Universal Studios Florida, December 2024

Our Universal Studios trip isn’t like a Disney trip where we just spend an entire day in one park. Yes, you can park hop at Disney, but they’re all so far apart that you lose hours travelling back and forth. With Universal parks, they’re right next door and with the bonus of using the Hogwarts Express to travel between the two, we kinda just flit between the two regularly, so this blog is just about our time at Universal Studios Florida.

We love the Universal Studios parks. Islands of Adventure is by far the better park (well, until Epic opens in 2025), but Universal Studios Florida still has lots of fun rides and attractions to enjoy. Some great coasters, shows, fun activities for the kids, good food, drinks and more. We spent the week in Orlando, on resort at Universal Cabana Bay, doing both parks on most days and we enjoyed every minute of it. Here’s what we saw and did.

The recent upgrade to Universal Studios Florida gave us the fantastic looking Illumination’s Minion Land. Brilliantly themed around the Despicable Me franchise, with fun looking shops, a new café and crazy food options all themed in.

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem is a fun simulator ride where Gru turns you into a Minion and you zoom through his lab on a training mission which goes wrong. We went on a few times and the kids enjoy it. It always seems to have a bit of a queue which is pretty slow moving with a couple of preshow elements before it starts. Its not a ride you’d need to rush to do again and again, unlike Illumination’s Villain-con Minion Blast, which is great!

Whenever we were near it was always showing a 5-minute queue, so if Elliott was gobbling up a Freeze Ray pop, me and Evan would jump on Minion Blast for some Villain-con shooting action while we waited. Pros and Cons though: Pros, it’s a great, fun omni mover attraction that moves queues quickly. You can even link your Universal App to it to keep track of your scores. Cons. The blasters are massive and heavy. My arms get tired about halfway through and Elliott can barely hold them after a few minutes.

Rumours had been circulating for ages that Rip Ride Rockit was on its last legs and soon to go, so we had to get a last ride in. It’s a bit rough and has a lot of haters, but Me and Evan really enjoy it. I especially enjoy the experience of blazing around the track with Pantera or Rage Against the Machine blasting in my ears! Universal have just confirmed that Rip Ride Rockit will be closing permanently in September 2025, so R.I.P. Rip Ride Rockit, you’ll be missed by us. But if rumours are true and we’re getting a new coaster, possibly themed to Ghostbusters, then I don’t mind a change.

We’d done Race Around New York with Jimmy Fallon last time we were here. It’s a fun enough simulator, but not re-rideable. Hopefully this gets changed with the new Rip Ride Rockit changes and something better goes in its place.

Just don’t bother. Waste of space and time. A truly poor experience. Even if you love the franchise, this isn’t worth your time.

Revenge of the Mummy looks a bit dated, but its still a good indoor coaster with some good elements and effects, and the ride building itself looks fantastic outside. Not a ride I want Universal to remove anytime soon, but it could do with an update and refresh. We managed to get Jo to ride it this time, and after initial hesitation, she didn’t think it was too bad!

This fun, indoor shooting dark ride was closed for the whole week! Noooo! It’s back open now though.

We’re not really fans of the Simpsons Ride. There are much better simulator rides in the park (Despicable Me, Transformers, maybe even Jimmy Fallon). Hopefully this and the Springfield area gets the rumoured re-theme and a better attraction in its place.

Our first visit to Dreamworks Land. It was closed when we visited in 2023 as they were renovating it from Woody Woodpecker’s Kidzone, so we didn’t get our coaster cred for Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster, but we’ve got it now, with several night rides on the re-themed Trollercoaster, so we can tick that off the list!

We saw Princess Fiona and Donkey at the Shrek’s Swamp Meet, visited Po’s Kung Fu Panda Training Camp, rode the Trollercoaster, played in Shrek’s Swamp for Little Ogres play area (kids loved the farting slide) and ate at Shrek’s Swamp Snacks. Try a Shrekzel, They’re lovely first thing. Not so much at the end of the night though.

Only managed to get the one ride on Transformers this trip, which is a shame as it’s one of our favourite rides. An awesome 3D ride, helping Optimus Prime Autobots save the All-Spark from Megatron. It’s the same ride system as Spiderman at Islands of Adventure, but I’d say this one’s better.

No trip to Universal Studios Florida would be complete without a visit to The Wizarding Worlds Diagon Alley and seeing the Gringotts Dragon breathing fire across the park. Thes whole area, much like Hogsmeade over at Islands of Adventure is nothing short of, ahem, magical. The theming is tremendous. Buildings, shops, signs all look incredible, and we love doing spells. Get a wand – they’re not cheap at $70 a pop, but it’s a great interactive feature that kids and adults can enjoy.

For food, you have the Leaky Cauldron serving breakfasts, fish and chips, bangers & mash and other British inspired foods. Florean Fortescue’s is the spot for a range of fun-flavoured ice creams (including Butterbeer flavour), and why not try a pint of Dragon Scale Ale from the Hopping Pot bar. Steer clear of the Wizards Brew. I was not a fan.

You’ve also got an array of shops like Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, the Magical Menagerie, quality Quidditch Supplies and more for clothing, wands, souvenirs and plush toys.

Diagon Alley also has its own Ollivander’s show, which is always fun to watch and see who gets chosen for a wand. Plus, the outdoor stage has the Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees musical show and the Tales of the Beedle the Bard puppet show, which we always seem to miss.

And don’t forget to take a trip down Knockturn Alley to visit Borgin & Burkes and do some more spells!

Escape from Gringotts is a great ride. Part coaster, part 3D cinema, it’s a must. Plus, the queue and preshows are all amazing. First you walk through the full Gringotts main hall, complete with animatronic Goblins like you’re in the real movie set. Then preshow 1, with Bill Weasley before preshow 2 in the lift to the vaults.

The ride is a coaster/minecart ride through the Gringotts vaults where you’re chased by Bellatrix and Voldemort, meeting trolls and the dragon while helping Harry escape. Elliotts favourite ride.

We did get trapped on a breakdown in the station for 5-10 minutes on one lap, but we were given four yellow Express Passes, which we used to get back on Gringotts on a busy day!

Outside Diagon Alley is the London area, home to Kings Cross station and the Hogwarts Express ride over to Islands of Adventure’s Hogsmeade (if you have a 2-park pass). It’s a different experience going to Hogsmeade than travelling from Hogsmeade to Kings Cross, so do both if you can. And keep an eye out for people vanishing through the wall onto Platform 9 ¾.

While in London, check out Grimmauld Place: Knock on the door and wait for Kreacher to appear in the window, visit the Knight Bus and chat with the shrunken head and the conductor, and make a call in the red phone box!

It was Christmas, so we didn’t get to see the Mega Movie Parade (gutted, as they’d added Ecto-1 recently) but we did get to see the Universal’s Holiday Parade Featuring Macy’s. We pitched a spot in Hollywood, right on the corner just outside the Bourne Stuntacular (which is a great show, by the way) and were treated to giant balloons, festive floats featuring Minions and Shrek, costumed dancers and performers against a backdrop of Christmas lights and music. We loved it. Definitely worth watching if you’re at Universal over the festive period.

Take a look at our video from our YouTube channel:

It’s one of the few things we’ve never done before on our previous 3 visits and Jo was keen to tick it off the list, me and the kids were 50/50, but we ended up enjoying it. The Animal Actors on Location show features dogs, cats, birds & more getting up to some crazy antics. It’s not something you’d need to see time and again, but definitely worth a view.

We absolutely loved CineSational – the night time spectacular. An evening show over the lake, with movie scenes projected onto jets of water along with fireworks and musical scores from the films. Plus, they have an awesome drone show where you’ll see King Kong, Ghostbusters logo, minions, Transformers, E.T. and more lighting up the sky.

It’s a brilliant show, very much worth getting there early and finding a good spot. Whilst we only watched the full show once, we did catch some of the drones and fireworks in the evening as we left the park.

We didn’t really do a lot of sit down eating and drinking at Universal Studios Florida. We’d usually had cereal for breakfast in the hotel and were elsewhere for evening meals, so it was just snacking as we walked around.

As I said before, try the Shrekzel with green cheese dip from Swamp Snacks. We had one early in the morning one day and it was warm, soft and tasty. Don’t get one later in the evening though, as they were a bit stale and chewy. We also tried the pizza waffle which was dry and lacking any filling. The swamp mud cake was nice, but very sweet and messy to eat.

The only sit-down meal we had in Studios was at the Minion Café. We ordered the Meatball Calzone, which was really nice, the Steak Sliders, also nice, 2 sides of Minion Tots which the kids love, and shared some ‘Pet Rock’ dessert – a PB&J filled cake – which was really nice too. We also tried a High Noon Pineapple Seltzer, but we weren’t fans.

Its not cheap at Minion Café, our 2 mains, 2 sides, 2 desserts and a drink came to $80, but it’s a fun experience. Wall to wall minion-inspired décor, fun little easter eggs from the films and crazy minion antics to see. Our 2nd time eating here and will definitely be back again. Full menu here: Minion Cafe Menu

Elliott loved the lollies from Freeze Ray Pops in Minion Land. He had the Gru (Nutella) and the Cookies and Cream, which were all over his face. They do have some odd combinations of flavours so definitely worth trying one or two.

Evan was into Corn Dogs while we were away, so we had a few from various food trucks around the parks. One came from the food and drink stall at the corner of the stage, served with crisps/chips. They also served other snacks, beers and soft drinks.

We don’t buy the refillable cups, but we do use the Freestyle machines regularly as you can get free water and ice from them. We always pack those concentrated squeezy cordials to refill our drinks, so ice-cold water refills are great.

The actual Freestyle cup is a good deal if you can use it, but we don’t drink enough fizzy drinks for it to be worthwhile.

The Jaws themed ‘Chez Alcatraz’ bar is a great spot for an alcoholic beverage (though they were out of IPA’s whenever I was there). Get the Ocean Attack cocktail if you want some theatre with your drink, and a guest appearance from Bruce the shark. Chomp, chomp, chomp…

The Bar and Drinks area of Diagon Alley serves a selection of cold drinks, butterbeers and Wizarding World themed beers. I was trying to tick all four wizard ales off my list, but only managed 2, Wizards Ale and Dragonscale. Don’t be duped by the ciders though. Not entirely sure they were ciders, more like a pear juice with no alcohol.

These were the only places we’d eaten or drank at on this trip, but there is plenty of choice across the park and we have visited others previously.

• The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley – ate there in 2015. Looks amazing inside, but food wasn’t great. It may have improved by now.
• Central Park Crepes – which serves sweet and savoury pancakes and can be hit and miss.
• The Today Café – never been but hear good things about breakfast.
• Krusty Burger at Springfield – Wasn’t a fan.
• Finnegans – only been in for drinks, but the food is supposed to be good.
• Louie’s Italian – They do large slices of pizza, big enough for the kids to share for a slightly cheaper meal option.

There’s plenty of shops around the park so you won’t struggle to find a souvenir. It’s mainly all repeated items in each shop, but there are a few unique stores which are worth checking out:

The main shop at Universal Studios Florida, right at the entrance/exit to the park. This has a lot of everything from The Grinch, Harry Potter, Transformers, The Simpsons, Shrek Minions… You name it, its probably in the store with a Universal badge on and a large price tag: T-shirts, toys, picture frames, hats, plushes, magnets, pens and ornaments galore!

The Film Vault in the New York area has a bigger selection of retro themed items from films like Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and Jaws.

This one is the exit shop from The Revenge of the Mummy, so you’ll find more unique items from the ride along with Egyptian themed bits and Universal Monsters items that you won’t find in the main shops.

You’ll find most of the Harry Potter merchandise in the main Universal Store at the main entrance, but the shops in Diagon Alley are much more fun to visit for the theming and displays alone. You might find some fun items in the Magical Menagerie and Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes looks amazing!

The Transformers gift shop is loaded with Transformers goodies: T-shirts, toys, souvenirs, limited edition models and more. I just hope they do a large plush G1 Soundwave or Starscream to go with my Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron ones!

I doubt this is where Bryan Adams got his first real six-string, but you will find some Universal Monsters items, plus it’s the exit to the Bourne Stuntacular show, so there’ll be items from that too!

Universal Studios Florida always has a tribute store. It may be film specific, like the Jurassic Park 30th anniversary store, the retro store with Jaws and Ghostbusters, or seasonal like the HHN tribute store. But it’s Christmas, so it’s currently the holiday tribute store. Wall to wall Christmas themed displays and decorations featuring characters like The Grinch and Earl the Squirrel, with a different area around each corner. Plus, lots of souvenirs and items to buy and limited-edition sweet treats. And there’s a massive Christmas tree right outside.

To celebrate the release of the new film, Universal Studios Florida have converted one of their stores into a massive ‘Wicked’ store. Each room decorated in the style of the film, with hundreds of items of clothing, toys, souvenirs and more available, along with costumes and props from the movie.

Just as you leave Universal Studios Florida, there’s a small shop at the gate. Be sure to check it out as it has different sale items daily at a much-reduced cost. We picked up a bag, shirt and keyrings at less than 50% of full price. Definitely worth a look.

We’ve met a lot of the fun characters in the park in the past. Not so many this time, but you can always catch Scooby Doo and Shaggy in Hollywood, the Blues Brothers in their car near New Orleans, Shrek, Fiona and Donkey at Shrek’s House, Trolls, Gabby’s Dollhouse characters and King Julian from Madagascar in Dreamworks Land. Don’t forget to check times outside Transformers as you can get your picture with either Bumblebee, Megatron or Optimus Prime.

Around the corner from Minion Blast is the Illumination Theatre where you can meet characters from Sing, Gru and the girls from Despicable Me and more at scheduled times.
In the past, we’ve had pictures with Doc Brown from Back to the Future, Bart and Homer Simpson and spotted Beetlejuice chatting to guests, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for characters roaming.

And unlike Disney Meet and Greets, the queues are nothing like those at Disney. Well, aside from the Grinch over at Islands…

Universal Studios Florida is a great park, with plenty for all ages. There are some areas I’m not personally a fan of, and some rides that could definitely be binned, and a few spots that just need an upgrade. Whilst I’m sad to see Rip Ride Rockit leave the park, I’ll be excited to see its replacement. Same for Springfield. The immersive experience that Diagon Alley brings is fantastic, and I hope they can spread that vibe across other areas of the park.

We can’t wait to get back here again in the future!

Visit the official Universal Orlando website for info about Universal Studios Florida