BEST TIPS 2022: Universal Orlando Resort | PLUS WARNINGS | Our Most Comprehensive List Yet

Are you planning a Universal Orlando vacation this year? Need some tips and tricks? Well we have some new tips, some classic tricks, and a few warnings. So grab a pen and paper because we have a lot to cover today. Tip number one is to download the Universal Orlando mobile app. It's great for mobile ordering, wait times, and show times. Keeps you in the loop. Another thing you may want to do since you are visiting Universal Orlando is consider purchasing annual passes. Instead of just day tickets, there's some perks that come along with the annual passes. Depending on your level, discounts can be applied to food and merchandise, early parking mission. Even my level, the premier level, I get free valet. You even get discounts on parking or free parking again depending on your level. And maybe you can stop by the pass holder lounge and get a free magnet or a free button. Another pro tip is to make reservations for the restaurants. That's right. You can do it either by mobile, by what your hotel, and phone, and by phone, or just walk it up right there. Right after you enter the park, to the right, they have a little kiosk here. Dining Reservations. That's where you make your dining reservations. And over to the left, just after we enter the theme park, we have the Universal Studios store. Here's a pro tip. Do not walk around with your bags all day. You can use package pickup. Don't just carry them around all day. Be hands-free, carry-free, and carefree. If you're staying at a Universal Orlando hotel as well, you can actually have it delivered to your hotel. Otherwise, there's package pickup at the Universal store in CityWalk, which is a change from previous years. It is. Here's your first warning of the day. If you're a fan of Shrek 4D, it is closing forever on January 10th. Warning number two. If you're a seasoned visitor to Universal, you may be used to using the American Express Lounge. It is now closed forever. That's right. There's no more perks to using that American Express Park. Nope. Here's a fun little trick. Take advantage of the free backstage tours that some of the attractions have. Absolutely. They are a blast to see everything that goes on behind the scenes. Got a little Easter eggs and things like that. For sure. Now, just ask a person at the front of the line, or where the line begins really, if they have a backstage tour because they're not guaranteed. No, they're not. It depends on a lot of different factors. Some of the attractions that have backstage tours. Jimmy Falun's Race to New York. The Mummy, when it's opened, we'll talk about that later, has a backstage tour. MIB. VelociCoaster has one. The Hulk. Dr. Doom's Villains tour is a very fun tour. Exactly. So, take advantage of those. Here is another warning. The Mummy roller coaster ride, Revenge of the Mummy, is closing temporarily from January 7th through late summer. So, if that vacation of yours is like early on in 2022, watch out for that. Be aware. Don't get your hopes up for riding the Mummy. Here's another tip. You may want to plan your Universal vacation around the time they're having free, well I shouldn't say free, events that are included with your ticket. Yes. As you can see, we are currently here during Christmastime, and when you visit during Christmastime with your ticket, you get to experience Grinchmas, the Macy's Parade, and other fun activities. Don't forget one of my favorites, Mardi Gras. Yeah, Mardi Gras, all that food you can buy. Yes, and the parade again. Another parade. And all of the street performers and everything. Such an awesome time. And those are not separately ticketed events. They come with your regular park ticket. That's amazing right there. So, make sure to check Universal's website at UniversalOrlando.com for those dates of those special events. They change every year. Not to contradict ourselves with this tip, but we're going to. We're going to. Another tip is to come during the off season, the non-peak seasons. It all just depends on what your goal is. If your goal is to ride a bunch of rides, that might be the way to go if you can swing it. But, for Christmas here, there is a little trick with that. It gets really busy from like mid-December to the new year. Correct. So, if you do want to experience the Christmas stuff, you need to come here as soon as they start it, which is typically a little after Halloween Horror Nights. Correct. So, it changes every year, but maybe like mid-November. Right, yes, because in the first couple weeks of November is when they start to switch over. But, a warning would be like any type of holiday that makes a three-day weekend, that weekend is really busy. Yes. So, if you want to avoid crowds, don't come anywhere near any type of holiday. So, just moments ago, we showed you the mummy and we talked about how that was going to be down for six months. That kind of leads to another warning regarding express passes. If you buy express passes, you will not get Hagrid's because it does not have an express line. Velocicoaster does not have an express line. And the mummy, while it does have an express line, will be closed for six months. So, take that into consideration before you purchase. But, what you might want to do is stay at a Universal Premier Hotel where you get free unlimited express passes. Behind me here, Louie's Pizza. It is an official recommendation. Love this pizza, but we do have a small little tip for you. You don't have to go inside the restaurant to get the pizza. They do have a little walk-up window. Order your pizza here. All right. So, here's a little bonus tip for Louie's Pizza. Cut that slice in half. It's huge. And share it. Yeah. Half the calories, half the cost. Bonus, bonus. I feel good about how things are going. Rapid fire tips and tricks. We're gonna, we'll be done before the fog burns off. That's awesome. I apologize for the foggy day. But, regardless, let's move on to a tip regarding early park admission. So, who gets early park admission? Annual pass holders get early park admission. And people staying at Universal Orlando hotels. No matter the level. All the hotels offer early park admission. There's advantages to this. Get into the park as soon as you can. Beat the crowds. Beat the heat. But, there's a warning. The whole park is not open for early park admission. Harry Potter sections will be open and sometimes attractions like the Minions or the Velocity Coaster may also be open for early park admission. Volcano Bay, you get about 30 minutes before the regular crowds and then Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure around an hour. Just be aware that both parks typically do not have early park admission at the same time. It kind of bounces between each park. Right. So, check the app and check your hotel if you're staying on site and they'll let you know which one is open on that particular day that you're coming. That's why we said to download the app. Things like this. Exactly. Now, let's say you are not staying at the hotel. Universal Hotel and you're not an annual pass holder. You just need to get into the park as soon as it opens for you. That way you can beat some of the heat and beat some of the crowds. And when you do get into the park early, go to those most popular rides first. Hagrid's, Velocity Coaster, Despicable Me, Minion Mayhem. Yeah, the earlier the better for sure. As the day wears on, the lines definitely grow and get longer. For sure. And the other thing is we are dealing with fog today, but sometimes it could be rain. So, you need to be prepared for any type of weather. Exactly. Cold fronts might come through in January, February, March and it might be really, really cold here. So, our tip is to be prepared for any type of weather. And speaking of rain, don't be afraid to come on rainy days. A lot of the rides are inside and don't get affected by it. Crowd levels are lower. So, rainy days are actually some of our favorite days to come to the parks. And I would like to note, let's clarify, it's Universal Studios Florida that has more like indoor rides. Islands of Adventure, more outdoor rides. All right, we are about to step inside of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley to be specific. Here's a little tip. Right there, that's the entrance. I see so many people just walking by, holding the map. Where's Diagon Alley? Well, it's right there. But what we're going to do, we're going to apparate in. Okay, it's been a while Nikki. Do we remember the technique for apparating together? It's like riding a bike. We got this. All right, hop on. Let's do it. It seems like you forgot the technique. Hold on tight. Here we go. We made it. It's a little crowded in here. It was tough to find a landing spot. Exactly. We had to search around a bit. Wands are going to cost you just under $60. And there are a lot of wand spots in this area, in both parks actually, both Studios and over at Islands of Adventure. So, it's something definitely to take advantage of to make your trip here a little bit more unique. So, here's a tip for people like me, the big and tall. Yeah, definitely. You want to try those test seats before you get in the queue and get on the ride. With your weight and you have, you know, the drive to want to get on. Here is another tip for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and it has to do with Butterbeer. Now, this tip is specifically for Hogsmeade. At Hogsmeade, they have the Butterbeer carts throughout the village. Those lines can get really long. Over at Hogsmeade, you may want to step into Hogshead. It typically has a shorter line for Butterbeer. Okay, we made it out of Diagon Alley, barely with our lives. Behind us here, MIB. A very fun ride if you know how to score well on it. Luckily, I have a video with tips on how to score well on it. Go check that out. Now, with MIB, you do, you can't take like a bag on the ride. You have to use the lockers unless you have a three-prong fanny pack. And I brought one to show you guys today. There it is. Three prongs. Exactly. That's the kind of bag you need. And there are multiple rides that have that same policy. For example, Hagrid's. You can't take like a little book bag on it, but you can wear a three-prong bum bag or fanny pack. Now, a good rule of thumb is if you have to go through a metal detector to get onto the ride, you're not going to be able to take anything at all. No. And since the MIB attraction has lockers, let's go show you the lockers and kind of explain the locker situation here at Universal. And here are the free lockers. A bit smaller. About the size. Probably good for like one of those mini backpacks. Like the lounge fly type backpacks. A wand will fit at an angle as well. So, if you have a magic wand. But if you're carrying a big old backpack, you may need to rent the larger lockers. Two dollars while you're riding. Three dollars for what? Every additional 30 minutes beyond that with a maximum of twenty dollars per day. And since we're over here by MIB lockers, do you have another Facebook group regarding MIB this time? I sure do. It's MIB 900 Club dash Men in Black Universal Orlando. One of our favorites. It is a good group. Great place to share tips and tricks and to learn a few things and to show and brag on the number that you got when you're in there. Granted, I've never posted anything because I can't brag on that. I think at it. And there's some other Facebook groups we'll mention as we continue throughout the day. Very close to MIB is the Coca-Cola Refresh Station. One thing you may want to consider when you're visiting here is purchase a refillable cup. Refill your soda or your water what every once every hour, right? No, 10 minutes. Once every 10 minutes. Exactly. And then even when you buy that refillable cup, say you come back a year later, you can still recharge it and use it again. So, you don't need to repurchase that cup again. You just do the recharge. Right on. Stay hydrated. What's the pricing of these, Nikki? All right, so it's $18.10 for icing and fountain drink refills throughout all three parks. You can bring it back and get it for half price for the recharge bill. I think it was $11.71 is what the cost would be for that. So, yeah. All right. Good stuff. Like I said, stay hydrated. Yep. And refill again every 10 minutes. Look at this here. The Simpsons ride. The reason why I'm showing this, this ride makes me sick. Wouldn't you like to know what rides make you the most sick when you visit Universal Orlando? I sure would. Well, you're in luck. I have a video. The top six rides that will make you sick. The Simpsons ride, I think, came in number two. Go watch the video. See what came in number one. But you really should know before you get here what rides are going to make you sick. And maybe you want to pack some Dramamine. Just saying. And if you forget Dramamine, you can also stop at the first aid station over in New York area and they will give you some Dramamine. Right next to Fast and Furious. Skip that ride. Head over to the first aid. All right. We have a couple tips in Springfield to share with you. One of the main things here in Springfield is Fast Food Boulevard. A lot of food in here. And typically some long lines. That's why I want to give you the tip that mobile order still has its advantages. There's been many times that I have beaten the lines by mobile ordering my food. Especially here in Springfield. But that applies to other restaurants in the park. So make sure to check the app for all the participating restaurants and quick service places that you can do that for. Yeah. Here is a tip specific for Duff Brewery. A lot of times the line to get a beer here at Duff's gets pretty long. You don't have to wait in that line if there are seats at the bar. This is a bar. If you have a seat, the bartender will come to you and take your order. And then you can take that beer for a walk. So here's another fun tip. If you're looking for the best photo spots or best Instagram worthy picture spots, we have a video of all the spots in both parks for you. Yeah. I'll go one better. I will create a playlist of all like the major tips and tricks videos. Put it all in one spot. Very nice. Super easy. I'll leave a link to it in the description box. Into the kids zone for a couple tips. If you are a fan of the E.T. attraction, here's a small little warning for you. It typically opens about an hour after regular park guests come into the park. So be aware of that. And also a bonus, they are now taking your name so E.T. can say your name again at the end of the ride. Super fun. Here's a fun little tip or awkward little tip or necessary tip. The best restrooms in the park in my opinion because they're the least crowded and the cleanest. The ones over here by DreamWorks Destination. You're welcome. Do you have anything to add to that Nikki? I actually have two extra spots. Oh do you? Yes. Let's see if I agree with these. So over at Islands of Adventure I like the Keyless for Kwan in Seuss Landings. I like that bathroom because it's always super clean. And then the other one is actually near, how do you say that pizza place? Pizza Predatoria. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How do you say it? Oh yeah. In Jurassic Park area. Exactly. If you go to the right of that little section that's usually not crowded in there. Right. So you can have a little bit more For Jurassic Park the restroom by the Jurassic Outfitters is always crowded. That one's crowded. Don't go to that one. Yeah. Good tip. Go to the other side. There's another one. Pizza Predatoria. Yeah. To the right side. As you face Pizza Predatoria to the right. That is so true. That's a good tip. Not quite at the end yet guys. You're almost there though. I want to remind you click that subscribe button and that bell notification button so you'll know when another video is ready for you to view. Another really good tip is to look into and it is an additional cost but the VIP experience. Yes. It's the only way to express past Velocicoaster and Hagrid's and it's actually faster than Express with the other attractions. And you get a personal guide that walks you around the park and shows you all those awesome easter eggs. And I think they, I've never done it so but I think they feed you as well. Don't hold me to that they feed you thing. I've never done the VIP tour but I'm pretty sure for what you're paying I would hope they feed you. There's also a VIP tour for like Halloween Horror Nights as well that's awesome. The RIP tour. Yes the RIP tour. So great things to check out if it's in your budget. Yeah. Another perk of being an annual pass holder is the Pass Holder Lounge. Catch an AC. Recharge your phone. Just relax and enjoy. Recharge yourself. Another tip. Enjoy the characters here at Universal. They are awesome. Okay I think we have time for some like stragglers. Some straggler tips and tricks. Miscellaneous. Rapid fire. Here we go. I would say a tip would be to visit Chez Alcatraz and get the ocean attack. Comes with the show. It's both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Did I get you to it? Two versions of it. Yes. That's right. So even the kids can participate. And then another thing is if you're staying on property unless it's at the Endless Summer Resort, do pool hopping. You can experience the other pools at the resorts. For sure. Absolutely. Again the disclaimer is Endless Summer is not allowed to do that. But the rest of you staying on property hop around to the different pools and then we have some more Facebook groups you might want to consider. We do. Okay so some of our favorites are the Single Riders of UOAP. Oh yes. They have a lot of really fun activities that go along with the parks. Yes. Fantastic group. Wendy is just amazing. So yeah make sure you check that out as well. Any others? There's a Universally Crafted which is Universal Orlando. Then we have Universal Magic which is a hide-seek journey through the park Facebook group. And then UO Rocks Universal Orlando. So people will make little gifts. Little craft things. Little crafty things anywhere from painted rocks to little miniature wands. So essentially they post on the on the Facebook group a little hiding space and you know. A little clue. Yeah a little clue. A little hint as to where it's at. And a lot of fun. So if even if you're not crafty you might be able to pick up a few fun cool things. Another one of like a really cool Facebook group for insiders is UOAP for pass holders. Bypass holders. And then of course our ultimate favorite Orlando Informer. And then the last tip for today. The biggest tip. We said the best for last. Subscribe and watch Rick's Flix videos. I'm here like every other day doing update videos. Keeping you you know the pulse of what's happening in the park. So any changes that would occur I'll let you know. So subscribe to Rick's Flix. The best tip of the day. So there you go guys. Our best tips tricks and warnings for 2022. I hope they help you out. Make your vacation go a little smoother. Remember check the description box. Lots of links in there. That 2022 playlist. The Facebook groups. Things like that. Check the description box. And as always don't miss the magic. Don't miss the fun.