What Time to Arrive at Universal Studios Orlando
The best time to arrive at Universal Orlando is one hour before the theme park is set to open. For example, if you’re visiting Universal Studios and the park is set to open at 9:00am, you want to aim to arrive at the Universal Orlando Resort by 8:00am.
This gives you enough time to:
- Park your car
- Go through security
- Walk to the theme park entrance
Universal Orlando’s theme parks have different opening times throughout the year. You can check these online in advance.
If you stay on-site at a Universal Orlando Resort hotel, you’ll benefit from early theme park admission. This applies to one theme park only and varies throughout the year, so be sure to check in advance.
So, while the general public can’t enter the theme park until 9:00am, Universal hotel guests can enter at 8:00am. Therefore, in this case, you want to aim to leave your hotel one hour earlier at 7:00am.
Again, this gives you enough time to:
- Go through security
- Take the free bus or boat to CityWalk (where applicable)
- Walk to the theme park entrance
Arriving at Universal Orlando early is one of my biggest tips for first-time visitors. While you’ll miss a lie-in, the benefits of arriving at Universal early are huge. Including:
- Smaller crowds
- Lower wait times
- Reduced heat & humidity
If you’ve only got one day at Universal or even one day at each Universal theme park, arriving early will be a game changer. However, you’ll need to be sure you do it right. That not only means arriving early but also:
- Buying theme park tickets in advance
- Having breakfast & coffee before you arrive
- Going to the most popular rides first
The only time arriving at Universal early isn’t as important is if you have a Universal Express Pass. That’s because a Universal Express Pass allows you to skip the line for the majority of rides at the theme park.
The only exception to this is if you want to go on popular rides excluded from the Universal Express Pass benefits. Most notably, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.