Tell me about 4th of July or NYE at Univ parks

[HuskieJohn]

With my June 2020 trip officially canceled by WDW today so we are looking at future dates for my party of 8-9.
Unfortunately we only have 5 dates that work...oddly enough 3 of those 5 dates are during "firework holidays" as my kids call them.
Week of 4th of July 2021
Week of 4th of July 2022
The 2 weeks after that
Week of NYE 2022

So I would like to know about the celebration/shows/events at the Universal parks for these trips I have kids which will be 13/11&11 or 14/12&12 at the time so the 21+ City walk party that I found is a no go.

My preference with the weather would to be going during NYE but I know thats the same idea the whole country has. Either way going during a "firework holiday" definitely has me wanting more info. Unfortunately there is not a ton of info available for Universal, so I am hoping for help.

 

[macraven]

NYE is always packed !

July 4 would be a better option based on past years.
I have not looked at a calendar to check what day of the week July 4 falls on.

Since you are looking at next year or year after, you have time and not have to rush to lock in your stay.

 

[Polyonmymind]

July 4th this year is on a Saturday. I reckon it will be a little crowded...

 

[Mzpalmtree]

We did NYE one year and it was pretty brutal to be honest. We expected some big celebration when it reached midnight and there was nothing. The crowds to get back to the resort bus through citywalk was so extreme I feared my daughter (about 10 at the time) might trip and get trampled. It was all I could do to cling to her in the crowd and I got separated from my husband and son. The waits without express pass were LONG. We waited for one of the Harry Potter rides for over 2 hours. The family we had traveling with us has vowed to never go back as a result. We are going back for the first time this July (4th actually, lol) due to our Disney trip being cancelled. We won’t go back on a major holiday without express pass...BUT we did have a great time being together and just haven’t been back due to schedules.

Edited to add: I think the resorts do their own celebrations and if I was going for NYE again I’d probably look into doing that.