Universal Orlando crowd report: waits climb Oct. 5–11

What changed

Standby's wait-time tracking found longer lines across Universal Orlando Resort Oct. 5–11. The average standby wait across Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe was 32 minutes, up from 23 the week before, a 39% increase.

Park by park

Epic Universe had the highest average at 38 minutes, up from 29, a 31% rise. Universal Studios Florida averaged 34 minutes, up from 26, also 31%. Islands of Adventure had the lowest average at 25 minutes but the biggest jump: up 67% from 15 the week before.

Best and busiest days

Wednesday, Oct. 7 was the resort's best day in Standby's tracking. Islands of Adventure averaged 15 minutes that day, which Standby rates low, while Universal Studios Florida averaged 28 and Epic Universe 26.

The weekend ran heavier at Universal Studios Florida, which averaged 42 minutes on Saturday, Oct. 10 and 43 on Sunday, Oct. 11, both rated high. Islands of Adventure peaked Saturday at 38. The standout was Epic Universe on Friday, Oct. 9: a 60-minute average, rated extreme, the highest daily figure for any park that week. It averaged 49 on Sunday, rated high.

Biggest movers

Five rides moved the most compared with the week before:

• Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry™ (Epic Universe): 94 minutes, up from 61
• Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™ (Islands of Adventure): 82, up from 55
• Mario Kart™: Bowser's Challenge (Epic Universe): 69, up from 42
• Mine-Cart Madness™ (Epic Universe): 115, up from 88
• Flight of the Hippogriff™ (Islands of Adventure): 39, up from 13

Mine-Cart Madness™ had the highest average among the movers, even though its rise was the same 27 minutes as Hagrid's and Mario Kart.

Epic Universe through the day

Epic Universe's hour-by-hour curve shows where the week's waits piled up. At 8 a.m. the park averaged 11 minutes, slightly below the 14 of the week before. By 10 a.m. it was 38, and it reached 57 in the noon hour, against 42 the week before. The 3 p.m. hour averaged 54, and by 8 p.m. waits had eased to 21.

Hours for the week ahead

The published schedule for Oct. 12–18 flags six early-close days at Universal Studios Florida. On every day except Tuesday, Oct. 13, the park runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., two hours earlier than the 7 p.m. close it has that Tuesday, when it opens at 10 a.m. Halloween Horror Nights is listed on those six days from 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

What it means for your visit

The data describes last week, not the next one, but it shows where waits stacked up. Midweek was calmest, Wednesday most of all. Weekends and Epic Universe's Friday were the heavy spots. If you are heading to Epic Universe, the morning hours were the lightest of the day. Anyone planning Universal Studios Florida should note the earlier closing times on the daytime schedule, and check whether a Halloween Horror Nights ticket is part of the plan.