When is Universal Studios Hollywood least crowded?
Known as “The Entertainment Capital of L.A.,” Universal Studios Hollywood is the very first Universal Studios theme park and is located less than an hour from Disneyland. The park is still a working movie studio, and features many rides, shows, and attractions from the big screen.
Universal Studios attracts millions of visitors each year, making it one of the most popular destinations in all of Southern California, but when is the best time to go? Let’s take a look at what kind of crowds to expect throughout the year.
January
New Year’s Day – The holiday season crowds are still around for the first week of the New Year. The off season (and shorter lines) doesn’t usually begin until after the first weekend of the month.
MLK Weekend – Weekdays and weekends after the first week of January are traditionally manageable, but it does get busier for MLK Weekend. Plan on that Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (MLK Day) to be crowded.
February
Presidents Day Weekend – The off season continues into February, with light crowds on weekdays and manageable weekends. Presidents Day Weekend, however, attracts big crowds.
March – April
Spring Break – Aim for going early in March if you can. The Spring Break crowds start to pick up by the end of the month as schools get out of session, peaking on the week before Easter and the week of Easter.
May
Weekdays – Crowds aren’t too bad at Universal in most of May. Saturdays are still busy, but weekdays and Sundays tend to be manageable.
Memorial Day Weekend – The three-day weekend marks the start of the summer season as more schools get out of session. Plan on that Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to be crowded. The weekdays after Memorial Day are manageable.
June
Summer Season – For shorter wait times in June, try to go on weekdays early in the month. Weekends in all of June are crowded, and weekdays are packed as well by the last week of the month.
July
4th of July Weekend – Universal Studios is typically very crowded for the 4th of July. Try to arrive early.
The summer season is in full swing by July, and most days are very busy. Avoid the weekends if you can. Weekdays (Monday – Thursday) are your best bets for lighter crowds.
August
Summer Season – The summer season crowds are still out in early August, but start to die down on weekdays by the last two weeks of the month. Saturdays and Sundays are still crowded.
September
Labor Day Weekend – The summer crowds are back for the three-day weekend. Be prepared for that Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to be busy.
Weekdays – The summer season crowds are gone completely after Labor Day, with manageable weekdays. Saturdays are most crowded.
October
Halloween Horror Nights – The annual Halloween event is wildly popular and starts in late September through the first weekend of November. Shorter hours mean manageable crowds during the day, especially on weekdays. For lighter crowds on Halloween Horror Nights, go in September or early October. It traditionally gets very crowded on the last weeks of October around Halloween, especially on Saturdays.
Check out our updated Halloween Horror Nights: Best & Worst Dates to Go crowd guide, with our handpicked best and worst nights to visit HHN every year.
November
Veterans Day Weekend – Weekends in November are traditionally busy, including the holiday weekend. Crowds are usually light on weekdays.
Thanksgiving Weekend – Universal Studios gets crowds for the extended weekend starting on Thanksgiving Day through Sunday.
December
Grinchmas – Grinchmas takes over Universal for the holiday season in December. Expect weekends to be busy, while crowds are manageable on weekdays for most of the month. The holiday crowds peak at the end of December, so be prepared for some of the biggest crowds of the year on the week of Christmas (including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) through the end of the year (New Year’s Eve).
For crowd predictions of upcoming dates, as well as historical crowd ratings, check out the Universal Studios Hollywood Crowd Calendar.
For live crowd updates and conditions at the park, check out the Universal Studios Hollywood Crowd Tracker.
When do you think is the best time of the year to go to Universal Studios Hollywood? How crowded was it when you visited? Got any crowd tips?
Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
Image: billyv
Which one of these 2 options would be preferable:
1. Go on 2nd Jan 2017 with early entry ($105 per person) and leave at 5:00 PM (park closing is at 7). we can’t stay longer as we have a flight from Burbank airport at 8 PM that night.
2. Buy a Cali Neighbour Pass ($109 per person thanks to my corporate discounts) and visit the park twice, the night 1st Jan (after 6 PM, park is open till 10) and then on 2nd Jan (WITHOUT EARLY ENTRY) and stay till 5.
We are family of 4 adults and want to cover everything apart from the small kid rides.
This is a tough call for me! I’m thinking you’d be able to cover everything with both options, so I’d just go with whichever is more convenient for you guys. I’m leaning toward Option 1 being the better choice though since it seems like it’d be less hassle. Definitely get Harry Potter World out of the way first with Early Entry and I think you should be fine covering everything else until 5pm.
We love going in January! All the lines are so short!
I just picked up some season passes for the family (from costco) and WAS thinking that we could go over the holidays. Specifically looking at either Dec 27,28 or 29. However, after looking a the Croud Calendar Tool and how packed it is during Xmas week I’m wondering if we should avoid a holiday-time visit completely. I live in SoCal and really wanted to take my daughters who will be visiting me over the holidays. I haven’t been to Universal Studios in over 10 years. Will the line-waits be so unbearable that it isn’t worth going? Thank you.
I would try to avoid that week. It’s the busiest time of the year unfortunately. 60min waits for everything is the norm and Harry Potter will probably be 2 hours or more, so unless you plan on getting Front of Line, I would try to go before or after that week if you can.
here is the million dollar question. which day is going to be more crowded? next friday, december 30 or next saturday, december 31? i can only go one day, and i am not sure which day to buy tickets for. based on the isitpacked calendar, saturday dec. 31 would be less crowded than friday dec. 30, but can i trust that? my first gut instinct would be saturday should be more crowded than friday because some people may still have to work friday. so why does the itpacked calendar predict saturday as less crowded? is it because it is new years eve and the assumption is more people would have other plans that night? can somebody give a definitive answer as to why one day would be more crowded than the other? or should we expect both days to be about the same crowd-wise? any insight would be very much appreciated. (btw, this will be my first visit to universal stuidios.)
Yeah, the park doesn’t do anything special for New Year’s Eve (no fireworks), so it tends to be a little less crowded than the days before since I think people have other plans. December 26-30 are always some of the busiest days of the year, as most of the big holiday season crowds arrive then. I’d still be prepared for it to be busy (30-60min waits, possibly more for Harry Potter), but Saturday should be the better bet.
thanks, robert, for the feedback. i was leaning towards friday until i saw the calendar on this website and your response.
so you don’t think dec. 31 being on a saturday would cause it to be more crowded than friday, the 30th?
I don’t think so. It’s still crowded all week, but New Year’s Eve tends to be more manageable.
thanks again robert for your valuable feedback. it is very helpful! i am going to shoot for next saturday dec 31, based on your rec. just out of curiosity, do you work at the theme park? or are you just a frequent visitor to universal studios hollywood.