I think about the noodles from Kung Fu Panda sometimes and wonder why they never tried to make a noodle shop in the park. It would be a perfect place to stop for lunch during afternoon rains. Universal please add this from someone who loves noodles 😭
Some more stuff from the collection. Remember when Universal would have special logos each year? I believe they stopped consistently doing it around 2010 (although there are a few after 2010).
Wish they would bring that back!
Pictured: vintage pins and tshirt
We normally get them online but heard it’s cheaper here ? Is that true ?
I would have sent this straight to universal as a way to give her a bit of credit, but I didn’t get her name. Long story short, a kid had slipped away from their dad on the rapid lazy river thing, and started to panic as they were maybe 3 or 4, and not a strong swimmer. The girl didn’t hesitate before jumping in, and it was so inspiring to watch. She was a real hero! I was ridiculously impressed by how confident and firm she was, and watching her save that child’s life was something that will stick with me for the rest of my life.
This was maybe 2/3pm at Volcano Bay today. If anyone saw this, or knows the girls name, I would love to put in an email or recognition to universal to try and get her a bit of praise. It was just by the first fast wave bit. It couldn’t have been a great scenario to be in, especially because it looked like it caused friction between the parents and the lifeguard, so I would love to let her know how grateful people are to see her do her best in a job that sometimes isn’t the easiest.
If she’s reading this, and knows for certain that it’s her, THANK YOU! WELL DONE!
Before anyone says it – yes, we knew it would be hot in Florida in May.
Knowing that intellectually and actually experiencing the sun and the humidity for hours while walking miles of concrete are two completely different things. I read dozens of trip reports and watched hundreds of YouTube videos while preparing for this trip, and the absolutely unrelenting heat isn’t mentioned nearly enough.
Wanted to share our experience with 3 back-to-back hot and humid days in the parks.
The Key Details: May 2026 | First Time Visiting | On-Site Hotel | Express Pass All 3 Parks (Studios, IoA, Epic Universe)
We stayed on-site at Loews Portofino Bay, which gave us Express Pass Unlimited for Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. For Epic Universe, we purchased Express Pass separately.
The thing nobody talks about enough: the heat
It is absolutely, brutally, relentlessly hot and sunny in Orlando in May.
We had a UV umbrella, we brought water bottles, we were hydrating constantly – and it still got to us.
After just a few hours in the parks, the combination of heat, sun, and walking made it genuinely unpleasant to be outside. We saw it everywhere: older family members sitting in motorized carts looking miserable, little kids who wanted to be excited but were just melting.
Epic Universe in particular was a hot, sunny mess – very little shade, almost no relief anywhere you walked. Islands of Adventure was by far the most comfortable park because of how much tree cover and shade there is throughout.
I really cannot stress this enough: if you’re going in summer, prepare accordingly and don’t plan on being in the parks for more than a few hours at a stretch.
Day 1 – Arrived early afternoon, original parks from ~4pm
We checked into Portofino and headed into Universal Studios around 4pm. Started with Villain-Con Minion Blast as a warm-up – fun shooting ride, good way to ease in. Then Revenge of the Mummy, which held up well. Walked through Diagon Alley which is genuinely impressive and rode Escape from Gringotts. Took the Hogwarts Express from King’s Cross over to Islands of Adventure – the train experience itself is worth experiencing.
Over in IoA, we went straight to Hagrid’s. This was our longest Express Pass wait in the original parks – we were there around peak evening hours and the Express line was noticeably backed up. Still much better than standby, and everyone in our group loved the ride. After Hagrid’s we did VelociCoaster, which was also excellent.
One important lesson from Day 1: check the hours for every food location if you think you might want dinner from a specific place and you’re going in the late afternoon/evening. By the time we got off VelociCoaster around 7pm, virtually every food option inside the park we wanted had already closed (e.g. Fire Eater’s Grill, Green Eggs and Ham). We ended up exiting IoA and getting food at CityWalk instead. This was frustrating and easily avoidable – just check hours in advance.
Day 2 – IoA Early Entry + Studios
Had breakfast at the hotel and headed to Islands of Adventure for early entry. We were on the later side – by the time we reached the front gates, they had already started letting people in. We were probably through the turnstiles just after 8am.
Went straight to Hagrid’s with Express Pass – practically a walk-on first thing in the morning, massive difference from the night before. Then Flight of the Hippogriff, also a walk-on. Walked over to VelociCoaster and waited maybe 5 minutes because we wanted the front row. Highly recommend.
After Velocicoaster we worked our way through the rest of the park – Hulk, Doctor Doom, Spider-Man, Kong – all basically walk-ons with Express. Crossed back via Hogwarts Express to Universal Studios, did Men in Black and ET, and by roughly 11:30am we were done. Melting. So hot. Had noon lunch reservations at CityWalk and lunch was fast and easy.
Day 2 was the smoothest day of the trip by far. Early entry at IoA is exceptional – you can knock out the entire park in a few hours if you have early entry and Express Pass.
Day 3 – Epic Universe
Had breakfast at the hotel and took the first shuttle of the morning to Epic Universe. Here’s the timeline for anyone researching the early entry process as a resort guest:
~7:45am: arrived at the bus drop-off area, held there until just before 8am
~8:15am: walked to security gates and allowed to queue for security
~8:35am: allowed through ticket turnstiles and walked to the early entry holding area
Important update from what’s been reported elsewhere on Reddit: they now split the early entry holding area into two sides. Left side is for rope drop to Super Nintendo World. Right side is for rope drop to Ministry of Magic or Isle of Berk.
Almost everyone on the right side was heading to Ministry of Magic – we were one of maybe 10 people heading to Isle of Berk. We were second in line for the Toothless meet and greet, then did Hiccup’s Wing Gliders (walk on, didn’t use Express Pass).
After Berk, we walked over to Stardust Racers and found a delay, but they appeared to be testing the trains. Took a bathroom break and by the time we returned they were loading. We were on the second train of the day. Riding both the green and yellow sides back-to-back was fast – no Express Pass needed. Stardust Racers was so much fun.
After Stardust x 2, we booked it over to Super Nintendo World. We got to SNW at 9:49am, just before normal park entry crowds were let in. Walked straight to Mine-Cart Madness – posted wait was 90 minutes, Express Pass line was a literal walk-on with 2 people in front of us. Best Express Pass use of the day. The ride itself was rough and not a favorite.
Mario Kart went down right as we were entering the queue, so a cast member advised we come back later. We headed to Dark Universe – Curse of the Werewolf wasn’t running at all the day we went. Did Monsters Unchained via Express Pass (which was absolutely not necessary for this ride – because at this point in the morning just after 10am, it was effectively the same as walking the standby line).
Then Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry – posted 115 minute wait, we were on in about 15 minutes with Express Pass.
By this time, our group was already so hot and so sweaty and so tired and just about done. Stopped for a quick lunch. Sat in the shade. It was still brutally hot and we barely wanted to eat, but we knew we needed to hydrate and fuel up.
Mario Kart came back online after lunch – went back, used Express Pass, maybe 20 minutes for a posted 100+ minute wait.
After Mario Kart, we were done. Walked out, waited for the hotel shuttle, and were back at the hotel just after 1pm. That was all our group could handle.
Summing it up
Express Pass was a worthwhile luxury for us – especially for Epic Universe where standby waits were over 100 minutes for multiple attractions and Express had us on in 15-20.
The on-site hotel early entry benefit was outstanding.
Everyone visiting in the summer needs to spend as much time planning heat mitigation strategies as they do planning the rest of their trip.
Even though we were hot sweaty messes each day, we still had a ton of fun. Was a great trip overall.
I might be wrong but I think with is was either in 2022 or 2023, probably 2023. Anyway it was one of my first universal trips and I’m a Harry Potter fan so naturally I went to knockturn alley one night and went into borgin and Burkes. Right inside was a guy, probably mid to late thirties, idk, who was SUPER in character. He was one of two people who worked there but one was just a cashier. He told a young g child who walked in that the skull on the shelf was Harry’s mom. He was RUTHLESS. Seconds into seeing my ravenclaw outfit he started quizzing me. He told,d me to try the door on the closet only to find that is was fake. “I thought you were supposed to be smart” this was genuinely the funniest experience I’ve ever had with a cast member. I’ve gone 4 times since then but alas I never saw the same guy nor did anyone take his job of being a witty jerk. I gotta know if anyone else met him or remembers anyone like this.
Does any ride in Universal, or another park, have a better 'plot' than Spiderman? The dialogue is fantastic and quotable, the plot is coherent and makes sense (looking at you Forbidden Journey!), and the guests are 'involved' in perhaps the most realistic way we could be (hapless rookie journalists mostly just getting in Spiderman's way).
Walking out of that ride, the average person could explain what the story was and how it 'wrapped up' (pun/reference intended). How many other rides can say that? Maybe Cat and the Hat and Gringotts, but not to the same level, in my view.
Mummy and River Adventure are great but have confusing endings. (How exactly did we escape?) The big roller coasters are coherent but don't really have too much 'meat' to their plots. MIB has you suddenly neuralized even if your car maxes out. (STILL WAITING FOR MY SUIT, AGENT J! I PASSED AS A GALAXY DEFENDER, DAMMIT!)
First trip with the camera as a new photographer. Still learning the ropes ! Used Cuban negative and Reggie’s updated recipe for most of these
I cannot wait to get back to Darkmoor.
Do note that these rates fluctuate quite often day-to-day and sometimes in the same day if the cheapest room gets booked up.
Since a bunch of people asked last time, I pulled these from a tool i've been working on making it easier to see the best hotel rates. It's still very much a WIP so if something breaks just let me know (note: if you are searching for rates on the rates page and it looks like nothing happened, it's not broken, it just takes a minute to load all the data)
Here's the table that was requested:
| Hotel | Cheapest Regular Rate | Date | Cheapest Passholder Rate | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Endless Summer - Surfside Inn | $145 | Jun 21 | $85.50 | Jun 21 |
| Universal Endless Summer - Dockside Inn | $146 | Jun 28 | $85.50 | Jun 21 |
| Universal Aventura Hotel | $150 | Jun 21 | $103.55 | Jun 17 |
| Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort | $150 | Jun 14 | $103.55 | Jun 2 |
| Universal Terra Luna Resort | $153 | Jun 30 | $103.55 | Jun 11 |
| Universal Stella Nova Resort | $194 | Jun 30 | $110.20 | Jun 30 |
| Loews Sapphire Falls Resort | $223 | Jun 22 | $129.20 | Jun 22 |
| Universal Helios Grand Hotel | $298 | Jun 14 | $156.75 | Jun 14 |
| Loews Royal Pacific Resort | $534 | Jun 21 | $304 | Jun 21 |
| Hard Rock Hotel | $534 | Jun 14 | $336.30 | Jun 30 |
| Loews Portofino Bay Hotel | $541 | Jun 21 | $329.65 | Jun 21 |
A few interesting standouts:
📸bioreconstruct
Want to start a petition to relocate the fountain. It’s my favourite non-big ticket attraction. Yes it would take a cast member to operate it but it’s such a cheap to run attraction for something that is so adored by fans.
I am not tech-literate enough to do so but would appreciate if someone could do so in the fountain’s honour
I know it's not strictly Universal Studios Orlando but I managed to pick this Universal cap up on Vinted recently and I just absolutely love it!
The seller left a handwritten note that he received this cap as a parting gift from colleagues at Universal Japan. Billie I don't know if you're reading this but I am going to love and cherish this cap!
I hope one day to travel to Universal Studios Japan and wear my new favourite cap! I loved the note as much as the cap and wondered about how cool your job must have been I am maybe a smidge jealous! 🎢 📽️
(Side note, my cat is called Smokey, she is 19 and still the best fluffball ever!)
Attraction in the video is Animal Treasure Island at Gardaland in Italy
We are making a trip to Universal as HUGE HP fans. We have 5days of park-park tickets. Please send over any recommendations on where to go/what to do. We want the FULL HP experience! Thanks!
If you have a wand poking out of a waist pack, can you still ride Hagrids with the waist pack?
Hello! I have 2 free Single use fast passes that expire June 1st that I got because I was stuck on a ride.
Does anyone want these? I live in Titusville but I'll "probably" be in Orlando tomorrow. I can coordinate with someone. First come first serve.