Similar to Disney World or any other theme park, there are specific times during the year to visit Universal Studios Orlando. Like other parks, they usually revolve around the times of school vacations but not in the way that you expect. Although sometimes school vacations are the only time some people can go, these are usually the times that you want to avoid. The crowds and wait times significantly increase. In order to get the most out of your trip, it may be worth adjusting the times that you are planning on going.
Conclusion
Will jump right into the conclusion and then have the breakdown afterward. I would say the best time to go to Universal Studios is in May or September, with September being the overall best time. The reason behind this is the crowd levels tend to be lower during these periods as school will just be wrapping up or just starting back up. With the lower crowd levels, you’ll be able to get more activities done in the day. Depending on your timing you may be able to get your favorite rides multiple times with little wait times. With that being said, you can make the best out of any crowd level with some planning ahead of time.
January
This tends to be a hit or miss time to go during the year. The first and third weeks of the month tend to be busier times compared to the second and fourth weeks. The first week is due to winter/Christmas break coming to an end. The second week is due to children going back to school. The third week starts to pick up again and the fourth week starts to improve. However, with the Celebration of Harry Potter, the crowds drastically increase at that time.
February
This month is pretty straightforward. The first two weeks are the best time to go to Universal Studios in February. The crowds start to pick up around the third and fourth week of the month due to the start of some vacations. These are not the most crowded times of the year but they can get to at least moderate crowd levels.
March
The first week of March is the best time to go around this time. Starting with the second week and continuing through the rest of the month. The weeks vary from moderate to higher crowds during this time. Universal Studios Orlando also has Mardi Gras celebrations that run From the begining of February until April.
April
April tends to be a moderate month in general. There are several weeks that are more moderate and high crowd levels. This is due to spring break vacations. The weeks vary due to school vacations variations. Higher crowds during this time will mean that there will be longer wait times.
May
May can be a good time to go before the rush of the summer. Usually, the first couple of weeks are pretty good. This when I typically choose to go. Some schools let out early, so later May can have more moderate crowds. Crowds are not horrible but not as good as Sept. This is still a great time to go!
June/July
These months are being lumped together as they are both high crowds. This is due to the end of the school year which brings on vacation time for many. Wait times for rides and shows tend to be pretty long. There are also a lot of tourist groups during this time that adds to the crowds. If this is the only time that you can go, you can still make the most of your trip. Proper planning ahead of time makes a big difference in navigating the crowds.
August
The crowds continue to be elevated during the first couple weeks but then start to decrease as students prepare to go back to school. If you are able to go the last 2 weeks of August, the crowds can be considerably lighter. They are still moderate but better than earlier in the summer.
September
For most parks, this is the absolute best time to visit theme parks and Universal Studios is no exception. School is back in session for a week or two. The crowds are the lowest of the year. A lot of the parks have worked on ways to increase traffic on the “off-times” but they are still the lowest times. In the case of Universal Studio, they have had an explosion of popularity of the Halloween Horror Nights! This is by far the best time to go, especially if you like to be a little scared. Side note – Halloween Horror Nights are a designated event. You don’t have to worry about jump scares in the middle of the day if this is not your cup of tea.
October
Most weekdays during October tend to be pretty good as schools in session with no breaks other than random days. This is a great time to go. Crowds pick up a little during the weekends due to things like the Halloween Horror Nights. But overall October can be one of the best times to go to Universal Studios. Halloween is one of their busiest days throughout the course of the year so plan accordingly.
November
Similar to October, November isn’t a bad time to visit Universal Studios. During the weekdays, the crowd levels tend to subside slightly with mild-to-moderate crowd levels. This picks up on the weekends especially the weekend before and after Thanksgiving. It also picks up the week of Thanksgiving. But overall three weeks of the month are lower crowd levels. With that being said, crowd levels do pick up slightly as Universal Studios has their own Holiday celebration starting in November and continuing to January.
December
The first couple weeks of December tend to be lower crowd levels as this is right before Christmas break. Again the weekends would you tend to pick up a little bit too at least moderate crowd levels. If you’re going to go in December the best time to go to Universal Studios is the weekdays of the first two weeks. After this, the crowd levels pick up. For the week of Christmas, the crowd levels are very high and this continues straight through until the new year.