Universal Orlando was pretty crowded this summer — skirting the edge of record attendance. Between the massive Harry Potter attractions in Diagon Alley, the Minion Madness that never ends, and all the other attractions, it’s no surprise — it’s irresistible! But Universal is also, sadly, expensive, especially if you don’t know how to save as you’re planning. Let us help with a few money-saving tips.

Understand Your Ticket Prices
Universal Orlando’s summer rate this year was over a hundred dollars for a single day — an extra $50 if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express between the two parks. And recently, the aggressive discounts that Orlando offered to compensate for the poor economy have backed off. Today, you have to have a military discount, or be a Florida resident, or be a AAA member to get a regular discount — and just to complicate things, many services that offer tickets also tack a number of hidden fees onto the process, looking to make an extra buck. Be sure you get tickets that don’t cost you anything other than what they have to in order to get you through the gate.

Stay Off-Site Unless You Get a Deal
It is, under certain circumstances, possible to get a deal on an in-park hotel that makes it good thrift to stay in Universal Orlando — but only under certain circumstances. Most of the time, it’s wiser to save some money and stay off-site…especially if you can get a hotel that offers free transport to the park.

Bring a Backpack or Rent a Locker — and Supply Yourself
If there’s any chance the weather will change — like, it gets dark for example — or that you’ll go on one of the many rides that will end up with you getting damp or splashed at some point, you’re going to want some spare clothes. If you know you’re going to be in the park all day, bring some bottled water. Sunscreen, Band-Aids, whatever you might need at an unexpected moment, it pays to have either with you in a backpack or nearby in a locker. The other option is to buy what you need — a Universal Studios sweatshirt for $35, bottles of water for $4, sunscreen for $10, and so on. Bad idea! If you’re truly thrifty, you can pack snacks, too — Universal only bans food that must be refrigerated or heated.

Vacationing at Universal Orlando is always an awesome experience — but it doesn’t have to break the bank. Be clever, and maybe you’ll be able to come back that much sooner!

There are so many reasons to love a trip to Universal Orlando — the rides, the characters, the luxury. But there are some reasons you might not be anticipating…like the food. Yes, the food at Universal is just as much a part of the experience as the adrenaline and the exploration. In some cases, the food is adrenaline — and in many cases, it is definitely exploration. Here’s what we mean:

The Lollipop King
Ever wanted to eat a bug, but were too afraid to try? Do you think you might be able to succeed if the bug was encased in banana-flavored sugar? What if it were a scorpion?  Yep — the Revenge of the Mummy Gift Shop offers up actual scorpions embedded in ‘amber’ that just happens to be made of candy. And because the arachnoid’s chitinous carapace has been encased in candy, it tastes just like (fake) bananas…or so we’ve been told.

The King Donut
In the bottom level of the Hard Rock Hotel, there’s a shop called Emack and Bolio’s, and it features a donut so large a six-year-old could wear it as a bracelet. Six dollars of dough and honey glaze (or chocolate frosting) is enough to put a diabetic in a coma at thirty paces — or feed a family of four enough to send them sugar buzzing around the Universal Studios until halfway to lunchtime.

The Rocky Road Candy Apple
At the Port of Entry in the Island of Adventure, the Crescent Moon Bakery, there’s a treasure to be unburied — a massive granny smith apple! Buried under a layer of caramel, a layer of chocolate, a layer of pecans, a layer of marshmallows, and then another layer of drizzled chocolate and caramel, it waits for a suitably adventurous explorer to dig deep enough to reach the tart, lovely fruit.

Epic Gummy Bears
The San Francisco Candy Factory, ironically found at Universal Orlando rather than in California, produces gummy bears that are more than four inches tall and clock in at 350 grams (12 1/3 ounces). If you’ve ever wanted to eat 70% of your RDA of carbs in a single item, this is the one you want — 280 of those 350 grams are pure sugar. Noms!

The Kitchen Sink Challenge
Speaking of the Hard Rock Hotel, if you’ve ever wanted to be famous for 15 minutes, try training for a few weeks in competitive eating before your trip to Universal Orlando. That way, when you sit down and hand over $40, you, too can take on The Kitchen Sink: a huge hamburger laden with bacon, cheese, and chipotle horseradish aioli; a side of fries big enough to feed most grade schoolers all by itself; and a three pound piece of cake including seven layers of different kinds of cake, each with its own complementary frosting and sprinkles. One person has defeated the Kitchen Sink thus far…will you be next?