Which would you choose week before Halloween or week after?

[jenhelgren]

We will be in Florida for 2 weeks and want to spend 3-4 nights midweek at Universal. Our kids are still young and we will not be doing HHN this trip.

Would we be better off visiting the week before Halloween or the first week of November? We plan on staying at Royal Pacific and having Unlimited Express passes.

This will be our first trip so I am a newbie with crowds. I know that Universal will close early for HHN the week before Halloween but am not sure if that would work in our favor or against us. We have done Disney the week of Halloween and Magic Kingdom is very quiet on Halloween Party nights. If we wait until the 11/1-4 park hours would be back to normal again. I know "jersey week" is well known in Disney-is Universal affected also. I do subscribe to Touring Plans but do not see much difference in expected crowds for those two weeks but also know firsthand that Touring Plans can be really off so I would love to hear some advice and opinions from Universal regulars!! Thank you!!!

 

[macraven]

Monday October 31 has Hhn and the studios close at 5

Start your darkside trip on Tuesday November 1 if that works for you

I have not checked jersey week period but if it falls in that first week, it could boost attendance in the parks

There is a time period after mid October that is called hell week

Students off school for 3 days
We'd/thur/fri and teens hit the parks

I would take my chances with families over teens in the park.......

Been at UO before during hell week and some days it is very busy
Many hit the park during the day then stay over for Hhn

 

[jenhelgren]

Thank you!! What dates does "hell" week fall on this October? We really have a flexible schedule for the whole month and could work with almost anything. I figured Columbus Day weekend would be busy and living in Illinois I always try to vacation around Halloween so I am stuck trick or treating in possible 40 degrees or less..lol

 

[macraven]

You live in Illinois?
I moved from there at Christmas time to Ga

(Got tired of snow and winters)

I have not checked all the schools break time in fl yet but one district
That one is off the third week
Will post when I do know the dates of hell week
I usually hit it for only one day of it at UO Or did last two trips

I start the UO stay the Monday before Columbus Day weekend

It is very busy come that Thursday
I stay onsite and have the free ep so the lines are not an issue for me

Once Columbus day is over, crowds gone until the following weekend due to Hhn
(Wed/thur/fri/sat/sun evenings)
Monday after that weekend is fine crowdwise

 

[jenhelgren]

I am so jealous! I would love to move South and absolutely HATE it here! Every year I get hubby closer and closer to moving South
Thanks again for answering all my questions-if you cant tell-I am a planner and like to be "prepared". It actually adds to my trip excitement level!
I was just reading that the lowest crowd level days at UO are Sunday, Saturday, Monday-in that order-is that right? If it is-my planning is really off! My kids are the most excited about Universal since we have never been so the Disney planner in me wanted to hit midweek for the lowest crowds and most comfortable touring, but I didn't realize that the weekends would be quieter. We never do Disney on weekends even during slow season and just use the weekends for pool days so I really need to get more UO minded if that's true!!

 

[macraven]

I am so jealous! I would love to move South and absolutely HATE it here! Every year I get hubby closer and closer to moving South
Thanks again for answering all my questions-if you cant tell-I am a planner and like to be "prepared". It actually adds to my trip excitement level!
I was just reading that the lowest crowd level days at UO are Sunday, Saturday, Monday-in that order-is that right? If it is-my planning is really off! My kids are the most excited about Universal since we have never been so the Disney planner in me wanted to hit midweek for the lowest crowds and most comfortable touring, but I didn't realize that the weekends would be quieter. We never do Disney on weekends even during slow season and just use the weekends for pool days so I really need to get more UO minded if that's true!!

it is possible to have different times of the year to count on being at low crowds.
but saturday can always have crowds especially when the weather is great.
more locals will come to the parks on saturday with it being the weekend and especially if the weather is great.



also, special events for saturday evening tends to have crowds start in the afternoon.
get in park time for rides and do the entertainment later in the evening.
mardi gras brings in large crowds on the weekends for the UO version with live entertainment.
begins in Feb and can go into April.
i know mardi gras is over by end of Feb but the event carries on for a longer time period past february.

spring break for UO can start in early March and go thru early April.
if you look at the onsite hotel room rates, when it is high, expect crowds in the parks.
prices are lower when less crowds are expected.
cheaper hotel rates tempt more to book at that point.

summers tend to have sundays as an ideal time to be there.
peeps travel back home on sunday in order to be at work on monday.
many times you will have working families begin their trip to UO on a saturday or sunday.
it varies but summer can have smaller crowds on sundays.

would agree that mondays and some tuesdays don't feel as crowded
but again, it depends on the month.

last few years the tuesday and wednesday after columbus day had lighter crowds when i was there.
or it could be due to the park i was in at the time to think like that.
peeps that have p2p tickets will go back and forth to the 2 parks.

if you go in october, mid week could be a good bet on decent crowd level

i'm not an expert on crowd levels but i do fine in picking the dates that i regularly go.
with me staying on site and at the deluxe hotels, i have the unlimited ep so i do avoid any long waits for rides and shows in the parks.

read some of the trip reports to find out when others went to the darkside and their impression of day of the week was best for them.
there are a lot of people that stay off site or do day trips and you can get an idea how it will be for certain periods in the year.

 

[sandam1]

I would probably wait until after Halloween. My first trip to Universal was during HHN (which we did not attend) and it just added a layer of complexity. We were at Universal last year from November 8-10 before switching to Disney and the crowds were low and the weather was perfect.

Also, you might want to check if there is a difference in the price of the hotel for the two time frames. I'm visiting Universal at the end of September (strategically on the week that there are no events on Monday-Wednesday) and it is significantly cheaper than the week after Halloween. I am tentatively planning another trip for that week before my annual pass expires and haven't been able to find anywhere near the same prices.

 

[phillymummer]

We will be in Florida for 2 weeks and want to spend 3-4 nights midweek at Universal. Our kids are still young and we will not be doing HHN this trip.

Would we be better off visiting the week before Halloween or the first week of November? We plan on staying at Royal Pacific and having Unlimited Express passes.

This will be our first trip so I am a newbie with crowds. I know that Universal will close early for HHN the week before Halloween but am not sure if that would work in our favor or against us. We have done Disney the week of Halloween and Magic Kingdom is very quiet on Halloween Party nights. If we wait until the 11/1-4 park hours would be back to normal again. I know "jersey week" is well known in Disney-is Universal affected also. I do subscribe to Touring Plans but do not see much difference in expected crowds for those two weeks but also know firsthand that Touring Plans can be really off so I would love to hear some advice and opinions from Universal regulars!! Thank you!!!

This year, Jersey week will fall the following week, the week of 11/7. Just FYI for all of the Non-Jersey Folks: When Veteran's day falls on a Thursday or Friday, the NJEA convention will be during that time. Veteran's day falls on a Friday this year, so that is why the convention is one week later than normal.

I was at Universal last year during the tail end of Jersey week (Sat and Sun) and i thought the crowds were manageable. They were better than the crowds at Disney earlier in the week. We also stayed at RP.

I hope this information is helpful!

 

[jenhelgren]

Thanks to all for the advice!!
I love the boards and being able to hear others advice and experiences really helps me to make decisions with more confidence. I feel really fluent in all things Disney but really need a Universal crash course

 

[macraven]

I first posted November would be a good time to do UO

With the post that jersey week is later, I still say November go then