Universal Orlando #5

Our Family Adventure Through Universal Orlando Resort 

By: Sheila Smith

U-Preferred Travel Agent

Believe You Can Travel, byctravel.com

From the moment you step onto the property, something shifts. Maybe it's the hum of roller coasters overhead, the scent of churros mingling with sunscreen, or the distant roar of Hulk greeting the morning crowd but you know you're not just on vacation. You’re stepping into a world where every laugh, scream, and wand wave writes a new chapter in your family’s story. Universal Orlando is more than thrill rides and wizard robes it’s a sprawling playground of cinematic dreams, whimsical chaos, and togetherness that bubbles over like butterbeer foam.

Halloween Horror Nights 2024

Universal Studios Florida

Where Hollywood magic meets laugh-until-you-snort moments.

Top Things to Do:

• Despicable Me Minion Mayhem:

  Challenge your family to a mayhem face-off. Loser has to wear banana stickers all day.

• Diagon Alley

  Wander through wizarding shops, sip Butterbeer, and brave the fire-breathing dragon. Bonus points if you spot a Death Eater and don’t flinch

• Revenge of the Mummy:

  That moment when your group collectively gasps and giggles through fire and curses pure gold.

Memorable Moments:Turning queue lines into karaoke contests, reenacting movie scenes in the streets, and buying way too many Simpsons donuts "for sharing" (never shared).

Family photos with our Super Heros

Islands of Adventure

Brave the wild, embrace the thrills, and laugh through every splash.

Must-Dos:

• The Incredible Hulk Coaster: Family pact arms UP and scream like you mean it.

• Jurassic World VelociCoaster: Side bets on who flinches first when the raptors roar.

• Skull Island: Reign of Kong: Cue dramatic monster impersonations in line.

Best Bits: Mom pretending to be fearless on Bilge-Rat Barges and instantly regretting it when soaked. Kids staging a lost explorer skit at Camp Jurassic, complete with dramatic rope bridge escapes.

My favorite view in the park!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Divided across both parks, united by awe.

Diagon Alley (Universal Studios):

• Explore Gringotts, sip frozen butterbeer, and challenge each other to master wand spells.

• Family photo in front of the dragon? Mandatory. Reacting dramatically when it breathes fire? Even more so.

Hogsmeade (Islands of Adventure):

• Hogwarts Castle casts a spell before you even enter.

• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey: Your family, flying through magic, united by equal parts amazement and motion-induced squeals.

Magical Traditions:

Every family supports their house, buys a robe or outfit, and debates it for the rest of the trip. (I am a RavenClaw) Someone inevitably adopts a British accent....badly.

Universal’s Epic Universe

The newest realm of wonder in epic scale.

What to Expect:

• Brand-new lands themed around beloved worlds How to Train Your Dragon, Dark Universe, Super Nintendo World and Wizarding World adventures.

• Cutting-edge attractions and a sprawling layout designed for next-level storytelling and family exploration.

Family Dreams:

Imagine flying alongside Toothless, encountering mythical creatures, or stumbling into mysterious shadow realms together all with laughs and shrieks echoing across the cosmos. Epic Universe promises to stretch the imagination and redefine what "theme park day" means.

My favorite picture from our trip in June 2025.

💫 Final Thoughts: It’s More Than Rides, It’s the Ride Together

Whether you're racing across coaster tracks or sipping pumpkin juice in the shade of Hogwarts, Universal Orlando transforms into a storybook of joy, thrills, and shared memories. You enter as tourists. You leave as adventurers.

Families don’t just visit.... they bond, laugh, and become legends.