What Time to Arrive at Universal Orlando

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you book or buy through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Read our full disclosure.

Regardless of which park you’re visiting at the Universal Orlando Resort aim to arrive at the entrance gates 30 minutes prior to the parks opening time. This includes for Early Park Admission (where eligible).

That means if the park shows it opens at 10:00am, you want to be at the gates ready for 9:30am. However, if you have Early Park Admission and you’re visiting the park that’s active that day you want to arrive 30 minutes prior to that opening time (8:30am for a 9:00am opening).

You’ll then want to work backwards from that time to work out what time you need to arrive at the parking lot or leave your hotel.

The first hour after the theme park opens is the quietest. This is the best time to go on all of the biggest and most popular rides as they’ll have the shortest queues. I’m talking a 10 minute wait for a ride that might otherwise have a 60 to 90 minute wait later in the day.

Which means that making the effort to arrive at the theme park early can make your day significantly more enjoyable and mean you get to go on more rides. Both with or without a Universal Express Pass.

However, arriving at the theme park early is one thing. Your next is strategy because you don’t want to be wasting that first hour inside the theme park on rides that typically only see wait times of 20 minutes. So be sure to research the most popular rides you want to go on in at each park in advance of your trip and decide which rides you’ll go to first.

Park Opening Times

The three theme parks at Universal Orlando can open at different times and those times can vary throughout the year. As such I would always recommend checking the Universal Orlando website in advance.

Since opening times can change, I suggest doing this both when you book and again roughly seven days prior to your visit.

Early Park Admission

Early Park Admission is available to all guests staying on-site in a Universal Orlando hotel. However, it’s only available at certain parks on certain days. Again, this is noted on the Universal Orlando website.

Only a portion of the eligible theme park is opened during Early Park Admission:

• Universal Studios Florida: Diagon Alley.
• Islands of Adventure: Hogsmeade & VelociCoaster in Jurassic Park.
• Epic Universe: Select areas of Wizarding World, Super Nintendo World, Isle of Berk, and Celestial Park.
• Volcano Bay: the full water park.

Parking, Security & Walk Times

You’ll want to work backwards from your planned park gate arrival time to work out what time you need to arrive at the resort, leave your hotel or even wake up. These times vary depending on the theme park you’re visiting:

Universal Studios Florida & Islands of Adventure

If you’re staying off-site and driving to the theme park:

• Parking Garage: It can take 10 minutes to get from the entrance of the resort to your parking spot
• Parking Lot: Depending on where you’ve parked it can take up to 10 minutes to walk to security
• Security: This can take up to 20 minutes depending on the park you’re visiting and the time of year
• CityWalk: Another 5 minute walk through CityWalk to the park entrance

If you’re staying on-site in a Universal Orlando hotel:

• Security: Depending on your hotel and transport method you may go through security closer to your hotel rather than at the entrance to CityWalk
• Transport: Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, Royal Pacific and Sapphire Falls have water taxi service to CityWalk plus walking paths to the parks. Cabana Bay and Aventura are within walking distance. Endless Summer (Surfside Inn and Dockside Inn) uses the free shuttle bus service

Epic Universe

If you’re staying off-site and driving to the theme park:

• Parking Garage: Epic Universe has its own dedicated parking garage. It can take 5 to 10 minutes to park.
• Parking Lot: It can still take up to 5 minutes to walk from your parking spot to security
• Security: This can take up to 20 minutes depending on the time of year
• Celestial Park: Another 3 to 5 minute walk from security to the Celestial Park entrance

If you’re staying on-site in a Universal Orlando hotel:

• Security: Depending on your hotel and transport method you may go through security closer to your hotel rather than at the Epic Universe entrance
• Transport: Helios Grand, Stella Nova and Terra Luna are walking distance to Epic Universe. Other on-site hotels use the free Kirkman Road shuttle bus, a 15 minute ride

Volcano Bay

If you’re staying off-site and driving to the theme park:

• Parking Garage: Volcano Bay guests park at the main Universal Orlando garage. It can take 10 minutes to get from the resort entrance to your parking spot
• Parking Lot: Up to 10 minutes to walk from your parking spot to the Volcano Bay shuttle bus
• Shuttle Bus: A complimentary shuttle bus runs from the parking garage to Volcano Bay, taking around 5 minutes
• Security: At the Volcano Bay entrance. Typically 5 to 10 minutes

If you’re staying on-site in a Universal Orlando hotel:

• Security: Depending on your hotel and transport method
• Transport: Cabana Bay Beach Resort has a direct walking bridge to Volcano Bay. All other on-site hotels use the free shuttle service

What to Do Before The Theme Park Opens

To maximise your first hour inside the theme park there’s a couple of things I suggest you do:

First you want to eat breakfast. When you get into the theme park the first thing you want to do is go to the most popular ride. Not to a coffee shop. So be sure you have breakfast before your arrive at the theme park.

I’d suggest having breakfast at your hotel rather than at CityWalk not only is it cheaper but you’ll have more variety too as there’s really only Starbucks and over at Epic Universe and Volcano Bay there’s nothing until you get inside the theme park.

You also want to make sure everyone has gone to the bathroom. Again, you don’t want to be wasting a minute of your first hour inside the theme park looking for and going to the toilet so make sure you go before wherever possible.

Then make sure your ticket is ready. Do this the night before at the very least and then all you need to do is open the QR code while waiting in line at the entrance. This means you’re getting into the theme park as quickly as possible.

In addition to this if you have Early Park Admission make sure everyone has their hotel keys. It’s one hotel key per person (even kids) alongside your theme park ticket to get into the eligible theme park early.

Meanwhile, if you have Express Passes you’ll want to do the same thing so you’re not wasting time at the ticket desk the morning of.

Finally, make sure you know which ride(s) you’re going to first. If it’s your first time I suggest doing this in your notes app so it’s quick and easy to reference. This only needs to cover you for the first hour to 90 minutes. After that you can be much more relaxed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the questions I’m most commonly asked about when to arrive at the Universal Orlando parks: