Got a weekend and free and looking for an awesome blend of thrills, fun, and magic (wands, not pixie dust)? Then Universal Orlando Resort might be calling your name. In this post we’ll break down how to make the most of a short visit to Universal Orlando. Read on to get planning your weekend at Universal!
About This Post and Related Posts
This post is written to help you plan a short, 2-day trip to Universal Orlando Resort. It’s probably most helpful for trips with two or three full days, and it focuses on things like what kind of tickets to get for a short trip, whether Express Pass is worth it, and which hotels to book for a short trip.
We have a more general Universal Orlando Trip Planning Guide that includes topics like special events at the resort and how to get to your hotel from the airport, for example. Our How Much Does a Trip To Universal Orlando Cost? post is built around a trip of four nights, but you can find information on budgeting for your shorter trip in there, too.
This post does not include Volcano Bay. I haven’t spent much time there, and I’m given to understand it’s actually quite a good water park. That said, I just don’t think it’s a huge priority for people on short visits.
Finally, if you’re a big Harry Potter fan, you might opt to dedicate a full day to Wizarding World at Universal Orlando. Then spend your other day(s) enjoying the rest of the resort (or, you know, drinking Butterbeer and playing with your wand).
Basics About Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort has three theme parks and one water park. The theme parks are Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure, and Universal Epic Universe. The water park is Volcano Bay. (Volcano Bay is a well-regarded water park but won’t be making it into the rest of this post, which prioritizes theme parks.)
The two older theme parks are Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure. These two parks are both connected to the CityWalk dining / shopping / parking / transit complex. They’re a short walk from each other and even connected by a ride (the Hogwarts Express). Epic Universe is the newest park, having opened in May 2025. It’s a short bus ride or drive away from other two.
Universal Orlando has several hotels, some of which are closer / better-connected to the older parks and some which are closer to Epic. We’ll discuss these more later.
To Epic or Not To Epic?
In May 2025, Universal Orlando opened its newest park—Universal Epic Universe. This takes Universal Orlando from a comfortable two-day destination to a bona fide three-day destination. If you want to keep it as a weekend retreat, you’ll now have a tough decision to make—will you go to Epic Universe, or not?
Besides being a third park (so, more to do), Epic is a short drive / bus ride away from the other two parks (which are next door to each other). And, as of this update, Universal hasn’t made it easy to get ticket options that allow you to hop to/from Epic.
So, for the purpose of this post, we’ll be looking at two options:
One day at Epic; One day split between Islands and Studios
Two days split between Islands and Studios
I think for most guests the choice is obvious—spend one day at the super cool brand new park and one day split between the older parks. I don’t think I need to defend that option much, but I want to spend a short bit explaining why you might skip Epic right now.
Let’s start with the fact that the older two parks are enough to fill two days, and they’re great parks. You’re not going to have a bad time skipping Epic. From a Wizarding World perspective—even including rides / shows—the new land is my least favorite of the three. The mix of thrill rides and family rides is as good at those parks as it is at Epic.
Particularly now—in the early days of Epic—the older two parks are much easier to tour. Epic is seeing much higher crowds and longer waits than the older two parks. The day before I’m updating this post, four (of eleven) rides at Epic average waits over 90 minutes. Of the 30ish rides at the other two parks, three averaged waits over 40 minutes (Hagrid’s, 104 minutes; Velocicoaster, 41 minutes; Ripsaw Falls, 47 minutes). Then again, you can take this point and run with it the other direction—it’s also easier than ever to experience the highlights of those two parks in one day.
We’ll keep the possibility of just focusing on the older two parks in the back of our minds throughout this post, but the bulk of it will focus on the first option—spending one day at Epic and one day split between the older two parks.
Tickets and Express PAss
As of this update, Universal Orlando’s multi-day ticket offerings are basically designed to force you to spend one day at Epic Universe and the rest of your days at the other two parks during your trip. Even their 5-day ticket option only includes one day at Epic Universe. (Or you can get tickets just for the older two parks, or just for Epic.) There’s not currently an option that includes park hopping to/from Epic.
You can cobble together ticket options to allow you, say, 2 days of access to all three parks, but these options won’t be economical. When this changes, we’ll hopefully be quick to update this post, but I wanted to note the state of things as we write this section.
Do You Need Park-to-Park?
Easy thing first—you need ticket that includes “park-to-park” (i.e. park hopper) for the older two parks for any time you’re visiting those two parks. The Hogwarts Express is a ride that connects the two parks. In order to ride it in either direction (it goes both ways), you need a park-to-park ticket. We consider it a must-ride, and we otherwise consider park-to-park tickets worth the cost, so we strongly advise you get a park-to-park ticket.
If you’re visiting just the odler two parks on your trip, this means you’ll want a 2-day park-to-park ticket at those parks. If you’re visiting those two and Epic, you’ll get a 2-day ticket that includes “1 day at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, and 1 separate day at Epic Universe.” If you have a third day (more discussion below), you’ll simply have another day at the older two parks.
Should You Get a Third Day?
Next, you need to decide how many days to get tickets for. For this post, I assume you want either 2-day or 3-day tickets. If you’ve got so much time on your arrival and departure days that 4-day tickets make sense…well I guess this post still works for you, but how did you find it??
When I look at ticket prices at Undercover Tourist for tickets that include Epic, that second day of park-to-park at the older two parks costs about $120 per person. I usually wouldn’t find that worth it, but if the parks are open until 9PM or 10PM and you’re landing at noon, it could definitely be appealing. (If you’re skipping Epic, Universal unfortunately doesn’t sell 3-day, 2-park tickets anymore.)
Should You Get Express Pass?
Express Pass is a paid extra that allows you access to shorter queues on select (most) attractions. Prices vary by date and exactly which product you get, but you should be immediately prepared to spend $150 to $300+ per person if you’re opting for this.
As with tickets, Express Pass comes in a variety of day and park combinations. For your weekend trip, you’re basically going to be choosing between:
One day of Express Pass at Epic Universe
One day of Express Pass at the older two parks
A two-day Express Pass that combines the above two options
As to Epic, we have a post where we reviewed using Express Pass at Epic Universe and (more or less) found it wasn’t worth it. As to the older two parks, we have a separate post dedicated to a full exploration of Universal Express Pass and Express Pass Unlimited. Express Pass certainly is most valuable when you’re trying to squeeze two parks worth of highlights into a single day, so it’s worth considering for a trip like this.
Where to Stay
Time is of the essence on a short trip. The first easy decision here is to stay at a Universal hotel. This will get you most/all (depending on which hotel) of the perks associated with a Universal hotel—the big one being Early Theme Park Admission. We have a Guide to the Hotels of Universal Orlando Resort if you want to learn more, but here are the basics…
Unlike Disney World (where only the deluxe hotels get precious walking paths) Universal Orlando has several reasonably-priced hotels that are walking distance from the parks. My favorite value option close to the older two parks is Cabana Bay Beach Resort, but I also enjoyed my visit to Aventura Hotel. To get to Epic from those hotels, you’ll need to take a bus or drive.
Over at Epic, you’ve got Helios Grand attached to the park. You’ve also got Stella Nova a short walk away and Terra Luna a longer walk away. From those hotels, you’ll need to bus or drive to CityWalk and the older two parks.
I really don’t think the savings to stay at, for example, Endless Summer or an off-site hotel are worth the conveniences you miss out on from Cabana Bay or Stella Nova for just a little more. (If the 20-minute walk from those hotels is a big “no” from you regardless, then saving money at Endless Summer might make sense.)
The big choice is whether to upgrade—for your whole stay or even for just one night—to one of the hotels that gets Universal Express Pass Unlimited. These hotels are Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, and Loews Royal Pacific Resort.
In general, I don’t think these hotels are worth it for a short stay. I’d usually not recommend doing a split stay (one night at one hotel, two nights at another) for such a short visit, either.
The nitty gritty here is that some of the higher tier hotels include Express Pass unlimited at the older two parks (NOT at Epic). I’d suggest doing some independent research and seeing if the price to upgrade for some portion of your stay makes sense. Keep in mind that you get Express Pass Unlimited as soon as you check-in, and you have it the entire day of check-out.
Planning Your Time in the Parks
As a starting point, you can look at our one-day itinerary posts for the parks:
Of course, 1+1+1=3, and you only have two days. If you’re skipping Epic, you’ll basically be working off the one-day plans for the two older parks. Since you want to ride the Hogwarts Express, you’ll wind up either with two days each split between the two parks (i.e. ride the Hogwarts Express one direction each day), or one day where you hop back and forth, riding the Hogwarts Express both directions on the same day.
If you’re visiting Epic, our one day plan will help you with the day there. Then, you’ve got two combine the other two parks into one day. I don’t have a post for this yet (I’m sure there’s good ones out there), but here’s my typical plan for the day split between Islands and Studios Florida:
Plan to rope drop Hagrid’s. Even if Early Admission is at Universal Studios Florida, you should rope drop Hagrid’s over at Islands of Adventure. (The only thing worth Early Admission time at Studios is Gringott’s. Gringott’s has a great queue you’ll enjoy waiting in later.)
Hit the Islands of Adventures highlights early. Continue that morning with Forbidden Journey, Velocicoaster, and anything else you really want to do at Islands of Adventure.
Lean toward leaving catching the Hogwarts Express early. Look at recent Hogwarts Express wait times and try and get out of Islands of Adventure before that line gets too big.
Do everything you want at Studios Florida, then head back to Islands of Adventure via the Hogwarts Express.
Finally, remember that all three parks have some rides with single rider lines. If these are available, they’re a good way to cut down a little bit on waits if your party can be separated.
That’s all for this topic! How will you spend your weekend at Universal Orlando Resort?
All Your Other Universal Orlando Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Universal Orlando planning! Take a second to check out our most important content!
Just starting out? Start with our Universal Orlando Resort planning guide! If you’re considering a Universal hotel, read our Guide to the Hotels of Universal Orlando Resort!
You’ll want to know what rides the parks offer, so we’ve got a Universal Studios Florida Rides Guide, a Universal Islands of Adventure Rides Guide, and a Universal Epic Universe Rides Guide.
If you’d like an idea of how to plan a day at these parks, we can help there, too. Our One Day Universal Studios Florida Itinerary covers a full day at the original park, our Universal Islands of Adventure One Day Plan covers Hagrid's, Velocicoaster, and more, and we even have a One Day Guide to Epic Universe covering Universal's newest park.
Want to know how to get on rides without the long waits? Read all about Express Pass at Universal Orlando Resort. Plus, early risers always have the best theme parks days (well, we think so). Read about Early Park Admission at Universal Orlando to learn how to get an extra hour in the parks.