USO or IOA week after Thanksgiving? Advice please!

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Has anyone been to Universal FL the week after Thanksgiving? We are thinking of going, as it's been 6+ years since we've been to Universal, and there are many new rides (Hagrids and Velocicoaster are top priorities!). Looking for advice on if it's crowded that week (Nov 29-Dec ), and is there enough time to do the major rides in a day? I know they typically have reduced hours that time of year between the major holidays.. maybe something like 9-5 or 10-6. I'm concerned if 8 hours in the park is enough time. Also trying to decide if we want to do IOA and USO, just Islands, or if we'd have enough time to park hop and do just the top attractions (like 3-4) at each park in one day. Any advice appreciated!! Although I'm well versed in Disney, we only go to Universal once every several years, and I don't keep up with the latest so I feel not as prepared.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Friendly bump...

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Friendly bump...

Thanks! I guess no one on the Dis has been around that time… lol

 

[macraven]

I took a look and saw some much older threads posted it was slower after thanksgiving and up to early December

No idea if that same pattern has continued

Did you check out the trip report forums for any info there?

Many list their dates in their reports

 

[macraven]

Op don’t give up
Some weekends we don’t have a lot of posters
Surely someone will pop in and be able to share their knowledge of crowd level for that time period

Only other way I know of crowd level is to check room prices at the onsite hotels

lower room prices on specific dates means bookings are low

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

My adult daughter and I stayed at HRH early December 2018 and it was definitely the lowest crowds I had experienced. The parks did close early (5-6pm) but we were able to enjoy some night time at Diagon Alley and the Christmas light show at Hogsmeade. On a 1-10 scale, I think the crowds around then were 2-3, maybe 4 on a weekend. It was nice to see the decorations. Of course this year? Who knows. If you ask me, the theme parks will be hopping throughout this year and well into next.

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

A couple of pics from that trip: When you click on them, be sure to click on the little square with the arrow pointing to the upper right in order to open the photo up completely to see the full shot, especially the people in Diagon Alley. That was about as crowded as it got because everyone waits for the dragon, but if you walk around, there are minimal crowds as you can see in the other photos.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

My adult daughter and I stayed at HRH early December 2018 and it was definitely the lowest crowds I had experienced. The parks did close early (5-6pm) but we were able to enjoy some night time at Diagon Alley and the Christmas light show at Hogsmeade. On a 1-10 scale, I think the crowds around then were 2-3, maybe 4 on a weekend. It was nice to see the decorations. Of course this year? Who knows. If you ask me, the theme parks will be hopping throughout this year and well into next.

Thanks for your experience! I definitely do think it’ll probably be more crowded this year after the last 18 months we’ve had, but I’m hoping it’ll be not too much more than the crowd levels you had! We plan to go during the week so I hope it’s less crowded.

 

[madduck]

It’s been several years but I remember the Monday and Tuesday after thanksgiving we were staying at royal pacific and most of the time we didn’t need/use our free express.

 

[Kellydelly]

We did that 2019, spent the week of Thanksgiving on the Gulf at the beach and then headed to Orlando for 5 nights the next week to do Universal. The crowds were light and we were able to do everything we wanted without standing in line for hours. Longest line was Hagrids, I think we waited an hr one time we rode it. We also did one day of Disney that trip and the crowds there were much worse (we did Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and MGM all in one day).

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

It’s been several years but I remember the Monday and Tuesday after thanksgiving we were staying at royal pacific and most of the time we didn’t need/use our free express.

Thanks! I think we'll try to go Tuesday or Wednesday, hopefully it's dead! If we don't need an express pass it would be great.

We did that 2019, spent the week of Thanksgiving on the Gulf at the beach and then headed to Orlando for 5 nights the next week to do Universal. The crowds were light and we were able to do everything we wanted without standing in line for hours. Longest line was Hagrids, I think we waited an hr one time we rode it. We also did one day of Disney that trip and the crowds there were much worse (we did Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and MGM all in one day).

Thanks so much! Sounds exactly how our trip will be... we'll be spending several days in another part of Florida around Thanksgiving, and then the following week in Orlando at parks. We're focusing on Universal this time and some of the water parks if it's warm enough. Great to you know crowds were light and you were able to do everything! Hopefully we have the same crowd levels!