Universal Studios, FL Prep
One of my friends decided to do a birthday trip to Universal Studios, I thought this was a fun idea to have everything built in and onsite for a birthday. There wasn’t much coordinating that needed to happen once everyone bought their tickets but the problem was there are 75 different options of tickets. Thankfully their partner was helpful with sending screenshots of the ticket options we needed to buy. That being said, I would absolutely do this trip again and strongly recommend to people who have always wanted that theme park experience. With tickets, fast passes and flights adding up pretty quickly I thought it would be helpful to share a few things I did to cut costs.
1) Stay at an airbnb - I stayed about 12 mins from the park and my 2 bedroom 1.5 bath bnb was about $100 a night. Using Lyft we were able to get a ride to and from the park for $8 -$15 each way.
2) Bring Snacks - The lines are long even with a fast pass so you will definitely get hungry. I brought several granola bars, almond snack packs, fruit snacks and other not messy items to eat while in line. This also helps keep the food costs down.We brought lots of park friendly snacks like granola bars, fruit strips and things we could snack on in line if we got hungry. This meant that we didn’t have to always stop for a sit down meal.
3) Bring your own water bottle. I do not recommend buying a refillable park cup because I noticed a time stamp on how often you could refill the cup with non water beverages. I brought a hydroflask and was completely hydrated for free the entire time. While it may be annoying to carry a water bottle in your bag, it is worth the pain and suffering of paying for overpriced water. Also my water was always cold.
*Most of the rides have lockers where you can secure your water or bags if they aren’t allowed on the ride.
4) Buy your Fast Pass FIRST. If I return to Universal Studios I would by my fast pass first because the prices are different based on the day, there are absolutely zero discounts AND the closer to your day the more they cost. People in my group who booked their super early paid $20-30 less than I did. Next time it will be flights then Fast Pass! It did save a ton of time for the more popular rides, so its worth the $$$.
5) Look for a discount for your park tickets. I used AAA but there are several employee benefit programs that offer a similar discount.
6) While I love a cute fit as much as the next girl I chose a fit that was functional and comfortable. Day 2 I wore sweat proof clothing and that was the biggest win for me. I hate that sticky feeling all day (especially in the FL humidity) Definitely wear something that at least has a pocket to store your phone or locker ticket. For sneakers I wore my running shoes because they are broken in, but people in my group also chose to include comfort insoles for their sneakers to add extra support.
7) Wear Sunscreen - The weather app said it would be cloudy but I know how Florida sun gets down. I would not be burned or forced to wear that cheap sunscreen that leaves a white cast so I packed a travel size sunscreen and everyone in the group found it useful when the sun came out.
8) Get the Universal app - There are no paper maps in the park so you have to use the app to find specific rides. The app is also helpful for buying food, looking at the menus and seeing special events and parades that were happening.
9) Bring a small bag - I used my Dover Dagne Cairo Sling Bag and it was perfect. There were soo many pockets and since I could secure all of my items I was able to take it on many of the rides. I fit everything I needed and more in that bag.
-Sunscreen, phone charger, charging cord, hand sanitizer, chapstick, tissues and of course SNACKS!
