About Universal Studios Orlando

If you are looking for a day filled with thrilling roller coasters and movie themed rides, consider visiting Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Universal provides entertainment and education on the movie business for all ages. With a little bit of research and planning, you can have a great visit to Universal Studios.

Function

Universal Studios theme park is located in Orlando, Florida and is part of the Universal Orlando complex. Universal Orlando consists of Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, three resorts and City Walk. Islands of Adventure is a theme park while City Walk is a collection of restaurants and shops. Universal Studios was the completed in 1990 and was the first park in the Univeral Orlando complex.

Features

In addition to touring the backlot studios, guests can attend live shows and view numerous attractions. Revenge of the Mummy is an exciting indoor roller coaster, and Terminator 2 is a unique theatre show. Other top attractions include Earthquake, Men in Black, Shrek 3-D, Universal 360 and Jaws.

Benefits

One of the benefits of visiting Universal Studios is the close proximity to other theme parks. Many visitors combine a trip to Universal Studios with their Disney World vacation. You can also purchase combination packages at a reduced cost that include admission to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld and Wet 'n Wild.

Considerations

If you stay in one of the three hotels on Universal Orlando property (Portofino Bay, Hard Rock Hotel or Royal Pacific Resort), you are eligible for the Universal Express program at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. This allows you to use your room key to bypass the regular line on all participating rides. You can use this benefit as many times as you would like on each ride. If you are not staying at one of the Universal Orlando hotels, you can purchase a Universal Express Plus pass. This is an add-on to the regular admission ticket and costs between $20 to $56 per day. Since the price varies based on the season, visit the Universal Studios website (see Resources below) for the price on the day you want to visit. The pass is only valid at one park throughout the day and cannot be used if you park hop. You can bypass the regular ride lines; however, you can only use this benefit once on each ride. Note that if you do not have either the Express Pass or Express Plus pass, the regular lines can be extremely long due to the high number of guests with the special passes.

Significance

Because Universal Studios is similar to Disney Hollywood Studios, many guests choose to visit only one of the parks. However, if you choose to visit both parks you will find that there is very little duplication of attractions. Universal Studios provides more opportunities to see live filming in the backlot, while Hollywood Studios moves guests through lines more efficiently. Because Universal Studios has more thrill rides, many guests find Disney Hollywood Studio better for young children.