What to Do First at Universal Orlando No Matter What

Updated April 7, 2023.

Visiting Universal Orlando can be overwhelming at first. Unlike Universal Studios Hollywood, there are two theme parks that are very close together, joined by a fantastic outdoor shopping mall. This means convenience, but there are many choices right in front of you that you need to consider. The hardest thing about going to Universal Orlando is deciding what you will do first. How do you know whether to choose Islands Of Adventure or Universal Studios Florida? Do you wait and stroll the Universal City Walk first? Maybe you should indulge yourself at the Chocolate Emporium, or buy some candy to enjoy once inside the theme park. You know, the one you haven’t decided on yet. What to do first at Universal Orlando gets very complicated and the right answer could be different depending on when you arrive, or even what day of the week it is.

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First Things First

The first thing to check off your list when you are driving up at 7:00 pm is a lot different than a morning arrival by bus. That’s not just because there is a check-in process at the hotel to go through. At a certain point in the day, there is a loss of some value if you use a park ticket to enter a theme park. The time may be better spent enjoying the dining and entertainment at the Universal City Walk. But don’t count out time in the parks too early either.

The park is open for 12 hours and you don’t need to be there from opening to close to make the most of it (unless you are squeezing two parks into one day to save time). As long as you are there at either open or close, you can reap the benefit of the lower attendance. That being said, unless you want lunch at a specific restaurant in either Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios Florida, you should eat ahead of time, even if it means getting into the park a little bit later.

Before Your Arrival

In order to decide what to do first at Universal Orlando, you need to rule out some things you should already do before you even get there. That includes buying your tickets online and purchasing any upgrades you plan to enjoy. You can do both of these things on-site, but it takes up valuable time. Whichever park you choose to visit first, you want to be able to walk right up to the gate without waiting through a separate line for ticket purchases. Tickets are also more expensive when you buy them at the counter, so you save time and money when you buy online.

What to Do First at Universal Orlando — The Wizarding World

While making your purchase, consider the Wizarding World experience. You can only ride the Hogwarts Express as transportation between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida, so if you want to use that option to connect from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade, you will need a Park to Park Pass. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter spans both parks and feels like an unofficial third park. So, if you plan to experience it all, that should certainly be the first thing you do, whether you start at Hogsmeade and take the train to Diagon Alley, or vice versa.

However, if you are only at Universal for a day or two, that changes things. You will want to exhaust your options in one park before using the Wizarding World to connect to the other. This requires you to backtrack a little, but it’s worth it to make sure you leave no stone unturned on your brief visit.

What to Do First at Universal Orlando — Join Virtual Queues

If you have a shorter trip planned, or just aren’t the biggest Harry Potter fan, there is another important example of what to do first at Universal Orlando. Use this if you are skipping the Wizarding World, or if you have done that already and want to know what to do first on your next day. Whether you have an Express Pass or not, there are always rides you can’t skip the line for. These are Universal’s newest attractions like Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.  The best thing to ensure you don’t miss out on Universal’s hottest attractions is to find and join these attractions’ virtual queues.

Two of the newest attractions, Velocicoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, are at Islands of Adventure (IOA), so IOA is what to do first at Universal Orlando if you want to experience these rides more than anything. Expresses passes now include front of the line access to Velocicoaster so that is one way to avoid waiting in a long line for that particular ride.

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