Things to See When Visiting Universal Orlando During the Holidays!

Universal Orlando during the holidaysMegan Moves/YouTube

If you are planning on visiting Universal Orlando during Christmas, here is a list of what you can expect to see!
Since Universal Orlando has two different parks, let's start with Universal Studios!

• Christmas Lights and Decorations
• One thing Universal does a great job during the holidays is decorating their park! As soon as you make your way to the entrance, you will immediately see the decorations walking in. There are Christmas lights hung, Christmas music, a giant Christmas tree, and festive characters that walk around!
• Harry Potter Diagon Alley
• The Harry Potter areas of the park are remarkable to begin with. However, they are even better with Christmas decorations! In Diagon Alley, there are decorations and Christmas lights hung up all around. My favorite attraction that was decorated was Gringotts Bank.

Universal Tribute Store during the holidaysMegan Moves/YouTube

The Tribute Store

• Universal Studios always does a great job of theming the Tribute Store that is in the park. In the past, it has been Jurrasic World and Halloween Horror Night Themed, but it now has an awesome Christmas overlay! As you walk in, you will find you are entering into Santas Workshop. You then will move into other rooms that are Grinch and Harry Potter-themed. This is a great place to get a holiday treat, festive merch, and to see how they decorated the Tribute Store!

Universal Holiday Parade with Macy'sMegan Moves/YouTube

The parade

• Universal does a great job at their parades, but my favorite now is their Universal's Holiday Parade featuring Macy's. This parade includes festive floats with popular Universal characters, dancers, and Macy's balloons! This is a parade worth waiting for and definitely something you need to see while at Universal! The parade will generally last about 15 to 30 minutes. During the parade, there are confetti cannons and fake snow (or snoap) that falls from the sky! The parade begins and ends by the Horror Makeup Show building. This is a great place to see the floats come in and out. Another great place to watch the parade is by the tall Christmas tree because as Santa passes by, he lights up the tree!
• Holiday beat builders
• If you enjoy shows at Universal, you will want to check out the Beat Builder show that happens throughout the day. This is a fun musical show where the Beat Builders use common construction zone tools and items as musical instruments. Now during the holidays, they have included some holiday mixes that you will want to check out!
• Annual passholders get holiday magnet/pin
• If you are an annual passholder, be sure to check out the Coca-Cola passholder lounge for the monthly passholder pin and holiday magnet. The pins seem to go out of stock soon but I was able to pick up a magnet!

Islands of Adventure

• Suess Landing Decorations
• Suess Landing is already very well decorated, but with holiday decorations it only gets better! All of the attractions and shops are decked out for the holidays.

Grinchmas show in Suess LandingMegan Moves/YouTube

Grinchmas show

• One of the highlights of Universal during the holidays is the Grinchmas event that happens in Suess Landing! Suess Landing is decorated for the holidays with lots of decorations and lights. One thing you will want to see is the Grinchmas show in Suess Landing. Here you will see a half-hour show of the Grinch story. The show includes the Grinch as well as other main Who characters from the Grinch story!
• Meet the Grinch
• Going along with seeing the Grinch, you can also stop for a Grinch meet-and-greet throughout the day in Suess Landing. Stop to get a holiday photo with the Grinch and even see his reaction if you bring him a present!
• Hogsmeade Decorations
• The other Harry Potter area of the parks in Orlando is Hogsmeade. The snow-capped rooves and Christmas decorations add to the atmosphere of the area and it only gets better as the sun goes down!
• Holiday Projection Show on Hogwarts Castle
• Hogwarts Castle is a highlight of Islands of Adventure! At night, the park has their usual projection show on the castle only during the holidays it has a holiday twist! This show is about 5 minutes long and can be seen multiple times throughout the night. To see the projection straight on, you will need to wait in a holding area to see the show. However, the bridge to the left of the castle heading into Jurrasic Park is a great place to watch the show and not have to wait in a designated area!

Well here is what you can expect to see at Universal during the holidays! I personally feel that Universal does a great job at going all out for the holidays and it is worth a visit!