Universal Studios Florida Trip Report Day 1: Ride Order and Wait Times

📍 Universal Studios Florida — 6000 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819, USA

📍 Universal Islands of Adventure — 6000 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819, USA

In this post I’m sharing my visit to Universal Orlando! I bought a Park-to-Park ticket so I could ride the Hogwarts Express, which connects Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, and I also added an Express Pass so I could keep moving all day. I’ll walk you through everything in the exact order I rode it.

Visit date: 2025.10.05 Weather: Cloudy (a brief shower in the afternoon)

7:45 Shuttle to Universal

Today’s plan was to focus on Universal Studios Florida: do that park in the morning, then take the Hogwarts Express over to the other park in the afternoon.

As soon as we got in, we started with the closest area, Minion Land!

8:15 #1 Despicable Me Minion Mayhem (Express)

The queue is decorated like Gru’s house

This 4D simulator ride makes you feel like you’ve actually become a Minion. The pre-show area is cute and the cast members’ acting is fun! The regular wait was about 20 minutes; I walked straight in with Express.

8:35 #2 Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast (Express)

The toy blaster

A screen-target shooting attraction. You hit villains with a toy blaster to rack up points, like a video game. The queue is themed as a “villain convention”, and if you link it to the Universal app you can save your score. There was almost no regular wait and I walked right on with Express.

8:50 #3 Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon (Express)

A 4D simulator with an NBC studio theme. You race all over New York with Jimmy Fallon, so it’s a fun, light ride. No wait at all.

9:15 #4 Revenge of the Mummy (Express)

A mummy-themed indoor roller coaster. You speed through a dark mummy temple with a small drop near the end. Bags have to go in a locker, and you need your park ticket to get your things back later, so be sure to keep your ticket on you separately. The regular wait was 10 minutes; I rode right away with Express.

9:40 #5 TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D (Express)

A Transformers attraction that combines a 4D simulator with a moving track. The scene where Megatron grabs and shakes your vehicle felt real, which made it very immersive. The regular wait was about 15 minutes; I rode right away with Express.

10:30 #6 The Bourne Stuntacular (Express)

A stunt show that combines stunt performers with a giant screen. It was an amazing show that felt like watching real action scenes right in front of you. As you’d expect from a movie studio, the staging is fresh and outstanding, so I recommend seeing it at least once.

11:00 Meeting Squidward

There’s a character meet-and-greet spot inside the SpongeBob-themed store. When I went, it was Squidward’s turn, so I got a photo with him. (Like at Disney, a professional photographer takes the photo, but if you ask them to use your phone, they’re happy to.)

11:15 #6 E.T. Adventure (Express)

It’s a classic attraction, but it still has Steven Spielberg’s charm. You ride a bicycle to rescue E.T. and take him back to his home planet. The regular wait was around 30 minutes, but I rode right away with Express.

11:40 Lunch at the Minion restaurant

We had lunch at the Minion-themed restaurant. We ordered the items below and the total came to $77.69. (It’s a quick-service restaurant, so no tip.)

• Lucy’s Top Secret Salmon (salmon steak)
• El Macho’s Salsa y Salsa Ropa Vieja (a Latin-style dish)
• Otto’s Noodle Bowl (udon noodles in ramen broth)
• Green Banana Chips
• Minion Swiss Roll

Otto’s Noodle Bowl is udon noodles in ramen broth… but the noodles were soggy and kept breaking apart. That was the worst dish. The grilled salmon was the best! The blue rice that came with it doesn’t look great, but it tasted fine. The banana chips were good too. The Minion roll cake tasted like a convenience-store roll cake.

The food here is just so-so, and there are no moving figures or special events inside the restaurant, so I don’t recommend it. Enjoy the theming briefly and eat somewhere else.

12:35 #7 Fast & Furious – Supercharged (Express)

A simulator where you board a big party bus and race through the city. Before the ride there are pre-shows with a live actor doing a one-person performance. The 360-degree screen effects were decent, but the footage felt a bit dated. The regular wait was 20 minutes and I rode right away with Express. (I’d have felt it wasn’t worth it if I’d waited in the regular line…)

I’d originally planned to ride Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts before heading to the other park, but it was down, so I decided to try again the next day and went straight to the Hogwarts Express.

13:00 #8 Hogwarts Express (Express)

The Harry Potter-themed train that links the two parks. I could ride it because I had a Park-to-Park ticket. The view outside the window is different in each direction, so be sure to ride both ways.

The regular wait was about 30 minutes. With Express we had to wait for the train to come back, so we waited about 10 minutes.

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Islands of Adventure

Entering Hogsmeade

13:30 #9 Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (Express)

The most popular roller coaster at Universal Orlando. You can choose to ride either Hagrid’s motorbike or the sidecar from the films. The story is excellent, and partway through the coaster changes direction, which was a lot of fun. Since it’s so popular, the regular wait was a whopping 100 minutes… With Express we waited about 20 minutes. You have to put your belongings in a locker before entering! Just bring your park ticket.

14:00 Frozen Butterbeer

You can’t come to the Harry Potter area without a Butterbeer! It’s sweet like caramel with a smooth buttery taste, and it was delicious. The slushy version was the best, so definitely get it frozen. I bought the souvenir cup version, then washed it in the restroom after finishing and carried it around with me.

14:30 #10 Jurassic World VelociCoaster (Express)

A popular attraction and the most thrilling roller coaster at Universal Orlando. It has everything: sudden launches, inversions and drops, so if you want thrills it’s a must. You have to store all your belongings (including your phone), and there’s a security check before boarding, so there’s no way to sneak anything on. Ask the cast member by the lockers and they’ll give you a paper ticket to open the locker. Put everything in the locker and ride with only that paper ticket. The regular wait was around 40 minutes, and with Express I rode almost immediately.

A dinosaur drinking a Coke, lol

15:00 #11 Jurassic Park River Adventure (Express)

A boat ride where you look at dinosaurs and then escape. I got completely soaked on the final drop. There was hardly any regular wait, and I walked right in with Express.

Since I was already wet, I wanted to ride the log flume and the raft ride too, but both were down, so I had to give up.

Moving from Disney to Universal had worn me out, and I had laundry to do, so I wrapped up the day relatively early.

On Day 2 I focused on Islands of Adventure. You can read about it here 😉

🔗 Islands of Adventure Trip Report Day 2: Ride Order and Wait Times

That’s the end of my Universal Studios Florida trip report!

I hope my blog helps make your trip a little more magical ✨ If you have any questions, feel free to reach out through the contact page. Thanks for reading!