3rd Orlando Theme Park Giant Sets New Closure Information for August

Guests visiting Universal Orlando Resort late this summer are in for a big change — and possibly a big disappointment — if they’re expecting the typical evening hours. Beginning Thursday, August 28, 2025, Universal Studios Florida will dramatically adjust its closing times to accommodate this year’s Halloween Horror Nights (HHN).

Right now, Universal Studios typically closes around 9:00 p.m., though exact times shift slightly depending on the day. But as of August 28, the schedule changes sharply:

• On most HHN event nights, Universal Studios will close to daytime guests at 5:00 p.m.

• Even on non-HHN nights during the Halloween season, the park will close at 7:00 p.m.

That’s a loss of anywhere from two to four hours compared to current summer operating times — hours many guests use to squeeze in a few more rides before the nighttime crowds.

Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe Hours Still Longer — But Not “Late”

If you’re hoping to hop over to Islands of Adventure for extra park time, you’ll have a bit more breathing room. That park’s hours will still fluctuate through the season, but on a majority of HHN dates, Islands of Adventure will operate until 8:00 p.m. It’s important to remember that Islands of Adventure does not host Halloween Horror Nights — the event is exclusive to Universal Studios Florida — so these evening hours are aimed at standard daytime visitors.

Epic Universe, the highly anticipated new park set apart from the main Universal Orlando campus, will also hold later hours than Universal Studios during HHN season. For most nights, Epic Universe is scheduled to close at 9:00 p.m.

While November operating hours are not yet posted, it’s highly likely this altered schedule will run through Saturday, November 2, 2025, the traditional final night of Halloween Horror Nights.

What’s Driving the Change: Halloween Horror Nights 2025

The shift to 5:00 p.m. closures isn’t a random decision — it’s all about giving Universal’s event crews enough time to transform the park into the elaborate after-hours horror festival that has become one of the company’s most profitable seasonal offerings.

Halloween Horror Nights 2025 will bring one of the most star-studded and gruesome lineups in the event’s history, blending iconic horror IPs, gaming crossovers, and original nightmares:

Shared across both Orlando and Hollywood this year are:

• WWE Presents: The Horrors of The Wyatt Sicks – Guests face “one of the most disturbing and disruptive groups in WWE history” in a house honoring the late Bray Wyatt.

• Five Nights at Freddy’s – Full-scale replicas of Freddy Fazbear, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy, and Mr. Cupcake, created in partnership with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, stalk guests through the creepy pizzeria.

• Terrifier – Step inside Art the Clown’s Funhouse, encountering Vicky, the Little Pale Girl, and infamous kills from the films.

• Fallout – Navigate Prime Video’s “hellish Wasteland” filled with Raiders, Scavengers, and mutated RAD Roaches.

• Jason Universe – Relive Jason Voorhees’ most infamous murders in a return to Camp Crystal Lake.

Orlando-exclusive houses include:

• El Artista: A Spanish Haunting – A tortured 19th-century artist’s creations come alive to possess him.

• Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters – A bloody Old West showdown with returning characters from Slaughter Sinema 2.

• Dolls: Let’s Play Dead – Guests shrink to doll-size and are hunted by mutilated toys.

• Grave of Flesh – Attend your own funeral before facing the flesh-eaters of the underworld.

• Gálkn: Monsters of the North – Evade a horde of undead beasts risen alongside a wicked being.

Orlando will also host four scare zones — Origins of Horror, Masquerade: Dance with Death, The Cat Lady of Crooked Lane, and Mutations: Toxic Twenties — plus two “street experiences” featuring zombie carhops, undead DJs, and more.

Live shows will return too, including the explosive Nightmare Fuel: Circus of Decay and the lagoon-based Haunt-O-Phonic: A Ghoulish Journey.

Why This Matters for Day Guests

While HHN is a ticketed nighttime event with its own separate admission, the prep work is so extensive that Universal closes Universal Studios early to clear the park. This means that a standard day ticket on these dates will get you significantly fewer hours inside Universal Studios Florida compared to a typical summer day.

Families with young kids, daytime-only guests, and those uninterested in HHN could find themselves with shortened itineraries unless they plan to spend evenings in Islands of Adventure or Epic Universe.

Orlando-Wide Trend: August Early Closures Beyond Universal

Universal’s not the only one adjusting hours this August. Some of Disney’s parks will also see unusually early closings for special events or other operational reasons:

• Thursday, August 28, 2025 — Disney’s Animal Kingdom will close at 5:00 p.m., trimming even the already-short summer hours (usually 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.). This eliminates the final “golden hour” when Pandora – The World of Avatar glows with bioluminescent colors.

• Saturday, August 16, 2025 — Disney’s Hollywood Studios will close at 6:00 p.m., canceling that evening’s Fantasmic! performance and cutting off extra nighttime ride opportunities.

For guests planning multi-park Orlando vacations, these changes make it more important than ever to check park calendars — not just for operating hours, but also for which nighttime entertainment might be unavailable.

The Takeaway

From August 28 onward, Universal Studios Florida will run on significantly shorter days, often closing at 5:00 p.m. to transform into the horror-filled HHN playground. The next-door Islands of Adventure will remain open later, until 8:00 p.m. most nights, and Epic Universe will typically close at 9:00 p.m., offering evening alternatives for non-HHN guests.

The trade-off? Less time in Universal Studios during the day — but for HHN fans, that’s the cost of building one of the most immersive and elaborate seasonal events in the theme park world. For everyone else, careful itinerary planning will be key to avoiding evening disappointment.

With massive horror IPs like Friday the 13th, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Fallout on the bill, plus inventive original houses unique to Orlando, Universal is betting big that 2025’s Halloween Horror Nights will be worth the early closings. Whether you’re there for the terror or just to ride E.T. one more time before bed, August 28 marks a major turning point in the park’s late-summer schedule.