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Universal Orlando Resort is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. It is a joint partnership between NBC Universal and the Blackstone Group. The resort consists of two theme parks (Universal Studios Florida and Universal's Islands of Adventure), Universal CityWalk (a night-time entertainment destination), and three Loews hotels. It is the largest property owned by Universal Studios Theme Parks, and is also the second largest resort in Orlando after the Walt Disney World Resort. The resort began with the original Universal Studios Florida which opened on June 7 1990. Expansion occurred in 1999, adding Islands of Adventure, Universal CityWalk, On-site hotels, and two multi-level parking structures. What was once a single theme park became a gargantuan resort destination much larger than Universal Studios Hollywood, as well as designed to be a head-to-head rival to Walt Disney World Resort. The resort was originally named Universal Studios Escape but the name was quickly changed to Universal Orlando Resort.
Universal Orlando is located at 28.475° -81.470, north of the International Drive resort area, on a parcel of land framed by I-4 to the south, Kirkman Road to the east, Vineland Road to the north, and Turkey Lake Road to the west. The resort is directly accessible from I-4 via Exit 74B, which empties eastbound onto Universal Boulevard and westbound onto Hollywood Way.
The resort features three official hotels: The Royal Pacific Hotel, the Hard Rock Hotel, and the Portofino Bay hotel. All three hotels have been given the AAA Four Diamond rating and are located in close proximity to the Universal Orlando theme parks. The hotels offer guests free water taxi or shuttle bus service to the Universal Orlando theme parks. Another benefit is that the guest room key works as an "Express Pass", allowing the guest to bypass the Stand-by line at any attraction with the "Express Pass" option. Theme park guests who are not staying at the Universal official hotels may be able to purchase "Express Passes" at an additional cost.
In 2007, Universal began considering the Wet 'n Wild park in Orlando, which it purchased in 1998, a part of Universal Orlando Resort. It is located adjacent to Universal Orlando property, across Interstate 4 at International Drive and Universal Boulevard.