I was at Universal Studios today 27 Dec

[Scottish-Helen]

We arrived in Orlando late on the 26th and went to Universal Studios this morning (27th Dec), We were there for 8am opening and it was like having the parks to ourselves. I was able to ride MIB x 3, Mummy, Jaws, Shrek and Jimmy Neutron and leave by 9.40 we had no waits for anything

It really was worth getting there nice and early. The crowds starting to arrive as we were leaving looked huge but we were done with what we wanted to do.

 

[Metro West]

You had the best plan to see and do everything you wanted..especially this week. I'm sure the crowds were huge and they will only get bigger with the two bowl games coming up and the fans arriving. I hope the traffic isn't too bad Friday afternoon when I'm leaving work since I have to drive right past the Citrus Bowl.

 

[robvia]

Glad you did the early thing. 99% of the time I've read TRs of people who arrived early, they had a great visit. The other 1% felt the park was empty and was missing something, unbelievable. Don't let the light crowds fool you, enjoy the walk on rides.

The thing about visiting Universal, is you can do the early thing ANY day of the year and it works. In the summer time it's even better because the parks open at 08:30am, and you can hit the main rides before the crowd shows up. But then it gets hot and packed in the afternoon and it's best to leave.

At Disney it helps to arrive early, but because most of their attractions have a pre show, the early morning advantage can get wiped away quickly. At Universal, you can stay one step ahead of the crowd and get a lap of walk on rides.

Then you can go back to the hotel and hang out. I like doing the early morning thing because then I feel like I've accomplished something and the rest of the day is relaxing.

 

[MHDTS]

So what time can you get in? Do they actually open prior to the posted time?

Thanks!

 

[yaytezIOA]

If there is a crowd, they usually open the park about half hour early. Thats why it pays to get there at least 45 mins early.

 

[robvia]

In addition to arriving early, you also want to get in line at the gate near the front. The advantage to this, is when the park opens, those people are let in first and you have a head start on everyone else.
At Disney they let everyone in to a rope, then everyone walks to the first ride. But if you get into IOA first, you have the entire park to yourself and you can stay ahead of the crowd.

 

[Robinrs]

Great! When we're offsite we do the same thing. It's so cool to do just about everything then pass the BIG crowds on the way out!

Btw, we leave Tuesday, how's the weather???