Universal Studios Orlando parking is now free to all guests after 6pm. Previously this was only available to Florida residents and the cost was $26 for regular parking. This also includes Universal Citywalk parking too!
This means you can now explore all of Universal City Walk's restaurants and bars for free after 6pm. To be honest I never understood why they charged a parking fee in the evening to non Florida residents, this just seemed like bad business!
Universal Studios Parking Fees - Orlando
Feb 2020: The current parking fees for Universal Studios / City Walk are listed below.
- Prime Parking $40
- Prime Upgrade $14
- RV/Bus Parking $32
- Regular Parking $26 (this is option most people will go for)
Free Parking at Universal Orlando Cinemark Cinema
There are a couple of Free parking options available at Universal Orlando, the main one free self parking after 6pm which we have already covered. The other option is for visitors to the Universal Cinemark cinema. You get free parking for movie showings between 11am - 6pm. Regular parking ($26) must be paid in full and will be refunded when you show the parking receipt at the cinema box office. You have to purchase two or more matinee cinema tickets to get the free parking.
Disney Springs which is Universal CityWalk's main rival has always offered free parking. There are lots of great bars and restaurants at Universal City Walk which I previously avoided in the evenings as I didn't want to pay $26 for parking. This is great news for people visiting Orlando who are staying in a nearby vacation rentals.
There is only one black out period on this offer and that is Halloween Horror Nights so make sure you check to see what nights this is on. In the past Halloween Horror nights is only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from around the 1st October to 1st November. So you should still be able to get free evening parking Monday - Thursday during this event.
During the week the main people that would have gone to CityWalk would be tourists anyway, not locals, so why put a barrier up by charging for parking. I imagine this will make Universal CityWalk much busier in the evening which is great. I personally will now go there for dinner and drinks as there are lots of cool bars like Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville and NBC Sports Grill & Bar.
We have also put together a very detailed post about driving directions to Universal Studios which we hope is useful.
Did you know there are actually 13 restaurants at Universal CityWalk ? We will be adding more information about all of them shortly.
- The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen
- NBC Sports Grill & Brew
- The Cowfish®
- Vivo Italian Kitchen
- Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food
- Hard Rock Cafe®
- Hot Dog Hall of Fame™
- Red Oven Pizza Bakery™
- Emeril’s Orlando
- Jimmy Buffett’s® Margaritaville®
- Bob Marley–A Tribute to Freedom
- Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.™ Restaurant & Market
- Pat O’Brien’s®
Let us know if you have visited Universal CityWalk and what you think, will free parking make you go there in the evening?
Villas near Universal Studios Orlando
For luxury Orlando vacation rentals please visit our website. We have over 800 villas near Universal Studios Orlando, most are less than 15 minutes away. You can save hundreds by staying off site at a nearby vacation rental. You also avoid any resort fees and overnight parking charges.