A ZILLION questions -Express Pass and touringplans advise?

[carpeperdiem]

I have read 50 threads about Express Pass and unfortunately, I still need clarity.

1. It's easy to say, "just book an onsite hotel..." We were able to snag a last minute flight booking to Florida for Easter week (Mar 27-Apr 2) and we've only known we had this time off for a week. My daughters are 4 & 9 -- we will be spending 4 of our 5 park days at DIS. My princesses have made that very clear. And my 9yo told me that "we are going to IOA" -- so on 17 days notice -- yikes -- a hotel room for one or two nights at US this week will set me back ~$500/night (just checked, prices have dropped slightly since a few days ago - but I already pricelined a 4* room at a fair price <$100 near DIS). Express Passes on Easter Sunday are $60 - And on Mon 4/1= $65 each. And I don't want to jump hotels unless really compelled SO booking an onsite room is no longer in play.

2. So without the onsite Express Unlimited, our only option now is Express Pass -- on a Spring Break weekend (Easter Sunday or Monday) - of course the crowds will be huge - so I am resigned to drop $250 to simplify the experience for my girls - especially the 4 year old who will be child swapped a few times. For these dates, not having the Express Pass is kinda insane, right?

3. Do they actually scan the Express Passes? They advertise one-time only per attraction -- but is that enforced?

4. Many say to wait to buy the pass until you get to the park -- HOWEVER, considering the 6 days before Easter are now $100 per Express Pass -- I am willing to drop $240 (under duress and extreme protest), but $400 would upset me immeasurably. Is there even a remote possibility that lines will be tame? I don't think so. DO THE Express Passes ever sell out? It looks like US priced 3/31 as a "peak" day, not holiday peak -- but can that change? Anyone have experience watching Express Pass pricing move up/down? Buying the pass in advance means not having to wait in lines on-site, right? But it's a use it or lose it proposition, right?

5. Touringplans.com -- just answered question #4... a 19 step plan with the Express Pass and touringplan calculated 8am- 3:15pm; without the Express Pass: 8am-8:30pm, and that is without a dinner break. My kids @ 4 & 9yo, we're gonna need breaks and playtime.

6. Touringplans.com -- WHY ARE WE NOT STARTING at Harry Potter? Every time I tell it to optimize w/ Express Pass - it doesn't put us into Harry Potter until well after lunch, with a 66+ minute wait. ***? Anyone have first-hand touringplan.com experiences during peak periods?

7. Touringplans.com - if we try to start at Harry Potter (estimated start time is 8:29am even if we arrive for 8am entry -- is that because the hotel guests back it all up?) +66 minute wait, then 49 estimated minute wait at Ollivanders, by the time my 4yo can actually go on a ride is 11am. Yikes, that's not good either, is it?

8. DO we TRUST touringplans.com, even on a peak holiday date, and not go near Harry Potter until after lunch? The touring plan is actually pretty great, nice variety, balanced for the 4yo and a nice flow... but we don't get to HP then Ollivanders after 2pm. IS THERE A RISK that we don't get in? If touringplans says the wait is 63 mins, is that realistic for a peak day? Ultimate Guides say: "When to go: Immediately after park opening" - but their touringplans choose a different plan -- IS THIS BECAUSE we will have the Express Pass? I need someone to validate the touringplan and assure me that if the computer says, then it's probably close.

THANK YOU for indulging my rant -- honestly, if I were the "planner" this would have been booked 6 months ago -- I'm just trying to give my family the best trip I can, without over scheduling.

SO DO I get the Express Passes and trust touringplans? yes/no/a better suggestion?

Thanks...

J

 

[fizbobunny]

Forbidden Journey does not have an express line. Sounds like touring plans is not working right. They just added universal to their site very recently. Maybe they don't have the kinks worked out.

 

[carpeperdiem]

Forbidden Journey does not have an express line. Sounds like touring plans is not working right.

Correct. NO express pass line at FJ. Touringplans wants us to wait ~66 minutes starting at ~2pm. If we manually force FJ to the first event of the morning (8am), it tells us we won't even get in line until 8:29am, with a 65min wait. Is this because of line management at 8am and the mad dash to FJ?

I may send touringplans an email and ask.
Thx
J

 

[bumbershoot]

I didn't use touringplans for Universal, but it was pretty wonky for WDW in Feb. I had to hit refresh, optimize, and refresh again to get it to actually refresh and optimize. That was at home and especially in the parks.


Just going by experience, Ollivanders has a line that is long and BORING. You are staring at fellow guests and at the walls, and it's all outside. Forbidden Journey has a line that's long and NOT boring. It's inside and has lots to look at.

When both are on your list, honestly I say to do Ollivander's first, and FJ second, because both are going to get long, and you might as well do the more boring line when it's shorter rather than longer.

Many people have great luck hitting FJ in the late afternoon/evening as well.




Remember that booking ONE night at Universal gives you TWO days worth of early entry and unlimited Express Pass. But I know the girls want to hit WDW for the 4 days.


I use this site to see all hotels at once. It also gives you the best price.

Right now at this exact moment I see:

3/27 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific
3/28 unspeakable price for a 1300 sq ft suite at Portofino
3/29 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific
3/30 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific
3/31 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific
4/1 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific


Yes that's 415 and change for one night at RP, but it's not 500 or more. And IF you could get your girls to do two days, the value of the one night of room is higher. But I get that you pricelined a room...I just wish you hadn't done it for the whole stay yet. Would be easier to convince you of the value.

Yes they enforce the once-per-ride rule with the purchased EP.


I know that I, personally, would almost certainly go with onsite, but then I'm a person who lives by the onsite perks even during slow times where it's 5 minutes for Hippogriff without EP and 2 minutes with EP, and I'll take the 2 minutes every time. When we're looking at 20 minutes vs an hour, I'm definitely putting a high price on the shorter time, and staying onsite gets me that, and gets me a great hotel to boot!

 

[carpeperdiem]

Right now at this exact moment I see:

3/27 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific
3/28 unspeakable price for a 1300 sq ft suite at Portofino
3/29 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific
3/30 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific
3/31 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific
4/1 369 plus tax at Royal Pacific

Thank you for all of your suggestions.

These hotel prices didn't exist 2 days ago. All 3 onsite hotels were 489+ or sold out. I guess we are seeing yield management software, or cancellations doing their thing. At $369, I would have booked one night. Especially on a $99 per person express pass day -- then the hotel would have been free. But 15 days before Easter week, I started to fear all avails would disappear... We usually vrbo condos on ski trips -- and at this late booking, every $250/nt or less condo within 20 miles of WDW are sold out. Good for the condo owners. Sometimes you have to just press the button and buy the best available and not risk getting shut out. I fear that in another week, it's all gonna be gone (or the hotel managers will have excess inventory on hand due to greedy yield management software!). I have a sure thing, in a fine hotel, at a price that's 40% undermarket at the time of booking. I'm not crying.

Touringplans (and the iOS "lines" app) still say that FJ is going to be a shorter line at 2pm vs. 8:30am. I'm a computer guy, and I trust the stats and the database. I think. But the computer doesn't have a 9year old daughter who wants to do the "Harry Potter or die" touring plan. The challenge is to balance the HP experience and buying the damn wand (ok, I'm sure it's cool, but it's a $60 wand, right?) vs. keeping the 4yo happy without splitting the family.

I really appreciate everyone here sharing their experiences.

 

[RMulieri]

The Express passes for purchase are good for ONE ride per attraction.Sometimes they dont scan them, but most of the time they do and its enforced, especially at busy times.

 

[bkny]

Thank you for all of your suggestions.

These hotel prices didn't exist 2 days ago. All 3 onsite hotels were 489+ or sold out. I guess we are seeing yield management software, or cancellations doing their thing. At $369, I would have booked one night. Especially on a $99 per person express pass day -- then the hotel would have been free. But 15 days before Easter week, I started to fear all avails would disappear... We usually vrbo condos on ski trips -- and at this late booking, every $250/nt or less condo within 20 miles of WDW are sold out. Good for the condo owners. Sometimes you have to just press the button and buy the best available and not risk getting shut out. I fear that in another week, it's all gonna be gone (or the hotel managers will have excess inventory on hand due to greedy yield management software!). I have a sure thing, in a fine hotel, at a price that's 40% undermarket at the time of booking. I'm not crying.

Touringplans (and the iOS "lines" app) still say that FJ is going to be a shorter line at 2pm vs. 8:30am. I'm a computer guy, and I trust the stats and the database. I think. But the computer doesn't have a 9year old daughter who wants to do the "Harry Potter or die" touring plan. The challenge is to balance the HP experience and buying the damn wand (ok, I'm sure it's cool, but it's a $60 wand, right?) vs. keeping the 4yo happy without splitting the family.

I really appreciate everyone here sharing their experiences.

Yes they do enforce the 1 ride per attraction rule. I would buy the wand on amazon and bring it with you. They are about $45-$50 in the park. The caveat is you feel forced to buy one in the store if your child is picked for the show.

Also both parks offer a 10% discount on food and merchandise if you have an AAA card.

 

[hpriamson]

I've had nothing but problems with the "make your own touring plans" software on touringplans.com for Universal, especially if you tell it you've got an express pass . I honestly think they released it too early and/or they hand tune some of its idiosyncrasies for the "official" plans.

If you're going to buy Express Passes and be there on a peak day, you should absolutely start the day with Forbidden Journey, no ifs, ands, or buts. It's the 800 lb gorilla of the park, and you could wind up with a 2 hour wait if you let it go to the afternoon. I'm a computer guy too, and I think they've got a bug they haven't tracked down. Note that their official plan absolutely sends you to FJ first.

And to be perfectly honest, if the line for Ollivanders is more than 30 minutes, I'd skip it. It's cute, but crowded, and if your kid isn't the one picked, it's just nothing spectacular. It was hyped so much that frankly I was disappointed when we finally got in. The wands are only $35-ish ($32 right now on the Universal website), not, $60, and you can buy them at the huge cart outside FJ.

 

[carpeperdiem]

I've had nothing but problems with the "make your own touring plans" software on touringplans.com for Universal, especially if you tell it you've got an express pass . I honestly think they released it too early and/or they hand tune some of its idiosyncrasies for the "official" plans.

If you're going to buy Express Passes and be there on a peak day, you should absolutely start the day with Forbidden Journey, no ifs, ands, or buts. It's the 800 lb gorilla of the park, and you could wind up with a 2 hour wait if you let it go to the afternoon. I'm a computer guy too, and I think they've got a bug they haven't tracked down. Note that their official plan absolutely sends you to FJ first.

And to be perfectly honest, if the line for Ollivanders is more than 30 minutes, I'd skip it. It's cute, but crowded, and if your kid isn't the one picked, it's just nothing spectacular. It was hyped so much that frankly I was disappointed when we finally got in. The wands are only $35-ish ($32 right now on the Universal website), not, $60, and you can buy them at the huge cart outside FJ.

great advice. thanks.
I reached out to touringplans for guidance as well.
thx!

 

[damo]

Wands are $32 plus tax. Get to the parks at least 30 minutes before opening. The gates will open early. If you purchase a wand early, have it sent to the front of the park so you don't have to be carrying it around and storing it in a locker.

Personally, I wouldn't use touring plans. Since the express pass allows you to choose your own time to ride rides, just do your own thing.

I would head straight to Ollivanders and if the line isn't too long, do it. Then do FJ and the other WWoHP stuff. Then just head out and explore.

Make sure you take advantage of child swap on the rides. Your 4 year old won't be able to ride FJ but the queue is fun.

 

[carpeperdiem]

Great advice everyone. Thank you. This community is so giving. Very refreshing to see (vs. other online travel communities I've visited where it's a pissing match of who know "more")

I have learned so much in the past 12 hrs! I am glad I went through the machinations of the touringplans site and explored what the 'puter suggested.

I will post back if I hear from touringplans.com support

Thanks,
J

 

[cceandme]

Forbidden Journey does not have an express line. Sounds like touring plans is not working right. They just added universal to their site very recently. Maybe they don't have the kinks worked out.

correct no express line. :-( However the single rider line went pretty fast when we were there (2 weeks after they first opened. Crazy crowds)

 

[carpeperdiem]

Express Pass purchase: print at home or willcall?
If print at home, what happens if the paper gets wet?

 

[cvjw]

I know this throws a kink in your touring plans, but we always ride forbidden journey and visit Ollivander's right before park closing (about an hour before). We visited Universal 3 times last year, always staying onsite, but always forced to stand in the regular line for the HP attractions. This strategy worked out great for us. The lines for FJ are also great first thing in the morning (for onsite guests who utilize early entry), but then are still backed up when the first off-site guests arrive at regular park opening time.

 

[carpeperdiem]

I know this throws a kink in your touring plans, but we always ride forbidden journey and visit Ollivander's right before park closing (about an hour before).

LOL!
With my 4 yo, we're gonna be long gone by 6pm
We still want a little pool time, dinner, bath and bedtime. We keep a pretty normal routine, even on vaca.
If the kids don't see a bed by 9pm, there will not be a 7am "let's go to Disney" the next morning.

The touringplan "best you can do is FJ at 8:30am and still wait an hour) makes sense with the hotel guests dominating the first 90 minutes. Dare we wait until noon?

I'm still playing with the numbers...

 

[Metro West]

Express Pass purchase: print at home or willcall?
If print at home, what happens if the paper gets wet?

I think you should wait until you arrive and see what the wait times are before buying. You can purchase EPs throughout both parks. If you arrive early enough, you should be able to do several attractions w/o needing the EP especially if you decide to wait and do HP later in the day.

 

[KatieElizabeth]

When I went during spring break season last year, we were able to get on Forbidden Journey with only about a 30 minute wait. Sometimes they let you in the park ten minutes early, so I would get there early. In my experience, the line has always been shorter first thing in the morning and right before close at night.

 

[carpeperdiem]

OK -- let's see now...

KatieElizabeth said that FJ lines are 30 minutes during spring break season; hpriamson said that FJ lines can be 2 hrs if you let it go to the afternoon;
Touringplans estimates 66 minutes at 2pm, 67 minutes (+~29 minutes to walk from the main entrance) at 8am;
Unofficial guide (printed book) 2013 says get there at opening, or else (contrary to their touring plans)

http://touringplans.com/universal-orlando/universal-express

The number of passes is limited each day, and they can sell out.

And Metro West suggests waiting until we arrive.

I respect ALL of you! I really do. And I appreciate the input. I really do! But without consensus, it's impossible to really know what's best, right?

Let's see what touringplans has to say. I trust them for WDW.

 

[RMulieri]

The reason why we tell people to wait for the Express pass purchase is that they are NON REFUNDABLE,DATE SPECIFIC and PARK SPECIFIC.If your plans change you can't simply use them on another day or get a refund.If the weather is bad,you cant exchange them etc.They can sell out, but I have only heard that happening during Christmas week.The downside to waiting is the price could go up.If you are absolutely certain you are going on those dates no matter what, than by all means you can purchase ahead of time.
As for the waits for Harry Potter, I have only ever gone for early entry so I can't really comment.But it seems shortly after opening for the general public is the least wait.The few hours before closing also seemed lower .Mid-afternoon even in January had long waits

 

[LaurenT]

I am a WDW veteran. I'll be going to UO for the first time myself at the end of August.
So, I have no solid advice to give you about touring the park, but...
I wanted to throw this out there...
Do you visit every year? Is this a once in a long time kind of trip?
If you'll be back at a less hectic time and with more advance notice to plan better, I'd put Universal off until your next trip.
One day during one of the very busiest times, without unlimited express - driving back and forth....paying top dollar to stand on the longest lines....it just sounds so much more stressful that what you'd want for a vacation. As for the 9 year old "telling" you that you're going - well, if my 10 yr old is going to do that, she better be handing me the money too!
Again, if this is your only shot, then take it, but if it isn't, I just thought I'd give you some food for thought.