Crowd Advice - week before Christmas

[mdoc]

We'll be at Universal 12/21-22, staying one night (12/21) at the Royal Pacific in order to get Express Passes and early entry to WWoHP.

We've been to Universal once in the past, before WWoHP opened. That time we had tickets that allowed us to spend one day at US and one day at IoA. I'm thinking that because of the time of the year, the crowds at Harry Potter and the fact that we have Express Passes, it probably makes sense to get 2 day, 2 park passes so we can visit both parks each day. Thoughts on that?

What kind of crowds should we expect on the Wednesday and Thursday before Christmas? I'm really hoping that crowds the week before Christmas aren't as bad as they'll be the week after Christmas. Our last trip was during the early part of Thanksgiving week a few years ago, and crowds weren't bad at all - we didn't need Express Passes and were able to do everything we wanted. Putting aside WWoHP, which I expect to be a madhouse, will the rest of the parks be super crowded? When do you think the least crowded time to visit WWoHP is? Thanks!

 

[macraven]

We'll be at Universal 12/21-22, staying one night (12/21) at the Royal Pacific in order to get Express Passes and early entry to WWoHP.

We've been to Universal once in the past, before WWoHP opened. That time we had tickets that allowed us to spend one day at US and one day at IoA. I'm thinking that because of the time of the year, the crowds at Harry Potter and the fact that we have Express Passes, it probably makes sense to get 2 day, 2 park passes so we can visit both parks each day. Thoughts on that?

What kind of crowds should we expect on the Wednesday and Thursday before Christmas? I'm really hoping that crowds the week before Christmas aren't as bad as they'll be the week after Christmas. Our last trip was during the early part of Thanksgiving week a few years ago, and crowds weren't bad at all - we didn't need Express Passes and were able to do everything we wanted. Putting aside WWoHP, which I expect to be a madhouse, will the rest of the parks be super crowded? When do you think the least crowded time to visit WWoHP is? Thanks!

there will be crowds during the christmas time period.

staying on site will allow you the unlimited usage of the express lines.
and, you can get early entry to the park/HP, so check in by 7:00 am to take advantage of it.
once you have finished potter sections, the rest of the park should be fine for you since you can use the ep.

if you need more than one day of park time, and only bought a one day ticket, go to guest services and upgrade and add a second day.
cheaper that way..

least crowded time to visit uncle parry hotter during your visit???
no answer from me except use the early entrance perk.

 

[Creatively Obsessed]

We recently got back from the parks, went just before Thanksgiving. As far as the crowd level goes, all areas were good except WWHOP. The crowds there were shoulder to shoulder pretty much the entire day. Even on the early entry day. We got there 45 min early instead of the hour early. The wait for the Forbidden Journey was already an hour long. We had hoped the day before Thanksgiving would mean less crowds, we were wrong.

 

[sz9144]

We recently got back from the parks, went just before Thanksgiving. As far as the crowd level goes, all areas were good except WWHOP. The crowds there were shoulder to shoulder pretty much the entire day. Even on the early entry day. We got there 45 min early instead of the hour early. The wait for the Forbidden Journey was already an hour long. We had hoped the day before Thanksgiving would mean less crowds, we were wrong.

Were you staying on site? The hour wait- was that with early entry people?

 

[Metro West]

We recently got back from the parks, went just before Thanksgiving. As far as the crowd level goes, all areas were good except WWHOP. The crowds there were shoulder to shoulder pretty much the entire day. Even on the early entry day. We got there 45 min early instead of the hour early. The wait for the Forbidden Journey was already an hour long. We had hoped the day before Thanksgiving would mean less crowds, we were wrong.

Yeah...HP is about the only area of IoA that will be busy during slower periods and super busy during busy periods...especially major holidays.