Is Universal Studios Hollywood crowded in NOV - the week before Thanksgiving week? Is it worth getting FOTLs?

Question

Please do answer this for the time frame mentioned. We know for sure that summer is crowded. But although November is back-to-school for Americans, USH is a tourist spot for many foreigners who have their school vacations in Nov/Dec.

FOTL stands for "Front Of The Line" passes, which are considerably more expensive. We have kids, 6 & 4, so waiting in line would be a challenge. But at the same time, we don't want to spend an extra $220 and find that it's not so crowded after all and not worth getting the FOTL. Please advise!!

Answer 1

The week before thanksgiving is usually not that crowded. You should be able to go on all the attractions in during the day ( 10a - 6p are the park hours) if you visit pre thanksgiving. The park is closed on Thanksgiving Day. If you plan on going on the Friday after, it will be one of the most crowded days of the year. The following weekend will be busy too. So if you go on Fri, Sat or Sun, I would recomened the pass, especially for Fri & Sat.  Just keep in mind two things, 1, the pass doesn't give you immediate boarding, you can expect to wait up to 15 minutes. For shows, you get to go in right before everyone else. 2, For the rides you don't always go right to the front of the line. You have a separate line that you wait in, this line is always shorter than the regular line. Keep in mind that there are 3 attractions with height requiremnts, 40" for simpsons , 46" for jurassic park and 48" for mummy. The other shows might be too scary for smaller or easily frightened children. There are not that many things to do at the park to begin with and there are very few things for small children. You may want to forego the FOTL passes all together and just do rider swap with the kids.

Rider swap is where one rider waits with the smaller ones outside while the others stand in the regular line ( or FOTL if they all have passes). Then the person who waited, gives the pass ( that the attendant gave to them) to the gate A attendent. That person can take ONE person to re-ride with them.

For shows like Shrek 4D, the show is cycled back to back. So you will wait in line as if you were waiting for a ride, every 9 minutes, they load the show for the next cycle. So if you are waiting for shrek 4d, the line will move for up to 5 minutes (or when it is full) and be stopped for 9 minutes. This confussed at frustrated many of my FOTL guests, they did not understand why they were waiting, since shrek 4D is advertised as a ride.

Terminator 2 will either be on a cycle like Shrek 4D or have show times.

If you go to a show with a scheluded time, arrive 20 minutes ahead of time.

Backdraft sends groups in for shows depending on the amount of staff and how many people are waiting for the show.

What I would do if you go before thanksgiving is only get the passes for the adults or those 48" +. That way, when the adults go the rider swap they can have a shorter wait. But since you have young kids and the park is not THAT crowded, since most CA people are still at work or school. I would say save the money and don't get the FOTL. I will honestly say that I have heard very few guests say "this is the best thing ever", maybe only 1 or 2. I have heard many more complain about what a waste it was.

Answer 2

If you mean the full week before the Thanksgiving Week(not the M-W before Thanksgiving) it should not be that busy.   If you are going to be there for a full day the Front of the Line passes are probably not needed.

The cases where you may want to do it is if you go on a Weekend(Saturday/Sunday), have only a limited time in the park, or think the challenge of keeping 2 kids entertained while waiting would make it worth the cost.