Understanding Early Park Admission

Anna Trosper11.7.19If you have used me as your travel planner, or have been following me on Facebook, you know I am a big fan of staying on-site at theme park resorts. This is especially true when it comes to Universal Orlando.There are so many terrific benefits of staying on property. It offers great proximity to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Volcano Bay, and City Walk. In addition, you have free transportation, free pool hopping at select hotels, free resort delivery of your in-park souvenir purchases, and so much more.One of the best benefits is Early Park. This is offered at all Universal Orlando Resorts. It allows you to enter select parks up to one hour early. This benefit can be a huge advantage to get ahead of the crowds, especially during busy, peak times! I want to walk you through all of the details of when and how to use this perk. That way you can take advantage of it on your next trip we plan together.The following are the Universal Orlando Resort hotels offering Early Park Admission:

• Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando
• Universal's Hard Rock Hotel
• Loews Royal Pacific Resort
• Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort
• Loews Sapphire Falls Resort
• Universal's Aventura Resort
• Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites (now open) & Dockside Inn and Suites (opening March 2020)

Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Universal's Hard Rock Hotel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort also offer free Universal Express Unlimited, which is another amazing benefit of staying on property that I will address in another blog.Early Park Admission allows all Universal Orlando Resort hotel guests one-hour early entry into either Universal's Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios Florida. However, during extra busy times of year, both parks may allow early entry. In addition, resort hotel guests also get one-hour early entry into Universal's Volcano Bay water theme park. Valid theme park admission is required.During Early Park Admission, select rides, attractions and areas are open one hour before the park opens to the general public. As your travel planner, I will make sure you know what park is open early each day of your visit. It used to be that the one-hour Early Park Admission was limited to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but that is no longer the case. Attractions now vary.Early Park Admission is available each day of your hotel stay with valid park admission, including day of check-in and check-out. Using Early Park Admission on your check-in day is a bit trickier, so I don't always recommend this unless you are only spending one night at a Universal Orlando hotel and it's an extremely busy time of year. If you want to take advantage of Early Park Admission on your check-in day, please note that you will need to check into your hotel first which means a very early morning. Early Park Admission usually begins at 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. You would need to check into your resort first and then allow enough time to get from your resort to the park.To make the most of your time, I recommend arriving at least 30 minutes earlier than the start of Early Park Admission. You'll need your park tickets and your resort room keys when you enter the park hosting Early Park Admission. A resort key is needed for each member of your party. The parks typically start allowing all guests in up to a half hour before the official opening time, so you definitely want to be in the park before then if you want to ride with the lowest wait times.I know you are on vacation and who wants to get up early? You are going to have to sacrifice a little shut eye for Early Park Admission. Most vacationers don't want to do this, so use it to your advantage! Come back mid day and take a nap when the parks are packed full.You definitely should use Early Park Admission in these scenarios:

• You have only one day in the park (or parks). This is especially true if you have only one day and you are park hopping!
• You are visiting during an extremely busy time: the peak of summer and around holidays. Use our crowd calendar as your guide. If it's a level 8, 9 or 10, consider using Early Park Admission.
• You're spending the day at Volcano Bay. Early Park Admission gets you first access to the rides, but it also gets you dibs on prime seating at the wave pool and other places around the park.
• Any time you visit and want to get a jump on the crowds!

If you arrive early, you will be able to ride the two or three rides open for Early Park Admission and you can move onto the next most popular ride on your list. It may already be in operation in the 15 minutes before the park officially opens. Even if it's not, you can be one of the first in line!For example, with Early Park Admission at Universal Studios Florida, Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem and Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, you should be able to easily ride both before all park guests arrive. If you start with Minion Mayhem and then move onto Gringotts, you will be in the back of the park and in prime position to ride Fast & Furious: Supercharged, Transformers: The Ride, or Men in Black Alien Attack, with little to no wait.Are you ready to jump on Early Park Admission at Universal Orlando Resort? I highly recommend it and you’ll love staying on property! Contact me at AnnaT@wishesfamilytravel.com to book your Universal Orlando Resort vacation to make the most of your next trip.