May or October for Universal?

[puffkin]

We are DVC members and have trips planned 2nd week of May and 3rd week of October this year. We would like to do Universal on one of those trips since it has been 3.5 years since we have been there. Looking for advice on which month would be better to go or if they are basically the same crowd level wise. We will be staying at Disney and will be driving over for 2 days (not necessarily consecutive) during the week. We really have no preference, just want lower crowds. My son will be 5 so we don't want to do the Halloween things at Universal.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

May is probably going to be busier, as it is a warmer month. October is usually slower (not by much, though) and isn't as hot (it's still warm). You won't have to worry about HHN if you go during the week, specifically on a 9-6 park day. Park hours of 9-5 indicate a HHN night. There will be HHN props/set pieces on display during Oct, and those are always cool to look at during the day.

HHN is a separately ticketed event, so if you happen to visit USF on a day that it's scheduled to happen, you won't see any of the scary people/scary stuff. Just inanimate props.

 

[Metro West]

May is probably going to be busier, as it is a warmer month. October is usually slower (not by much, though) and isn't as hot (it's still warm). You won't have to worry about HHN if you go during the week, specifically on a 9-6 park day. Park hours of 9-5 indicate a HHN night. There will be HHN props/set pieces on display during Oct, and those are always cool to look at during the day.

HHN is a separately ticketed event, so if you happen to visit USF on a day that it's scheduled to happen, you won't see any of the scary people/scary stuff. Just inanimate props.

 

[macraven]

We are DVC members and have trips planned 2nd week of May and 3rd week of October this year. We would like to do Universal on one of those trips since it has been 3.5 years since we have been there. Looking for advice on which month would be better to go or if they are basically the same crowd level wise. We will be staying at Disney and will be driving over for 2 days (not necessarily consecutive) during the week. We really have no preference, just want lower crowds. My son will be 5 so we don't want to do the Halloween things at Universal.

i've been to UO a few times in May.
from what i experienced in the past, the second week of May was not bad even if staying off site.

weatherwise, it is good.
hey, i live in the chgo area so May is great for me in orlando...

the third week of october i prefer to avoid.

depending on the calendar, hell week could hit during that time period.
(hell week is when many of the floridian schools are off a few days during the week.) i like to avoid greater park crowd levels even though i stay on site.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are generally great lower crowd periods.
there will be more crowds on the weekends for either of your time period.

sometimes i check the cost of the express pass plus for the days i am going to be at the park.
it can be an indicator of estimated crowd size in advance.
the cheaper those tickets are, the lower the crowd.

if you check it in advance, is not always the most reliable way to determine crowd size. the express pass plus cost can be changed periodically.

whenever you do decide to go, have fun!