When you travel to Orlando during Christmas break, the holidays are merry and bright, but the crowds are a fright…. With some insider knowledge and a solid plan – you can avoid most of the lines and move straight the fun!
We were able to accomplish EVERY RIDE and EVERY EXPERIENCE we wanted during our 3 1/2 days in the parks! We rode all the main rides two or three times! We dined at Three Broomsticks, The Leaky Caldron, and three CityWalk / Table Service restaurants – all without dining reservations.
The number of people in the parks this year was staggering, so a great plan for our day was more necessary than ever.
We started planning to ‘beat the crowds’ during the
- Exclusive access into the parks 1 hour earlier than other visitors
- Express Pass option automatically included with our tickets
- Quick walking access to CityWalk, with dedicated Security Checkpoints
We also included the Park to Park option into our ticket bundle. Additionally, we picked up / activated our tickets and dining cards, plus downloaded the Universal Orlando App the night before our first park day. Early the next morning, we were ready to hit the parks!
First Park Day
Bright and early December 26th, we headed to Islands of Adventure. Both Universal Orlando theme parks were offering the Early Morning Hour (from 7 – 8 am), o
During our first park morning we accomplished:
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – 2 times
- Flight of the
Hippograff - 4-5 Interactive Wand Spells
- Breakfast at Three Broomsticks
- Triwizard Spirit Rally (show)
- Jurassic Park River Adventure
- Skull Island: Reign of Kong
- The Incredible Hulk Coaster
- The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
- Doctor Doom’s Fearfall
Then we went to lunch, took a 3 hour nap and returned to CityWalk for a walk
After dinner, we headed into Universal Studios. After a quick pop over to Starbucks for an after-dinner coffee, we watched 4-5 high school band performances, secured our spot next to the giant Christmas Tree and watched Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s. We closed out the evening riding:
- Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon
- Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
Day Two
We began this morning at Universal Studios. Even though we arrived at 7 am, there was a ‘line’ to get into Diagon Alley. By 8 am, the line was wrapped around the pathway along the lake and you could only enter Diagon Alley at the ‘main entrance’… or so most people thought. Universal Orlando employees were monitoring the comings and goings into the alley and only allowed a select number of folks to enter at any given time.
The Gringotts ride did ‘go down’ for a while and extended the wait – for the ones in our family who rode the ride that morning, it was a 2-2.5 hour wait. The rest of us enjoyed exploring Diagon Alley, testing our interactive wand skills and dining at The Leaky Caldron.
Before our mid-afternoon break, we had accomplished the following:
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
- Breakfast at The Leaky Caldron
- Buying a wand for a new wizard in our family
- 10+ Interactive Wand Spells
- Shopping in Diagon Alley
- Visiting Gringotts Wizarding Bank
- Men in Black Alien Attack – 2 times
- Fast & Furious Supercharged
- Lunch at Louie’s Italian Restaurant
After a 4 hour hotel break, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner at
- Confisgo Grille in Islands of Adventure
- Explored Seuss Land
- Rode The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!
- Watched the last transformation of Hogsmeade Castle holiday light show
Day Three
Another early morning to accomplish:
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
- Interactive Wand Spells and shopped for wizard robes
- Men in Black Alien Attack
- Transformers: The Ride 3-D
- Starbucks break
- Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
- Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon
- Hogwarts Express – King’s Cross Station
- Lunch at The Burger Digs (Mobile Ordering available)
- Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
- Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges – 2 times
- 2 1/2 hour Resort / Pool break
- Dinner at CityWalk – Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food
- Holiday Light Show transformation of Hogsmeade Castle
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Day Four (1/2 day)
This morning we slept in a little bit. While the moms packed the cars and checked out of the hotel, the dad/kids visited their favorites one more time:
- Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit – 2 times
- Starbucks break
- Transformers: The Ride 3-D
- Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
- Revenge of the Mummy
- Hogwarts
Express Lunch at Cafe 4 (Mobile Ordering available)
The Crowds
Arriving at CityWalk to take advantage of Early Morning Hour (7am). 
Leaving CityWalk at park closing (10 pm).
The crowds lasted all day long. The least busy/crowded times in the parks was definitely from 7-8 am, so take advantage of Early Morning Hour offered by staying on property. By 1 pm, the parks were saturated and a mid-afternoon nap/pool break was delightful. Opening presents by the pool one afternoon was a festive way to relax and savor family time.
Enjoying a leisurely dinner each evening was also a wonderful way to spend quality time with extended family and visit.
During our holiday trip we spent 3 1/2 days at the parks and we enjoyed
- 31 rides
- 10+ bands, street performers, mini-shows
- the Holiday Parade + Castle Light Show
- a handful of
Butterbeers
Want to maximize your time in Universal Orlando theme parks?
The Orlando theme parks can be a beast to plan –
