I have to admit I was resistant to the idea of downloading yet another app, but the Universal Florida app was almost necessary for the parks. 

Mobile Check-in and Check-out

If you’re staying at Universal Resort (which I really found to be worth it), you should be able to check in on your phone and therefore avoid the longer check in lines. You can also link your hotel stay under “Hotel Reservations” in the profile section of the app and also use mobile check-out. 

Tickets

You can also add your tickets to the app ahead of time, but fair warning, I’ve heard that if your travel plans change for any reason, it may be difficult to get anything changed once you’ve activated the tickets on the app. For that reason, I waited until I physically got to the resort hotel before I activated my tickets. 

Dining 

So a lot of the restaurants we visited had a QR code and table number in the center of the table and that seemed to be the preferred method for ordering. Some restaurant employees did mention that there were registers where someone could order if they were more comfortable with that, but it did seem easier just to find a table to sit down at and then place the order there. I never quite figured it out, but I guess it’s possible to put in the order ahead of time, and then indicate when you’ve arrived and what table you’re at. 

Wait Times

We did run into quite a few ride issues, at times it was weather delays, otherwise it was regular delays where the ride was down. Luckily, you could pretty reliably check the status of the rides in the app. You could also set alerts if the wait times dropped below a certain time. I did feel that sometimes the wait time estimates seemed off, but I also think that due to the ability to set alerts, sometimes the lines would get longer based on everyone rushing to a ride when the wait time dropped. 

Park Hours

The Park Hours tab also came in handy, because staying at a Universal Resort includes Early Admission, but this may not apply at every park, and park hours may be different on weekends vs. weekdays. 

Maps

The Map feature was also great, I liked that you could filter by Attractions, Entertainment, Dining, Shops, and more. 

Express Now

From my understanding, this is only accessible when you’re physically at the parks and I didn’t personally use this, but from what I saw, it seemed that for some rides you could pay a one-time fee to get an express ticket for a particular ride rather than an express pass for the entire day. 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Adventure/Spells

For the second generation wands, there are some features that are tied to the app under "Universal Play" with certain challenges/adventures.