My family and I love to travel! I always say if we won the lottery we wouldn’t even upgrade our house, we would just spend every penny on trips! Speaking of money, I wouldn’t call us budget travelers, but we are certainly not luxury travelers either. We usually don’t splurge much on our vacations. We don’t have an unlimited travel budget, so we need to be able to stretch it as much as possible so we can go on as many trips as we can. Sometimes, however, we break our “no splurge” rule! But only when it’s really worth it and really enhances the travel experience! On our last trip to Universal Orlando (updated April 2021) we definitely splurged on a few upgrades and it certainly helped us have the best trip ever! So I would love to share our favorite Universal Orlando splurges. These splurges are ranked by how much they enhanced our trip, from least to most.

6. Photo Session at Shutterbuttons

I love photos! They are my most treasured souvenir from any trip. I also love Harry Potter (reading nerd here). So when I saw there was an opportunity to have a Harry Potter themed photo session I knew we had to do it. Shutterbuttons is a photo studio in Diagon Alley (Universal Studios), where you take a series of 12 moving pictures (to mimic how photos move in Harry Potter). The photos are then loaded onto a DVD that you can purchase. You can also purchase still photos of your family with some iconic Harry Potter scenes. How does it work? Once you arrive at the studio you are set up in front of a green screen (you can remove your masks but robes are not being lent out right now) and you are guided through a series of poses. We had our Harry Potter themed outfits, so we were ready! I highly recommend that you have either a Harry Potter costume, themed shirt/outfit, or a simple black shirt. The DVD of your moving photos is $89.99 and the still photos are $30 each. We got the DVD as part of our exclusive Harry Potter vacation package, but I would have gladly purchased it no matter what! We also purchased 2 photos of us and the kids battling with wands. I cannot wait to frame them and add them to our travel wall! The whole experience only took about 30 minutes, and our photographer made it so much fun for us. We did this photo experience on the last day of our trip and it was such a cool way to wrap up our experience. I think this is a “splurge” that you will treasure forever, so 100% worth it in my book!

5. Interactive Harry Potter Wand

Even if, like us, you don’t like to spend a lot of money on souvenirs, these wands are a must get! Most souvenirs just hang out and get dusty on your shelf when you get home, and you probably don’t even use them or look at them when you are on your trip….not these interactive wands though! I wouldn’t even call them a souvenir, they’re more like paying for an experience! First, some information on what they are and where you can get them. They are $55 (but annual pass holders get a discount). You can purchase them in either Ollivanders wand shops in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter sections of both Universal Studios (Diagon Alley) and Islands of Adventure (Hogsmeade). If the line is too long to go into the shop, you can purchase them at a cart outside of the shop as well. If you are wanting the full experience, you can go into the shop and hope that you are chosen to be the lucky visitor that gets to have the “wand choose you”. Honestly with 2 little kids, the wait to go into the store was not worth it for us, so we just got our wands at a cart in Hogsmeade. There are almost 30 different wands to choose from that are all designed like the wands used by famous witches and wizards from both the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series. You get a special box to keep your wand safe, and a map with a list and location of spells you can do with your wand. This is the fun part! All throughout both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley there are spells you can do with your interactive wands. There are 20 locations between the 2 parks. The spells are so fun (like acting out “swish and flick”) and they are not too complicated, but if you need help, team members are usually around to lend a hand. These spells kept our kiddos busy while we waited in line for lunch or to go into a store. My son was so proud of himself every time he mastered a spell! For that reason alone I think this “splurge” is totally worth it. We also got to bring home an awesome memento of our trip, and we can use them again when we return for future visits!

4. Upgrade to an Annual Pass (Premier or Preferred)

Universal park tickets were easily the most expensive part of our trip package, but surprisingly, annual passes are not that much more! I know you may be thinking it’s insane to upgrade to an annual pass when you are only going for a few of days or a week, but honestly the price difference between a 4 day, 3 park, park-to-park ticket and a 3 park preferred annual pass (which doesn’t have block out dates) was just under $200. So why should you splurge on one? For the perks! Now I’m not saying every member in your travel party should get an annual pass, actually only 1 person needs to have it to reap all the benefits! What are some of those benefits? First of all, you can get up to 30% discount on hotel room (not available on previously booked rooms). You can also get 15% discounts on tickets for your family and friends. And finally you can get either 10% (preferred) or 15% (premier) discount on almost all merchandise and dining inside the parks and Citywalk! All those discounts can really add up, that the annual pass ends up paying for itself in no time. So even though I’m calling this a “splurge” since its an initial investment, it actually ends up being a money saving hack in the long run. I did the math, and even if I don’t use my annual pass again this year (which I actually will be) we’ve already benefited more on the money we’ve saved. So this is definitely a “splurge” that is worth it!

3. Cabana at Volcano Bay

This “splurge” is a first for me! I’ve never rented a cabana anywhere! I actually used to mock people who did, and called it such a waste of money. Man was I wrong! Even though this is not ranked as the splurge that enhanced our trip the most, it is most certainly my personal favorite! So lets get some info. Volcano Bay is the water park at Universal and IT IS ENORMOUS. The park utilizes a system called TapuTapu, where you have a device that looks like a smart watch, which you tap at the kiosk at each water attraction/slide you want to ride and are given a return time, you return at the time and you do not wait in line for the slides. This system is GENIOUS. While you are waiting for your turn to ride, you can hang out in the various pools, wave pool, lazy river, not-so-lazy/rapid river, grab something to eat or sunbathe! Which means that compared to a regular water park you are spending a whole lot less time in lines and a whole lot more time everywhere else. This is great, and this is 100% what makes a cabana worth it. Because you actually get to use it! So what do you get with your Cabana? You get an awesome fruit and pastry basket, which was enough for a satisfying breakfast for all 4 of us. You get a mini fridge stocked with water (so important to stay hydrated on a hot Florida day). You can also use the fridge to store your own food and drinks. You get 6 towels (otherwise its $6/towel to rent) that are replenished as needed. There is also a locker in your cabana to store your valuables. You get your own TapuTapu kiosk so you don’t have to walk to the slides to reserve your ride time. You also get a dedicated server that you can order food and drinks from and they will deliver it directly to your cabana. And of course, you get a dedicated, shaded place to sit and store your stuff with 2 chairs, a lounge and an overhead fan. This is critical you guys! Finding a place to sit and keep you stuff in Volcano Bay when its busy (like the day we were there) is like legit Hunger Games. People were racing into the park and throwing elbows! It was CRAZY. So knowing we had a place to sit and relax was such a nice perk! Our cabana was spotless, comfortable, and in a great location that afforded us some privacy and was next to a sand beach area for my daughter to play in. Pricing varies based on how busy the parks are and can range from $299.99 to $599.99. We had a standard size (6 people) cabana during one of the busiest weeks of the year so it cost us just under $400. You know what….it was worth every penny! We had a comfortable and safe place to relax and keep our stuff, we got breakfast and waters, we did not have to wait in line for food (some people waited over an hour), we did not have to walk around all over the park to reserve our slides, and we didn’t have to fight anyone over a place to sit. This is a “splurge” that I would 100% do again because it definitely enhanced our experience at Volcano Bay, and made it one of our favorite days at Universal.

2. Park-to-Park Ticket

If you are a serious Harry Potter fan this is a must do splurge for you. Normally I’m not a big fan of park-to-park tickets or hoppers. Once I get to a theme park, I like to stay put and enjoy everything that the park has to offer. Especially with little kids, trying to hop between parks is usually a hassle! This is not the case at Universal Orlando. At Universal Orlando, not only is park hopping super easy it’s actually one of the attractions…let me explain. The 2 dry parks in Universal Orlando—Universal Studio and Islands of Adventure are super close to each other! Their entrances are a short 5 minute walk away from each other and you can easily walk from one park to another….but that’s not the fun way to park hop at Universal! Both parks also have a Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Universal Studios has Diagon Alley, and Islands of Adventure has Hogsmede and they are connected with the Hogwarts Express! That’s right, now us Muggles can board the Hogwarts Express and hop between parks. This ride is not super long or exciting, it’s a simple train ride that lasts about 5 minutes. While you are riding you will see various scenes with characters from the books/movies outside your “window”. This ride also has no height limit, so the whole family can enjoy it. I mean not only is this such a convenient way to go from one park to another, but you actually get to ride the Hogwarts Express! My favorite part of the Hogwarts Express attraction is that when you take it from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade there is a really cool feature where you can “walk through” the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10! Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt, its simple trick with some well-placed mirrors, but it still makes an awesome video! Unfortunately since the Hogwarts Express connects the 2 parks, if you don’t get a park-to-park ticket you can’t experience this attraction! So this splurge is a must do for every Harry Potter fan that ever dreamed of waking up to an owl delivered letter with their instructions to catch the Hogwarts express at platform ¾.

1. Stay at a Premier Resort or Buy Express Pass

Last, but definitely not least is the most impactful splurge, this one will totally take your Universal Orlando trip to the next level! It’s no secret that theme parks in central Florida are busy. If you talk to anyone about their trip they will probably tell you that their least favorite part of visiting the parks is waiting in long lines. This is all the more exasperated if you visit during a crowded week, which unfortunately families with school age kids end up doing all the time so the kids don’t miss too many school days. Universal Orlando has a solution for that! The Universal Express and Unlimited Express Pass! First of all, what is it? The Express Pass lets you skip the normal standby line and get right on the attraction with little or no wait. The standard Express Pass allows you to do this one time per attraction, with the Unlimited Express Pass you can do this unlimited times (the name is pretty straightforward). There are a few rides that are not included in the Express Pass, typically the latest rides that just opened up and for some strange reason the Pteranodon Flyers ride in Islands of Adventure. When we went in April of 2021, we could use our Express Pass on everything except Pteranodon Flyers and Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Hagrid’s was utilizing a virtual Que. I cannot tell you how amazing it was to not have to wait in basically any lines for our entire trip. We went during Spring Break, one of the busiest weeks of the year and the longest we waited was 20 minutes for the elevator at the Hogwarts Express because we had our stroller. You truly do feel like a superstar with an Express Pass, and it helps you get the most out of your visit to the parks! Now while being one of the most worthwhile splurges, its also one of the biggest! They start at $69.99/ticket/day (or $89.99/ticket/day for Unlimited) and can be as high as $239.99/ticket/day (or $279.99/ticket/day for Unlimited). They can cost more than the actual park ticket! Luckily there’s another way to get Express Passes, staying on property at a premier resort. Universal Orlando actually has a total of 8 on-site properties and 3 of them are premier (or the highest tier) resorts. The 3 premier resorts are Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel®, and Loews Royal Pacific Resort. When you stay at any of these 3 resorts, you get Unlimited Express Pass for all of the guests staying in the room for your entire stay included! This is such an incredible value, especially if you consider all the other perks of staying at these resorts, like proximity to the parks, convenient transportation, amazing amenities and luxury accommodations. At this point you might be thinking, I bet these resorts cost an exorbitant amount of money, but actually they are really reasonably priced, with stays starting at $300/night. Our family stayed at Loews Royal Pacific and we loved it! The room was gorgeous, the pool was amazing, the onsite dining was awesome, and we loved being so close to the park. Of course the best part was having Unlimited Express Pass during our spring break trip, which made our stay at Royal Pacific worth every penny. We got to ride everything we wanted, multiple times. We avoided meltdowns thanks to no long waits in the hot sun. We saved so much time that it freed up our afternoons so we could go back to the resort and relax and enjoy the pool without feeling like we were missing valuable park time. This is one of those splurges that is a little bit dangerous, because once you do Universal with Express, you’ll never be able to go back to not having it! But you know what, this is a splurge I would gladly make every single time!

Well there you have it! 6 Splurges that are 100% worth it for your next Universal Orlando vacation. These extras made our trip fun, relaxing, special, and really helped us get the most out of our experience! If you have any questions, or want to learn more about how to have the best Universal Orlando trip possible, just reach out, I’d love to help!

Top 6 Splurges for a Universal Orlando Trip