5 Movies We Watched Before Visiting Universal Orlando

We spent several weeks prepping for our Universal Orlando trip, making lists of things to pack, researching height requirements for attractions, checking the fit of our fanny packs, and planning out everything we want to do. We also watched movies! Yes, it was quite the chore, but I knew that if we brought the backstory with us, we’d soak up even more of the experience. Here are the movies we watched before our Universal Orlando trip!

5 Movies We Watched Before Visiting Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando has a ton of attractions based on loveable, well-known characters and their stories, so the catalog is massive. We simply didn’t have time to cover it all before we left, so we pared it down with two things in mind: biggest bang for our buck and maximum enjoyability.

When it comes to the biggest bang, we’re aiming to maximize our time, watching films that will help prepare us for several attractions at Universal Orlando. For enjoyability, we’re sticking with age-appropriate films that everyone in our family will enjoy. Admittedly the second qualifier is a bit trickier with kids from 6 to 12 in the mix.

Spoilers ahead!

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone

I’ve been a Potterhead for a couple decades now and have successfully pulled my children into the Wizarding World. While our oldest has read all seven books, our middle child is only on the second and our youngest isn’t quite ready to read the first. I’m grateful for the films, and for Universal. Both make Hogwarts accessible to all of us.

The movies get progressively darker (as the books do), so we have not yet finished the series. Still, our youngest understood the concept of The Wizarding World after watching these movies and was excited about Universal Orlando. Even the attractions that feature characters and concepts from later installations were enjoyable for them.

Movie: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone
Attractions: Flight of the Hippogriff, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Hogwarts Express, and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, plus several restaurants, shops, and shows

The Cat in the Hat

Look, I’m just going to come right out and say it. I’m not a Dr. Seuss fan. Despite this, a Dr. Seuss classic still makes the cut because my kids love reading the silly little books! I’m not sure if The Cat in the Hat movie is as good as the book (is it ever?), but my kids did enjoy it.

Seuss Landing at Islands of Adventure is a wonderfully themed land. It features four rides, a musical show, a play area, and restaurants with bold, playful theming and familiar characters. The Green Eggs & Ham Café even serves up Green Eggs & Ham Tots and Who Hash!

Movie: The Cat in the Hat
Attractions: The Cat in the Hat, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and Caro-Seuss-el, plus several restaurants, shops, and shows

My younger kids also watched The Grinch and The Lorax.

Jurassic Park

This one was tougher to navigate for our family. All of our children love dinosaurs and were excited that an area of Islands of Adventure was themed after Jurassic Park! They were familiar with the concept, but hadn’t seen the movie.

Our oldest was old enough to handle the movie, but Jurassic Park wasn’t a film we’d consider for our younger two. Luckily Netflix recently released a cartoon about teens stranded on Isla Nublar called Jurassic Park: Camp Cretaceous. It’s been so successful, there have already been four seasons! Though it does have some violence and scary situations, it is much milder than the movies.

Movie: Jurassic Park or, for younger kids, Jurassic Park: Camp Creataceous
Attractions: Jurassic Park River Adventure, Pteranodon Flyers, Velocicoaster, and character encounters

Despicable Me

I love Despicable Me for its positive message, the jokes aimed at adults, and the inclusion of computer-animated knitwear. (Seriously, how cute is Edith’s hat?!)

My kids like it because it is fun and silly. They take turns imitating minions and giggling until I nearly lose my mind. Seriously, don’t let them watch this one in the car; you won’t be able to get away from the kids mumbling like minions!

Movie: Despicable Me
Attraction: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem

A second Despicable Me attraction hasn’t been confirmed, but is anticipated in 2022 as a replacement for Shrek 4-D.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

The only opening day attraction still standing at Universal Studios is E.T. Adventure, the dark ride featured on every commercial the theme park produced during my childhood. When I showed my kids a picture of E.T. wearing a wig and hiding in the toy closet, they shrieked and said, “What is that?!”

Luckily E.T. was on Netflix. We watched it the following weekend and I didn’t expect such a tearful reaction from my 6-year-old. He was so distraught at the thought of these two friends never reuniting.

You can’t imagine the joy on his face when we took flight with E.T. or when he said, “Goodbye, James” as we descended. It was absolute delight!

Movie: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Attraction: E.T. Adventure

What movies did you watch before you visited Universal Orlando?