What to Know about Winter Visits to Universal Studios
We’ve reached what passes for the cold season in Central Florida. Yes, believe it or not, the deep south occasionally turns chilly.
You won’t let a little thing like mercurial weather stop you from visiting Orlando, will you?
Photo: Volcano Bay
Here’s what you need to know about a 2023 winter visit to Universal Orlando Resort.
Attraction Wait Times Drop Significantly
Photo: Universal
UniversalParksBlog publishes monthly wait times for Universal Studios’ two Orlando theme parks.
During the holiday season in December 2022, guests waited for an average of 61 minutes per attraction at the two parks.
How does that contrast to January 2022? That month, the average Universal Studios attraction in Orlando required a wait of 24 minutes.
Image Credit: Universal Orlando
Yes, January wait times require roughly 40 percent of the line time as the holiday season.
In a way, that’s somewhat of an obvious thought. You would rather visit for Christmas than in the first quarter of the year, right?
Well, maybe you shouldn’t. You’ll get to do MUCH more during an early-year visit, and the only thing you’ll miss is the holiday decorations.
That strikes me as a fair trade.
Each Park Works Differently
Image Credit: Universal
Universal officials designed the three parks here at different times using different planners. Also, the goals changed for each park.
As such, you shouldn’t expect sameness at the three Universal parks here.
For starters, Volcano Bay only qualifies as a theme park because Universal says so.
While the theming here is quite good, Volcano Bay still counts as a water park more than anything else.
Meanwhile, the structure of Universal Studios Florida leaves navigational options low.
Basically, you’ll enter the park and walk the same way as everyone else for a while.
Photo: Facebook/Universal Orlando
Eventually, you’ll reach a point where you can go clockwise or counterclockwise.
Based on what I’ve witnessed, the overwhelming majority of people go clockwise. So, it’s not even much of a choice.
Conversely, Universal’s Islands of Adventure provides guests with two immediate options.
Photo: Universal
You enter the park, and you can go left or right. So, it encourages a bit more exploration.
One other aspect bears mentioning. You may arrive at one of these two parks through an unconventional approach.
Photo: HBO
When you ride Hogwarts Express at either park, you’ll enter the other one at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter…which may be all you want to do anyway.
Some Attractions Won’t Be Open due to Weather
Universal Studios takes a practical approach to winter park operations, just like you do with your home/neighborhood.
You have a plan for inclement weather, right? And you do some things when it’s cold that you wouldn’t do otherwise.
At Universal Studios, that philosophy leads to the intermittent closures of various water rides.
Photo: Universal
Universal understands that even the brave and the foolhardy have their limits.
Nobody wants to ride every splash-based attraction at the parks during winter. That’s, like, the opposite of an apple a day keeping the doctor away.
So, Universal cycles its wet rides in and out of operation. It’s a refurbishment schedule wherein at least one wet ride closes.
Source: Universal Orlando
Usually, everything else remains open. However, Universal sometimes does two or three at once. That doesn’t appear to be the case for 2023, though.
Still, you should check the park calendar for your visit to ensure that you don’t walk to a ride location, only to discover Universal has closed it for renovations.
Some Attractions Have Closed Forever
Universal Studios recently announced the closure of several attractions.
Management has chosen this process to repurpose the land for more appealing rides.
Frankly, Universal Studios has undergone an evolution over the past decade or so.
Photo: Universal
Previously, Universal settled for any intellectual property it could get in hopes of entertaining children.
Now, the various Illumination movie franchises have introduced new opportunities.
This summer, Universal will unveil Minions Land and its new attraction, Villain-Con Minion Blast.
Photo: Discover Universal orlando
To create that room, Universal has permanently closed the following attractions: Curious George Goes to Town, DreamWorks Destination, Fievel’s Playground, Meet Shrek and Donkey, and Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster.
You should account for the absence of these attractions during your visit. If you’re an adult traveling without children, it won’t matter much.
Photo: Universal
Families should consider replacement attractions and how they’ll spend time without the playground and so forth.
Volcano Bay Could Close
Image Credit:
What I said about wet rides applies to Volcano Bay as a whole. I mean, EVERYTHING here is a wet ride.
Obviously, park guests enjoy an entire park full of wet rides that much less, at least in some instances.
Generally, Universal Studios leaves the choice up to you about whether you want to brave Volcano Bay in the winter.
Image Credit: Universal
However, when the weather grows too cold, Universal may decide to close Volcano Bay for the day. This happens a handful of times each year.
Again, check Universal’s social media, official website, and app if you have any questions about park operations.
Universal Express Pass Is a Good Idea
Photo:unofficialuniversal.com
Earlier, I mentioned that wait times drop dramatically. For this reason, you may feel comfortable passing on the Universal Express Pass options.
That’s a mistake, friends!
You’ll rarely unearth a better opportunity to use the Universal Express Pass! This thing represents POWER on slow park days.
Guests with the Universal Express Pass assure themselves of riding anything they want during the park day.
Even better, the Universal Express Unlimited Pass entitles you with front-of-line privileges for all participating attractions…as often as you like!
The stunning part is this theme park dream come true is that you receive this amenity for free when you stay at certain Universal Studios official resorts.
Image Credit: Universal
You should speak with an expert at Let’s Adventure Travel to learn which resorts qualify and what the best current deal is.
In doing so, you’ll assure yourself the best winter visit possible!
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Feature Photo: Universal
