Guide to Early Park Admission at Universal Orlando
The Truth About Early Park Admission
What is Early Admission at Universal?
Universal Early Park Admission allows eligible guests into Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios Florida 1 hour before the park opens. This is a great benefit that Universal offers that I think everyone should really take advantage of if you want to make the most of your day at Universal Orlando. Depending on the time of year and crowd levels, either Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure will be open for Early Park Admission. During very busy times like Spring Break at Universal, they will open both parks for early admission. I think Universal Studios Orlando Early Admission is one of the best ways to get on the top rides with lower wait times and fewer crowds. Even if you don’t like to go on the rides, there are things during Early Park Admission you can enjoy as well that I will be highlighting below. So let's get started as we will break down early admission at both parks as well as Universal early admission tips.
If you aren’t familiar with Universal Orlando early admission you may be wondering “how to get early park admission to Universal Orlando?” If you are staying at a Universal Orlando hotel these hotels do offer early admission to Universal Orlando. Universal Orlando Hotels with Early Park Admission include:
Hard Rock Hotel
Loews Portofino Bay
Loews Royal Pacific Resort
Loews Sapphire Falls Resort
Universal’s Aventura Resort
Universal’s Cabana Bay Resort
Universal’s Endless Summer Resorts (Dockside and Surfside)
Even on your check in and check out days, you will get Early Park Admission (EPA) for those days although it may be difficult getting to the resort before EPA begins. In our recent stay at Endless Summer Dockside, we took the shuttle bus to Islands of Adventure for EPA. Got on Hagrid’s, VelociCoaster, took a lap around the park and got back to the hotel before it was time for our flight. This is because you can check out of the hotel before 11am (check out time) and leave your bags at luggage services.
If you are staying off property, there are two other ways you can get Early Park Admission. First, annual passholders can get early park admission. Also, if you purchase your tickets through The Park Prodigy, their tickets come with Early Park Admission which is great if you are staying off property.
Alright so now let’s talk about EPA at each park. My best tip is to get to each park at least 30-45 minutes before the EPA time, especially at Islands of Adventure. Click here to see how crowded Islands of Adventure can get during EPA. So yeah, you are going to want to be at the front of the entrance line to really get the most out of early admission at Universal.
Early Park Admission at Islands of Adventure
Early Park admission Islands of Adventure is honestly a must do if you want to ride Hagrid’s or The Jurassic World VelociCoaster.
KP’s Plan for Riders
If you are a thrill seeker like myself, you are going to love Early Park Admission at Islands of Adventure. Here is my trusted plan to get on Hagrid’s and VelociCoaster.
The first and major key here is that you get to the park 30-45 minutes before the park opens for EPA. This is crucial because if you show up at 8 am, you are still going to be waiting 120 minutes for Hagrid’s and that defeats the whole point of EPA. Last EPA I did I got in line at 7:15 and I was staying at Endless Summer Dockside and still was able to get there this early via the Universal bus transportation. You might want to bring some breakfast to stand in line with you as well by the way. They may let you through the gates 15 minutes early but this is just so you can get to your ride and queue up. So when those gates open if you get there early enough you will be in the front of the line. People will run but honestly it is so not worth it to run because what are you going to get in front of 3 people? If you are at the front of the line to get into the park you will be waiting 20 minutes at most for Hagrid’s. So at 8 am Hagrid’s will open and it is common that they have delayed opening so don’t panic it should open within 20 minutes. Alright so you will get on Hagrid’s yay best ride ever! Now it's time to book it over to Jurassic World VelociCoaster.
By the time you get off VelociCoaster should not be any more than 30 minutes because most people do ride Hagrid’s first. Now if you want to ride VelociCoaster and don’t care about getting on Hagrid’s with minimal wait then by all means head to VelociCoaster first. You would be able to ride it multiple times I’m sure. Maybe I’ll try that in my next video, a reverse EPA! By the time you get off VelociCoaster, it will be just about 9 am and that's your EPA! The other rides open are Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogriff. If you have kids then doing these rides during EPA is awesome since everyone goes to the other two. Even at 9 am those rides won’t have too long of lines because most people are still queued up in Hagrid's and VelociCoaster. You can get these 4 biggest rides done within the first 2 hours which is great and don’t forget to grab a bite to eat too you will need it in your stomach especially if you go on Forbidden Journey!
KP’s Plan for Non-Riders
I did EPA with my mom and she brought up a really great point that I think is important to share. She rather pass on riding coasters most of the time so why should she use early park admission if she doesn't want to ride Hagrid’s or VelociCoaster? While I was power walking to VelociCoaster, she went into Croissant Moon Bakery got a coffee and was kind enough to get the rest of our party pastries for breakfast! The bakery was empty so she did not even have to wait in line. The Port of Entry shop was open and was also empty so if you wanted to do some shopping with no crowds you can do that as well. Mama Palace also checked out the shops in Hogsmeade since those are open as well. This is the great point about EPA because you can truly experience Hogsmeade with low crowds which is super rare! If you have an interactive wand, EPA would be a great time to use it.
Early Park Admission at Universal Studios Florida
During slower times of year, Universal Studios Florida is usually the park that is open for EPA. This is because quite frankly, there are less rides to do in this park. For EPA, the rides open are Harry Potter and the Escape from Grinotts and Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. The EPA plan here is pretty simple especially if you are looking to just ride Gringotts but you should for sure head there first. It is a bit difficult though if you want to ride both since you do have to pass Despicable Me to get to Gringotts but if you don’t want to wait too long for Gringotts then head to Diagon Alley first. Like Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley is amazing during EPA since it is less crowded and you can really take it all in and explore Diagon Alley with low crowds.
There you have it! Early Park Admission plans for Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. Be sure to check out my YouTube videos for Universal early admission tips at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios if you would like to see what it's like in video form!
Thank you for reading and I will see you in the next one. Peace!
KP
