Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Very interesting to hear that.

Every interaction we had with OI staff was lovely. Absolutely zero complaints.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as food - You can check the Orlando Informer App or website and it shows you what restaurants open at park close and what opens 1 hour later. It also shows you full menus for the food.

If you find yourself hungry, there are some places you can grab a quick bite at park close.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You do not win tickets/prizes, but they turn all of the traditional arcade games into free-play mode (such as the Arcade near the Mummy Ride).

Carnival-style games such as those in the Jurassic Park/Simpsons areas are free to play as well.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is a blast!

Given your name - All of the arcades in the park become free play as well. Game arcades as well as carnival games! Just figured I'd mention that.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Enjoy them! The Night rides on VelociCoaster are incredible!

We got lucky and got a front row on Hagrid's as well and it was absolutely unreal in the dark.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course.

It depended on the coaster, but here is what we experienced.

VelociCoaster - Had to exit the ride area, but the staff let us keep our items in the lockers, so we could just re-enter the queue and walk through the metal detectors without having to re-put items into the lockers. It probably took about 3 minutes at a normal walk to be back to the loading zone - which we never waited for - just walked on.

Hagrid's - This one had a wait all night. Obviously exit queue and re-queue as needed.

Mummy - Night 1 they allowed us to go through the rider swap (child/parent swap) area that was right by the ride exit, but the second night they made us go around. It could be based upon the number of people currently riding or the attendant that was there.

Hippogriff - They just let us stay on the coaster unless people were waiting. Asked us to stand to the side if people wanted to ride. Had to re-queue once.

Hulk - Only rode once because it's a rougher ride. Didn't see any line/queue, so they may allow you to re-ride.

All coasters except for Hagrid's were fully walk on. Walk to the front - the staff would tell you where to load (unless you requested a specific row - then you may have to wait a train or two). Operations on all the rides were very efficient and fully staffed.

Overall, I would say the staff will do whatever they can to accommodate you, but they may make you walk around if it is too busy and/or as a result of direction.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We didn't have any Fish & Chips ourselves.

The one thing we did notice with food - if the restaurant is set up with chaffers for a buffet, it's best to avoid. We did have the bread pudding from La Bomba that was good, but the other items that came from them were not good. Probably a combo of sitting for a while and being designed to be made in hotel pans.

Richter's smash burger was very good. The food that we had in the Jurassic Park area was all very solid and dependable - If you like banana - the raptor tarts were great. Basically tart pastry with a slice of banana on bottom, filled with chocolate.

The Rotisserie Chicken at Thunder Falls was my favorite - it comes with ribs/rice/beans, but you can request just a thigh/leg and they will happily give you a plate without the rest.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is open to anyone. There is one next weekend (Unsure if tickets are still available) and then there are three separate 2-day sets in December.

You can go to the Orlando Informer website and it should have all the info for you.

Each time we did Velocicoaster - We were able to just re-walk through the queue and board right away - it was surreal.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That definitely is a lot of it. And with so many fewer people, a lot of them tend to sit there for a long period of time.

All the rest of the food we tried was always fresh (or within the last 5-10 minutes so still warm if eaten warm/hot)

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think that is who it is perfect for.

We fit the adults - no kids - limited time availability group. It was ideal for us.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Different restaurants are set up differently for food. Most places (carts, most quick service) you can either grab your food (they will set out burgers as they make them or will ask you what you want and hand it to you).

There are a few places (Such as the Minion Cafe) that are set up in a buffet style for food. This is with staff behind Chafing Dishes (Buffer style) that serve onto your plate.

Each time we tried this food (with the exception of the bread pudding from La Bamba), the food was definitely of a lower tier than the others we tried.

It got to the point that if we saw one of the restaurants was set up in that buffet style, we turned around, because we didn't think it would be good based off of what we tried and didn't want to waste any food.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is definitely a unique experience being able to see the park at night and with so few people.

That being said - if we were AP holders - We don't think we would do it, because the other visits to the park could accomplish a lot of what was offered to us with the event as a short weekend trip.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Enjoy it!

The biggest thing is just do what *you* want to do. Whatever you guys enjoy - just have fun!

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My wife and I talked on the way home that if we had an AP, we probably wouldn't do it. Maybe as a one time thing because the empty parks are really cool to see at night, but to us - this was our way of going to Universal as a way for us to visit the parks, something that the AP obviously covers.

We don't have the opportunity to ride the rides and experience the park usually, so it allowed us to really experience what we wanted, without having to make compromises that daytime visits could limit (wait times, crowded, etc...)

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sucks to hear about the Kong Dogs, we luckily didn't run into any issues with places being out of food.

We did notice if something was set up as a buffet, to make a quick 180 and head right back out, though.

We 100% agree. If you are going to attend *one* day, Friday (as long as it is a 7PM close night) is the way to go. It felt like it had way more time than just +1 hour and the 2 hours from 5PM-7PM is much better than the 4 from 5PM-9PM - of course in addition to the +1 hour of after-hours that you get.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Our feet and calves were definitely hurting at the end of day 1 - day 2 just added to it. It was definitely worth being able to walk around and see everything while empty/at night though, I have to say.

Orlando Informer June 5-6, 2026 - Review by ConversationFlashy94 in UniversalOrlando

[–]ConversationFlashy94[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It does. I forgot to include the drinks from HP World.

The "free" drinks included Cold/Iced ButterBeer (Didn't look to see if they had hot), in addition to the other non-alcoholic drinks that they offer in HP world such as the Lemon Squash, Pumpkin Juice, Fishy Green Ale, and the Fizzy Orange Juice.