Universal Orlando Resort: Where great stories come to life!

The Friday that we traveled to Universal Orlando Studios Florida began with utter insanity in my household: a phone call from the airline indicating that our flight had been cancelled, and with our kids immediately in tears! Thankfully, after more frantic phone calls, very quick packing, and  an unexpected layover flight in Boston (!), we finally checked into the beautiful Cabana Bay Resort in Orlando, Florida at 2:30 am on Saturday morning.

The staff at Cabana Bay were there with a calming smile, and the expansive lobby, wide open grounds and our large room for four made us realize that we were now in a much more joyous place than our crowded seats on the airplane! Yes, our 8 year-old and 10 year-old stayed up until 3 am, but we all slept like kids on Christmas Eve - comfortable, happy and up at the crack of dawn ready and excited to explore our weekend playground!

Universal’s information says that they are all about creating stories and atmospheres and we felt this right away with Cabana Bay Resort. The Resort's specific atmosphere is one that deliberately evokes the 1950’s to early 1960’s, with the music of Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry playing and the architecture to match. The Bayliner Diner/food court onsite has large screens which play old ads from the 50’s and nostalgic news feeds of Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe. The hotel also has two extremely large pool areas - one pool with fun slides and an area with evening movies during the summer, and the other area with a large heated pool, plus a relaxing lazy river (bring your own inflatables or buy them cheaply at the hotel store).

Staying at a Universal Orlando Resort has many advantages, such as early park admission and being conveniently located to  all the main attractions. From Cabana Bay you can walk to the new Volcano Bay theme park (located right next door), and there’s a free shuttle to Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios and CityWalk. Note that staying at one of the other Universal resorts (Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel or Loews Royal Pacific Resort) also includes free Universal Express Unlimited™ passes, which are tickets that allow you to skip the regular lines (in our case we were fortunate to have the passes as part of the press trip, and they are most definitely a terrific time-saver).  Universal CityWalk™ is an outdoor mall and Food Court in between the two parks, where (if you have a 2 park pass) you can move from Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure and come out to have lunch or a snack there whenever you need a break.

We started our adventure at Universal Studios as my husband and I were sentimental about having spent time there years earlier (before the addition of Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay). The park did not disappoint, as it has been updated with many new and exciting rides, including: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, Transformers: The Ride-3-D, and the brand new: Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon. Luckily they kept the classic E.T. Adventure (which turned out to be our 8 year-old daughter’s favorite ride in the whole complex, and which she wanted to go to again and again!)

As you walk into each ride’s area and wait online you are transported into that rides ‘story’ and virtual world. Having been to the real Rockefeller Center many times, my husband and I were quite impressed with how Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon really felt like being downtown at 30 Rockefeller Plaza - they even have the security desk, elevators, and passes to take you to the “studio" - and the ride was a whimsical, adrenaline-charged virtual romp through New York, the moon, and beyond using 3-D images, moving chairs, and other sensory touches to make the entire "trip"  fun and feel incredibly real (and the favorite overall attraction for my husband!)

However, the most transporting experience and certainly the highlight for both myself and our kids (all of us huge Harry Potter fans!) was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter ™ , which includes both Diagon Alley at Universal Studios and Hogsmeade - with Hogwarts Castle looming in the distance at Islands of Adventure! At Universal Studios we almost passed right by Diagon Alley as it’s actually hidden behind a wall at King’s Cross train station. As you walk around the wall it’s thrilling to literally walk into a Harry Potter novel (my heart jumped) and even my husband (who has not read Harry Potter) was very impressed by the obvious care and attention to detail. Diagon Alley is full of all the special witch and wizarding stores you’ve read about including the Leaky Cauldron and Olivanders wand shop. You can even purchase an interactive wand which allows you to ‘do magic’ at certain points throughout Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade (the interactive wands are around $47). ​

​Diagon Alley’s centerpiece is the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts ride, an impressive 3-D and 4-D motion simulation experience (note: the Dementors were a bit scary for my 8 year-old even with her so familiar with the books). From Diagon Alley at Universal Studios you can take the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle at Universal’s Islands of Adventure™, which I highly recommend (the kids and I were besides ourselves on the ‘real’ Hogwarts Express). Islands of Adventure has Hogsmeade with more of the famous businesses you’ve read about, plus Butterbeer (actually a delicious non-alcoholic blend of cream and soda!) and other treats. My absolute favorite ride was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey where you can ride through Hogwarts and fly on a broomstick through a Quidditch match (spoiler alert - Harry comes in to save the day!)

Besides The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Islands of Adventure has 7 different landscapes & themes to explore. There’s Jurassic Park where you feel like you’ve entered a jungle and - if you dare - you can ride the notorious "flume ride". Camp Jurassic is a nice play area for the kids with fountains to cool them down. For your younger kids (and all the kids at heart), Seuss Crossing is a visual feast for your eyes where bright colors and playful buildings take you instantly inside The Cat in the Hat or One Fish, Two Fish. It is a place to drag even the teenagers among your group,  as everyone will enjoy this trip into the whimsical world of the beloved Dr. Seuss.

Perhaps the largest paradigm shift occurs at their latest theme park, Volcano Bay, where you are meant to feel like you’ve ventured into an exotic tropical Hawaiian Island. When I read that Universal was building a 200-foot volcano as the centerpiece of the new park I honestly thought it might feel too fabricated. When I actually saw the volcano, however,  I marveled at this man-made achievement and the tropical landscape surrounding it, including an expansive beach and a wave pool!

But the volcano isn't just a visual spectacle: the volcano itself includes rides, slides and racers, like the Krakatau Aqua Coaster and the Ko’okiri Body Plunge which, as Universal describes, is “a 70 degree fall through a trap door and then a plunge 125 feet to the water below”! We all enjoyed the coaster, but opted out of the body plunge (much to my son’s chagrin). All the raft rides and slides are exhilarating and we were all very delighted with the two rivers to ride at our leisure (one was slow and lazy the other just a bit more of a rapid, but still relaxing, with inflatables provided - just grab one and jump on as they float by!)

The most efficient part about Volcano Bay is the new TapuTapu wrist band which allows visitors to skip long lines. You simply tap the wrist band at a spot in front of the ride you want to go on and the watch will alert you when it’s your time to ride. You can only ‘tap’ for one ride at a time, but the technology helped us plan our day and we were sure to go on all the rides we wanted (Universal Express Unlimited™ passes are not available for Volcano Bay). Finally, the Volcano Bay at night is a lovely site - especially at sunset with a mix of natural light and the special lighting from the real wizards at Universal Resorts Orlando.

As our time at Universal came to an end we were all inspired to re-read Harry Potter books and see the movies again, to watch E.T. again and to pursue our favorite Dr. Seuss books, and we also marveled at how so much of what we saw originally came out of just the creative imagination of writers (especially with our kids aspiring writers themselves) - very inspiring!  Harry Potter, King Kong, Shrek, E.T., a Hawaiian Island, all the stories and worlds we entered during our trip to Universal Orlando Resort resulted in one very special family story and adventure.

Some Things to Know Before you Go:
1. Check the height limits on the rides! You must be 40” for many of the rides. Click here for the height requirements: https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/plan-your-visit/hours-information/ride-height-requirements/index.html

2. The Child Swap program is provided so that you can all go on the rides you want. It’s really an “Adult Swap” program. You can wait with your youngest while your husband goes on an older ride with your older kids. Then when they come back you can go on the ride without standing in line.

3. I recommend getting The Universal Express Unlimited™ passes, which are tickets that allow you to skip the regular lines. They are a more expensive additional charge, but if you stay at some of the Universal resorts they are included in your package. See the website for details and sign up for their mailings for special promotions.

4. At Cabana Bay Resorts the tubes for the Lazy River are not provided and you'll need to bring your own (they'll fill them up with air for you) or buy on the premises.

5. The wands for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter are great fun, but expensive.  The interactive wand which allows you to perform "magic" in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade is almost $50. Try to budget for this or add it as a gift for your kids.

*Universal Orlando Resort provided press tickets to all the parks and discounted pricing at the resort, but as usual all opinions are my own!