Comparison

Lines Universal Orlando vs Universal Studios Countdown

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Lines Universal Orlando

Optimize your Universal Orlando vacation with real-time wait times, crowd predictions, and customized touring plans. Discover actual wait times, find the least crowded park, and access extensive restaurant menus and prices. Get expert advice from a large online community to save time and money.

Highlights
  • Actual attraction wait times
  • Real-time 'Ride Now'/'Wait to Ride' recommendations
  • Customized step-by-step touring plans
  • 10-day crowd calendar
  • Wait times for more attractions than official app
  • Searchable restaurant menus and prices
  • Online community for expert advice
Features
Read full description

LINES will help you save time and money during your Universal Orlando trip. Because we’re independent travel writers, we can tell you what Universal can’t, from actual waits in line, to which park will be less crowded every day of your trip. LINES features include: -Both Universal’s currently posted wait time at every attraction and how long you’ll REALLY wait in line, based on our experience and that of thousands of families on the same ride. -New “Ride Now” and “Wait to Ride” recommendations to show whether waits are going up or down at your favorite rides. -Customized step-by-step touring plans for both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure parks, including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter areas. You tell LINES which rides you want to see, and LINES will create a step-by-step itinerary showing when to go to each ride to avoid long lines. You can even change your plans while you’re in the park! -A Crowd Calendar showing you how busy each park will be over the next ten days. -Universal’s official app doesn’t show you the waits for many attractions or character greetings. LINES has wait times for more rides, shows, and character greetings than even Universal’s own app. -Ask questions and get fast answers from our online community of 120,000 theme park experts. -Menus and prices for every restaurant, kiosk, food stand, and cart in all of Universal Orlando Resort – more than 4,500 things to eat! Every menu is searchable – you can find every steak in Islands of Adventure or throughout the parks, CityWalk, and the official Universal Orlando Resort Hotels! Our theme park trip planning tools have been featured in USA Today, the New York Times, FOX News and dozens of other newspapers, magazines, television and radio shows. Since 1986, we’ve helped more than 3 million families plan their vacations. Note: Some LINES features, such as the crowd calendar and wait times, require an in-app subscription purchase to access. Other LINES features, such as customized touring plans, menus, and viewing chat forums, are completely free. Your in-app subscription includes 365 days of access to TouringPlans.com, the Web’s most popular subscription-based site for theme park trip planning.

About

Universal Studios Countdown

Track the exciting anticipation for your Universal Studios trip with a live, second-by-second countdown. Features include home screen widgets, smart notifications for trip milestones, and customizable backgrounds. Plan and share your upcoming adventure with friends and family.

Highlights
  • Live second-by-second countdown
  • Home screen widget
  • Smart milestone notifications
  • Customizable wallpapers
  • Trip naming and date setting
  • Shareable countdown cards
Features
Read full description

The countdown to your Universal Studios adventure starts now. Universal Studios Countdown puts a beautiful, live countdown front and center so you can watch the days, hours, minutes, and seconds tick down to your theme park trip. Whether you're headed to Universal Orlando, Hollywood, or Epic Universe — this is the app that keeps the excitement building from the moment you book. FEATURES • Live Countdown — A gorgeous full-screen countdown that updates every second. Watch the days melt away. • Home Screen Widget — See your countdown without even opening the app. Glance at your home screen and smile. • Smart Notifications — Get milestone reminders at 6 months, 3 months, 1 month, and 1 week out. Never lose track of how close your trip is. • Stunning Wallpapers — Choose from beautiful Universal-inspired photography as your countdown background, or set your own photo. • Trip Planning — Name your trip, set the date, and make it yours. Perfect for tracking your next Universal Studios visit. • Share the Excitement — Generate a beautiful countdown card to share with friends and family. Spread the hype. Built by a theme park fan who knows the wait is half the fun. Your support means the world — thank you!

Screenshots

Lines Universal Orlando3 screens
Universal Studios Countdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Universal Studios Countdown at fortnightly against Lines Universal Orlando's every 8 months. Lines Universal Orlando's advantage is review sentiment (79% vs 50%) and ratings volume (135 vs 6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Lines Universal Orlando sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Universal Studios Countdown sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lines Universal Orlando holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lines Universal Orlando has 135 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Lines Universal Orlando's written reviews are positive against 50% of Universal Studios Countdown's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lines Universal Orlando ships an update every 8 months, Universal Studios Countdown fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Lines Universal Orlando versus Universal Studios Countdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLines Universal OrlandoUniversal Studios Countdown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (135 ratings) — better4.3 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews78.6% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings135 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB192 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouringPlans.comAustin Garlick

Customer experience

Lines Universal Orlando

All ratings135 ratings
Positive85.9%
Neutral5.2%
Negative8.9%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral5.7%
Negative15.7%

Universal Studios Countdown

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Lines Universal Orlando

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes when updating plans
  • Custom tour plans do not work
  • App crashes a few times
  • Hard to report times and start timer
  • Universal app not updated for iPhone 11 Pro Max screen size

Requested features

9 requests
  • Update Universal app to match Disney app style
  • Allow park-to-park touring plans for Harry Potter attractions
  • Improve navigation for custom 2-park guides
  • Make custom plans allow park changes
  • Better integration of WDW and US/IOA plans
Show 4 more
  • Add ride details from Touring Plan
  • Add a tab for selected/current day's plan
  • Include one-sentence ride descriptions
  • Display forecasts higher on the page

Universal Studios Countdown

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Lines Universal Orlando

One-time2
  • One Year Subscription$12.99
  • One Year Subscription$14.99
1 purchases

Universal Studios Countdown

One-time1
  • Premium Upgrade$2.99

Questions

Is Lines Universal Orlando free?
Lines Universal Orlando is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Universal Studios Countdown free?
Universal Studios Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lines Universal Orlando or Universal Studios Countdown?
Lines Universal Orlando is rated higher. Lines Universal Orlando averages 4.5 out of 5 from 135 ratings, while Universal Studios Countdown averages 4.3 from 6 ratings.
Do Lines Universal Orlando or Universal Studios Countdown have ads?
Neither Lines Universal Orlando nor Universal Studios Countdown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lines Universal Orlando or Universal Studios Countdown?
Lines Universal Orlando ships an update every 8 months, and Universal Studios Countdown fortnightly. Most recently, Lines Universal Orlando was updated on October 15, 2026 and Universal Studios Countdown on October 14, 2026.

Other comparisons