Universal Studios Hollywood Crowd Calendar 2025 (Updated Monthly!)

In the Universal Studios Hollywood crowd calendar below you'll see the crowd ratings for Universal Studios Hollywood, notable dates that may impact crowds, and the calendar dates for Universal Studios Hollywood special events. Click on the specific event or rating below for more information.

Our Universal Studios Hollywood crowd calendar is different than others available because we are completely transparent about the data we use to make specific decisions that impact the various crowd levels throughout the year. See this all detailed below the calendar.

Currently this calendar is updated to July 2025. Information will be added as we get further into 2025.

We rated Universal Studios Hollywood crowd levels as Massive Crowds, Above Normal Crowds, Normal Crowds, Below Normal Crowds, and Very Low Crowds. Here are the color schemes to identify those levels on the calendar.

Remember that even though this Universal Studios Hollywood crowd calendar (and the others you’ll see out there) looks very official, the actual experience of crowds at the parks could be very different if we were off in the assumptions that we made. There are many factors that can influence crowds on any given day, and it is not always possible to predict these.

If you're planning a visit to Disneyland, be sure to look at our Disneyland crowd calendar.

How Did We Rate Crowd Levels For Universal Studios Crowd Calendar?

Universal Studios Hollywood follows similar crowd patterns to Disneyland but there are quite a few day to day differences at Universal. There are many factors that impact crowd levels at Universal Studios Hollywood including school breaks, holiday seasons, events at the theme park, and more. All of these factors help determine the best times to visit Universal Hollywood. We analyzed those factors while also bringing in Universal Studios Hollywood's data on 1-day tier ticket pricing and Express Pass pricing which is a good indication of crowd levels that Universal is expecting. 

If you have the flexibility to pick your dates to visit Universal Studios Hollywood, you can avoid some of the worst crowds of the year. In fact, the most crowded time of the year might surprise you as its not often the answer that many guests expect.

I visit Universal Studios Hollywood frequently and I have been in the parks during some of the most busiest days of the year and some of the slowest. Keep reading for my full breakdown on the best times to visit Universal Hollywood in 2025 that takes into account our own personal weekly experience in the parks and the data we complied in the above calendar!

Why You Can't Compare Disneyland Crowd Calendars to Universal

While there may be some similarities to Disneyland's crowd calendar, there are two big differences and that's the reservation system required at Disneyland and the annual passholder patterns.

Universal Studios Hollywood does not have a park pass reservation system and all you need is a ticket in order to show up. This ensures a lot more flexibility for guests visiting Universal but it also makes the crowd levels a bit harder to predict.

Disneyland has a large population of annual passholders (Magic Key holders) which has a huge impact on their crowd levels. Universal Studios Hollywood also has a large amount of passholders but they have far fewer blockout dates than Disneyland's passholders have. This means you will see a large impact from locals at Universal Studios Hollywood and one that is far more predictable since we don't have to keep up with a complicated block out calendar to track.

Most Crowded Day of the Week at Universal Studios Hollywood

The most crowded day of the week at Universal Studios Hollywood is often Saturdays and Sundays due to the large population of local passholders. Many locals will come on for a few hours on the weekend to the parks especially later in the day. If you can, avoid visiting on a weekend and arrive early. Saturdays are often the most crowded with Sunday coming in at second.

Many locals will also head to the parks in the evenings on weekdays which often results in a spike in crowd levels as the day goes on. This is especially common during the holiday season as locals stop by to check out the new Universal Studios Hollywood Christmas decor. 

Best Time to Visit Universal Studios Hollywood

If you are looking to visit Universal Studios Hollywood based on the least crowded time of the year then I have a couple suggestions for the best time to visit.

The least crowded months of the year are January and February with the lowest crowd levels happening on days that do not align with holidays like New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day or President's Day. If you are looking for the absolute best time to visit the parks, these two months will have the lowest crowd levels all year. Considering the consistent crowding we've seen at Super Nintendo World, visiting during one of these months is the best way to experience that brand new land.

For spring, the best months to visit are first week of March, last two weeks of April and May for the lowest crowd levels. These months will start to see the slow down after spring break and the lowest crowds before the busy summer season begins to kick off. This is also a great time to visit for seasonally warm temperatures but without the heat that comes later in summer.

For guests looking to visit in the summer, crowds are consistently busy throughout most of the summer months. However, if you can visit during June and late–August you will miss most of the biggest crowd level days for Universal Studios Hollywood. Many schools go back around mid-August which leaves the second half of the month much more mellow.

If you are planning a visit to Universal Studios Hollywood, be sure to check out the best Universal Studios Hollywood food and restaurants!

As for the rest of the year, there are two holidays to be aware of that impact crowd levels at Universal Studios Hollywood: Halloween and Christmas. Let's get into the best days to visit during Halloween Horror Nights and Universal Studios Hollywood Christmas.

Best Time to Visit Universal Studios Hollywood for Christmas

Christmas usually kicks off for Universal Studios Hollywood the day after Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Unlike Christmas at Disneyland, the holiday season at Universal focuses mainly on the month of December. This doesn't allow for much wiggle room to get into the park before the highest crowd levels begin.

This is why I recommend visiting the first two weeks of December for the best time to visit Universal Studios Hollywood for Christmas. You will avoid most of the largest crowds that start to turn up around the middle of the month and only steadily increase until the season ends. Spend the morning focusing on attractions and the rest of the day on the holiday decor for Grinchmas and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

See my ranking of the best Universal Studios Hollywood attractions so you know what to prioritize. 

Keep in mind that the holidays at Universal are incredibly popular with locals so you will see the largest crowds on weekends and evenings. Plan on visiting on a weekday and arriving early to make the most out of your experience. Universal Studios Hollywood has a large amount of local passholders and the holiday decor and entertainment will be a big draw for locals.

Halloween Horror Nights Crowds

The curveball for Universal Studios Hollywood is the extreme popularity of Halloween Horror Nights. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood is a popular event amongst locals and tourists alike. Since this is a widely attended event for folks who live in the area, you will see much larger crowds on weekends than on weekdays. Halloween Horror Nights typically kick off around Labor Day and run until Halloween.

We have previously discussed how popular October has become at Disneyland, even outpacing Christmas on some levels, and that same result has carried over to Universal Studios Hollywood. Combine that with the popularity of Halloween Horror Nights and you have the recipe for extremely high crowd levels in October. Halloween Horror Nights is one Universal's best events and is popular with families with teens, young adults, and adults of all ages. If you can, avoid Halloween Horror Nights in October.

On the plus side, on Halloween Horror Nights evenings the daytime crowds may be lesser so this is also a way to find the best day to visit Universal Studios Hollywood.

The best time to enjoy Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood is during September on a weekday. Weekends are the busiest events for Halloween Horror Nights and once we get into October nearly every event will be packed. I recommend enjoying this event on a weekday in September for the lowest crowd levels possible. Just be sure to avoid Labor Day weekend as with any three-day holiday weekend, the parks will see larger than usual crowd levels.

If you are planning on attending Halloween Horror Nights be prepared for long lines for the haunted houses. Even when visiting on a September evening, we noticed how crowded the event was and the lines for houses were quite long. This is one event that is guaranteed to have crowds but it's one I feel is worth it for Halloween fans. This is also an event I think is essential to purchase Express Pass for.

Most Crowded Time to Visit Universal Studios Hollywood

The most crowded time to visit Universal Studios is pretty predictable as many crowd patterns follow school breaks, holidays, and events taking place in the parks.

Holiday Weekends

These are the often the dates that catch guests off guard the most! Nearly all of the holidays listed below create three-day weekends which often results in many families spending time on quick vacations! Not only do you have to worry about tourist crowd levels increasing, you will also have to contend with locals choosing to spend their day off from work and school at Universal.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • 3rd Monday in January
• President's Day
  • 3rd Monday In February
• Memorial Day
  • Last Monday in May
• Labor Day
  • First Monday in September
• Indigenous/Columbus Day
  • 2nd Monday in October
• Veteran's Day
  • November 11th each year

If possible, avoid all of these days and weekends at Universal Studios Hollywood.

School Breaks

School breaks are a bit trickier to predict aside from the holidays listed above. Summer break is often pretty consistent with crowds more evenly spread out throughout June, July, and August. Since summer break is longer than other breaks, it helps spread out crowds throughout these months. You will see the worst crowd levels for summer in July which is the peak summer at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Spring break will have a much more drastic impact on Universal Studios Hollywood crowds with March seeing the highest crowd levels with things starting to wind down in April. If you have to travel in March, avoid the middle of the month as this time often coordinates with many school spring breaks.

Winter break for many schools typically starts around Christmas and runs through the New Year. While this varies from school to school, this means you will see high crowd levels around these holidays from school breaks which will also combine with the general high crowd levels during the holiday season. Avoid the last week of December through New Years Day as these will see some of the highest crowd levels all year.

Holidays

For the Halloween and Christmas season at Universal Studios Hollywood, there are months that are considerably more busy than others to consider.

For Halloween, avoid October at all costs as we will see some of the highest crowd levels all year especially as it gets closer to Halloween day. October is a busy month due to the popularity of the Halloween celebrations at Universal and Disneyland but it also coordinates with fall breaks for many nearby schools.

Christmas at Universal Studios Hollywood will see the busiest crowds during during Christmas and New Years Eve week. This is the one week all year that you should avoid Universal Studios Hollywood at all costs! The parks will see some of the highest crowd levels all year during this time.

Express Pass During Crowded Times of the Year

Another way to help track the best time to visit Universal Studios Hollywood is to watch the Express Pass calendar on the Universal website. Express Pass uses tier pricing which means it will be most expensive on busier days of the year and more affordable on slower days of the year. Universal's pricing for the days of your visit is a great way to get an indication of how busy they expect the parks to be.

For example, we can look above at the March 2025 prices for Express Pass to get an idea of how Universal is predicting their crowd patterns. Notice how the weekends (like I mentioned previously) are the most expensive days to purchase Express which means Universal is predicting high crowds those days. This also gives an interesting look into the patterns for spring break with the crowds just building as March goes on.

And of course, that's the downside: Express Pass is most expensive when you need it most. However, if you plan on attending a Halloween Horror Nights event, purchasing Express Pass is essential if you want to have a chance at seeing all the haunted houses. For other days of the year, you can follow our Universal Studios Hollywood strategy to make the most out of your morning. But there's no denying it, a trip with Express Pass is a great experience as you do not have to worry about waiting in long lines for attractions.

Express Pass is also simpler to use than Disneyland's counterpart Lightning Lane Multi Pass since there are no ride reservations required. You simply enter the Express Pass queue when you want to ride and that's it! For many guests, the convenience and ease of use justifies the cost of Express Pass. You could visit on one of the busiest days of the year and if you have Express Pass you can still experience all the attractions you want to.

So if you do not want to worry about tracking crowd levels for Universal Studios Hollywood and just want to show up and ride, purchasing Express Pass might be worth it for your group. We brought in that data to our crowd calendar, along with other notable information like holidays and ticket pricing, to help determine which dates at Universal Studios Hollywood are the busiest. 

Plan Your Southern Californian Vacation!

Keep reading our blog to keep you updated on everything you need to know to prepare for a Disney Parks vacation! We have a team of writers working hard to keep you updated weekly on events in the parks and tips for navigating the magic. Subscribe to our free deals newsletter to receive helpful planning information, exclusive Disney deals, and access to the lowest priced Disney tickets anywhere. You can find more information on planning your vacation here:

Please also view our other crowd calendars:

• Disney World Crowd Calendar 2025
• Universal Orlando Crowd Calendar 2025
• Disneyland Crowd Calendar 2025