4th of July week vs. mid-July

[Eclpz314]

Would like to hear opinions from people on the boards who have stayed ONSITE at US both during July 4th week AND later in July. Are crowds really that much bigger during the holiday? If so, does the crowd thin later in the week? Thanks.

 

[SpideyHulk24]

Long time no speak Eclpz!!!!! I'm back. I haven't posted in a while as we were getting things back together from last year's hurricanes, but things are great and back to normal and we are going back to Universal next month! Now to answer your question: 4th of July is ALOT busier than end of July. You can stay on site and have FOTL, but even those lines will have the 15 minute express wait vs the walk ups you can have with that perk! I would go in late July...oh wait that is when we are going this year!

 

[gschmerl]

I have been at Universal during July 4th and also during the week of July 15th. It was crowded BOTH times. July 4th itself is packed and yes, the crowds thin out a BIT later in the week. . City Walk that night is a zoo. However, we love it since we've gone back a few times during July 4th.
If you stay on site the wait times shouldn't be a problem. We always go early, take an afternoon break and then go back at night. The good news is, the parks are open late during July.

 

[robvia]

That's exactly why I'm going July 6-8. Tour early, rest in the afternoon, come back at night for the fireworks.
The FOTL will really come in handy late in the afternoon, because that's when the machines have run out of tickets, and the only people in the express lines are hotel guests.
Rush hour at the parks is from 11am to 4pm.
The other good thing about the summer hours, is they usually open at 08:45am, or even earlier on the holidays.

 

[Eclpz314]

I guess that's pretty much what I expected to hear. We've gone the last 2 yrs. during the 3rd week of July, but this year opted for the 4th of July week. Robvia, it would be fun to catch up and say a quick hi while we're down at RPR. We'll be there from the 2nd thru 9th.