Universal Studios Wait Times for December 2025

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The holiday season has arrived at Universal Orlando Resort!

This is an exciting time for fans, as Universal Epic Universe has never experienced the holidays.

Universal

Today, we’ll focus on the other two Universal Studios theme parks, though.

Our goal is to find out whether the joys of Grinchmas drew in the crowds.

Photo: Universal

Here are the Universal Studios wait times for December 2025.

Universal Studios Florida – The Big Three

Universal

As a reminder, while we title this article for December, we’re looking back, not forward.

I have no idea what the crowds will be like during the current month, as I’m not Nostradamus.

Universal

Also, while I mentioned Grinchmas, that’s a touch misleading due to the way Universal structures its holiday season.

Grinchmas didn’t officially begin until November 21^st, which means that it’s not impactful.

Photo: Universal Orlando

We’re discussing only about 30 percent of the month where Grinchmas applies.

So, the holiday rush will be a bigger deal when we talk next month than it is now.

Photo: Universal

Overall, Universal executives have acknowledged a down year at this particular park.

From an attendance perspective, Universal Studios Florida fell in 2024, and now it’s dropped again.

Photo: Universal

The 2024 decline stemmed from the end of the so-called Revenge Travel era.

Meanwhile, the arrival of Epic Universe triggered the 2025 slowdown.

First, tourists waited for the park to open. Then, once it did, they prioritized it over the older parks.

None of this is surprising and was, in fact, predicted by many analysts, myself included.

Photo: Universal

Still, we’ve nearly reached the end of 2025, which makes now a good time to reflect on the changes.

A big one is that Universal Studios Florida formerly hosted a Big Five of attractions.

Now, that list has dropped to three. Here are their average wait times last month:

• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts – 53 minutes, down 7
• Despicable Me Minion Mayhem – 33 minutes, down 3
• Revenge of the Mummy – 33 minutes, down 6

Universal Studios Florida – Everything Else

We’re trending downward thus far, but it’s still a very small number of rides we’ve evaluated.

So, here are the park’s other average wait times last month:

• Hogwarts Express – King’s Cross Station – 36 minutes, down 11
• The Simpsons Ride – 33 minutes, up 2
• T. Adventure – 31 minutes, up 1
• TRANSFORMERS The Ride – 3D – 29 minutes, down 4
• MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack – 21 minutes, down 3
• Fast & Furious – Supercharged – 19 minutes, down 2
• Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl – 19 minutes, up 1
• Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon – 19 minutes, down 2
• Trolls Trollercoaster – 19 minutes, down 3
• Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast – 11 minutes, down 3

Overall, guests at Universal Studios Florida waited in line for an average of 27 minutes.

That’s three minutes less than last time, but people know the deal at this park.

They still went to Springfield, and that’s all that matters. I’m right, aren’t I, fellow Simpsons fanatics?

Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Photo: IG/ @thejourneyduo

Was Islands of Adventure also slower than last month? It’s not guaranteed.

Remember that the previous month of data was impacted by Halloween Horror Nights.

Photo: Universal

So, Islands of Adventure could have held better than its counterpart. Did it?

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

Photo:attractions magazine

• Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure – 145 minutes, up 9
• Jurassic World VelociCoaster – 53 minutes, down 3
• Flight of the Hippogriff – 50 minutes, down 7
• Pteranodon Flyers – 46 minutes, up 9
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – 42 minutes, up 9
• Skull Island: Reign of Kong – 31 minutes, up 3
• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – 28 minutes, down 2
• Hogwarts Express – Hogsmeade Station – 28 minutes, up 6
• The Incredible Hulk Coaster – 25 minutes, down 8
• The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! – 21 minutes, up 1
• Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls – 20 minutes, no change
• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – 18 minutes, up 3
• Doctor Doom’s Fearfall – 17 minutes, down 5
• Jurassic Park River Adventure – 15 minutes, down 7
• The Cat in the Hat – 14 minutes, up 2
• Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges – 13 minutes, down 1
• Caro-Seuss-el – 10 minutes, up 1
• Storm Force Accelatron – 9 minutes, no change

Final Thoughts

Photo: Universal

Overall, Islands of Adventure attractions averaged a wait of 33 minutes.

That’s one minute more than last time, almost exclusively because of the Harry Potter rides.

Photo: Universal

There’s one guest experience I didn’t include in the averages to avoid creating comparison issues.

Still, you should know that the Grinch character greeting requires a VERY long wait.

That’s always the case during the holiday season, and the data bears out this fact.

So far, guests are standing in line for an average of 84 minutes to hang out with the C. Montgomery Burns of Whoville.

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Feature Photo: Universal