I’m very familiar with WDW’s practice of releasing final updates to park hours only a couple of weeks ahead of the date. Does Universal have a similar practice?
Right now the hours for the classic parks when I’m visiting are showing as:
9:00 to 7:00 each day, with Early Park Admission at 8:00 only for Islands of Adventure.
Is this likely to change between now and then?
It may change an hour or so, but is unlikely to change more than that.
Are the hours more likely to get longer, or shorter? I think for WDW I’ve only seen the hours get longer, that close to the date.
I feel like shorter, maybe close at 6 instead of seven.
Oh really? 7:00 is already so early!
Universal rarely changes hours.
For reference, it’s good to check the actual operating hours one year ago. They were 9-7 as well and will probably stay that way because of expected light crowds.
FYI, EPA at USF is rare. Usually just Christmas and maybe Thanksgiving.
Thanks, that’s great intel!
7pm is the typical closing time at that week. My birthday is Dec. 5 and I try to go then when I can. I loathe that Universal closes so early then. They do A LOT of Private Events that time of year that rent the parks after 7pm. (Usually IOA)
Is it like WDW where, if you’re in line at 6:59, you can stay in line for the ride?
Yep! As always, try to get in line by 6:55pm. I have been turned away at Hagrid’s at 6:58pm when the TMs are trying to push people out of Hogsmeade 
I actually think that it is less forgiving than WDW. They seem to close some of the more popular rides before closing time so that they aren’t there all night. They had a sign that they were closing the Ministry early and a couple Nintendo things were closing early as well.
