Universal Orlando Resort Wait Times for March 2024
With February in the books, we can forget the cold weather and look forward to the start of spring and theme park season!
Not coincidentally, the crowds will start to increase as the weather improves in Central Florida.
Here are the average Universal Orlando Resort wait times for March 2024.
About Universal Orlando Resort
As a reminder, while the name of this article suggests an evaluation of March wait times, we can’t see into the future.
Instead, we’re looking back at what just happened at the parks in February.
The start of 2024 has been action-filled at Universal Orlando, with the confirmation of a new themed land opening this summer!
That announcement qualifies as merely the appetizer for the main entrée coming in 2025!
Yes, Universal’s Epic Universe will debut approximately 15 months from now, give or take a bit.
So, we should see a gradual creep in crowds and wait times over the next few weeks.
Photo: Universal
Then again, that should happen anyway since we’ve got Spring Break and Easter happening.
Also, I should acknowledge that there is a possibility that some tourists will wait to visit Universal until next summer.
After all, that’s when Epic Universe will open to the public. Understandably, some people may wait.
Photo: Universal
Do I think that will happen? Yes and no. I absolutely believe that casual tourists will hold off until then.
Only a small percentage of people will perceive DreamWorks Land as a destination vacation justification.
However, Universal Orlando has gained a freight train of momentum that’s not ending anytime soon.
Photo: Universal
So, the attendance we track in 2024 should be higher than anything we’ve had in the past.
How much will those crowds reflect in the wait times? Let’s find out!
Universal Studios Florida – The Big Five
Halloween Horror Nights
The quickest way to identify crowd sizes at Universal Studios Florida is by examining what I call The Big Five.
These core attractions don’t necessarily claim the longest wait times every day/week/month.
However, they possess the most name recognition and/or consumer excitement.
The obvious one is Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, generally the most popular ride at Universal Studios Florida.
During the month of February, guests stood in line for an average of 58 minutes, which is a sizable nine minutes more than last time.
You’ll find two of the other members of The Big Five at Minion Land.
For the past month, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem averaged a wait of 49 minutes, an increase of 13 minutes month-over-month.
Conversely, Illumination’s Villain-Con: Minion Blast only modestly increased to 23 minutes, just two minutes more than last time.
Then, we have the thrill coasters. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit averaged a 48-minute wait, which is similarly flat with a one-minute increase.
Finally, Revenge of the Mummy required a 45-minute wait, one minute more than last time.
So, two attractions increased significantly, while the others generally remained steady.
Universal Studios Florida – Everything Else
Something we’re tracking here is that all The Big Five rides required longer waits in February than in January.
That’s to be expected because January is historically one of the slowest two months of the year in the theme park industry.
At most parks, September is the other one, although Universal works differently due to Halloween Horror Nights.
Photo: Universal
For this reason, we may have just tracked the smallest crowds of the year with this month’s and last month’s wait times articles.
Keeping that in mind, here were the park’s other average attraction wait times last month:
Photo: Universal
- Hogwarts Express – King’s Cross Station – 39 minutes, up 1
- TRANSFORMERS: The Ride – 3D – 34 minutes, up 5
- The Simpsons Ride – 32 minutes, up 2
- E. T. Adventure – 31 minutes, up 4
- MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack! – 27 minutes, up 3
- Fast & Furious – Supercharged – 24 minutes, up 1
- Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon – 24 minutes, no change
- Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl – 23 minutes, up 2
Photo: Universal
Overall, the average Universal Studios Florida attraction required a wait of 35 minutes, which is only three minutes more than last time.
However, you’ll notice that every attraction either held its wait time or modestly increased.
Universal’s Islands of Adventure
Photo: Universal Orlando
Does the same statement apply at Islands of Adventure? Let’s find out. Here are the park’s average wait times:
- Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure – 104 minutes, up 10
- Jurassic World VelociCoaster – 98 minutes, up 23
- Flight of the Hippogriff – 72 minutes, up 21
- The Incredible Hulk Coaster – 46 minutes, up 4
- Pteranodon Flyers – 46 minutes, up 5
- Skull Island: Reign of Kong – 46 minutes, up 7
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – 42 minutes, up 4
- The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – 40 minutes, up 1
- Hogwarts Express – Hogsmeade Station – 38 minutes, up 11
- The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride – 27 minutes, down 7
- Jurassic Park River Adventure – 24 minutes, n/a
- Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls – 23 minutes, up 2
- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – 21 minutes, up 9
- Doom’s Fearfall – 19 minutes, up 1
- The Cat in the Hat – 14 minutes, up 3
- Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges – 13 minutes, down 2
- Caro-Seuss-el – 10 minutes, up 2
- Storm Force Accelatron – 10 minutes, up 1
Source: Orlando Informer
Overall, Islands of Adventure attractions averaged a 39-minute wait, which is four minutes more than last time.
We do have a couple of anomalies to discuss here. For starters, there was the mystery of the VelociCoaster.
That ride closed for a few days and didn’t operate efficiently on several others.
Photo: Universal Orlando
Also, a couple of the water rides returned to service after their annual maintenance.
Still, the trend here is clear. February was more crowded than January at Universal Orlando.
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Feature Photo: Universal Orlando
