Universal Orlando
Universal Orlando Resort, often shortened to Universal Orlando, is a theme park and entertainment resort complex located in Orlando, Florida. It is the flagship of the Universal Destinations & Experiences theme park chain. Following the success of Universal Studios Florida, which opened in 1990, NBCUniversal shifted into transforming the area into a large resort with the intention of competing with Walt Disney World Resort. The first major expansion occurred in 1999 with the opening of a second theme park, Universal Islands of Adventure, along with a shopping promenade and nightlife district called Universal CityWalk. Both additions helped to form the new resort, which was briefly dubbed Universal Studios Escape. The resort expanded further in 2017 with the addition of Volcano Bay, a water theme park, and again in 2025 with a fourth theme park, Universal Epic Universe.
Notable additions over the years include Woody Woodpecker's KidZone at Universal Studios, multiple hotels and The Rising Star karaoke bar within CityWalk, as well as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter themed areas, which spans both theme parks and significantly boosted attendance at the entire resort. It also features well-known annual events, such as Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, along with a variety of live entertainment and shows.
Universal Orlando ranks as one of the most visited resorts in the world with an annual attendance of 21 million as of 2017. Guests staying at certain hotels receive special perks such as early admission into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Universal's Volcano Bay, or in some cases, benefits such as free Universal Express Pass, which gives access to shorter lines at major attractions. The resort also features an organized transportation system, including water taxis, pathways, buses, and moving walkways that connect many of the area's hotels and theme parks. Universal Orlando exceeded three of the four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in estimated 2021 attendance.
History
After Universal Studios Florida opened on June 7, 1990, Universal Entertainment formed a joint venture with The Blackstone Group and began planning a future expansion that would transform the single park into a multi-day destination resort. In late 1995, construction began on a new park, Universal Islands of Adventure. During this time, several new attractions were being built and opened at Universal Studios Florida, including Woody Woodpecker's KidZone, Men in Black: Alien Attack, and Animal Actors On Location!.Universal's Islands of Adventure opened to the general public on May 28, 1999, featuring six themed islands, including the Port of Entry, Seuss Landing, The Lost Continent, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, and Marvel Super Hero Island. The park opened to mediocre attendance, and as a result, several attractions were closed soon after, including Island Skipper Tours.
Along with the new theme park, the resort also opened a Florida version of Universal CityWalk from Universal Studios Hollywood. While it is the same concept, CityWalk Orlando was given different venues and design. Universal also opened the resort's first onsite hotel in September 1999. Loews Portofino Bay Hotel was operated and partially owned by Loews Hotels but was also partially owned by Universal and The Blackstone Group. The two theme parks, CityWalk, and the hotel were branded as Universal Studios Escape, however the name was quickly changed to Universal Orlando Resort in July 2000 due to guest confusion over what the resort had to offer.
In December 2000, Hard Rock Hotel opened as Universal Orlando's second onsite hotel. In 2001, Loews Royal Pacific Resort opened. In the midst of all these openings, two parking garages were constructed and the popular water park Wet 'n Wild Orlando was acquired.
In 2003, rumors began swirling that a Harry Potter themed attraction would be coming to Universal or one of the Disney parks. On May 31, 2007, Universal, in partnership with Warner Bros., officially announced that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter would be built as the seventh of the Islands of Adventure park. The attraction opened on June 18, 2010.
Shortly after the success of the grand opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade, rumors began to swirl once again, this time of a second Potter-themed area in Universal Studios Florida. It was announced shortly thereafter that Universal would begin construction of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley, replacing Jaws: The Ride. On July 8, 2014, Diagon Alley officially opened to the public.
The Blackstone Group sold its stake in Universal Orlando in early 2011. As of 2015, Universal Orlando Resort occupies.
As of 2024, Universal Orlando Resort currently occupies of land with the expansion of Universal Epic Universe.
Theme parks
Universal Studios Florida
The original theme park in the resort, Universal Studios Florida, opened on June 7, 1990, as a theme park that let visitors "Ride the Movies." The park is composed of themed areas, rides, and attractions based on the film industry. Visitors also get to experience themed dining, shopping, and a variety of special events throughout the year.The themes of Universal Studios Florida are targeted at making guests feel like they are on movie sets with rides, shows and attractions inspired by popular film, television, and music productions. The park currently consists of eight themed areas – Hollywood, Illumination's Minion Land, New York, San Francisco, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley, World Expo, Springfield, and DreamWorks Land.
Universal Islands of Adventure
The second park to open at the resort was Universal Islands of Adventure, opened on May 28, 1999. It is composed of eight distinct "islands" that are themed to various forms of literature, adventure genres, cartoons and comics, and mythical fantasies. Visitors start off in the Port of Entry and make their way through the various islands – Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Skull Island, Jurassic Park, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade, the Lost Continent and Seuss Landing. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, based on the popular Harry Potter franchise, as well as Skull Island, based on the 2005 King Kong film, are the only islands that were added after the park opened. Hogsmeade opened to the public on June 18, 2010, and Skull Island opened to the public on July 13, 2016.Universal Volcano Bay
is the third 27-acre water theme park opened in 2017. It replaced Wet 'n Wild, which was owned by Universal. Wet 'n Wild was founded in 1977 by SeaWorld founder George Millay as one of the first major water parks. In 1998, Wet 'n Wild was acquired by Universal Destinations & Experiences, adding it to Universal Orlando. There were eighteen water slides and attractions at the water park. Popular attractions included the Storm, Bomb Bay, Disco H2O, Mach 5, and the Surge.Wet 'n Wild was located at the intersection of International Drive and Universal Boulevard, about half a mile south of the Universal Orlando parking garage. Wet 'n Wild officially closed on December 31, 2016, due to the opening of Volcano Bay. It was announced on March 21, 2017, that the land once occupied by Wet 'n Wild would be transformed into Universal's seventh hotel. It was later announced that Universal would split the property into two hotels that were part of one resort.
Universal Epic Universe
On August 1, 2019, NBCUniversal announced that it would be building a fourth theme park called Universal Epic Universe. It will be located a few miles south of the existing resort, within a larger 750-acre site. There will be five lands including a central hub, Celestial Park, and four other areas themed to How to Train Your Dragon, Wizarding Paris from the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Universal Monsters and Super Nintendo World. It was stated that the project would create 14,000 jobs. Brian Roberts, the CEO of Comcast, called Epic Universe "the largest investment we've ever made in a park". The complex will also include three new resort hotels, dining, and retail facilities.In April 2020, NBCUniversal announced the park's opening would be delayed until 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, NBCUniversal announced that they would be pausing development on the new theme park "until the future becomes more certain". In March 2021, work on Epic Universe resumed.
Epic Universe opened on May 22, 2025.
Entertainment district
is an entertainment and retail district which opened on May 28, 1999, over the former parking lot and entrance of Universal Studios as part of the expansion that created the Universal Orlando Resort. Guests arrive at the resort in one of two multi-story parking structures, then travel via covered moving walkways over Universal Boulevard into CityWalk. From there, guests can proceed into one of the two theme parks.The Universal Store is its flagship store, offering merchandise from the three parks. CityWalk features shopping, nightclubs, dining venues, and a Cinemark Theatres and offers varying live music and entertainment options each night. Notably CityWalks's Rising Star, Red Coconut Club, and Bob Marley - A Tribute to Freedom. Some notable restaurants include the Cowfish, NBC Sports Grill & Brew, Hard Rock Cafe, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Antojito's Authentic Mexican Food, and Bigfire American Fare. Casual dining locations include: Moe's Southwest Grill, BK Whopper Bar, Panda Express, Red Oven Pizza Bakery, and Voodoo Doughnut. In June 2024, the Universal Epic Universe Preview Center opened, providing a scale model of the new park, as well as selling merchandise of the four lands that are part of it.