Surprising things you can do at Universal Orlando without a park ticket

You’ve booked your hotel, purchased your tickets and spent months planning the perfect Universal Orlando vacation.

Hopefully, you haven’t packed your itinerary too full, because one, there’s a good chance you’ll be hot, tired and ready for a break when the afternoon sun hits its peak, and two, there’s a ton of fun to be found outside of Universal’s two theme parks — Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure — and Universal’s Volcano Bay water park.

Related: How to use points to save money at Universal Orlando

Here are eight activities at Universal Orlando that don’t require a park ticket, but may require you to sing, escape hungry dinosaurs or learn to hula.

‘Escape’ into your favorite movies at Universal’s Great Movie Escape

Universal Orlando is known for bringing your favorite movies to life on rides like Jurassic World VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, but the park’s newest attraction makes you a main character in two of the world’s most popular movie franchises.

At Universal’s Great Movie Escape at CityWalk, you can choose from two highly immersive escape room experiences — one themed to “Back to the Future” and the other to “Jurassic World.” Both take about an hour to complete and have the capacity to be tailored to your group’s size (up to eight guests) and level of experience, ensuring nobody leaves without the thrill of escaping in time.