Universal Studios Florida Attractions Guide: Every Ride, Show and Rating

In this post I’m introducing Universal Studios Florida, the first of the three Universal Orlando theme parks to open. Some of the original attractions are still around, so a few rides feel a bit dated, but the big strength of this park is that it’s where you can really feel the magic of Hollywood movies and entertainment. It’s packed with attractions that put you inside movie scenes, immersive shows and streets that recreate film sets, so it’s fun just to walk around.

Below I’ve listed every attraction, land by land. As a self-proclaimed ride fanatic, I’ve added my own star ratings ⭐️ and sorted everything into four categories to make it easy to follow:

• Thrilling attractions: 🌠 Thrill ride
• Slow-moving attractions: 🐌 Slow ride
• Attractions where you sit and watch in a theater: 🎭 Show
• Places to meet Universal characters: 🤩 Character experience

Plus:

• 💧 marks attractions where you might get wet.
• 💫 marks attractions that accept Universal Express Pass.

🧙‍♂️ The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley

The most popular area in the park, a perfect recreation of the Harry Potter world. Walk through the brick wall into Diagon Alley and you’ll find the wand shop, Butterbeer, the bank and even the dragon, all straight out of the films.

• 💫 Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts™ / 🌠 Thrill ride / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A mix of roller coaster and simulator. The story is a magical battle with a giant dragon inside Gringotts, the wizarding bank. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, ride this one for sure.

• 💫 Hogwarts™ Express (Park-to-Park admission ticket required) / 🐌 Slow ride / ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The train that takes you from Universal Studios Florida (Diagon Alley) to Islands of Adventure (Hogsmeade). You need a Park-to-Park ticket to ride. The windows are screens and the show is different in each direction, so I recommend riding both ways.

• Knight Bus™ / 🎭 Show / ⭐️

The triple-decker wizarding bus from Harry Potter is on display here. You can chat with the conductor and the shrunken head hanging inside.

• Ollivanders™ Experience in Diagon Alley™ / 🎭 Show / ⭐️⭐️

A walk-through show where a wand chooses the wizard in Ollivanders. A group goes in together, but only one person is picked at random to try choosing a wand.

🎬 Hollywood

A show-focused area themed to classic Hollywood movies, where you can see stunt action at its best.

• 💫 E.T. Adventure / 🐌 Slow ride / ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ride E.T.’s bicycle from the classic film on a mission to rescue E.T. It’s an older attraction, so the figures look a bit awkward, but I still recommend it for the feeling of flying on a bike.

• 💫 The Bourne Stuntacular (Stunt Show) / 🎭 Show / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A show combining live actors, stunt action and a massive screen. The staging is outstanding: it really feels like you’re watching actors hang from a helicopter and jump into cars right in front of you. You don’t see this kind of production often, so I strongly recommend it.

• Animal Actors on Location!™ / 🎭 Show / ⭐️⭐️

A cute show starring real animal actors.

• Meet SpongeBob SquarePants and Friends / 🤩 Character experience

Depending on the time, you can meet SpongeBob, Patrick or Squidward.

• The Simpsons™ Character Zone / 🤩 Character experience

A character zone where you can meet the Simpson family.

• Universal Mega Movie Parade / 🎭 Show

Universal’s parade. Unlike Disney it doesn’t run every day, so check whether there’s a parade on the day you visit.

💛 Illumination’s Minion Land

A cute street full of Minion-themed restaurants, a bakery and gift shops.

• 💫 Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast / 🐌 Slow ride / ⭐️⭐️

A shooting attraction where you stand on a moving walkway and hit targets with a blaster.

• 💫 Despicable Me Minion Mayhem / 🐌 Slow ride / ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A simulator where you become a Minion and get into all kinds of chaos. The interactive pre-show is fun and the staff’s performance is great, which really builds anticipation. Recommended.

🗽 New York

A New York area that looks like a film set, with tree-lined streets, buildings and an old city hall.

• 💫 Revenge of the Mummy / 🌠 Thrill ride / ⭐️⭐️⭐️

An indoor roller coaster that takes you into a mummy’s temple. The dark atmosphere, mummy props and a short drop make it fun.

• 💫 TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D / 🌠 Thrill ride / ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A 3D simulator ride that throws you into the battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron. It’s very immersive; the scene where Megatron grabs your vehicle feels real, which made it a lot of fun.

• 💫 Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon / 🐌 Slow ride / ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A 4D simulator styled like a talk show. The comedy-packed film with Jimmy Fallon is fun.

• Meet The TRANSFORMERS™ / 🤩 Character experience

Meet life-size Transformers. The robots are high quality and very popular, especially with little boys.

🚗 San Francisco

An area themed to the Fast & Furious movies.

• 💫 Fast & Furious – Supercharged / 🌠 Thrill ride / ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A simulator that recreates a car chase on a 360-degree screen. The screen is huge, so it really feels like you’re on the bus in the middle of the action.

🤡 Springfield

A themed land that recreates The Simpsons’ hometown.

• 💫 Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl / 🐌 Slow ride / ⭐️

A spinning ride.

• 💫 The Simpsons Ride™ / 🐌 Slow ride / ⭐️⭐️

A comedic Simpsons-themed simulator.

🌎 World Expo

• 💫 MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™ / 🐌 Slow ride / ⭐️⭐️

A shooting attraction where you become an agent and blast aliens.

🧚‍♀️ DreamWorks Land

A family zone themed to DreamWorks animation such as Trolls, Shrek and Kung Fu Panda. It centers on cute photo spots, character meets and a mini coaster kids love. (I skipped the attractions here, so there are no ratings.)

• Trolls Trollercoaster / 🐌 Slow ride

A Trolls-themed family coaster. Recommended for kids.

• DreamWorks Character Zone / 🤩 Character experience

Meet popular characters such as the Trolls and Puss in Boots. Characters appear at set times.

• Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp

An area that feels like an indoor play zone for kids.

• Shrek’s Swamp Meet / 🤩 Character experience

A character meet where you can see Shrek, Fiona and Donkey up close.

That’s my complete guide to the Universal Studios Florida attractions! I’ll share my actual visit to Universal Studios Florida in a separate post.

I hope my blog helps make your trip a little more magical ✨ If you have any questions, feel free to reach out through the contact page. Thanks for reading!