Comprehensive Guide to Figuring Out How Many Days for Universal Orlando is Best for You

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If you’re planning a trip to Universal Orlando, I get it, it’s a daunting task…especially for a family. So how many days for Universal Orlando is best for you? I’ll break it down in this post so you know just how long your trip should be.

This advice and insight comes from years of visiting Universal Orlando as a passholder for weekend and overnight trips, with family, friends, and even solo! There’s lots of options, but let’s help narrow it down so you know exactly how many days to spend at Universal Orlando.

Step 1: Determine which parks you’re visiting

Because there are four parks on the Universal Orlando property, first you need to determine how many of them you’ll be visiting. The four parks are Volcano Bay (the water park), Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios of Florida, and Epic Universe.

The most common itinerary has you omitting Volcano Bay and visiting Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios of Florida in one trip. You can now add in a visit to Epic Universe as a separate day!

Of course, if your plan is to visit the water park, you’ll have to plan accordingly.

In short, if you’re visiting all four parks, I recommend allocating 6 full days in Orlando plus your travel days, so one full week. Your rough itinerary would be:

• Day 1: travel and check-in
• Day 2: park day
• Day 3: rest day or park day
• Day 4: park day
• Day 5: rest day or park day
• Day 6: park day
• Day 7: check-out and travel

If you’re not planning to visit Volcano Bay, I would lower that itinerary to only 5 days – 2 park days and one rest day in between.

Step 2: Understand your group’s needs

Another factor that comes into play in determining how many days in Universal Orlando is right for you is your group’s needs.

For example, if you have young kids, you may need more rest time.

If you’re traveling solo, you might not need so many rest days because you can decide when to go to the parks on your own. If you’re feeling tired, you can go back to your hotel and take a nap! Perks of solo travel!

Step 3: Check for special events

If you’re visiting Universal Orlando during one of their special events such as Mardi Gras or Halloween Horror Nights, you also may need to adjust your plans.

For Mardi Gras, you may be partying all day and taking the party to CityWalk at night. That may mean you want to spread your vacation out so you can sleep in and have more park days to experience the event!

For Halloween Horror Nights, this is a ticketed event. If you’re visiting the parks during normal operation, you’ll be kicked out when Halloween Horror Nights starts in the evening if you don’t have a ticket. You may want to add more park days to your itinerary so you can be sure to experience everything since you’ll have less time during the day to do it all.

It also may mean that you shorten your trip because you only have one ticket for one Halloween Horror Night experience, for example.

Lots to consider!

Related read >> Guide to Halloween Horror Nights for First Timers

Step 4: Don’t forget about your budget

Of course, every day you spend at the parks and every extra day in a hotel is gonna cost ya! When you purchase you park tickets, you’ll get lower daily rates for each additional day on your ticket.

For example, a one day park-to-park ticket (for Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida) costs $164+. If you plan to visit for two days, the price decreases to $138+ per day. So, by adding one day the price per day decreases. This goes all the way down to $69+ per day.

Of course, that isn’t the total price so every extra day, still adds to the total cost of your trip. Keeping up with that example. For a one day park-to-park ticket, you pay $164. For a two day park-to-park ticket, you pay $276. For the 5 day park-to-park ticket, you pay $345.

And a note here that right now, the only tickets for Epic Universe are for a single-day visit. You can purchase them separately or as a bundle with your other tickets. But you can’t go from park-to-park including Epic Universe, because it’s 4.5 miles from the other parks.

And don’t forget you’re adding hotel nights and cost of food to every day, so it can add up!

Based on a general itinerary to see everything, especially the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I recommend 2 days for the parks (not including Volcano Bay). If your budget allows, you can certainly add more!

Related read → How to plan a trip budget using Excel with a free trip planner

Is one day enough at Universal Orlando?

Short answer, I don’t think so, no. Here’s why: there are three (non-water) parks to explore and even with a park-to-park ticket, you’d have to eliminate something because you cannot visit Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida, and Epic Universe all in one day.

And trust me, you won’t want to. If you only have one day and you’ve never been, I’d opt for the park-to-park option for Islands and Studios.

To maximize your time, I recommend staying on Universal property so you can get that early park admission an hour before everyone else. That gives you an extra hour to hop into the line for Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure at Islands of Adventure or Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge in Epic Universe, for example.

You can also consider an Express Pass to help you get it all done in a shorter amount of time.

I also recommend setting wait time alerts and ordering food on the mobile app to maximize your time!

Despite these tips, I think 2 days for Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios of Florida, and Epic Universe is perfect! That gives you enough time to ride all the rides with a strategy and without the Express Pass, take in all the Wizarding Worlds, and explore Epic Universe.

Related read >> Tried and true tips for Epic Universe

Do you need 2 or 3 days at Universal Orlando?

For the park days, I recommend 2 days if you’re not visiting Volcano Bay. But for your overall vacation, I recommend 3 days so you can take a rest day in between.

I’m sure you know that theme parks require a lot of walking and Florida weather can be unpredictable. Having 2 days with an additional rest day planned, allows you to have some flexibility in your trip and a much-needed break.

I highly recommend staying at Cabana Bay if you’re planning a non-park rest day for your Universal Orlando trip. I’ve stayed at 4 Universal properties (Cabana Bay, Stella Nova, both Endless Summer properties — Dockside and Surfside) and some off-property hotels (the Hilton Garden Inn near Dockside and DoubleTree near the entrance of the parks).

After much testing, I can confidently say that Cabana Bay is by far the best one for spending your rest day.

The hotel has a bowling alley, arcade, multiple pools and jacuzzis, outdoor beach games like volleyball, fire pits with s’mores makings, and a lazy river! It’s seriously stacked with entertainment compared to the other hotels so on your rest day, not only can you rest, but you (or your kids) won’t be bored.

A 3-day trip will also allow you to explore CityWalk without feeling rushed or like it’s eating into your park time. I love the restaurants at CityWalk for non-theme park food. My favorites have been Big Fire, the NBC Grill, and Vivo!

Related read >> The best snacks at Universal Orlando to try

So, how many days for Universal Orlando is best?

The answer: 3 — one day for Epic Universe and one day for a park-to-park experience of Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida plus a rest day in between each park visit.

Factors to consider that may change this recommendation are: budget, group needs, and events.

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