Universal Orlando often annoys vacation planners with their casual approach to announcing operating hours and early admission opportunities. This pattern grew exponentially since the reopening of Universal Orlando in June 2020. Depending on when you were planning to visit Universal Orlando, you might not have confirmed operating hours until a few weeks beforehand. At least in the short term, that pattern may be changing.
According to the Universal Orlando app, as of March 29th, 2020, the operating hours are listed through June 2022. If you are planning a trip in May or June this year, this information will ease some stress.
First, I will mention the easiest part. Guests with early park admission privileges will be able to enter Islands of Adventure in all of May and June.
Thus, the same suggested patterns to tour Islands of Adventure will continue. Universal Studios Florida will not be open for early park admission. The only surprise here is no early park admission at Universal Studios Florida around Memorial Day. I expected that with the higher crowd levels then. However, that early park admission schedule could change. Of course, as always, resort guests get early park admission to Volcano Bay.
Now, what about the park operating hours for the two land-based theme parks?
To my surprise, the operating hours last longer into the evening than normal. If you are planning to go in the first few weeks of May, you may have a really nice experience enjoying the parks at night. Most days, the park hours start officially at 9am. In addition, most days in May and June last until 9pm. There are a few exceptions due to after-hours events. Still, this length of operating hours shows confidence at Universal Orlando in terms of solid attendance and staffing.
What does all this mean? It looks like guests should expect fully functional theme parks with lots of exciting activities. The guests might even be able to experience an attraction or two after sunset. A constant complaint about Universal Orlando revolves around lack of nighttime hours. Universal Orlando offers lots of fun at night so these longer park hours could provide extra fun for guests.
Word of warning, as always, theme park hours may change. Make sure to download the Universal Orlando app to confirm hours and early park admission set-up before your next trip to Universal Orlando.
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.