The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando 2026

by Seth Kubersky, Alicia Stella

Overview

Save time and money with in-depth reviews, ratings, and details from the trusted source for a successful Universal Orlando vacation.

How do some guests get on the big, new attraction in less than 20 minutes while others wait for longer than 2 hours—on the same day? Why do some guests pay full price for their visit when others can save hundreds of dollars? In a theme park, every minute and every dollar count. Your vacation is too important to be left to chance, so put the best-selling independent guide to Universal Orlando in your hands and take control of your trip.

The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando 2026 explains how the resort works and how to use that knowledge to stay ahead of the crowd. Seth Kubersky and Alicia Stella know that you want your vacation to be anything but average, so they employed an expert team of researchers to find the secrets, the shortcuts, and the bargains that are sure to make your vacation exceptional! Find out what’s available in every category, ranked from best to worst, and get detailed plans to make the most of your time at Universal. Stay at a top-rated hotel, eat at the best restaurants, and experience all the most popular attractions at Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Epic Universe, and Volcano Bay.

Keep in the know on the latest updates and changes at Universal Orlando. Here’s what’s NEW in the 2026 book:

• Learn when to visit Universal to get lower crowds and bigger hotel discounts
• Find updated advice on taking advantage of Early Park Admission, Universal Express, Single Rider, and other time-saving tricks
• Take advantage of the first-ever in-depth, critical reviews of every ride and attraction at Universal’s brand-new Epic Universe theme park
• Read ratings and reviews of every restaurant at Epic Universe, plus updated dining recommendations for guests with special dietary needs
• Get an honest evaluation of each Universal resort hotel, including the luxurious Helios Grand Hotel
• Enjoy a guide to the next-generation interactive wands at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Discover tips on how to meet Toothless, the Super Mario Brothers, the Bride of Frankenstein, and other favorite characters
• Uncover insider secrets and previews of upcoming attractions from acclaimed theme-park journalist Alicia Stella

Make the right choices to give your family a vacation they’ll never forget. The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando 2026 is your key to planning a perfect stay. Whether you’re putting together your annual trip or preparing for your first visit, this book gives you the insider scoop on hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628091687
Publisher:	Unofficial Guides
Publication date:	12/02/2025
Series:	Unofficial Guides Series
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	5.13(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Seth Kubersky is the coauthor of The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland and The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas, a contributor to The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, and a regular contributor to the Unofficial Guides blog. A resident of Orlando since 1996, Seth is a former employee of Universal Orlando’s entertainment department. He covers arts and attractions for Orlando Weekly, Attractions Magazine, and other publications.

Alicia Stella has been covering themed attractions since 2015, on both her website and her YouTube channel Theme Park Stop. She specializes in reporting on new attraction development, and her work has been cited by The New York Times, USA Today, The Today Show, CNN, and more. Alicia lives in Central Florida with her wife, Jenn, and their daughter, Haley.

Read an Excerpt

Part 2: Accommodations

Loews Sapphire Falls Resort (4 stars)

• Rate per night $245–$305
• Pool 4 stars
• Fridge in room Yes
• Shuttle to parks Yes (Universal, SeaWorld, Aquatica)
• Maximum number of occupants per room 5 (2 queens) or 4 (king)
• Comment Pets welcome (2/room, $100/stay)
• Survey results 91% of Unofficial Guide readers would stay here again; 90% would recommend this resort to a friend.

Strengths

• Cheapest hotel with water taxi to CityWalk
• Massive main pool and free saunas
• Strong Water Tavern is an Unofficial Guide favorite.

Weaknesses

• Unlimited Express Passes aren’t included.
• Caribbean theming is too subtle in some spots.
• Standard rooms are a bit small and bland.

Sapphire Falls Resort brings a sunny Caribbean Island vibe to the moderate market with its 1,000 rooms (including 77 suites), which opened in summer 2016. Sandwiched between Royal Pacific and Cabana Bay—both physically and price-wise—Sapphire Falls sports most of the amenities of Universal’s three fanciest hotels, including water taxi transportation to the parks, with the crucial exception of complimentary Express Passes.

Rather than replicating the stereotypical pastel palette seen at Disney’s Caribbean-themed hotel, Sapphire Falls’ designers went with a cooler blue-and-white color scheme for the exterior. The lobby continues the modern reinterpretation of island aesthetics with a playful hanging sculpture of wicker beach balls and a massive floor-to-ceiling window providing a postcard-perfect view of the rear lagoon, with the towers of Doctor Doom’s Fearfall posing in the background. Public spaces fuse seemingly ancient structures—such as a stunning stone silo, complete with authentic-looking mill equipment—with clean contemporary architecture and colorful images of today’s West Indies. Although some transitional areas feel under-themed, we truly appreciate Sapphire Falls Resort’s casually sophisticated vibe, which hits a sweet spot between the family-friendly freneticism of Cabana Bay and the elegance of Universal’s more upscale hotels.

Water figures heavily at Sapphire Falls, whose namesake waterfalls form the scenic centerpiece of the resort. The 16,000-square-foot main pool boasts 3,500 square feet of sand on which to set your lounger, as well as a 100-foot waterslide, children’s play areas, fire pits, a hot tub, and cabanas for rent. There are two zero-entry points near the middle of the pool on opposite sides, which allow you to pretend to walk across the water. Although billed as the largest pool on Universal property, its organic shape and 4.5-foot maximum depth make it better suited for wading than swimming laps, and there’s no secondary quiet pool if you aren’t into reggae-flavored rock.

A well-equipped fitness room just off the pool holds saunas in both changing rooms, along with spa-style lockers and showers that are free for all guests to use. Table tennis (free to use) and a pool table (nominal fee per game) are available outside near the small arcade.

On the lower level, Amatista Cookhouse offers a la carte or buffet American breakfast, followed by table-service Caribbean food for lunch and dinner. Drhum Club Kantine serves tapas-style small plates, sandwiches, and massive bowls of alcohol near the pool bar’s fire pit. New Dutch Trading Co., an island-inspired grab-and-go marketplace, has ice cream, coffee, hot entrees and sandwiches, refillable Coke Freestyle cups, and packaged snacks. Strong Water Tavern, in the lobby, offers rum tastings and freshly made ceviche, and a Universal Studios Store in the lobby sells sundries and resort souvenirs.

The rooms range from 321 square feet in a standard queen or king to 529 square feet in the 36 Kids’ Suites, up to 1,936 square feet in the 15 Presidential Suites, which are appointed with charmingly rustic light fixtures and are sizable enough to live in long-term. All rooms include a 49-inch TV, an alarm clock with iPhone dock, in-wall USB charging ports, a mini-fridge, and a coffee maker. The rooms are aesthetically acceptable but a bit antiseptic, aside from a garishly colored mirror frame and metallized photos above the beds, and they are barely bigger than the standard Cabana Bay rooms. We like these rooms a bit better than those at Aventura, but they’re more expensive too. The layout is perfectly functional, but there are some odd design quirks, such as a sliding door to the toilet that doesn’t latch; don’t plan on doing your business in private if you have inquisitive kids.

Sapphire Falls also contains nearly 115,000 square feet of meeting space and a business center. Covered walkways connect to a parking structure, which in turn connects to the meeting facilities at Royal Pacific, making the sister properties ideal for conventions. That also leads us to our main critique of Sapphire Falls: outside of the lobby and pool, the public areas feel a little like a standard convention hotel.

Water taxi transportation to Sapphire Falls takes only a few minutes longer than sailing to Royal Pacific, though boats may be delayed by traffic congestion under the bridge between the hotels and CityWalk. A pedestrian pathway to the parks starts near the boat dock, joining up with the Royal Pacific garden path near that hotel’s convention center entrance. If you want to walk from Sapphire Falls to Cabana Bay, note that there’s no pedestrian crosswalk at the heavily trafficked intersection that separates the two hotels; instead, walk to the corner of Hollywood Way and use the garden bridge to cross over Adventure Way, or use the path between Aventura and Volcano Bay to walk beneath the busy road.

Sapphire Falls occupies an interesting spot in Universal’s hotel spectrum, appealing to people turned off both by the midcentury aesthetics of Cabana Bay (or Aventura’s ultramodernism) and the higher price tags of the resort’s other properties. If water taxi transportation is important to you, but Express Unlimited access is not, Sapphire Falls is your spot. Otherwise, search for photos online to see if you like the resort’s look, and carefully compare the rates to both Cabana Bay and Aventura Hotel for the time of your planned visit.

Table of Contents

List of Maps

About the Authors

Introduction

Part 1: Planning Before You Leave Home

Part 2: Accommodations

Part 3: Arriving and Getting Around

Part 4: Universal Essentials

Part 5: Universal Orlando with Kids

Part 6: Universal Studios Florida

Part 7: Universal Islands of Adventure

Part 8: Universal Epic Universe

Part 9: Universal Volcano Bay

Part 10: Dining and Shopping at Universal Orlando

Part 11: Universal Orlando CityWalk

Appendix

Index

Touring Plans

Editorial Reviews

If you’re looking for a reliable guidebook, the leader is the Unofficial series.”
—The Mail (London)

“A Tourist’s Best Friend!”
—Chicago Sun-Times

“Indispensable”
—The New York Times

From the Publisher