Your kids are begging you to take them to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so now you’ve found yourself planning a trip to Universal Orlando Resort?and you want to do it right. Whether your goal is to save money, limit the time you spend in line or maximize your wizarding, here’s what you need to know.
The lay of the land
PHOTO: COURTESY OF VISIT ORLANDO AND UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT
Universal Orlando Resort is made up of three theme parks: the original Universal Studios Florida, which opened in 1990, and features rides based on blockbuster franchises like Transformers, Despicable Me and Fast & Furious; and Islands of Adventure, home to the Incredible Hulk roller coaster, Jurassic Park River Adventure and Seuss Landing. The two parks are joined by Universal CityWalk, a restaurant and shopping area that’s convenient for after-park meals or to grab a Starbucks or stop for a kid-pleasing breakfast at Voodoo Doughnuts on your way in. The Universal’s Volcano Bay water theme park, which opened in 2017, and eight hotels round out the property. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which opened in 2010 and is the reason many families travel to Universal, spans both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. You can get from Diagon Alley on the Universal Studios side to Hogsmeade, on the Islands of Adventure side (and back again) on the Hogwarts Express. This means there’s two ways of getting between the parks (walking through CityWalk, or tak...