Universal Studios Wait Times for April 2023

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March meant one thing for families across North America: SPRING BREAK!

The influx of seasonal vacationers likely created a flood of crowds at theme parks throughout North America, particularly the popular ones.

Photo: Universal Orlando

So, I’m expecting some big numbers when we discuss Universal Orlando wait times for the past month!

About Universal Studios Florida

Photo: Universal

As a reminder, the park ostensibly shouldn’t be as popular right now.

Universal Studios Florida remains in a transitional phase as it prepares for its upcoming Minions-themed land this summer.

Until then, the park operates fewer attractions than it has in the past several years.

Photo: Universal

These attractions have closed permanently:

• Curious George Goes to Town
• DreamWorks Destination
• Fievel’s Playground
• Meet Shrek and Donkey
• Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster

Meanwhile, Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast won’t debut for another three months or so.

Photo:UO

Even though Universal isn’t working at full strength right now, guests are still showing up in droves.

This park’s popularity is unquestionably ascendant.

Universal Studios Florida – The Big Four

Photo: Universal

Historically, four rides have required longer waits than anything else at the parks.

While that’s not always the case on a daily or even a monthly basis, it’s been the trendline for multiple years.

The most popular of those attractions is Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, a ride that a little birdie told me could change (slightly) soon.

Photo: Universal

As usual, we’ll start with Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts. It required an average wait of 60 minutes over the past month.

That number matches the 60-minute wait from the previous month. So, it’s grown consistent.

Meanwhile, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem averaged a wait of 53 minutes, which is an eight-minute increase.

Image Credit: Universal

At Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, guests stood in line for an average of 49 minutes, nine minutes more than last time.

Finally, Revenge of the Mummy averaged a 46-minute wait, a massive 17-minute increase from last time.

So, this early data supports the notion that Spring Break triggered more crowds.

Universal Studios Florida – Everything Else

Photo: UNIVERSAL ORLANDO

Now that we’ve identified the Big Four, we can talk about everything else happening at Universal Studios Florida.

Here are the average wait times for the park’s other attractions:

• TRANSFORMERS: The Ride 3D – 48 minutes, up 8
• Hogwarts Express: King’s Cross Station – 40 minutes, up 5
• Fast & Furious – Supercharged – 33 minutes, up 1
• MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack – 29 minutes, up 3
• Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon – 29 minutes, up 7
• The Simpsons Ride – 28 minutes, up 4
• E.T. Adventure – 26 minutes, up 1
• Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl – 25 minutes, up 5

Photo: Universal

Overall, guests at Universal Studios Florida stood in line for an average of 39 minutes per attraction.

That’s six minutes or 18 percent more than the previous month.

Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Photo: Universal Orlando

From week to week, Islands of Adventure often diverges dramatically from Universal Studios Florida.

Sometimes, the waits at one park remain significantly higher/lower than the other.

Part of that stems from the perception that one park is better than the other. Most of it is because Hagrid is available at one of these places, though.

Photo: IG/ @thejourneyduo

Here are the average wait times for Islands of Adventure for the past month:

• Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure – 95 minutes, down 7
• Jurassic World VelociCoaster – 83 minutes, up 27
• Skull Island: Reign of Kong – 61 minutes, up 17
• Flight of the Hippogriff – 46 minutes, down 9
• Pteranodon Flyers – 46 minutes, down 2
• The Incredible Hulk Coaster – 45 minutes, up 10
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – 41 minutes, up 5
• Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls – 36 minutes, up 15
• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – 35 minutes, up 7
• Hogwarts Express: Hogsmeade Station – 31 minutes, up 7
• Jurassic Park River Adventure – 29 minutes, down 4
• The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! – 21 minutes, up 3
• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – 20 minutes, up 5
• Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges – 18 minutes, up 9
• The Cat in the Hat – 16 minutes, up 5
• Doctor Doom’s Fearfall – 15 minutes, up 3
• Storm Force Accelatron – 11 minutes, up 3
• Caro-Seuss-el – 9 minutes, up 2

Overall, Islands of Adventures guests waited for an average of 36 minutes per attraction, which is five minutes or 16 percent more than last time.

Let’s Talk about Universal’s Islands of Adventure Wait Times

Photo: WheresAmanda.com

We should consider a few other elements here. Mainly, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure reopened on March 10^th.

So, the park experienced deflated crowds for nine days. As an E-ticket attraction, it draws traffic for the park overall.

When Hagrid isn’t around, everything else ostensibly goes up in attendance…but that’s not necessarily the case.

Photo: Universal

Sometimes, people just don’t go because they know the best ride isn’t available, which appears to have occurred in late February and early March.

Despite this fact, the park’s wait times still increased significantly. If Hagrid hadn’t experienced downtime, this past month might have been historic at Islands of Adventure.

Attendance was that good overall!

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Featured image: Universal