Our 2025 Universal Studios Trip by the Numbers

We went to Universal Studios for the first time last week, and we had the best time!  Per usual, I’m recapping the trip by the numbers…

8 – People who went on our trip (Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, and our friends Jeannine, James, Mack, and Buckley)

3 – Minutes that we beat the GPS on the way there… even with a bathroom/gas stop.

 

Day One (Thursday) – Epic Universe

14 – Hours spent in Epic Universe on Thursday (8 AM – 10 PM)

13 – Rides/Attractions experienced in Epic Universe (Mine-Cart Madness – all, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge – all, Yoshi’s Adventure – all, Stardust Racers – Brian, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders – Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack, Constellation Carousel – Lindsay, Olivia, Jeannine, and Buckley, Le Cirque Arcanus – all, Bowser Jr.’s Lair – all, Monster’s Unchained – Brian, Jacob, Jeannine, and James, Monster’s Unchained – James and Buckley, Constellation Carousel – all, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders – Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge – Lindsay, Olivia, Jeannine, and Buckley

6 – Characters seen and/or met (Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Bros, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Gobber from How to Train Your Dragon, and Princess Peach from Super Mario Bros)

2nd – In line to scan tickets at the gates (we got there earrrrly)

72 – Coins that Brian got on Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge

29 – Coins that Lindsay got on Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge

71 – Coins that Jacob got on Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge

? – Coins that Olivia got on Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge (she never remembers to look at her score)

A Million – Times the kids hit the Question Blocks in Super Mario Land

3,491 – Coins Jacob got in Super Mario Land

2,630 – Coins Olivia got in Super Mario Land

4 – Keys Jacob got in Super Mario Land

2 – Keys Olivia got in Super Mario Land

55 / 20 – Stamps Jacob got in Super Mario Land

51 / 200 – Stamps Olivia got in Super Mario Land

6 – Macarons consumed

2 – Adult beverages consumed

13,878 – Steps taken (although Brian and Jacob’s registered much higher all the days… I think my watch thinks I’m dead half the time lol)

5.87 – Miles walked (same for this… theirs registered much higher)

1 – Ride that traumatized Olivia (she was terrified during Mine-Cart Madness… the very first ride of the whole trip… but she recovered quickly and she didn’t regret riding it lol)

81 – The high temp while we were there

75 – The low temp while we were there

 

Day Two (Friday) – Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

12 – Hours spent in Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure on Friday (8 AM – 8 PM)

8 – Rides/Attractions experienced in Universal Studios (Trolls Trollercoaster – all, Trolls Trollercoaster – Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, Jeannine, Mack, and Buckley, E.T. Adventure – all, E.T. Adventure – all, Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl – Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, Jeannine, Mack, and Buckley, Men in Black Alien Attack – all, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts – Brian, Jeannine, James, and Mack, The Hogwarts Express – all)

7 – Rides/Attractions experienced in Islands of Adventure (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – Brian, Jacob, Olivia, Jeannine, James, Mack, and Buckley, Caro-Seuss-el – Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, James, Mack, and Buckley, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! – all, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – Olivia and Buckley, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack, The Cat in the Hat – Lindsay, Olivia, Jeannine, and Buckley, Skull Island: Reign of Kong – all)

1 – Characters seen and/or met (Dre Head on the Knight Bus from Harry Potter)

79,625 – Points Brian got on the Men in Black Alien Attack ride

31,000 – Points Lindsay got on Men in Black Alien Attack ride

55,250 – Points Jacob got on the Men in Black Alien Attack ride

31,750 – Points Olivia got on Men in Black Alien Attack ride

13 / 48 – Spells Olivia cast in Harry Potter World with her magic wand (the app only registered 11, but we know that she did 2 others)

4 – Donuts consumed

4 – Times we saw the dragon in Diagon Alley breathe fire

6 – Butter beer items consumed (1 frozen, 3 regular, and 2 ice cream bars)

1 – Wand lost

1 – Wand recovered two hours later

2 – Adult beverages consumed

6-7 Lemons on Jacob’s glass at dinner at Antojito’s Mexican restaurant (it was actually 7, but to the kids, it was 6-7… if you know, you know)

90 – Percent chance of rain on Friday

2 – Times it barely misted on Friday… it ended up being mostly sunny, so we got soooo lucky!

15,941 – Steps taken

6.39 – Miles walked

77 – The high temp while we were there

73 – The low temp while we were there

 

Day Three (Saturday) – Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

10 – Hours spent in Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure on Saturday (8 AM – 6 PM)

4 – Rides/Attractions experienced in Islands of Adventure (Jurassic World VelociCoaster – Brian, Flight of the Hippogriff – Jacob, Jeannine, James, and Mack, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – Brian, Jacob, Olivia, Mack, and Buckley, The Hogwarts Express – all)

4 – Rides/Attractions experienced in Universal Studios (Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon – all, Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast – all, Transformers: The Ride 3-D – Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem – all)

12 – Characters seen and/or met (2 Minions, Bumblebee from Transformers, King Julien XIII from Madagascar, Puss in Boots, Shrek, Princess Fiona, Megatron from Transformers, Johnny the gorilla from Sing, Rosita the pig from Sing, another Minion, and Tigress from Kung Fu Panda)

414,020 – Points Brian got on Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast

333,595 – Points Lindsay got on Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast

510,000 – Points Jacob got on Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast

400,000-ish – Points Olivia got on Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast (she couldn’t remember her exact number)

4 – Ice creams consumed

5 – Times somebody said, “GO DAWGS!” when they saw our shirts since it was college football Saturday

1 – Time I teared up… they were playing my favorite instrumental song from the 1995 movie Casper in Universal Studios as we were leaving.  I listened to that soundtrack on repeat as a kid and I was shocked to hear it in the wild.

15,979 – Steps taken

6.48 – Miles walked

75 – The high temp while we were there

72 – The low temp while we were there

 

Overall

3 – Parks visited (Epic Universe, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure)

36 – Hours spent in the three parks

36 – Rides/Attractions experienced in the four parks (Mine-Cart Madness – all, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge – all, Yoshi’s Adventure – all, Stardust Racers – Brian, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders – Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack, Constellation Carousel – Lindsay, Olivia, Jeannine, and Buckley, Le Cirque Arcanus – all, Bowser Jr.’s Lair – all, Monster’s Unchained – Brian, Jacob, Jeannine, and James, Monster’s Unchained – James and Buckley, Constellation Carousel – all, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders – Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge – Lindsay, Olivia, Jeannine, and Buckley, Trolls Trollercoaster – all, Trolls Trollercoaster – Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, Jeannine, Mack, and Buckley, E.T. Adventure – all, E.T. Adventure – all, Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl – Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, Jeannine, Mack, and Buckley, Men in Black Alien Attack – all, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts – Brian, Jeannine, James, and Mack, The Hogwarts Express – all, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – Brian, Jacob, Olivia, Jeannine, James, Mack, and Buckley, Caro-Seuss-el – Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, James, Mack, and Buckley, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! – all, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – Olivia and Buckley, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack, The Cat in the Hat – Lindsay, Olivia, Jeannine, and Buckley, Skull Island: Reign of Kong – all, Jurassic World VelociCoaster – Brian, Flight of the Hippogriff – Jacob, Jeannine, James, and Mack, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – Brian, Jacob, Olivia, Mack, and Buckley, The Hogwarts Express – all, Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon – all, Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast – all, Transformers: The Ride 3-D – Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem – all)

19 – Characters seen and/or met (Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Bros, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Gobber from How to Train Your Dragon, and Princess Peach from Super Mario Bros, Dre Head on the Knight Bus from Harry Potter, 2 Minions, Bumblebee from Transformers, King Julien XIII from Madagascar, Puss in Boots, Shrek, Princess Fiona, Megatron from Transformers, Johnny the gorilla from Sing, Rosita the pig from Sing, another Minion, and Tigress from Kung Fu Panda)

45,798 – Steps taken

18.74 – Miles walked

3 – Coffees consumed by me

7 – Souvenirs purchased by our family (1 frame for our collection, 3 Christmas ornaments, 2 items Jacob picked out, and 1 item Olivia picked out)

3 – Compliments Olivia got on her candy corn earrings

2 – Employees named Jacob who crossed our path

Lots – Of rides I skipped to be safe because of my past issues

A ton – times I said I was cold… the weather wasn’t terribly cold, but the wind and the clouds (and lack of sun) + getting damp from the rain made for a chilly trip!

4 – Souvenir pennies created

244 – Pictures taken by me (after I deleted the bad ones)

71 – Videos taken by me (after I deleted the bad ones)

25 – Universal Photo Package pictures taken

3 – Things that we didn’t get to do that we wanted to do (we all really wanted to meet Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon, both families really wanted to ride Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure and Battle at the Ministry)

Our first Universal Studios experience was a great one, and we were really lucky that the weather held out for us… it was supposed to rain a lot, and while it did rain some, most of the times it did we were indoors.  There was only one time that we got caught in a downpour, but thankfully, we were on the way out of the park for the night anyway!

I’ll be recapping the trips soon (assuming I can get my act together), so stay tuned!

Happy Wednesday, y’all!