May Crowds

[KRWong]

Hi! I'm heading back to US in May...we usually go in the fall and the crowds are low. I'm just curious if we made a mistake in not staying on site for the FOTL option. We are staying offsite at the Hawthorn Suites for $69/night plus breakfast, not a bad deal. Way better than the $200+ a night for one of the onsites. We're trying to keep the price down this time. So all that said, does anyone know what the crowds are like around 5/8-14? I think that's before the Orlando area schools are out and I was hoping spring breaks would be over by then. TIA

 

[KRWong]

Justbumping up...

 

[phamton]

It doesn't get busy in May until Memorial day. You should be fine.

 

[boatergal]

We went at the first of May last year and stayed at HRH. IOA was so dead. FOTL was not necessary on a lot of the rides. USO, we were glad we had it. We pasted by groups waiting 30-45 min. on somethings. I guess that is not that bad. We went to Six Flags over GA last fall and in one full day got on only 3 rides! Now that is a wait!

 

[Disney Dee]

I think you will be fine in may, have fun!

 

[robvia]

We went to Six Flags over GA last fall and in one full day got on only 3 rides! Now that is a wait!

Let me guess, you went the 2nd week of August right?
The entire month of July and the 1st two weeks of August are the worst times to visit the parks. However, the last two weeks of August can be really good as kids go back to school. Only thing is, the parks cut back the closing hours.

 

[KRWong]

Thanks so much for the info!! Makes me feel better about keeping the cheaper hotel! Thanks so much!

 

[MrsMud]

My husband and I went the first week in May this past year. The crowds were extremely light. We were onsite and did use FOTL often, just because we could. However, the standby lines were not long with the exception of a couple (Shrek was the worst, I think Mummy was also pretty long), so I think you'll do just fine. Use the Express machines where neccessary and you should have no problem. Have fun!

 

[JessicaR]

It doesn't get busy in May until Memorial day. You should be fine.

How busy phamton? I'm thinking about a quick getaway coming in on the sunday before memorial for 4 days. I need my fix!

 

[phamton]

It's hard to say exactly how busy---just normal summer crowds beginning to show up... Busier than early May but less busy than Disney at the same time. Get there early and and utilize the express pass machines (the free ones.)

 

[JessicaR]

Thank you I think we'll stay on-site, except for one trip weve only ever visited during off peak times so I was curious if it picked up for those dates.

 

[phamton]

A good way to estimate crowds is to look at the Universal calendar for the time you are going. If the hours are later than the week or days before, then it is a good indication that Universal is expecting bigger crowds for that time. If you look at the May calendar it looks like they expect more people on Saturday and Sunday of Memorial day weekend. Here's the May calendar: http://themeparks.universalstudios....o_park_hours.html&year=2005&month=5&year=2005