Universal Trip best time?

lvdis · Apr 14, 2015

I'm trying to figure out the best time for us to make a trip to Universal and I need some input. These are the possible dates ranges, we would actually only be staying for 3 nights during one of these sets and we will stay onsite:

May 18 - May 22, 2015 (might be able to go as early as May 14, depending on finals schedule)
August 11 - August 15, 2015
August 29 - Sept 2, 2015
January 11 - January 16, 2016
March 21 - March 24, 2016

Trying to work around college and summer work schedules! Is there a good place to see crowd estimates or past park hours?

Revised to add: The dates in May, August and March are now out; now considering November 6 - 9, 2015 or February 20 - 23, 2016. It has to include a weekend to minimize time missing work/school. Have given some consideration to an October weekend, but it would have to be 10/9 - 10/12 (which is Columbus day weekend) or 10/23 - 10/26 (concerned about closeness to Halloween with HHN).

Thanks!

HM · Apr 14, 2015

We went during college break this year and the weather couldn't have been more perfect (early March) with only an evening of light rain, warm temps, and lots of sun. Crowds were very manageable and with onsite, we hardly waited for anything. So, I'd go with the March dates next year.

lvdis · Apr 14, 2015

Thank you for sharing your experience with March! My only concern with that week is it's leading right up to Easter (which is March 27, 2016) and I don't know if that will impact the crowds.

HM · Apr 14, 2015

Yeah, I don't know. Staying on site would definitely be key.
I would not choose Jan due to the colder weather and tour groups.
August is so darn hot in Orlando. But we traveled to WDW many times during August before.
May can be very hot too, but would likely be my second choice.

Any chance you can go in December after Fall finals? We also went this year Dec 18-22 and had good weather and decent crowds. My DD and I plan to get use from our APs once again in Dec, likely 10th-14th this time.

macraven · Apr 14, 2015

i'd go with #3 as prices for rooms are less than when going in #2

with #1, you get the school field days on fridays
#4 never again for me due to the tour groups there

#5 spring break.......and Easter on the 27th........ will definitely be crowded

i've been at all the times you are considering.
some were better than others.

RMulieri · Apr 14, 2015

#3 followed by #4... #3 is the best but the weather is very very hot and humid.#4 weather is iffy and there are a lot of tour groups

lvdis · Apr 15, 2015

Thanks for sharing everyone! I'm still torn on what to decide. I'm kind of leaning towards one of the August weeks, but my husband is concerned about the heat. I figure if it's terrible hot we can do more water rides and take a break at the hotel and use the pools in the afternoon. For those of you who have stayed in late summer what was your experience with handling the heat?

The first and only time we went to Universal a few years ago was in January. It didn't seem warm enough to enjoy the water rides or the pools that trip. It was still a good trip though.

I'm worried the crowds will be crazy busy the week in March since it's leading up to Easter. We only plan to stay 3 nights, so we could go the earlier part of the week but I'm not sure if that would matter. We are staying at an onsite hotel with express pass privileges, so that should help if it's crowded, right?

So many things to consider!

macraven · Apr 15, 2015

if you go with the date in March, you will also be facing the spring break crowds.

besides ex line waits of maybe a bit more than normal, you also have crowds for the eateries and shows.

startingtopanic · Apr 15, 2015

Google "orlando crowd calendar". This nifty tool is on the undercover tourist site.

FWIW, our first trip to Universal was during spring break time -- we were there the first week of April last year. We did NOT have Express passes (stayed at Cabana Bay) -- but we still had a very enjoyable trip.

Next time, regardless of when we go, we will get the express passes. We did have to miss out on several things we'd have done otherwise. (We had 3 days in the parks, but we did not get there super early on any of the days.) There was just no way we were going to stand in lines that say "175 minutes" etc.

lvdis · Apr 16, 2015

I think I'm going to end up going with option #3 August 29 - Sept 2, 2015. I just keep coming back around to those dates because nothing else seems to work as well for us. We will just have to deal with the hot weather. What advice can you give me to cope in late Aug/Early Sept? Thanks for all the help so far!

RMulieri · Apr 16, 2015

What we did

rank lots of water to stay hydrated ( soda dehydrates faster) .Got to parks for opening and left at noon to go back to resort and swim.Went back to parks in later afternoon and stayed till closing.This is why staying onsite is so awesome.resorts are within walking distance

macraven · Apr 16, 2015

lvdis said:
I think I'm going to end up going with option #3 August 29 - Sept 2, 2015. I just keep coming back around to those dates because nothing else seems to work as well for us. We will just have to deal with the hot weather. What advice can you give me to cope in late Aug/Early Sept? Thanks for all the help so far!

winner winner chicken dinner.......!!

i think this will be the best dates for what you have on your possible list

you could always do the parks at early opening.
go back to the hotel at 12:30 or 1:00 when the heat is turned up high.
hit the pool, order a nice lunch there and return to the parks when the heat lowers maybe around 5-6:30, then return to the parks until they close

steelersforlife24 · Apr 17, 2015

We went Jan 11-14 this year. We stayed on site. Crowds were small, weather was low 70s. Wore shorts and T-shirt. Water rides were a little cold so we did the poncho thing (not what I prefer). Had a tremendous time. Great experience. Longest wait was Gringotts and it was 28-30 minutes in the middle of the day. All other rides wait was 10-15 minutes at the most. Most Express Pass rides were 5 minutes or less. I have children so we did alot of back to back riding with no problem at all. Probably did 20 rides a day easy. Would spend morning 8:00 am to 1pm at USF and then late afternoon/evening at IOA. Characters were out regularly and the lines for photos were 5 minutes or less.

elaine amj · Apr 17, 2015

We're doing May 16-18 this year - crowd predictions look pretty good

lvdis · Apr 17, 2015

Well.... it appears the end of August is out now.

I have discovered another time in the beginning of next year that could work; Feb 20 - 23, which would put us in the parks on a Sun/Mon with a 1/2 day either the Saturday we arrive or the Tue before we leave depending on the times of flights we can work out.

Or, back to the March spring break dates of March 19 - 22 (again a Sun/Mon with a 1/2 day before or after). Of course the downside to this is that is the beginning of the week before Easter.

Any thoughts between these 2 sets of dates? I sure hope to get this nailed down! Of course, it's not quite as urgent if we are putting it off until next year. Thanks for all your help!

macraven · Apr 17, 2015

well, feb dates for hotel would be higher than the beginning of that month.
you have mardi gras going on that weekend so you will see crowds in the park on saturday.
free concerts, especially if it is a great group, would be worth being there for your feb dates.

but hotel room prices wil be higher during spring break.

again, i would shy away from the march 19/22 time period.
crowds would be my reason

lvdis · Apr 18, 2015

macraven said:
well, feb dates for hotel would be higher than the beginning of that month.
you have mardi gras going on that weekend so you will see crowds in the park on saturday.
free concerts, especially if it is a great group, would be worth being there for your feb dates.

but hotel room prices wil be higher during spring break.

again, i would shy away from the march 19/22 time period.
crowds would be my reason

Oh fun, I didn't know about Mardi Gras. That sounds like fun! How far in advance is information released about it? Thanks!

macraven · Apr 18, 2015

i forget when they released the band line for this past feb.

you can google UO mardi gras 2015 band line up
or google universal orlando mardi gras 2015

lvdis · Apr 22, 2015

Please indulge me one more time; my son now has his fall schedule and found he will have Mondays and Fridays off. We now could possibly do a long weekend in October or early November. It would have to be a Friday - Monday trip, so basically weekend at the parks. I don't think I want to go during HHN since I've heard the weekend crowds can be bad, so October is probably out (unless you convince me otherwise!). The first weekend in November is the one that would work; Arrive on Friday, Nov 6 and leave on Monday Nov 9.

Given this information, would you stick with planning for the Sat-Tues in late Feb (20-23) which is the weekend after President's day (and get to experience Mardi Gras) or would you go with one of the weekends in Oct or the 1st weekend in November? It will be for a 3 night stay on site with 3 day park-to-park tickets.

Thanks again for all your help! I don't know why I'm struggling with this so much! I was all set on the February dates until I saw his new schedule! We can't really go later in November or December, so I'm not considering those dates and I want to wait until at least October because of the potential for hot-humid days.

macraven · Apr 22, 2015

lvdis said:
Please indulge me one more time; my son now has his fall schedule and found he will have Mondays and Fridays off. We now could possibly do a long weekend in October or early November. It would have to be a Friday - Monday trip, so basically weekend at the parks. I don't think I want to go during HHN since I've heard the weekend crowds can be bad, so October is probably out (unless you convince me otherwise!). The first weekend in November is the one that would work; Arrive on Friday, Nov 6 and leave on Monday Nov 9.

Given this information, would you stick with planning for the Sat-Tues in late Feb (20-23) which is the weekend after President's day (and get to experience Mardi Gras) or would you go with one of the weekends in Oct or the 1st weekend in November? It will be for a 3 night stay on site with 3 day park-to-park tickets.

Thanks again for all your help! I don't know why I'm struggling with this so much! I was all set on the February dates until I saw his new schedule! We can't really go later in November or December, so I'm not considering those dates and I want to wait until at least October because of the potential for hot-humid days.

i could easily go with nov 6 trip.
hotel prices will be lower than the feb 20th trip.

can't say this far out how the weather will be for either one.
weather this year was hard for me to predict, it's been crazy all over the states.

you would get the free mardi gras concert which is sweet but in november, you will get low crowds.

it's tempting to take the date that is closer if you are anxious to hit the parks sooner than later.

early november can be iffy with weather but it doesn't have crowds most of the early portion of the month.

i would draw straws on this one for a decision.

maybe some locals will give their opinion and that might help you more than me.

Universal Trip best time?

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