May 2014

[NickyKnack]

Can anyone give me an idea what crowds might be like at Universal during Early May of next year?

 

[RMulieri]

Generally they are low/average.But alot will depend on exactly WHEN the Harry Potter expansion will open.It likely wont be open in early MAY, but there may be soft openings.No way to know for sure till we get a little closer

 

[NickyKnack]

If we go, we'll be staying at the RPH with Front of the Line, even if there are soft openings do you think that we'll be ok? I know that some of the HP rides don't take it - but most of the rides do right?

Worst case scenario, will the parks be as packed as say a Disney Holiday party? We have to use ECVs and when the parks get packed like that moving becomes nearly impossible.

QUOTE=RMulieri;50258485]Generally they are low/average.But alot will depend on exactly WHEN the Harry Potter expansion will open.It likely wont be open in early MAY, but there may be soft openings.No way to know for sure till we get a little closer[/QUOTE]

 

[NickyKnack]

Actually is there a Crowd predictor for universal like there is for Disney?

 

[RMulieri]

Staying onsite you should be fine.Once the expansion opens( again doubtful in early May) it is going to change dynamics and crowds at the parks for a long time afterwards.There are crowds calendars.Touringplans.com has one but there is a fee.There is a free one, but the disboards prohibits the name being mentioned on the boards.Google should bring it up

 

[NickyKnack]

Touring Plans has one? Awesome! We already bought into that when I started planning the trip to Disney, so that wont be money wasted either way!

Pity EasyWDW doesn't cover it.

Staying onsite you should be fine.Once the expansion opens( again doubtful in early May) it is going to change dynamics and crowds at the parks for a long time afterwards.There are crowds calendars.Touringplans.com has one but there is a fee.There is a free one, but the disboards prohibits the name being mentioned on the boards.Google should bring it up

 

[vital]

How about crowds the last week of May? We'll be at WDW May 23-31 and are planning a couple of days at US/IOA. I'm trying to decide whether or not to add a couple of nights to the end of our trip at an on site US hotel vs buying Unlimited Express Passes for each park/each day.

 

[RMulieri]

How about crowds the last week of May? We'll be at WDW May 23-31 and are planning a couple of days at US/IOA. I'm trying to decide whether or not to add a couple of nights to the end of our trip at an on site US hotel vs buying Unlimited Express Passes for each park/each day.

Moderate sized, but again that could change depending when the Harry Potter expansion opens..Most guesses are JUne, but there has been no official word from Universal other than Summer 2014.Soft openings could well be under way.Express pass will likely not help all that much with HArry Potter.Early Entry will , and to get that you need to stay onsite or book a pkg at a partner hotel that includes it

 

[vital]

Moderate sized, but again that could change depending when the Harry Potter expansion opens..Most guesses are JUne, but there has been no official word from Universal other than Summer 2014.Soft openings could well be under way.Express pass will likely not help all that much with HArry Potter.Early Entry will , and to get that you need to stay onsite or book a pkg at a partner hotel that includes it

Thank you for your quick reply! Do you think Harry Potter expansion will suck some of the crowds away from other rides/attractions? At the moment we are more interested in the coasters and maybe walking through Harry Potter areas, but not ride the rides.

While I have you here, if we don't do many simulator rides can we do both parks in a day or should we plan on 2 days?

 

[RMulieri]

Thank you for your quick reply! Do you think Harry Potter expansion will suck some of the crowds away from other rides/attractions? At the moment we are more interested in the coasters and maybe walking through Harry Potter areas, but not ride the rides.

While I have you here, if we don't do many simulator rides can we do both parks in a day or should we plan on 2 days?

There is no doubt that the HP areas will be the most crowded, once the park opens to all guests ( onsite resort guests get in an hour early at IOA and likely the studios once the expansion opens), most people that were in those sections will spread to other attractions in the park.
I would do 2 days, but it depends on what your goals are.Studios has alot of longer attractions and shows ( example- Disaster is 25 mins long not counting wait time in line).You can hit the highlights of both parks but not all of them in one day.My suggestion is you are on the fence, is start with one day, if you get to the point where you dont think you will get all you want done, or you decide you want an extra day, upgrade your ticket to another day.

 

[FreeThinker]

We will also be there the last week of May (or at least that is what we plan for now). Which days of the week are best crowd-wise?

 

[marylandteachergirl]

We will also be there for 6 nights/7 days at the end of May. It will be interesting to see how Universal's announcement on Jan. 23rd may change the dynamics. I think I am glad I already have my room booked and plane tickets. I was hoping for a pin code or better APH rate, but with HP soft openings probably starting then, plus the fact that the Mardi Gras celebration now runs through June 1, I doubt I will find much better than SMSM rates. One plus though, is that some schools are still in session until the end of the first or second week of June, so that will help a bit. Here in Maryland, there is one county that goes until the third week!!!

try to google orlando informer and see if you can get some good updates there too. they have crowd predictors and daily Universal updates including HP and Diagon Alley. It's really a very good resource site and very comprehensive. And free!