the front. Tell any attendant that you are a single rider and you may find yourself at the head of the pack! Note: This option is not to be confused with seats needing to be filled next to any number of odd people; those seats always seem to be reserved for me!

By clicking on Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure on the navigation bar at the top left of this page, you can begin to explore the exciting adventures that await you at Universal Orlando and decide for yourself which Orlando vacation destination is better for you and your family - the one with “The Mouse,” the one with “The Hulk” or both.