Eight Essential Apps for Your Universal Orlando Trip

April 17, 2015
Comments are closed

The 8 Apps You Need for Your Trip to Universal Orlando

5.4K Shares

Your phone is your new guidebook, itinerary, photo album, and trip planner. With these apps in your hand you’ll find your way easier and have a smoother experience in the Universal Orlando parks.

Don’t wait to load the apps onto your phone. Most of them are handy from Day One of your planning. Why not start counting down to your trip right now?

Universal Orlando Official App – FREE

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/official-universal-orlando/id878217080?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.universalstudios.orlandoresort&hl=en

The Universal Orlando official app features tons of information about the parks.

If you only add one app to your phone, this is the one. Universal’s official app includes park maps, dining information, show times, and the best thing – posted wait times for all the attractions. You can use this app to navigate the parks and plan your next stop. Load it onto your phone and take a look at it before you go, so you can preview the wait times and get an idea of what the lines are like for your favorite attractions.

Lines App, by Touringplans.com –

$16.90 with one-year TouringPlans.com subscription (WDW & Universal)

All platforms: http://touringplans.com/disney-world-app

The Lines app from Touringplans.com features real-time wait information.

Believe me – this app is absolutely worth the TouringPlans.com subscription of $16.90. (And the subscription is worth it just for the info on their website. I’m not being paid to say that, I think their site and app are amazing). When you get the app and subscribe to their site you will not only see officially posted wait times, but also actual wait times as reported by other users in the park right now.

Luna and I have often noticed discrepancies between the posted wait time and our actual wait. On our last trip to Universal we almost exclusively used the Lines app to check wait times, and we found the user-posted waits to be very accurate. Besides current wait times, the Lines app predicts future wait times, and will suggest whether you should ride an attraction now or wait until later. It also has a crowd level predictor so you can decide which park to visit on which day.

The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando is an excellent resource for planning your vacation.

You get a discount on your touringplans.com subscription if you own a copy of any of the Unofficial Guide books. I absolutely recommend you pick up a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando. (Click here for all my recommendations about guide books and other resources for planning your trip to Orlando).

Amazing Pictures App – FREE

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazing-pictures-mobile/id498260199?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazingpictures.android.apandroid&hl=en

Amazing Pictures is the app for all official photos shot in Universal Orlando, including ride photos. Photo courtesy of Amazing Pictures.

If you’re planning to purchase any professionally-shot photos or ride photos at Universal Orlando, you’ll want this app. It lets you view all the photos you purchase, almost immediately, plus you can save them to your phone or share them via email, Facebook, Twitter, you name it. You’ll need a login to access the images from the app – this will be the same info you provide when you purchase the photos. You can save a bit of time in the park by downloading the app ahead of time and registering your account before you get there.

T-Zero App – FREE

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/t-zero-countdown-timer/id480487790?mt=8

I love this app because it shows every second ticking away toward my next vacation. Just enter the date and time and the app will start counting down.

T-Zero seems to be just on iphone, but I’m sure you can find a similar app for Android.

Booking.com

The Weather Channel App – FREE

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weather-channel-weather.com/id295646461?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.weather.Weather&hl=en

Keep an eye on the forecast with the Weather Channel App.

Theme-park touring is mostly an outdoor adventure, which means the weather will play a role any time of year. Watch the forecast and even the local radar on this app. Be sure to pack for the forecasted weather – Orlando can be cold in winter months and scorching in the summer. (Find out more of my weather tips for Universal Orlando here).

Gate Guru App – FREE

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gateguru-airport-info-flight/id326862399?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gateguruapp.android&hl=en

Find out all about every airport you pass through with the Gate Guru app.

This is one of my favorite travel apps. It’s a guide to every major airport at your fingertips, so you can find all the amenities and get around quickly and easily. Plus it’s got ratings for all the airport restaurants.

Trip Case App – FREE

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tripcase/id309620151?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sabre.tripcase.android&hl=en

Create and manage your itinerary with the TripCase app. Photo courtesy of TripCase.

Another really useful all-around travel app. Trip Case is your itinerary, all in one place in your phone. Easy to use, it automatically updates with any flight changes, and sends alerts if gates change or you have a delay. It also has a trip countdown feature, though not down to the minute like the T-0 app.

Your Airline’s app – FREE

Always keep your airline’s app handy when you travel. Besides keeping tabs on your reservation, you can check in or change plans, and you’ll have all the contact information in case of a problem. I usually fly Alaska to Orlando so that’s why you see them here.

Have you used any of these apps before? Comment below and let me know which is your favorite.

Go Informed Passholders get exclusive access to our private Facebook group and bonus content. Click to learn more!