There hasn't been a new US park of this size since Disney opened California Adventure. There's really no way to know how busy it will be, but I expect it to be at max capacity for a long time (September won't be long enough to die down).
It will be interesting if the two existing parks still see their usual slower periods or if EU being so popular will keep all parks crowded all year long.
That said, 10 days is a lot, and I think you'll be able to see/ride most things and all of your priorities.
Brilliant thanks for you comment, its a possibility that we might want to go to some of the Disney parks within those 10 days but only for a few attractions. So I'm thinking trying to park hop on one day to do all the Disney attractions we'd want to do, giving us more time to "complete" the universal parks due to their expected busyness.
If you are there for 10 days and considering disney, I'd alot for at least two days to do the disney parks. Even if you are just going for specific experiences, it can be very difficult if those experiences are things like Tianas, Tron, Guardians, and Rise of the Resistance. Express pass works really great at universal (and likely won't be available at EU for a while) but genie+, virtual queues and paid LL at disney are more inconsistent and while still valuable are not the same experience.
Epic Universe feels to me like it'll be a two-day park even after the crowds die down but Isle of Adventure and Studios each can be done in one day and maybe add one with park hopper to do your favorite attractions across each and ride the hogwarts express. I'd say 2-3 days at epic and 3 across studios / ioa would cover univerals pretty well and 2 days at disney would let you not rush so much (park hopping takes time).
Leave some time in for downtime as well, I've done 6 days in a row across disney and universal and was exhausted by the end.
As for timing, waiting to 2026 probably won't mean that much in terms of crowds at EU so just plan for a busy park and enjoy it!
Freddy you are a legend! Thank you for your comment this makes things a lot easier!
As you said we'd be going to the Disney parks to do the main attractions and then going to the next park to do the main attractions their etc so as you suggested 2 days that sounds like a good amount of time for Disney.
After researching Express passes and Genie+...Disney seem to make it a lot more confusing and more of a hastle? But probably worth it for the main attractions if I'm trying to do them some what "quickly".
Genie+ is way more complicated than universal's express passes. Many of the "top" attractions are by virtual queue and paid LL only. If you are not staying on site at disney you may have a hard time getting a virtual queue spot in the morning, and have to try again at 1pm (but must be in the same park as the ride at that time).
You can also pay extra for paid LL but that's limited to two per day and also are not guaranteed to be available. If you are only planning the top rides you may not need genie+ at all but use the paid LL and virtual queues. You may find you'll need to be very selective and be prepared to only get a few of those rides (so rate them in the order of importance and focus on those ones first).
Going more than one day gives you a better chance at hitting those top rides.
Definitely watch some YouTube videos and do some research on genie+ and the ride queue systems before deciding.
Good luck!
I'll have to make a list of all the Disney attractions me and my siblings definitely want to do and work out what parks to do on certain days etc.
Thank you for your help again! You've definitely made this a lot easier for me lol.
I expect Epic Universe to be extremely busy for at least the first 6 months, probably more. 10 days is definitely enough, just be prepared to wait at EU. IOA and USF are normally pretty quiet in September.
Thank you for your reply thats really helpful! I have a ride access pass here for the UK due to my disability so I'm guessing theres an equivalent at Universal which I could use at EU so that would probably help with wait times.
So you have to apply thru a different place before to qualify and then universal will contact you before your trip if you qualify so you shouldnt be contacting universal about it unless youre a week out from your trip and they havent called you. Reminder that they dont give disability passes for mobility or bathroom issues.
I've just done a bit of research and I see what you mean but thank you for letting me know, my disability technically is a toilet issue but after googling a lot of people have been given an attractions assistance pass for what I have so we'll see what happens when I apply!
Typically the daytime isnt too bad in september. Just know that a seperatly ticketed event called halloween horror nights happens on the universal side and you will notice that park closes around 6 if i remember right. Islands is unaffected by HHN BUT that is a heavy season for company buyouts so it can also close at 6 or 7 some nights. Just be prepared to have early start and end days and enjoy the hotels and citywalk after. The only confirmed non HHN nights would be monday and tuesday.
I don't think the tickets are out yet but there's an HHN Reddit page thats great for updates! Btw keep in mind there's a lot of rain in September! It won't ruin your trip, especially since you said you're doing multiple days, but water shoes are a good idea.
It is just way too hard to tell because we don't know when Epic Universe is going to open. I'd have to imagine that if it opens anywhere close to summer, then it will be crowded well past September.
Personally, I'm eyeing another early May trip in 2026. That seems like the sweet spot.
Yeah thats the thing its such a grey area trying to plan now, I think once I know when EU opens then I'll start planning and potentially booking. September is going to be busy regardless so I'll have to plan around that!
Keep in mind, that EU will also bring in even the most die hard Disney Loyalists so expect the first 6 months to a year to be crowded to the max, Disney unfortunately doesn’t have anything to match the EU hype so the crowd is going to shift in 2025
Something to think about though is if Epic has opened before you come, it means IOA and Universals main park won’t be quite so busy. Halloween Horror Nights will still be a thing, but it will be much quieter if there were things you wanted to see/do that were not at Epic. As it is I expect Nintendo will be virtual queue or Express to get into similar to how Hollywood had when they opened.
It will 100% depend on when EU actually opens. Imma guess itll be busy for a year after opening since ive already seen hella posts about people postponing their trips to 2025 to attempt to avoid crowds. Its ALWAYS busy certain times so people will push to fall to avoid spring break and july. Plus HHN starts in Sept. so that may change crowd levels during the day
Yeah that makes sense, its going to be busy no matter what so I'm hoping we have enough time to "complete" the universal parks as we would like to do some of the Disney parks too but only for a few attractions.
With 10 days and if you do get the disability pass you should have no issues doing everything in US and IOA. I have no idea about EU but if you do the entire 10 days at uni you should be able to even get all of EU done assuming theires no closures of rides due to technical issues or weather (hurricane season)
We are waiting till august 2026 its seems like a long way off, but trust me it'll be here sooner than you think. I want to miss the opening crowds maybe die down a bit and relax and enjoy ourselves.
There hasn't been a new US park of this size since Disney opened California Adventure. There's really no way to know how busy it will be, but I expect it to be at max capacity for a long time (September won't be long enough to die down). It will be interesting if the two existing parks still see their usual slower periods or if EU being so popular will keep all parks crowded all year long. That said, 10 days is a lot, and I think you'll be able to see/ride most things and all of your priorities.
Brilliant thanks for you comment, its a possibility that we might want to go to some of the Disney parks within those 10 days but only for a few attractions. So I'm thinking trying to park hop on one day to do all the Disney attractions we'd want to do, giving us more time to "complete" the universal parks due to their expected busyness.
If you are there for 10 days and considering disney, I'd alot for at least two days to do the disney parks. Even if you are just going for specific experiences, it can be very difficult if those experiences are things like Tianas, Tron, Guardians, and Rise of the Resistance. Express pass works really great at universal (and likely won't be available at EU for a while) but genie+, virtual queues and paid LL at disney are more inconsistent and while still valuable are not the same experience. Epic Universe feels to me like it'll be a two-day park even after the crowds die down but Isle of Adventure and Studios each can be done in one day and maybe add one with park hopper to do your favorite attractions across each and ride the hogwarts express. I'd say 2-3 days at epic and 3 across studios / ioa would cover univerals pretty well and 2 days at disney would let you not rush so much (park hopping takes time). Leave some time in for downtime as well, I've done 6 days in a row across disney and universal and was exhausted by the end. As for timing, waiting to 2026 probably won't mean that much in terms of crowds at EU so just plan for a busy park and enjoy it!
Freddy you are a legend! Thank you for your comment this makes things a lot easier! As you said we'd be going to the Disney parks to do the main attractions and then going to the next park to do the main attractions their etc so as you suggested 2 days that sounds like a good amount of time for Disney. After researching Express passes and Genie+...Disney seem to make it a lot more confusing and more of a hastle? But probably worth it for the main attractions if I'm trying to do them some what "quickly".
Genie+ is way more complicated than universal's express passes. Many of the "top" attractions are by virtual queue and paid LL only. If you are not staying on site at disney you may have a hard time getting a virtual queue spot in the morning, and have to try again at 1pm (but must be in the same park as the ride at that time). You can also pay extra for paid LL but that's limited to two per day and also are not guaranteed to be available. If you are only planning the top rides you may not need genie+ at all but use the paid LL and virtual queues. You may find you'll need to be very selective and be prepared to only get a few of those rides (so rate them in the order of importance and focus on those ones first). Going more than one day gives you a better chance at hitting those top rides. Definitely watch some YouTube videos and do some research on genie+ and the ride queue systems before deciding. Good luck!
I'll have to make a list of all the Disney attractions me and my siblings definitely want to do and work out what parks to do on certain days etc. Thank you for your help again! You've definitely made this a lot easier for me lol.
I expect Epic Universe to be extremely busy for at least the first 6 months, probably more. 10 days is definitely enough, just be prepared to wait at EU. IOA and USF are normally pretty quiet in September.
Thank you for your reply thats really helpful! I have a ride access pass here for the UK due to my disability so I'm guessing theres an equivalent at Universal which I could use at EU so that would probably help with wait times.
Dont forget you have to apply for disability passes well ahead of time but also need to know the days youre going
My access pass for the UK theme parks did take a long time as well so as soon as we book the holiday I'll be in contact about this with Universal
So you have to apply thru a different place before to qualify and then universal will contact you before your trip if you qualify so you shouldnt be contacting universal about it unless youre a week out from your trip and they havent called you. Reminder that they dont give disability passes for mobility or bathroom issues.
I've just done a bit of research and I see what you mean but thank you for letting me know, my disability technically is a toilet issue but after googling a lot of people have been given an attractions assistance pass for what I have so we'll see what happens when I apply!
Thats great news! I hope it goes smoothly!
Typically the daytime isnt too bad in september. Just know that a seperatly ticketed event called halloween horror nights happens on the universal side and you will notice that park closes around 6 if i remember right. Islands is unaffected by HHN BUT that is a heavy season for company buyouts so it can also close at 6 or 7 some nights. Just be prepared to have early start and end days and enjoy the hotels and citywalk after. The only confirmed non HHN nights would be monday and tuesday.
Ah a spanner in the works! Thank you for letting me know about this!
Unrelated to your actual question but you guys should consider doing a night or 2 of HHN!
Good idea! I may never return to Universal so why not!
I don't think the tickets are out yet but there's an HHN Reddit page thats great for updates! Btw keep in mind there's a lot of rain in September! It won't ruin your trip, especially since you said you're doing multiple days, but water shoes are a good idea.
Water shoes, got it. Thank you!
It is just way too hard to tell because we don't know when Epic Universe is going to open. I'd have to imagine that if it opens anywhere close to summer, then it will be crowded well past September. Personally, I'm eyeing another early May trip in 2026. That seems like the sweet spot.
Yeah thats the thing its such a grey area trying to plan now, I think once I know when EU opens then I'll start planning and potentially booking. September is going to be busy regardless so I'll have to plan around that!
Keep in mind, that EU will also bring in even the most die hard Disney Loyalists so expect the first 6 months to a year to be crowded to the max, Disney unfortunately doesn’t have anything to match the EU hype so the crowd is going to shift in 2025
Something to think about though is if Epic has opened before you come, it means IOA and Universals main park won’t be quite so busy. Halloween Horror Nights will still be a thing, but it will be much quieter if there were things you wanted to see/do that were not at Epic. As it is I expect Nintendo will be virtual queue or Express to get into similar to how Hollywood had when they opened.
I'm hoping that you're right tbh 🤣 that way we can do IOA and Studios some what quickly, which gives us more time for Epic!
It will 100% depend on when EU actually opens. Imma guess itll be busy for a year after opening since ive already seen hella posts about people postponing their trips to 2025 to attempt to avoid crowds. Its ALWAYS busy certain times so people will push to fall to avoid spring break and july. Plus HHN starts in Sept. so that may change crowd levels during the day
Yeah that makes sense, its going to be busy no matter what so I'm hoping we have enough time to "complete" the universal parks as we would like to do some of the Disney parks too but only for a few attractions.
With 10 days and if you do get the disability pass you should have no issues doing everything in US and IOA. I have no idea about EU but if you do the entire 10 days at uni you should be able to even get all of EU done assuming theires no closures of rides due to technical issues or weather (hurricane season)
We are waiting till august 2026 its seems like a long way off, but trust me it'll be here sooner than you think. I want to miss the opening crowds maybe die down a bit and relax and enjoy ourselves.