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What's on at Universal Orlando Resort

Your guide to what's coming up at Universal Orlando

A holiday to Universal Orlando Resort is exciting enough as it is, but wait until you see the parks come to life during a holiday celebration or a special event!

With live performances, specialist attractions, and even more themed fun, you might want to consider planning your trip to Orlando around one of Universal's spectacular events. So we're here to tell you what's happening, when it's happening, and how you can get involved.

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A whimsical destination-wide celebration...

Inspired by pop culture’s most beloved stories including Christmas in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Grinchmas, Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s and more...

Children drinking butter beer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™

With festivites in both lands, there's twice the excitement to be had when it comes to Christmas in the magical world. Join the celebration as Hogwarts™ castle lights up for the holidays and festive decor brightens up the streets of Hogsmeade™ in Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley™ in Universal Studios Florida.

The Grinch with kids at Universal Orlando

Grinchmas™

 

Get that warm fuzzy feeling (with a little side of sarcasm!) at Seuss Landing™ this winter, which you'll find aptly decorated with festive charm and cheer. Get together with the resident Whos and put a little snark in your joy with the Grinch™. Enjoy the music and fun of The Grinchmas™ Who-liday Spectacular, plus meet the Maven of Mischief himself.

Universal's Holiday Parade featuring Macy's

Universal's Holiday Parade featuring Macy's

'Tis the season to go big. Very big in fact. With larger than life balloons floating through the streets of Universal Studios Florida, and appearances from some of your favourite characters such as Minions from Illumination's Despicable Me, and DreamWorks Animation's Shrek on their colourfully decorated floats, you'll be wowed throughout. 

Family enjoying food at Universals Endless Summer

More ways to get your cheer on

  • Seasonal sweets and treats: Look out for exclusive food and drink offerings around the parks, from speciality doughnuts to holiday cocktails!
  • Seasonal merchandise: Shop your jingle bells off at Port of Entry Christmas Shoppe or Park Plaza Holiday shop where you'll find christmas ornaments and a whole lot more.
  • Capture your Christmas memories: Keep your eyes peeled for seasonal decor and characters dressed in holiday outfits, don't forget your camera!
  • Have that New York Christmas, in Florida: From Big Apple inspired streets to must-see sights, the New York area at Universal Studios Florida will have that extra special sparkle. 

Next up: Mardi Gras at Universal

Universal Mardi Gras

International Flavours of Carnaval

3rd Feb - 7 Apr '24

Go beyond the bayou with the International Flavours of Carnival at Universal Orlando. With parades, colourful costumes, outrageous performances, and vibrant music, it's an awesome party inspired by Carnival celebrations all over the world. And don't forget the mouthwatering speciality menu offerings too*, with some sizzling New Orleans favourites.

*Food available for purchase.

Even more excitement

You're never too far from celebrations, excitement and events at Universal Orlando Resort. So what else do we have on the horizon?

Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights

Halloween Horror Nights

Sep - Nov '24

Legend has it you should never go alone to Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights, The World's Premier Halloween Event*. Feauring some of Universal Studios' most exhilirating attractions and outrageous live entertainment, summon your scream squad and you might survive.

*Named Best Halloween Event by Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards for 12 years (2006, 2008-2018, 2021).

Guitar

Hard Rock Live®

All year round

Whilst there's some great seasonal celebrations at Universal Orlando, if you're here in between there's still fantastic entertainment on offer. The superstars. The legends. The icons. They all take the stage at Hard Rock LIVE®. So check the schedule in advance and see which big names in comedy and music are on show during your visit!

*These events are separately ticketed and available for purchase in-resort.

Where to stay

Stay on-site to enjoy these Universal Orlando events to their fullest, with complimentary transportation to the parks, Early Park Admission† to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ and Universal’s Volcano Bay, and other exclusive benefits!

Plus, save up to 30% on your Universal hotel when you stay for 7 nights or more before 31 Dec '24!

Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort

Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort

Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort has exclusive benefits only for Virgin Atlantic Holidays customers;

  • Complimentary self-parking
  • Exclusive late check-out available until 1:00pm
  • Two complimentary inflatable rubber rings per room
  • Complimentary welcome drink

Valid for travel up until 31 Dec '24

Universal's Endless Summer Resort - Dockside Inn and Suites

Universal's Endless Summer Resort - Dockside Inn and Suites

  • Great value resort
  • 2 bedroom suites that sleep up to 6 people
  • 2 resort style swimming rooms
7 nights from £728pp
Hard Rock Hotel®, Universal Orlando Resort™

Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando

  • Free Universal Express Unlimited ride access**
  • Premier Resort
  • Within walking distance of Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, plus Universal CityWalk
7 nights from £1664pp
Universal’s Aventura Hotel

Universal's Aventura Hotel

 

  • Within walking distance of Universal’s Volcano Bay
  • Suites available that sleep up to 5 people
  • Rooftop bar
7 nights from £946pp

WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.

Hard Rock Live ® Hard Rock Cafe International (USA), Inc. Dr. Seuss properties TM & © 2023 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade & Related Characters © 2023 Macy’s Inc. Stranger Things:™/© Netflix. Used with permission. ©2023 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Created and developed by Naughty Dog LLC. The Last of Us is a registered trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC and related companies in the U.S. and other countries. © 2023 Universal Studios. © Universal City Studios LLC. Universal elements and all related indicia TM & © 2023 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

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Your holiday may be affected by travel restrictions or cancellations

We are continually reviewing our flying schedules, taking into account the  Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice against all non-essential travel. Depending on when you are due to travel, your holiday may be affected and we’ll email you to let you know as least 21 days before travel.

You’ll be away before you know it

Your next holiday is only a click away - our website has thousands of options ready to book. But if you need more help, just give us a call on 0344 472 9646.

Looking for inspiration? Explore our destinations and holiday types and save your faves to your very own Wishlist. Or dive right in to our 2021 holiday offers.

Latest Foreign & Commonwealth Office repatriation travel advice


Over the past few weeks, we have repatriated our customers from overseas who wanted to come home.  

Please visit this page to keep up to date with the Government’s travel advice on returning to the UK, and to register for email alerts.
 

How would you like to talk to us?

With many customers needing our help, we are prioritising those customers due to travel before 31 December 2020. Log in to Manage my booking where you can message us about your options or you can give us a call. Bear in mind you may have to wait longer than expected. We continue to review this and working to open up these options to more customers. In the meantime check out our FAQs to see if this can help answer any immediate questions.

Stay tuned for the latest updates


Rest assured; we will notify you as soon as we know if your holiday has been affected by email. 

We are continually reviewing our flying schedules, taking into account the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice against all non-essential travel. Depending on when you are due to travel, your holiday may be affected and we’ll email you to let you know as least 21 days before travel.

Let’s talk


If you need to speak to us to change or cancel your booking you can call our team on 0344 472 9646 or chat to us on SMS/Whatspp via Manage my booking.

For the latest information on Covid-19 you can check our FAQs here.

Payment flexibility


Don’t worry if you’ve missed a payment or just need a little more time to pay; we have options available to help you. If your holiday is going ahead as planned, you can continue to pay for your holiday in Manage my booking, even if travelling in less than 12 weeks. If you’re unsure, you can delay any additional payments by choosing a new time to travel by requesting a call back in Manage My booking for one of our team to look at options. If your holiday is more than 6 months away, you may wish to set up a Direct Debit to spread the cost. This can be arranged whilst rebooking or afterwards in Manage my booking.

We're flexible with your holiday plans


We understand that you may wish to change your holiday plans and we appreciate the need for flexibility. 

We'll be in touch by email letting you know how to register to change your holiday plans. You can also log into Manage my booking to find the details there. 

Please look out for emails from us or visit our dedicated Covid-19 (Coronavirus) page for the latest updates.

You're holiday is going ahead as planned


If we haven’t notified you of any changes, your holiday will be going ahead as planned but if you prefer to move your holiday to a later time we can help. You can call our team on 0344 472 9499 who can look at options for you.

Thank you for your patience and understanding


Payments are being prioritised based on when the request was made, working in order from March 2020 onwards. We will always try to process refunds at the earliest opportunity, for requests before August our maximum timeframe is 120 days. As we are steadily reducing the maximum processing time for each new request, for refund requests made in August, we expect the maximum processing time to be 80 days, from the date the refund is requested. For those requesting a refund in September, we expect it to be processed within a maximum of 60 days, and then reduce to 30 days for refunds requested in October, before returning to normal levels.

We'll be in touch soon


To finalise the amendment, one of our customer advisors will phone you. We need to work through amend requests in departure date order so we can prioritise those with the most imminent travel plans, so you may have a longer wait than usual until we’re able to ring you back. We will help everyone that wants to move their holiday.

I returned early from holiday and have further questions?


You can contact our team by emailing feedback.backhome@virginholidays.com to discuss options on unused portions of your holiday. If you need to contact our team about amending an existing holiday or requesting a refund please log in to manage my booking.

I am currently on holiday and I need to speak to someone


The easiest way to contact us while you are away is via WhatsApp. To get the conversation started, click the link and type "hello” .

or you can get in touch with our in-resort team during local opening hours

Find contact details for your location

Outside of local resort office hours you can call us in the UK +44 (0) 344 472 9626 (option 2) or email us duty.office@virginholidays.com

If you are in the USA or Canada please email: USAreps@virginholidays.com.

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