Looking for suggestions for a trip in late August or early October. Would one month be better than the other? Where to stay? What to see? Any other strategy for the trip that have worked for you?
Late August is going to be VERY HOT. Go in October.
Stay on site. You can get into the Wizarding World sections of each park earlier than other visitors if you are staying at one of Universal’s properties. Buy the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, which includes sections on Universal. IMO, it is the best resource on the market, and your purchase will include free access to their online ‘touring plans’ site, which is updated more often than the annual update of the book, and has awesome additional information and resources.
And yes, if you can go in October, better temperature and smaller crowds. Also, the book’s website connection I mentioned includes a crowd calendar for every day of the year based on past history, the calendars of major school systems across the nation, etc.
The most important thing in a trip to the Orlando parks is to get the earliest possible access to the parks each day and to use whatever line-cutting/ priority access/ advanced reservation system for rides is available at the time. Both Universal and Disney fiddle with these systems over time, so do your research in advance, long before you get to Orlando, to ensure a smooth trip without lots of waiting in line. Simply put, avoiding lines is what you need to do to enjoy the trip. Some folks wait in line for two or three hours for rides they could get on in fewer than ten minutes if they had only done their research.
Universal Studios closes early for Halloween Horror Nights during October weekends. Islands of Adventure will stay open later, but may be more crowded because of that. Those are very popular weekends, so if you are planning that don’t wait too long to book. Definitely do your research - depending on how many days you are going, there are more discounts. You can get a lot of information on the disboards universal area.
Head to Orlando Informer’s website, particularly its crowd calendar. We used it and went with friends, and the place was so uncrowded our friends wondered whether all the reports of crowding are false! Having fewer people not only saves time but allows the HP fans in your group to interact with the town locals (i.e. the employees), which is really fun.
Orlando Informer spells this out but go at night. The lights are beautiful, and again far fewer people. One night we were almost the only ones there.
There are a few hidden tricks, like something to tell the bank teller, what numbers to dial in the phone booth. I researched them in advance and then suggested the kids execute. They didn’t know how to use a rotary phone - watching them struggle was pretty funny.
Have a great time!
Who is going on this trip? Ages of children, any elderly with mobility issues? Wide variance in ages or interests that might warrant you splitting up to visit the park in two smaller groups?
Choosing dates that are not crowded in October is number one priority. Second is polling the people going to find out what is most important for each one to enjoy this trip.
If everyone is a Harry Potter fan, that makes it easier. If not, be sure to plan for other rides or activities so everyone has some fun.
There are Harry Potter rides in two different parks, so be sure you buy tickets that allow you to move between the parks.
I might vote for late August. The weather will be ghastly but it is likely to be less crowded. The vast majority of kids will have started school already. Early October will still be hot.
We went there for the first time in late August and most of the tourists were Australian or British. That was the first year it opened though.
In general, there tends to be a tourism lull in late August that picks up again by mid September when you get the fall tourists, school groups, and people traveling for a long weekend over the Jewish holidays or Columbus Day.
Remember too if HP land is too crowded that the Hulk is a great rollercoaster, the pop eye ride is the best way to get wet, and the Spider-Man virtual reality ride is better than the HP one.
We also chose to ride things as “singles” since our kids were older. And if you take the HP express line through the castle, you can always go back later and “tour the castle” without waiting on line (or getting on the ride).
I just got back from a HP trip with my mother and 9-year-old niece. We loved the HP features. A Spanish-style schedule worked best for us: stay on property, get up early to catch one of the first shuttles so that you’re in line when the parks open, enjoy HP, have lunch around 11, and then head back to the hotel for extended siesta during the hottest and most crowded part of the day. This is also a good time to swim if the family wants to. Then in the evening, go back out for dinner and either more park time or evening activities like movies.
There are a lot of travel agents specializing in Universal and Disney who do not charge a fee if you book with them. They’ll be able to answer any questions you have, and are up on the latest information. They can help design the trip that works for YOU rather than ones that worked for random people on the internet.
Here is a projected crowdedness calendar for August:
https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/crowd-calendar/?month=aug&yr=2017#
And for October:
https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/crowd-calendar/?month=oct&yr=2017#crowdCalendar
It tells you the hours for Universal Studios USF and for Islands of Adventure IOA for each day, and says that Halloween Horror Nights HHN is from 6:30 PM - 12:30 AM and may require a separate ticket.
Absolutely, October, especially weekdays.
So many kids back in school makes it easier for guests to see more and easier with smaller crowds. Wife and I bought the express pass last October, so I recommend that too. Yes, it adds to the cost but it’s better to see every interesting attraction in one day.
Drink butterbeer. 
Oh, the butter beer comment reminded me of my Ds tragic misstep. They ate lunch and drank some other special drink, planning to come back later for butter beer. Only when they came back hours later, the shops that sold it were closed early.
All my D had talked about for months was getting to drink butter beer! She was disappointed, but thank goodness was old enough to deal with it.
So, drink the butter beer early!!
Thanks to all who have shared their tips and suggestions. Much appreciated.
Living in Florida now. Heat and humidity plus rain chances greater in August. Plus- still plenty of families coming from up north before their schools start in September. You can sweat just standing in the shade for 5 minutes.
The add-on tickets for Halloween Horror Nights are ridiculously expensive, considering what you’ve just spent for the day. But if you’re into that sort of thing, it’s a blast! We went with our 16 year old daughter last October, and I would love to do it again.
Also, try regular and frozen butter beer, just because…
I must say that I am intrigued with all the talk of the butter beer…
We’ve done Orlando in August. It was really, really hot. I’d say it’s essential to go to the parks as early as you possibly can if you go in August, and use the line-avoiding techniques mentioned earlier. The best is usually to stay on-property and use whatever early entry perk they’re offering these days.