Universal Orlando Resort Wait Times for December 2023

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We just finished another historic month at Universal Orlando Resort.

The parks packed in sizable crowds yet again, demonstrating that Universal’s momentum will continue into 2024. And we all know what’s coming in 2025!

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. For now, let’s talk about Universal Orlando Resort’s wait times for the past month.

Universal Studios Florida – The Big Five

As usual, I’ve divided Universal Studios into two categories.

On the one hand, we have all the attractions that everyone MUST ride during a visit.

The next section will discuss everything else at the parks.

Photo: Universal

Sometimes, the Big Five don’t represent the five attractions with the longest wait times. In fact, it’s fairly rare that this happens.

Still, they matter more. So, I highlight them first. The attractions in question are:

• Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
• Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
• Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast
• Revenge of the Mummy

Photo: NBC

Among these five attractions, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts required the longest wait.

In fact, the pride of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter claimed the longest lines at the park.

The Potter ride had an average wait of 62 minutes. That’s one minute more than last time.

Revenge of the Mummy finished with a 47-minute average wait for the month of November, which is one minute more than the previous month.

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem averaged a 41-minute wait, which is two minutes less than last time.

The other Minions ride required a 31-minute wait on average. That’s down seven minutes, which means its waits were quite a bit lower than last month.

Photo:instagram/universalorlando

Finally, we have Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, which is way down month-over-month.

Guests spent an average of 33 minutes in line, which is 14 minutes less than last time.

Photo:instagram/universalorlando

Currently, some Universal fans are expressing frustration with the ride’s roughness, and the weather turned cold as well.

The reduction in musical options hasn’t helped any, either.

Universal Studios Florida – Everything Else

Here are the other Universal Studios Florida average wait times for last month:

• Hogwarts Express – King’s Cross Station – 41 minutes, down 8
• TRANSFORMERS: The Ride – 3D – 35 minutes, down 4
• The Simpsons Ride – 30 minutes, no change
• T. Adventure – 29 minutes, down 5
• Fast & Furious – Supercharged – 27 minutes, down 1
• Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon – 26 minutes, down 3
• MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack – 25 minutes, no change
• Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl – 23 minutes, no change

Overall, guests at Universal Studios Florida stood in line for an average of 36 minutes per attraction, which is one minute less than last time.

Photo: UNIVERSAL ORLANDO

While I don’t know yet whether this pattern will hold for Universal’s Islands of Adventure, I’ll add two things.

One is that Universal’s November-to-October comparisons are more challenging than most theme parks.

Photo: Universal

That’s because Halloween Horror Nights has grown so popular that this park doesn’t have a Fall offseason like most of its competitors.

Conversely, the cold weather in November discourages some guests from riding outdoor attractions Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl.

Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Photo:attractions magazine

Now that you understand the quirks of crowd behavior in November, let’s talk about how it impacted Islands of Adventure.

Here are the park’s average wait times last month:

• Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure – 85 minutes, down 8
• Jurassic World VelociCoaster – 66 minutes, down 13
• Skull Island: Reign of Kong – 41 minutes, up 1
• Flight of the Hippogriff – 40 minutes, up 1
• The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! – 40 minutes, up 9
• Pteranodon Flyers – 40 minutes, up 2
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – 34 minutes, up 1
• The Incredible Hulk Coaster – 33 minutes, down 3
• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – 31 minutes, up 1
• Hogwarts Express: Hogsmeade Station – 31 minutes, up 8
• Jurassic Park River Adventure – 20 minutes, down 7
• Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls – 19 minutes, up 1
• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – 19 minutes, up 6
• The Cat in the Hat – 18 minutes, up 6
• Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges – 14 minutes, down 1
• Doom’s Fearfall – 13 minutes, down 2
• Caro-Seuss-el – 10 minutes, up 2
• Storm Force Accelatron – 9 minutes, no change

Photo: Universal

Overall, guests at Islands of Adventure stood in line for an average of 32 minutes per attraction, which is identical to the previous month.

So, the crowds were about the same in November as in October.

Remarkably, that’s an exceptional sign for Universal Orlando Resort.

Photo: Universal

I say this because the cold weather has typically deflated November attendance.

This year, I didn’t even mention an attraction that shows how popular Universal has become as a holiday option.

Photo: Universal

To wit, The Grinch Meet & Greet at Honk Honkers (I swear that’s a real place) has averaged a wait of nearly two hours during its first few days of operation.

Universal Studios is ascending.

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Main image: Universal Studios