Planning a 2026 Universal Orlando Trip: Ride Closures, Events, Ticket Changes

When planning a 2026 Universal Orlando trip, you’ll want to know what rides will be closed, what special events are happening and what kind of tickets best fit your needs. It’s normal for certain attractions to close throughout the year for maintenance but you may want to plan around this or at least have your expectations set. Universal has seasonal events throughout the year celebrating Mardi Gras, Halloween and Christmas. There are also smaller events like Butterbeer Season. Epic Universe opened in May of 2025. If it’s your first Universal trip, or first in a while, you have that to look forward to too. Here are things you need to know for planning a 2026 Universal Orlando trip.

What You Should Know When Planning a 2026 Universal Orlando Trip: Theme Park Events in 2026

Universal Mardi Gras – February, March, April

Get ready for confetti! Universal Mardi Gras: International Flavours of Carnaval has a lot to offer with a vibrant, glittery light up parade and specialty food tents. Eat fan favorites at the celebration like the twisted tater potato spiral on a stick.

Universal Mardi Gras festivities happen on select nights starting February 7 through April 4 in 2026.

Butterbeer Season – Spring

For Harry Potter fans, there’s one drink that stands superior. Butterbeer is available all year at Universal but there’s a special time of year where there’s more of it. Think additional Butterbeer flavored treats throughout the Wizarding World and fun merchandise featuring the treasured, golden beverage.

Butterbeer Season at Universal happens in the spring.

Halloween Horror Nights – September, October

Universal is known for its haunted houses, scare zones and terrifying, branded integrations. Walk through Universal Studios and you’ll see the spookiest of the season around every corner.

The Halloween Horror Nights event runs select nights from Thursday September 3 through Sunday November 1 in 2026.

This event is not included with a regular park day ticket. Tickets for Halloween Horror Nights must be purchased separately.

Holidays at Universal Orlando – Late November through Early January

The holiday season at Universal usually kicks off around Thanksgiving. You can expect decorations around the parks and resorts. The Wizarding World gets dressed up for the occasion and Grinchmas is a big draw with a special show added just for the season.

The holiday cheer at Universal Orlando is included with your regular park ticket! No additional purchase necessary.

2026 Universal Orlando Ride Closures: What rides will be down for maintenance at Universal?

Here’s what we know so far.

• Jurassic Park River Adventure January 5–November 20, 2026

Universal hasn’t shared exactly what’s happening in this refurbishment that’s nearly a year long. We could expect major changes to this attraction in this amount of time.

• Revenge of the Mummy January 15–21, 2026

This ride is a classic at Universal Studios and will probably undergo routine maintenance based on the length of the closure.

• The Hogwarts Express February 9–26, 2026

With the famous Wizarding World train closed, visitors won’t be able to have that immersive, two park Harry Potter experience. The Hogwarts Express connects Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure to Diagon Alley in Universal Studios. It’s an attraction that makes the two lands feel like one. For this time period, we anticipate guests will have to walk from one park entrance to the other to enjoy all of the Potter attractions in these two parks.

• Volcano Bay closes for the season on October 26, 2026

Universal Orlando’s themed water park will start to close seasonally in 2026. This is new and may change when you want to visit if it’s important to you to go to all four parks at the vacation destination. That means the last day you can go to Volcano Bay in 2026 is on October 25. It will reopen in 2027 on or before March 24.

Universal Tickets 2026: How Have Things Changed

To discover how much Epic Universe tickets are, you’ll need to explore how and when you’re visiting. As with most theme park ticket options, the longer your multi-day ticket is, the better the price per day is.

Epic Universe opened in 2025 and came with fewer ticket options than the other Universal Orlando parks.

New in 2026, you can park hop to Epic Universe but only with multi-park tickets that are three, four or five days.

One and two day multi-park tickets still do not include Epic Universe for park hopping in 2026.

Two day multi-park tickets come with one day to move between Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure and one separate day at Epic Universe or two days to move freely between Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.

Find discounted Universal tickets through Unlocked Magic.