Favorite time to go?

[staceychev]

What's your favorite time to go to Universal Orlando? My mom (currently 72) has requested that the next time we go to Wizarding World, we take her. I'd like to plan a long weekend either the end of this year or sometime in 2021 - I'm thinking that we'd fly down Thursday afternoon or evening, spend Friday and Saturday in the parks, and fly home Sunday. We did a four day weekend last time we went, in early December of 2018, and it worked out great.

Details to be accommodated:
- kids will be 10th grade and 5th grade but I'm fine to take them out of school for a day or two
- not sure what hotel we will choose but will definitely stay on property - we stayed in CB last time, but I'm leaning towards a more upgraded experience next time
- want to get the best bang for our buck in terms of hotels, tickets, flights from PHL
- because we're going with my mom who doesn't tolerate heat well, we'd opt for cooler weather rather than blazing heat if we had to choose - but 70s and low 80s is fine
- would love to have lower crowds if possible!

 

[jkh36619]

I like to go the week before Christmas. 2nd favorite is as soon as school lets out for summer. For us its late May.

 

[damo]

We really like December as well, between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

[staceychev]

I like to go the week before Christmas. 2nd favorite is as soon as school lets out for summer. For us its late May.

Unfortunately, school doesn't let out for us until late June, so it's too hot for my mom to deal with.

 

[mjhtvchick]

I find the fall lovely for the weather - mid-October was very nice - a little cool-ish in the early morning and evening - just enough for a hoodie. But still very comfortable in the afternoon. The humidity is the biggest killer for me and I found little to no humidity in October.

The only "downside" to this time of year at Universal is Halloween Horror Nights...you would have to factor that into any evening plans you may have.

 

[Disxuni]

Personally prefer this time around (Jan-Feb), as these are very low crowd times and are pretty cool. I feel as if nowadays as a Floridian that it seems Jan-Feb is the only time it can genuinely be cool/cold out. Perhaps a sprinkle of it in December here and there. Also, March can potentially have a day, or two. However, as someone who really likes cooler weather it's this time of the year for sure, especially if you want lower crowds. It's not even cool all the time during Jan-Feb, as this year for example, we've had quite a few warm days (highs being in the 80's) this January.

As a Floridian, I've noticed it seems to get hotter and hotter each year, so September and October just doesn't cut it for me anymore. November and December you're lucky to get a cooler day here and there. Even low to mid 80's essentially feels more along the lines of lower to mid 90's. Which is due to the combined sun exposure and humidity we have here. While Sept and Oct is less humid compared to the summer, it still quite hot a lot of days, just not as hot as the dead heat of the summer.

 

[J'aime Paris]

Mid November (a full week+ before Thanksgiving week) was the trip with the lowest crowds I had ever experienced. Temps were good too.

Early December was great as well! The xmas decorations are very nice, and really gets you pumped for the holiday season.

 

[TommyJK]

Personally, This time of year we've really enjoyed. We've done a couple of trips late January and another late Feb and it was great. So you have a couple of long weekends that you could use to your advantage (President's Day weekend and MLK Weekend).

While those weekends have higher crowds, if you stay at one of the deluxe resorts you get your EPs for free.

Temps are lower yet for us they've still been plenty warm.