Our 4-Day Universal Orlando Itinerary | Cabana Bay, Volcano Bay, Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios & Epic Universe
Planning a trip to Universal Orlando can feel overwhelming, especially now that Epic Universe has joined the resort lineup. During our recent vacation, we spent four full days exploring Universal's parks while staying at Cabana Bay Beach Resort.
This itinerary gave us enough time to experience each park without feeling rushed, revisit our favorite attractions, and dedicate an entire day exploring Epic Universe.
If you're planning a similar trip, here's exactly how we structured our vacation and a few things we'd do again.
Where We Stayed
For this trip, we stayed at Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort, which continues to be our favorite value resort at Universal Orlando.
Some of our favorite benefits included:
Private entrance into Volcano Bay
Early Park Admission
Free transportation to all Universal parks
Spacious Tower Rooms overlooking Volcano Bay
We also scheduled a Walmart grocery delivery for our arrival, which helped us save money throughout the trip by stocking our room with bottled water, snacks, and breakfast items.
👉 Read our complete Cabana Bay Resort Review here.
Arrival Day
Since our flight arrived later in the day, we kept things simple.
Our arrival checklist included:
Check into Cabana Bay
Pick up our park tickets from Guest Services
Meet our Walmart grocery delivery
Settle into our Volcano Bay View Tower Room
Get ready for an early start the next morning
Day One
Volcano Bay & CityWalk
Because we were staying at Cabana Bay, we took advantage of Early Park Admission and entered Volcano Bay through the private resort entrance.
One thing we learned during our October visit was that early entry is fantastic for avoiding crowds—but the water can be surprisingly cold first thing in the morning!
If you're planning to spend the day here, locker rentals during our visit were:
Small – $14
Medium – $20
Large – $25
Towel Rental – $7
Even if you aren't spending the entire day at Volcano Bay, it's worth taking some time to walk around and appreciate the tropical theming.
Later that afternoon, we headed over to Universal CityWalk.
We walked around the lake and looked through the shops. Then we had dinner at Margaritaville, before grabbing breakfast for the next few days from Voodoo Doughnut.
CityWalk is well worth exploring, even if you aren't planning to enter the parks.
Day Two
Islands of Adventure & Universal Studios Florida
Our second day focused on Universal's original parks.
We spent the morning making our way through Islands of Adventure before hopping over to Universal Studios Florida later in the day.
One thing that's interesting right now is The Lost Continent. Universal has announced the area will permanently close in 2027, although they haven't shared what will replace it. That makes it an interesting time to experience this part of the park before it changes.
From there we hopped over to Universal Studios Florida.
After lunch at Krusty Burger, we explored Springfield and Diagon Alley before riding Escape from Gringotts.
My husband and son ended the evening at Halloween Horror Nights, making it one of their busiest, but most memorable days of the trip.
Day Three
Express Pass Day
For our third day, we added Universal Express Pass.
Rather than trying to squeeze everything into one visit, we used this day to revisit both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
This ended up being one of the best decisions we made during the trip.
Instead of constantly checking wait times, we could revisit attractions we enjoyed, stop for photos, browse shops, and simply experience the parks without feeling rushed.
Lunch at Finnegan's Bar & Grill became a nice mid-day break before finishing the afternoon.
We made one planning mistake during the trip and misread the park closing time. Once we realized our mistake, we decided to end the evening with dinner at Bob Marley – A Tribute to Freedom before heading back to the hotel.
Day Four
Epic Universe
Our final day was dedicated entirely to Epic Universe.
Instead of bouncing between lands, we decided to fully experience one world before moving on to the next.
Looking back, we'd absolutely recommend this approach.
Super Nintendo World
Walking through the iconic green warp pipe and entering Super Nintendo World felt like stepping directly into the games.
Mario Kart, Mine-Cart Madness, Yoshi's Adventure, and Toadstool Cafe made this one of the most interactive areas in the park.
Even the attraction queues felt like part of the experience.
Wizarding World – Ministry of Magic
Universal took a completely different approach with this Wizarding World.
Rather than recreating Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley, guests enter 1920s wizarding Paris before making their way toward Battle at the Ministry.
The architecture, cafés, and detailed attraction queue made this one of the most memorable areas to simply walk through.
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk
Even though we weren't especially familiar with the movies before visiting, Berk quickly won us over.
Between the rides, live show, and detailed village, it was one of the easiest places in Epic Universe to simply spend time enjoying the atmosphere.
Dark Universe
Dark Universe offered a completely different experience from the rest of the park.
Instead of bright colors and energetic music, the land leans into Universal's Classic Monsters with detailed environments, impressive attraction queues, and two unique rides that fit the darker theme perfectly.
Celestial Park
Before dinner, we took a ride on Constellation Carousel. Its unique celestial creatures, synchronized music, and beautiful lighting make it feel very different from a traditional carousel, especially once the sun goes down.
We enjoyed dinner at Pizza Moon and spent some time exploring Celestial Park after sunset.
If there's one recommendation we'd make, it's to stay after dark.
The lighting completely transforms Epic Universe, and each land takes on a different personality once the sun goes down.
Was Express Pass Worth It?
For us, absolutely.
We purchased Express Pass for both our second day in the original parks and again for Epic Universe. We did purchase these ahead of time when we booked our hotel reservation. This was a good move, as the flex pricing of Express Passes was significantly higher the days we were there vs what we paid.
The biggest benefit wasn't simply shorter lines; it was the flexibility.
Instead of planning every hour around wait times, we could experience each park at our own pace, stop for photos, browse the shops, and enjoy the incredible theming without constantly watching the clock.
If you're only visiting for a few days, we'd seriously consider adding Express Pass to maximize your time.
Our Biggest Tips
✔ Stay at Cabana Bay if it fits your budget.
✔ Schedule a grocery delivery before arriving.
✔ Use Early Park Admission whenever possible.
✔ Arrive early for Epic Universe buses.
✔ Stay at Epic Universe after dark.
✔ Consider Express Pass if you're visiting on a shorter vacation.
Final Thoughts
This ended up being our favorite Universal Orlando vacation so far.
Between staying at Cabana Bay, revisiting the classic Universal parks, and finally experiencing Epic Universe, every day offered something completely different.
Rather than trying to rush from attraction to attraction, we found ourselves slowing down, appreciating the details, and enjoying each park for its own unique atmosphere.
If you're planning your own Universal Orlando vacation, we hope this itinerary helps you build a trip that's just as memorable.
Trip at a Glance
📅 Length: 4 Days
🏨 Resort: Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort
🎟️ Express Pass: Yes (2 Days)
🌊 Water Park: Volcano Bay
🎢 Theme Parks: Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida, Epic Universe