Last updated: August 2026
The best Universal Studios park in the world is Universal Studios Japan. Not Epic Universe, which cost billions and opened last year to enormous acclaim. Not Islands of Adventure, which usually wins these lists. The best, in my opinion, is a park that opened in 2001 in Osaka, and I will explain why further down.
I have been to six of the seven major Universal parks (Universal Studios Beijing is the one I have not visited). I am also not including the Universal Kids Resort in Texas in this ranking, as it is a totally different concept aimed at a totally different audience, and I do not think it is fair to compare a kids resort against these seven major theme parks.
Here are all seven, ranked worst to best, and why.
7. Universal Studios Singapore
Opened in 2010.
Universal Studios Singapore is a nice park that I would rank higher if it were run properly. The ride operations are, bluntly, terrible, and at a park this small and busy, slow operations are not an inconvenience, they are the whole day.
This is a shame, because there are real quality elements to the park. It has genuinely unique attractions you cannot ride anywhere else in the Universal chain: the Sesame Street dark ride and the Steven Spielberg special effects show among them. The Jurassic Park area is good. So is the Shrek area, although its maintenance is in a really poor state and it shows.
6. Universal Studios Florida
Opened in 1990.
Currently a little depressing to visit, and I do not say that lightly. Universal Studios Florida has lost too many of its best rides, Twister and Jaws among them, and never properly replaced what it removed. What remains is carried by a handful of attractions doing an enormous amount of work: E.T. Adventure, Men in Black: Alien Attack, Diagon Alley, and Revenge of the Mummy.
Diagon Alley alone is worth the admission. But a park cannot live on four rides and a themed street.
If I am honest, this park would probably rank last were it not for two things: Halloween Horror Nights, which remains the best event of its kind anywhere, and a good deal of personal nostalgia.
5. Universal Studios Hollywood
Opened in 1964.
A strange theme park with an unusual layout, split across two levels on a working studio lot, which makes it feel unlike any other park in the chain. It takes some getting used to.
But it has improved enormously over the last decade, and it has something no other Universal park has: the Studio Tour, which is exceptional. Not good for a theme park attraction. Exceptional, full stop. It is the single best reason to visit any Universal park outside Japan, and it is the reason Hollywood finishes above Florida despite having fewer headline rides.
4. Universal’s Islands of Adventure
Opened in 1999.
A beautiful park with some incredible rides. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man remains a masterclass. Jurassic World VelociCoaster is one of the best coasters in the world. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure deserves every word written about it.
So why only fourth? Because parts of it now need a refresh. Toon Lagoon has been left behind, and Seuss Landing could do with some love. The peaks are as high as anywhere on this list; the average is not.
3. Universal Studios Beijing
Opened in 2021. The one I have not visited.
So treat this placement as an educated guess rather than a verdict, because that is what it is.
From everything I have seen, the theming looks more cohesive than most Universal parks, and it has some of the best individual attractions in the world. The Jurassic Park dark ride in particular stands out as something the chain has not matched elsewhere.
I will rank it properly when I have been. Until then, it sits third on the strength of what it appears to be rather than what I know it to be.
2. Universal Epic Universe
Opened in 2025.
Epic is an opinion splitter, and I am firmly on the enthusiastic side.
The criticisms are fair as far as they go. It is not huge. It badly lacks indoor capacity for bad weather. But what it does, it does better than almost anywhere.
Celestial Park is one of the most relaxed spaces in any theme park anywhere. Home to good food and good bars, it is somewhere you actually want to spend time rather than pass through. Most parks treat the hub as circulation. This one treats it as a destination.
Dark Universe is a dream come true for a Universal Monsters fan. Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is breathtaking, and the front portion of the land is superb. The coaster, Curse of the Werewolf, could have been better, as could some of the theming at the back of the land.
How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk blew me away. Stunning theming, genuinely fun rides, and a great show. The complete package, and the biggest surprise of the park.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic is the most immersive Potter area built to date, which is a high bar given what came before it.
Super Nintendo World is good but still too small. Donkey Kong Country Mine-Cart Madness is a genuinely unique ride system, but it is short and a little rough.
1. Universal Studios Japan
Opened in 2001. My favourite park in the chain, and it is not close.
Two things settle it before you get to the rides: it is the best kept and the best operated Universal park in the world. After a day at Singapore, the difference is not subtle. Everything runs, everything is clean, everything works.
Then there is what it still has. Osaka is home to Amity Island and Jaws, one of my favourite rides of all time, and an attraction Orlando threw away. Its Hogsmeade is also the prettiest version Universal has built, better than the original. It also has two great coasters in The Flying Dinosaur and Hollywood Dream: The Ride, which are not found at any other Universal park.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best Universal Studios in the world?
Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. It is the best kept and best operated park in the chain, still home to Jaws, and its version of Hogsmeade is the finest built. Epic Universe in Orlando is the strongest of the American parks.
Where is the best Universal Studios?
Osaka, Japan. It is a short train ride from central Osaka and is comfortably worth building a trip around.
How many Universal Studios parks are there?
Eight operating: Hollywood, Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Universal Kids Resort in Frisco, and Epic Universe in the United States, plus Japan, Singapore, and Beijing. One more has been announced: Universal Great Britain in Bedford.
Is Epic Universe better than Islands of Adventure?
Yes, in my view, though this is the argument of 2026 and reasonable people land the other way. Islands has the higher peaks in Spider-Man, VelociCoaster, and Hagrid’s. Epic is the more consistent park with no weak lands, which is not something Islands can claim while Toon Lagoon looks the way it does.
Which Universal park is best for young children?
Islands of Adventure, bolstered by Seuss Landing, with Epic Universe not far behind mainly thanks to the Isle of Berk.
Read next
For more on the park that took the top spot, here is our full Universal Studios Japan review. We have also ranked Universal’s five best themed lands and, less kindly, the five worst.
Disagree? Tell us in the comments, particularly if you have been to Beijing.