Comments on: When’s the best time to visit Universal Orlando? For our family, it’s the week after Thanksgiving

By: OrlandoInformer

OrlandoInformer — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 18:24:50 +0000

In reply to Whotony. @Whotony Yes, this report is based on the week after Thanksgiving in 2012.

By: CaptainAction

CaptainAction — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 13:43:01 +0000

Thanks for the great report. This is our favorite time for our family of 5 to attend as well. We love all the Christmas Decorations and music, etc. We used to go right after Thanksgiving and before the Christmas rush began. Got a hitch now that our oldest son attends University now. Due to his rigid and different schedule we ar going right after New Years.
We have WDW annual passes only to their waterparks and DisneyQuest as all the rest of our time is always spent at Universal now. Doubt we will hit the waterparks but we like to hit DisneyQuest a couple of times. We know it’s very dated and all but my wife and I enjoy all the retro video games and the kids have a blast. We will probably wait out the New Years crowds there, and shopping, and seeing a couple of movies and eating at CityWalk while staying in an Embassy Suites nearby. We check in to Portofino on January 2 and have a pretty good rate with the Universal Annual Pass. The Loews First Club allows us to upgrade our room to the 900 sq ft suite with 2 full baths for no additional charge. Looks like the parks will still be crowded but we are depending on the Express Pass for that..
Can’t wait but we sure do miss the flexiblity of the pulling the kids out of school before University. Looks like you guys are having a great time.

By: Whotony

Whotony — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 14:31:08 +0000

I’m confused. Was this from last year since the week after Thanksgiving hasn’t happened yet?

By: Jan Pote

Jan Pote — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 12:35:24 +0000

we rode splash mountain at Disneyworld in early December of 1996 and stayed cold rest of day

By: Penny Woodard

Penny Woodard — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 00:09:52 +0000

We were there the week before Halloween this year, and I didn’t think the crowds were that bad at all, with the exception of Harry Potter, and for horror nights but even then it wasn’t that bad.. the time before that was days before Thanksgiving and it was pretty unpopulated as well.. We love Universal Studios!!

By: Lucy Batochio

Lucy Batochio — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 20:43:39 +0000

We’re going October 30 – Nov 11th. I hope for smaller crowds and mild weather. Since we’re staying onsite we can always run to RPR to a quick change after hitting the water rides.

By: NikkiK

NikkiK — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 20:13:53 +0000

We went the week that Halloween fell in, this year, and I think our crowds were smaller than that. The only line we waited in was for the Pteranodon (sp?) flyer, which was about 40 minutes (and definitely not worth it to our 8 & 9 year olds). I will definitely always go at the end of October!

By: LandonTombstoneTaylor

LandonTombstoneTaylor — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 17:31:24 +0000

I’ve gone on Valentine’s Day weekend and it was great. Low crowds. Even when I went during spring break, it wasn’t really that bad.

By: Johnpaul Murray

Johnpaul Murray — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 16:31:59 +0000

ive been in june ,july sept ,and october the best time has to be in october the weather was magic and the parks were very bearible the down side to that the parks shut early because of halloween horror nights the summer months are and will a no go for me , sept is in between so to speak

By: Emma R Wallace

Emma R Wallace — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 16:19:10 +0000

May is a brilliant time to visit; hot but not too hot and not that busy either.

By: Mathew Riddell

Mathew Riddell — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 16:07:41 +0000

September. Right after Labor Day. Everyone’s back in school. Everyone’s back to work. Lines are virtually NON-EXISTENT, and it’s still warm, so the flume rides can still be enjoyed. 🙂

By: David Dixon

David Dixon — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 15:57:56 +0000

With 3 of the major rides at IoA being designed to get you soaking wet, I can’t see how late fall through mid-winter could possibly be some of the best times to visit… unless you just enjoy a mild case if hypothermia.

By: Matt Wyatt

Matt Wyatt — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 15:48:17 +0000

3rd & 4th weeks of January in our experience.

By: OrlandoInformer.com

OrlandoInformer.com — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 15:45:35 +0000

In addition to this article, OI contributor Jennifer has some other “classic” articles you shouldn’t miss, including “Theme Park Shopping: The benefits of letting kids budget & spend their own money”, “Preparing your kids for their Universal Orlando adventure – a clever mom’s guide”. View her articles here: http://bit.ly/1adtlsg.

By: OrlandoInformer

OrlandoInformer — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 15:34:59 +0000

In reply to Chuck S. Chuck S Definitely not necessary unless you only have a couple of hours in the park and you want to be able to walk directly on the rides.

By: Chuck S

Chuck S — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 04:22:44 +0000

Jennifer, thanks for your post. Really helpful. Did you purchase Express Passes or are they not terribly necissary the week after Thanksgiving?

By: Serena

Serena — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:16:38 +0000

You don’t even know how jealous I am – last time I went was on New Year’s, and a two hour long wait for some of rides was common. Not to mention, I’d been so excited to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and barely got to enjoy it because it was too crowded to move and we had to wait 45 minutes to eat at the Three Broomsticks. I’m definitely taking your advice and going during a slow time next time. Easier to enjoy the rides when you don’t have to wait like ten years to go on them!

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 02:35:54 +0000

Early December is the real way to go here. You get warm enough days to go swimming but it’s normally not 100 degrees out every day and it’s after hurricane season. This allows you to see all the amazing holiday shows with maybe….maybe 1/10 of the crowd. Everybody and their mom (pun intended) wants to be in Orlando on x-mas day, but why? You can spend less money see the same shows and really get to have a time that is memorable not horrible. These parks are awesome, but whatever you do and I mean this as a travel agent with this stuff, book and time of the year outside of 12/20-1/1 or your asking for it.

Don’t pay more for less, pay less and get more. I know this…it’s what I do

By: Glenn

Glenn — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:19:25 +0000

I have enjoyed going to Orlando, starting Thanksgiving day and staying eleven days, for the past five years. My excitment comes from getting the most for my dollar and this is an IDEAL time to visit. The low travel season offers up lots of discounts especially with hotels and vacation rentals. I got a three bedroom house with private pool for $55 a night! My only issue is I do not get the newsletters till late and have problems identifying my passholder benefits for both Universal and Seaworld for the month of December. An example is Seaworld always gives a tree ornament to passholders but want the mailed news letter in exchange. I never seem to get it in time and have to have the same debate with a manager year after year. This year Universal offered a free ornament with a certain dollar purchase but I had no clue.

By: JenniferW

JenniferW — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:13:41 +0000

I suspect a lot of the difference between preference for busy excitement and preference for low crowds may be dependent on age. Just a guess on my part. Where my husband and I might enjoy the hustle and bustle and excitement and energy of the crowds, I don’t think it would translate the same to my kids. The lines would equal whining. Of course, I have more kids than average, so the whining would be increased over the average, and that may lead to my bias. 🙂

Being able to run onto rides over and over again is a huge excitement builder for my kiddos!

By: Llabona

Llabona — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:57:58 +0000

I think that yes, there is definitely a sense of excitement that is built when the parks are jam packed. However, I can remember being a kid and going to Disney World on a slow day, and it was better than Christmas. We just ran around and rode 3 or 4 times as many rides as we would normally. Also, I am not a huge fan of lines.

By: Taylor Strickland

Taylor Strickland — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:59:27 +0000

I definitely agree that there are a lot of advantages to traveling when the parks are so slow — especially for large families, or those who have a tight budget to stick to.

However, I also think there are some advantages to traveling when it is busier too. One of the things that Universal has — which I don’t think Disney does — is a certain electricity in the air. I know it sounds cliched, but when the parks and CityWalk are bustling with crowds, I feel like there is a palpable sense the excitement. It is one of the reasons I’ve always been drawn to Universal more than Disney.

Now, having lots of crowds really can have its disadvantages — so I’m not at all suggesting that people should just plan for the busiest time of the year. All I’m saying is that having a few crowds around can actually be a good thing depending on what time of experience you’re looking for.