One of the most common questions when planning their Orlando vacation is, what are the best days to visit Universal Studios Orlando? Based on the most recent 12-month wait time date, Wednesdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays will be the best days to visit Universal Orlando. Our guide will cover why that’s true and what days to visit each park for your epic vacation.
We hope you find this post helpful! Our goal at The Park Prodigy has always been to help you save time and money on your next Universal Orlando vacation! If you are planning a trip to Universal Orlando be sure to check out our discounted multi-day Universal Orlando tickets and Universal Orlando vacation package deals which include EARLY PARK ADMISSION to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
So if you’re ready to learn about the best day of the week to visit Universal Orlando in 2024 read on!
SPECIAL NOTE: If you need help picking the best time to visit Universal Orlando for your next vacation be sure to check out our Universal Crowd calendar!
Universal Orlando Crowd Calendar
Generally, Wednesday, Sunday and Tuesday are considered the optimal days to explore the three parks at Universal Orlando, as they typically experience lower crowd levels. The time of year you plan to visit is crucial, as peak seasons and holidays can significantly affect crowd sizes. Additionally, we do see that Islands of Adventure is typically busier than Universal Studios Florida during the majority of the year, with the exception of the popular Halloween Horror Nights, which can bring larger crowds to Universal Studios Florida.
Best day of the week to visit Universal Studios Florida: Wednesday
Best day of the week to visit Islands of Adventure: Sunday
Best day of the week to visit Volcano Bay: Wednesday
It’s important to note that if you prefer to use a free tool to plan your Universal vacation, then check out our Universal Orlando Crowd calendar. We break down estimated crowds based on the month, week, and even day. We even easily outline exactly which parks we recommend to visit each day, including the average temperatures and daily ticket prices. Not only will this save you a ton of time in the theme park, but it can also save you money! How, you might ask? Well just like Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando theme park tickets now fluctuate based on the time of year you visit. So, one of the easiest ways to pick the best day to visit Universal is to compare the cheapest Universal Orlando ticket prices. The cheaper the tickets are, the more likely it is that the parks won’t be as crowded during that time of year.
Many guests are anticipating the arrival of Epic Universe, which means that low crowds might be hard to find for this new park! If you’re looking to beat long lines, you might want to avoid this new park for a couple of months after the opening, May 22nd, 2025. Once crowds level out, we’ll update the least busy days for Epic Universe here!
Related Page: Is the Universal Orlando Express Pass Worth it?
So, when is the best day to visit Universal Studios Florida? Based on the historical wait time data found at queue-times.com, Wednesday is the best day to visit Universal Studios Florida followed by Sunday and Tuesday. On the flip side we can also see that the busiest days at this theme park tend to be Saturday, Monday, and Friday in that order as well.
Related Page: Harry Potter Early Park Admission Tickets
As a general rule of thumb, the best days to visit Islands of Adventure Park are Sunday, Wednesday and Tuesday. With the busiest days being Saturday, Thursday, and Friday. It’s important to note that the discrepancies between the crowd levels is not as wide as over at Universal Studios Florida, because this park has the two most popular rides and is typically the go to park for early park admission.
Universal Islands of Adventure Least Busy Days in Order:
Related post: What are the Top 10 Universal’s Islands of Adventure Rides?
Based on historical wait time data, the best days to visit Volcano Bay tend to be Wednesday, Tuesday, and Thursday, as this park is extremely popular among Florida locals on the weekend, especially in the summer. Volcano Bay is such an interesting park to plan around the crowds because you can truly get so much done even when the parks are a bit busier. One of the main reasons is the Volcano Bay TapuTapu system, which is essentially a virtual line. However, even with this amazing system, it is important to try to pick the best day to go to Volcano Bay during your next trip. This is also especially true if you plan to rent one of the Universal Orlando cabanas.
Related post: A Guide to Volcano Bay: The 15 Best Volcano Bay Rides
One of the easiest ways to figure out the best day of the week to visit Universal Orlando is to pay attention to one-day Universal ticket pricing. One of the ways Universal tries to entice people to visit during the least crowded days at Universal Studios Orlando is to lower ticket prices. We typically see the cheapest Universal Orlando tickets during the weekdays in September and between the middle of January and early February.
Month | Date | Day of Week |
August | 8/21/2024 | Monday |
August | 8/22/2024 | Tuesday |
August | 8/23/2024 | Wednesday |
August | 8/28/2024 | Monday |
August | 8/29/2024 | Tuesday |
September | 9/4/2024 | Monday |
September | 9/5/2024 | Tuesday |
September | 9/6/2024 | Wednesday |
September | 9/7/2024 | Thursday |
September | 9/10/2024 | Sunday |
September | 9/11/2024 | Monday |
September | 9/12/2024 | Tuesday |
September | 9/13/2024 | Wednesday |
September | 9/14/2024 | Thursday |
September | 9/17/2024 | Monday |
September | 9/18/2024 | Tuesday |
September | 9/19/2024 | Wednesday |
September | 9/20/2024 | Thursday |
September | 9/21/2024 | Friday |
September | 9/25/2024 | Monday |
September | 9/26/2024 | Tuesday |
September | 9/27/2024 | Wednesday |
November | 11/6/2024 | Monday |
November | 11/7/2024 | Tuesday |
November | 11/13/2024 | Monday |
November | 11/14/2024 | Tuesday |
November | 11/27/2024 | Monday |
November | 11/28/2024 | Tuesday |
November | 11/29/2024 | Wednesday |
One of the easiest ways to make sure you get the most out of your day no matter which Universal Orlando park you plan to visit is to take advantage of early park admission. This is one of the most popular benefits of purchasing your Universal Orlando tickets from The Park Prodigy. This is also a huge time saver for anyone looking to make the most out of their trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
Taking advantage of early park admission will also allow you an afternoon break at your hotel if need be. It’s important to note that early park admission can switch between parks during the slower times at Universal.
Weekend foot traffic at Universal Orlando can be unpredictable. Another important tip when figuring out the best days to go to Universal Orlando is to pay attention to the special events. Universal is home to some of the most popular events in Florida such as Halloween Horror Nights, Mardi Gras, and holiday celebrations. These events have become extremely popular among the Florida locals and as you could have guessed many people visit on the weekends.
This might seem like it’s obvious but Holidays tend to attract the largest crowds at Universal Orlando. In many cases such as the Fourth of July and Christmas, the parks will reach capacity. You can still plan a great family trip around holidays such as Labor Day, memorial day, and Halloween however we still recommend following the tips outlined above.
Even on slower days, Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade will have some of the most crowds of all of the park. So, we suggest using your Early Park Admission to head over to Diagon Alley to ride Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and then use the Hogwarts Express to hop over to Hogsmeade Village.
Related post: What to Bring to Universal Studios Orlando; Ultimate Packing Guide
A: As a general rule of thumb, the least busy days at the three Universal Orlando parks will typically be Wednesday, Sunday and Tuesday in that order. By visiting the park on these quieter weekdays, you can expect shorter wait times for the most popular Universal Orlando rides and also have a better chance of grabbing those hard-to-get Universal Orlando dining reservations. For Florida locals or guests visiting Universal Orlando on the weekend, we always recommend visiting on Sunday as that tends to be the least busy weekend day. It’s important to keep in mind that factors such as holidays, special events, and seasonal fluctuations may impact crowd levels, so it’s essential to consider these when planning your visit, and we always recommend reaching out to one of our Universal Orlando travel experts at The Park Prodigy if you need additional help planning your vacation.
A: Another popular question that we receive is, is Disney or Universal more crowded? As a general rule of thumb, the least crowded days at Universal Studios and Disney can vary, but overall we tend to see Walt Disney World Resort theme parks with larger crowds throughout the year. The slowest days at Universal Orlando and Disney World can change based on the season and special events happening, especially over at Universal Orlando with Halloween Horror nights in September and October.
Our Universal Orlando Crowd Calendar is the best tool to help you get the most out of your time in the parks. We break down the park crowds, park hours of operation, ticket prices by day, and average temperature.
If you’re ready to plan your trip to Universal Studios, be sure to check out Universal Orlando Tickets! Not only will you save money vs buying direct, but all of our Universal Orlando tickets come with some amazing benefits that can help save you up to three hours in the parks!
And to stay up to date on everything going on inside the theme parks be sure to check out our partners at Themeparktoday.com!