Winter break trip......how crazy are we?

[escriven75]

We're considering a trip to UOR over our winter break from school. Likely dates would be 12/30-1-5. We have never visited in the winter and definitely not during winter break from school. How are the crowds...especially on New Years Eve and Day? Is it swamped but still exciting to be there or did you find yourselves just plain miserable? We have been to the parks many times so this is not a first trip. We will have a leisurely pace for sure especially if our trip allows for 3 or 4 parks days. Initial thought is to stay at Royal Pacific, it is our fave and it allows for the Unlimited Express Pass....however prices are quite a lot higher than our previous trip during summer of 2017. How was the weather when you went in Dec/Jan? What did you do to ring in the New Year? Anything you can share to help us decide is appreciated!!

 

[Disxuni]

I can only answer a couple of your questions.

How are the crowds...especially on New Years Eve and Day? New Years Eve crowds are going to be absolutely insane, even with EP you'll probably be waiting quite awhile. I know when Universal is at peak moments, typically EP waits can be half of the wait time which is a little off than what it typically is. So, while it helps, the wait (depending on how long the queue is) could still be quite awhile.
Weather during Jan/Dec, can still be warm, but could get a cool day here and there. It's unpredictable. Typically, FL doesn't get really cold, until mid-Jan and into February, even then it can still be unpredictable and might get some warm weather sometimes.

Everything else seems to be strictly experienced based on experience on that day, which for me, I typically have always avoided those days when I had AP.

 

[Lynne G]

We did 12/27 to 12/31 last year. Definitely stay onsite with the express pass. Use early entry and do the headlines ones as fast as you can. Use express lines, but beware, by the afternoons, they reached an hour or so, and some were shut off for a time (hello Kong's line). But we had fun, and are thinking of doing it again, this year, though from 1/2 to 1/5. Hoping some of the crowds go, after New Years.

And we ate at Margaritaville, with a reservation, on Christmas Eve, and oh the sea of people in City Walk (as both parks were closed by that time). I would say, your busiest times would be 12/30, 12/31, and 1/1. You may get lucky, as we hope to be, as most kids go back to school on the 2nd. So only the afternoon would most local kids come.

With that, we will still stay at RPR, Hard Rock or PB. The express pass is a must for us, that and easy access to the parks, without having to go through City Walk's security. We found the security lines at the hotels' boats, and path, were always significantly less. And I am not fond of parking in those massive City Walk parking garages.

So, maybe we will cross paths if I do decide to go then. We are tossing around stopping by, before our cruise on the 5th. And we have APs.

Do it. And yes, just like Disney, and most of the other hotels, winter break time is high pricing time, as every one wants to come. Yep, almost double for RPR for those nights, then we paid for our end of August that year, at PB. Winter break: crowds, and more expenses. Only thing I can say, is, at end of August, there was not much going on. At the holidays, extra hours, holiday parade, and holiday light show, and everything is open.

 

[macraven]

I went January 2, 2014
Stayed onsite and had the free UL EP

Packed, cold and crowded but weekend it all changed
Lower crowds and warm weather came in

I shy away from all holiday time if it is possible now

 

[only hope]

If you don’t mind crowded walkways everywhere, long lines for entry, food, bathrooms, putting stuff in lockers, retrieving stuff from lockers, and lines (including express), then go for it. The holiday decor is amazing and the holiday entertainment is great. But it will be wall to wall people. It can take 15 minutes just to get a locker. For the lockers with a separate entrance for people retrieving stuff, they post an employee at the exit too and you have to wait to be let in. Express lines hover around half the standby line that time of year, and most standby lines are at least an hour. Express is not a walkon/very short wait like it normally is. Popular rides reach a 2-3 hour wait. If you go and you are buying food, try to eat between meal times to have a shorter wait. Be there before the park opens and hit headliners first. Watch shows in the middle of the day and return to rides around dinner when a fair amount of people queue up for food instead of rides. Grinchmas is an exception- best to see the first or second show as lines for that get long too.

I’m a local passholder and went the Sat before Christmas last year to finish seeing the holiday stuff. I mostly just watched the shows. I attempted to do a few rides and after waiting for a locker discovered express queues backed up nearly to the entrance. No thanks, nothing to me is worth that long of a wait. I managed to do ET quickly via the temp single riders line and then I went home.

Weather is unpredictable til the day or two before. Typical temperature is 60’s or 70’s during the day and 10-20 degrees cooler at night. But cold fronts come in, sometimes unexpectedly, and can push the high into the 40’s. No matter what the forecast says before you leave home, pack to be prepared for temps anywhere from 30’s to 80’s. A lot of days we’ll get a temp increase of 20-30 degrees, so layers are the way to go. It probably won’t rain though, and it’s one of the few months the uv index is low enough you don’t need sunscreen.

 

[Monykalyn]

Disney 12/30/17-1/5/2018-packed, and turned cold after new years-went and bought warmer shoes as my tennis shoes soaked from the rain (as a bonus I love my boots I bought that day). Stayed onsite
Universal 12/26-12/30/18-stayed across the street at new Hyatt House (no resort/parking fees/breakfast included) in 1 bedroom suite for fraction of onsite cost-BUT we have premiere AP's with the EP after 4 option. Did one EE and while crowds built quickly you could actually get more done with Early Entry than EP later in day. Typically we went after 4pm though (late lunch around 2-3 in City Walk) then hit parks til close. Parks tended to clear out a bit after 8 or so but still very busy. But Universal decorates the WHOLE park (unlike MK where just main street and maybe Jingle cruise) so much more festive. Weather was pretty pleasant this past year though! We had EP waits anywhere from 30 (spiderman although it went up to >hour at one point for EP)-75 minutes (for Gringotts). But FJ was only 30 min or less each day we did it. Regular line for Jurassic park river ride was posted 45 or 60 minutes and we were on in less than 30 I think. Kong was long but the dang ride kept going down. Mummy was always <30 minutes EP.
Since it isn't your first time, and know layout, what you like etc going at a holiday can be alot of fun. I feel bad for first timers who go during these super packed times.