Universal Helios Grand Hotel is the only Universal Orlando hotel built directly into Epic Universe. It gives guests a dedicated entrance into the park, Early Park Admission and the option to return to their room during the day, all of which can make it better value than buying Express Passes.
Here’s my honest review of Universal Helios Grand Hotel, what we managed to do with Early Park Admission and whether it was worth it.
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Is Universal Helios actually cheaper than Express Passes?
Sometimes, yes. But it depends entirely on your dates. We paid $248 for the room between two adults for one night, while Express Passes would have been around $400 between us. That made the hotel $152 cheaper before even considering that we also got a hotel room, a park view and the convenience of being able to return during the day.
You also still need valid admission to Epic Universe. Staying at Helios does not replace a park ticket and it doesn’t include Express Pass access. What it gives you is an earlier start and a much easier route into the park.
Universal Express covers 12 attractions at Epic Universe and lets you use the shorter queue once at each participating attraction. Most of the rides included have average standby waits of 35 minutes or less, so the real value is avoiding the queues for the park’s three main rides: Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, Mine Cart Madness and Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge.
That’s why Helios can be a genuine alternative to Express Passes. If you’re quick enough to complete those three rides during Early Park Admission, you have already avoided the same major queues that make the $200 Express Pass worthwhile in the first place. I’ve broken down exactly how much time that saved below.
For solo travellers, it’s probably harder to justify purely as a money saving option unless you find a particularly good rate. For a family or group sharing a room, it could work out even better, but make sure you check the room occupancy and calculate the Express Pass cost for everyone.
How much time did we actually save with early park admission?
Helios has its own dedicated entrance into Epic Universe, and hotel guests can use Early Park Admission to enter selected areas before the main park opening. Other eligible Universal hotels also receive Early Park Admission, but Helios is the only one that puts you directly inside the Epic Universe resort area, with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on your doorstep.
Most of the other rides included with Express have average standby waits of 35 minutes or less. Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, Mine Cart Madness and Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge average standby waits are 104, 92 and 67 minutes respectively, and their daily peak waits regularly reach close to, or above, two hours.
Using Early Park Admission at Universal Helios, we managed two of the three major rides before regular opening.
Our morning timeline
- 8:48am: Guests started entering Epic Universe.
- Around 8:53am: Joined the queue for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.
- Around 9:05am: The ride opened.
- Around 9:20am: We were off the ride and walking to Super Nintendo World.
- Before regular opening: Joined Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge with a ten minute wait.
We did make two completely unnecessary food stops between worlds. A frozen Butterbeer cost us $10.64 and we somehow spent $21 on six macarons, because apparently entering a theme park before breakfast removes all financial judgement.
Even with that detour, we reached Super Nintendo World before the park had officially opened with Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge showing only a ten minute wait. By the time regular guests were entering Epic Universe, we had already done two of the park’s most popular rides. Later that morning, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry was showing a wait of more than two hours.
If you move quickly and go straight between attractions, you could potentially complete all three before the queues build.
What it’s like staying at Universal Helios Grand Hotel
Helios is not just near Epic Universe, it’s part of it. The hotel takes its name from Helios, the Greek god of the sun, and that theme runs throughout the building. It makes more sense once you realise that Helios is intended to be the sun rising behind Celestial Park.
The first clue is the Court of the Sun near the lobby, where the large statue is actually Apollo, poised above the waterfalls and facing the park. Inside, the detail continues through the soaring arches, which move from a rising sun to a setting moon, and the changing light displays around the elevators.
At the top of the hotel, Bar Helios continues the celestial theme. The circular bar sits beneath a domed ceiling featuring the 12 zodiac constellations, while the terrace looks straight across Epic Universe. It’s a lovely place to get your first proper view of the park on arrival day, before you’ve even used your ticket.
You can see parts of the night time show from the hotel, which makes a nice preview if you arrive the evening before your park day. I would still watch it from inside Epic Universe at least once, though, as you don’t get the full fireworks experience from the hotel.
Being able to leave the park, walk straight back into the hotel and return later makes a full day feel much more manageable, especially in the Florida heat, during a thunderstorm or when travelling with young children. We could go back during the day, although it’s worth checking the current re-entry rules during your stay. On our visit, there was no re-entry after 8pm.
Our two queen room at Universal Helios Grand Hotel, which cost $248 between us for one night.
How does Universal Helios Grand Hotel compare with other Universal Orlando hotels?
Universal Helios is the best located Universal Orlando hotel for Epic Universe, but it’s not automatically the best value for every trip.
Like all Universal hotels, it gives guests Early Park Admission. Unlike the others, it’s built directly into Epic Universe and has its own dedicated entrance into the park. If Epic Universe is your main priority, that location means you can be inside the park and heading straight towards the Wizarding World of Harry Potter before guests arriving from the other hotels.
If you’re spending several days at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure as well, it’s worth comparing Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort and Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. Those hotels include Universal Express Unlimited for the other two parks, although not for Epic Universe. Helios is the stronger choice for an Epic focused stay, while those hotels can offer better value for a wider Universal Orlando trip.
Final Thoughts
We were tempted by Express Passes because we knew Epic Universe’s biggest rides could have long waits. But paying around $400 between us simply to skip queues felt like a lot when one night at Universal Helios Grand Hotel cost us $248. We still had to use Early Park Admission properly, but the hotel gave us somewhere to stay, direct access into Epic Universe and a way to get ahead of the park’s biggest queues for less than the cost of two Express Passes.
