When to Visit?

[ShannonLou]

I'm trying to talk my husband into a trip to Universal in late 2018 or 2019. We haven't been in over 12 years and it was before children.
My question is...when would be the best time of year to visit? We would be more concerned with crowd levels and wait times. Our kids would be 12, 10 & 7.
We've been to Disney many many times and know the ins and outs and secrets to doing Disney. Now we need to work on Universal!
Thanks so much for any and all help!!!

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

Early September is usually quiet because no one wants their kids to miss the first few weeks of school, plus hurricane season gets into full swing around that time. The very popular Halloween Horror Nights starts 9/14 and that keeps the parks busy until early November. Another less busy time is the period between T'giving and Christmas. My next trip is planned for early December for this reason.

If you decide to stay in one of the 3 Deluxe hotels (Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, or Portofino) you will get automatic all day Express Pass for your entire stay, including the day you arrive and leave. That means you can skip the regular lines and have a much shorter wait on the popular rides. Just have each member of your family show their hotel key at the separate Universal Express line and you get waved right through. You can ride the rides multiple times too with little to no wait.

If money is a deciding issue, some people choose a Deluxe hotel for only part of their stay, utilize the Universal Express on that day/days to hit all the rides, and then stay at the less expensive Cabana Bay, Sapphire Falls, or Aventura for the other days. Some rides also offer the single rider option which is good to have once you've all ridden on a ride together and want to go on again.

 

[jaceraden]

We went last year Nov. 24-Dec. 9th and found the crowds quite manageable with toting around our 10, 8, 5 year olds. For sure get there for park opening to help avoid the crowds that gather midday in the Harry Potter areas. We didn't find we wished we had Express Pass - the regular lines were very low except when we were in line for RRR and the ride went down. We are a converted off site family because the cost savings means we can have longer trips and do more things but I can see the appeal of staying onsite and having the advantage of Early Entry. Not worth the cost for us, but I can see why others might like it.

As far as secrets go: This was our first Universal trip after many WDW trips. I spent some time on the boards here and on Lines to learn about the general must dos, the park layouts, etc. But, it's so much easier to just fly by the seat of your pants at Universal and have it work out. Universal crowds are not the same as WDW crowds and therefore it's much more forgiving if you don't plan every single detail.