Florida first time trip - guidance welcome!

[SkinSnatcher]

Finally booked our first ever American theme park trip! I have never been to the USA and my partner hasn’t been since he was very young so we’re both super excited.

We’ve booked Florida in June for our first trip as it’s easy to hit lots of parks, including Epic Universe. At the moment we have EU, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Seaworld, Busch Gardens and Volcano Bay planned to visit, over nearly 2 weeks. Staying onsite at Universal for the whole trip.

Anyone have any tips for a first time trip, perhaps tips that aren’t as widely talked about? Little things like water bottle rules, lockers, cultural differences that you might not think about until you arrive. Also welcome tips for rest days - I’m super keen to visit a Target, and I think there’s a big one near International Drive?

Thank you in advance! Roll on June!!

 

[Matt N]

I've been to Florida numerous times, most recently in June 2023, so I'd like to think I'm in a position to be at least somewhat helpful to you!

In terms of Universal, one thing I'd recommend taking advantage of if you don't mind not being seated together is single rider queues. A number of the Universal rides have them, and in some cases, they can be very helpful; on Revenge of the Mummy in Studios, for example, I would quite frequently bypass a reasonable queue and be on in no time using single rider! Some of the single rider queues are less useful, though; for example, I know VelociCoaster and Hagrid's in IOA both have pretty popular single rider queues (I did not get the chance to use them to confirm). I would also note that from my experience, the long advertised queues for Hagrid's were usually quite overstated; I went on it at an advertised 70 minute queue once and got to the front within 35 minutes, and I also had an advertised 100 minute queue where I got on in about 40-45, from memory.

If you're not already aware, also bear in mind Universal's rather stringent loose article policy on roller coasters. On Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and Hulk, you cannot enter the queue with any loose articles, as they scan you through a metal detector upon entry. Free lockers must be used, which are situated near the entrance to the queue. VelociCoaster also scans you through metal detectors, but these are located further on in the queue and you have the opportunity to store loose articles midway through the queue line. Do bear in mind that the free lockers are quite small and are mainly intended for smaller things like wallets/phones and such; larger paid lockers are available elsewhere to store bigger bags.

In terms of some cultural differences to be aware of; it may be worth me noting that they don't add tax into their prices in America, and there's also quite a big tipping culture out there. There may be a default tip added at some restaurants, but I'd check your bill or ask just to make sure, as tipping is pretty much expected.

At Volcano Bay, I would recommend going and scanning your TapuTapu to wait for Krakatau Aqua Coaster as soon as you enter, as the virtual queue starts high and only climbs as the day progresses. I would wholeheartedly recommend giving TeAwa The Fearless River a go; it's great fun!

Food-wise, do bear in mind that you can take in snack-type food and bottled water at Universal. You can't take in anything that would require reheating, but snack food such as crisps and fruit, for example, is fine.

With SeaWorld and Busch, one thing I would definitely tell you is to not necessarily trust the park apps to give accurate queue times. I often found at Busch in particular that the app and the ride entrance would sometimes say wildly different things, so if you're unsure, go to the ride entrance and scope the situation out for yourself.

But first and foremost, have fun! There's a very good reason why I've been to Florida multiple times; there really is nowhere quite like it for parks!

 

[Maelstrom]

All quickserve food places will give you free jced water at all the parks. Many have it stacked on the side ready for guests to take. At Universal they have the coke free style machines all over the parks- you can access free iced cold water from these machines and refill your own water bottle for free, just press the water button on the screen.

Along side getting water from Walmart saves a furtune on park prices and paying £4+ for each drink/water in the parks.

 

[SkinSnatcher]

I've been to Florida numerous times, most recently in June 2023, so I'd like to think I'm in a position to be at least somewhat helpful to you!

In terms of Universal, one thing I'd recommend taking advantage of if you don't mind not being seated together is single rider queues. A number of the Universal rides have them, and in some cases, they can be very helpful; on Revenge of the Mummy in Studios, for example, I would quite frequently bypass a reasonable queue and be on in no time using single rider! Some of the single rider queues are less useful, though; for example, I know VelociCoaster and Hagrid's in IOA both have pretty popular single rider queues (I did not get the chance to use them to confirm). I would also note that from my experience, the long advertised queues for Hagrid's were usually quite overstated; I went on it at an advertised 70 minute queue once and got to the front within 35 minutes, and I also had an advertised 100 minute queue where I got on in about 40-45, from memory.

If you're not already aware, also bear in mind Universal's rather stringent loose article policy on roller coasters. On Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and Hulk, you cannot enter the queue with any loose articles, as they scan you through a metal detector upon entry. Free lockers must be used, which are situated near the entrance to the queue. VelociCoaster also scans you through metal detectors, but these are located further on in the queue and you have the opportunity to store loose articles midway through the queue line. Do bear in mind that the free lockers are quite small and are mainly intended for smaller things like wallets/phones and such; larger paid lockers are available elsewhere to store bigger bags.

In terms of some cultural differences to be aware of; it may be worth me noting that they don't add tax into their prices in America, and there's also quite a big tipping culture out there. There may be a default tip added at some restaurants, but I'd check your bill or ask just to make sure, as tipping is pretty much expected.

At Volcano Bay, I would recommend going and scanning your TapuTapu to wait for Krakatau Aqua Coaster as soon as you enter, as the virtual queue starts high and only climbs as the day progresses. I would wholeheartedly recommend giving TeAwa The Fearless River a go; it's great fun!

Food-wise, do bear in mind that you can take in snack-type food and bottled water at Universal. You can't take in anything that would require reheating, but snack food such as crisps and fruit, for example, is fine.

With SeaWorld and Busch, one thing I would definitely tell you is to not necessarily trust the park apps to give accurate queue times. I often found at Busch in particular that the app and the ride entrance would sometimes say wildly different things, so if you're unsure, go to the ride entrance and scope the situation out for yourself.

But first and foremost, have fun! There's a very good reason why I've been to Florida multiple times; there really is nowhere quite like it for parks!

Thanks for that detailed reply! You visited in June which is the same month we’ll be going this year - what were the crowd levels like when you went? Expecting Epic Universe to be heaving but we’ll visit that on a weekday to try and alleviate crowds, but otherwise hoping it’ll be manageable?

I’m so excited to visit and loose myself in the whole experience!

 

[SkinSnatcher]

All quickserve food places will give you free jced water at all the parks. Many have it stacked on the side ready for guests to take. At Universal they have the coke free style machines all over the parks- you can access free iced cold water from these machines and refill your own water bottle for free, just press the water button on the screen.

Along side getting water from Walmart saves a furtune on park prices and paying £4+ for each drink/water in the parks.

I’ve made it my life mission not to purchase water in theme parks so this is super helpful! Also might take one of those concentrated squash things that you can just squeeze into water for something different haha