Universal Studios Florida

Universal Orlando Resort is a resort in Orlando, Florida. It is run as a joint partnership between NBC Universal and The Blackstone Group. The resort comprises of two theme parks (Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure), CityWalk (a nighttime entertainment destination), and three Loews hotels.

History Of Universal Studios Florida

Universal Studios Florida opened in May 1990 is the Universal's first park after the original Universal Studios in Hollywood. The Florida Park abandoned the original's tram tour in favor of a more traditional multi-attraction theme park design ever seen ,yet few of these attractions were working on successfully right from the park opened and the press blasted the park as a certain bust. Today Universal Studios Florida boasts a line up of innovative movie-theme attractions for visitors of all ages.

wHow Do You Get To Universal Studios Florida?

Universal Studios Florida is located in the Universal Orlando Resort, on the south-east side of Orlando, 10 minutes from north of Walt Disney World .It takes I-4 minutes to the Universal Orlando exit, then follow the signs to the parking structure. From there ,a walk through Universal's CityWalk shopping and dining complex, bearing right to enter Universal Studios Florida for the visitors.

wWhen Is The Best Time To Visit?

The least crowded seasons are from Labor Day to Thanksgiving and from the week after the President's Day holiday (in mid-February) and also from the start of Spring Break, in mid-March.

Whenever visiting to these places, arrive early, about an hour before the scheduled opening time, to get in places to visit many popular attractions early or before the lines build later in the day.

wHow Do I Get Tickets To Universal Studios Florida?

Discount for the tickets can be checked through the auto club, or your school's, employer or union's activities office. Otherwise, tickets can be bought online through Universal's web-site. In addition to the single- and multi-day Universal passes, Universal also offers a Five-Park Orlando Flex Ticket that includes unlimited admission to Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, Wet 'n Wild and Busch Gardens Tampa for two full weeks.

The tickets should be bought before you get into the park .There is no sense wasting the first couple hours of your first day's visit waiting in line at the ticket booths.

wWhat's New At Universal Studios Florida?

Fear Factor live show is an audience-participation stunt show, patterned after the NBC reality show.

wPlan Your Day At Universal Studios Florida

During busy seasons, USF often opens Shriek 4-D early. So it’s better to arrive before park opening and try to see that popular show first. Then walk through the street to Revenge of the Mummy and work your way from there around the lagoon, clockwise.

With small children's the elders can check the days show schedule for the first Barney show. You also might like the Animal Planet show next to Barney, as well as the other play areas in the Kid Zone favoring the desires of kids.

wRide And Restaurant Reservations At Universal Studios Florida

Universal offers a ride reservation system called Universal Express. This is similar to Disney's Fast Pass, except that Universal offers visitors the chance to buy a book of Express passes at the park's front gate, instead of collecting them in the park one at a time, on a first-come, first-served basis. Also stay at one of the three official Universal Orlando hotels, offers free front-of-the-line access to IoA and USF attractions.

wWhat's Special About Universal Studios For Families?

Kids love and enjoy the attractions based on their favorite movies.

Universal Studios has plenty of adventures for younger kids: for example, the E.T. Adventure, a fanciful experience where you ride your own bike through the night sky, etc. E.T. is in the Woody Woodpecker Kid Zone, which also has: Fievel's Playground, with tubes, slides, a giant spider web, and a water slide; A Day in the Park with Barney; Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster; Curious George Goes to Town; and the Animal Planet Live show.

All ages will get a kick out of the Shrek with 4-D Adventure, which is otherwise called as Shrek 1.5, with a plot-line falling somewhere between the movies Shrek and Shrek 2: this "ride" is a 3-D film with special effects, and is 25-minutes long (for the introduction plus the film.)

Across the street is Jimmy Neutron's Nickoleon Blast, a simulator rocket ride through the homelands of many cartoon characters, from Rugrats to SpongeBob SquarePants.

For older kids, the big draw will be the new-in-04 Revenge of the Mummy attraction, an in-the-dark coaster with pyrotechnics and some unexpected dips and turns: state-of-the-art, and lots of fun even for kids with six years of age and above. (Depends on the kid, of course, and the height restriction; riders must be 48" high.)

After the Mummy, older kids will gravitate to Back to the Future, Men in Black Alien Attack (where you laser-shoot aliens), and Terminator 2: 3D Battle Across Time. Other fun spots are JAWS, Twister's simulated tornado, and Earthquake: The Big One, a simulated quake in a subway station that might even come in handy later during science class.

Actually, older kids will probably wish to enjoy the Islands of Adventure's thrill coasters, a short walk away so buying a pass for both parks is advisable.

wThings To Keep In Mind About Universal Studios Florida

There are three great ways to avoid line-ups.

vA stay at a Universal Resort, will give you nice digs plus the best front-of-the-line ride access.Each of the three resorts has a great "beach pool", and also free water-taxi shuttles to the theme parks. Check the Universal Orlando site for other details.

vSome rides have minimum heights for kids so checkout the Height Restrictions at Orlando Trip Planner. For ex., kids 40" can ride Spiderman with an adult; you need 52" for The Hulk.

vUniversal Studios Florida has some pretty good sections with an Old Hollywood ambiance, its fun to walk around the simulated New York City too. Dual-park passes can be bought for admission to Islands of Adventure also, especially if you have teens or 'tweens’.

Also See:

Vacations
Disney Land
Busch Gardens
Islands Of Adventure
Sea World
Florida Beaches
Wet And Wild Water
Everglades