Touring strategy.... EE or late evening?

My family and I will be visiting Universal Orlando during the very busy spring break season. We will be staying on site and will have early entry as well as unlimited express. On the days we will be touring, the crowd levels are expected to be 9-10. I know our family can handle either getting there for early entry at (gulp) 7 AM…OR we could stay for the late closing time of 10 PM. However, there is no way we can handle going to the parks for the early entry and late evening, even if we had a mid-day break with a nap. My 4-year-old just couldn’t do it, daytime nap or not. So, do you think it’s a better strategy to go early or go late?

In the go early strategy, we would probably get there at 7 AM to the EE park, take a break from 1-4 PM, then go back to the park and stay until 8 PM. In the stay late strategy, we would probably get there at 9 AM, take a break from 3-6 PM, then go back to the park until 10 PM. Which scenario would you prefer if you were touring on a crowd level 10 day with 3 kids?

I’d do EE if you’re HP fans, or if Minions is a priority. To be honest, with a 4 year old I probably wouldn’t do late nights even if EE wasn’t an option.

I would go with the EE plan. The “big” Harry Potter rides are not included in the Express Pass and doing them during EE is really the best (on a CL 10 day maybe only realistic) option.

Took my daughter and her two friends for a graduation trip June 2016. We did not have EP. Crowds were high. The 19 year olds needed an afternoon break and nap and the cooler evenings were good. We managed to do well on wait times with the line app. Enjoy the trip!

I am casting a vote for staying until closing. When we were there the week of July 4th, the most productive hour of our entire trip was the last hour before closing. We got in line for Gringotts, rode Gringotts, walked to the Hogwarts Express, rode the Hogwarts Express, walked to Forbidden Journey and then rode Forbidden Journey, all within one hour and with 3 children (including a 4 year old!) in tow. During early entry, we waited a half hour for Forbidden Journey alone because everybody in the park was headed to the same place. I also find the evening to be cooler and more magical.

Thanks for the responses! It seems like people who have experienced the high crowd days lean toward the late nights. It makes sense, since everyone who has EE is going to go to HP rides whereas the late night people will be more spread out. I’m personally more of a morning person that a night owl, but since the rest of my family are just the opposite, they will be happy to stay up late and sleep in a little!