Are express passes necessary in October?

[pugtails66]

We will be going to US/IOA sometime during the week of Oct 19th. We are hoping on sponging one day and getting through both parks. We are NOT Harry Potter fans, so we won't be visiting those attractions. Should we get unlimited express passes or will we be okay without them? It's been several years since I've been to the Universal parks, and I have NO IDEA what to expect, crowd wise.

 

[damo]

I suggest you visit the Harry Potter areas even though you aren't fans. They are basically just fantasy themed areas with very cool buildings.

I wouldn't get any express until you actually get into the parks and decide if you want it or not. It can be purchased inside the parks in many locations.

 

[MendySueH]

I have been to US and IoA the last couple years at the end of October and I don't think they are necessary. Last yr the only 3 rides over a 30 minute wait was Minion, spiderman, and HP. We waited about 20 minutes for the rides we did. I even noticed that the Hulk had a 10 min wait when I was leaving about 2pm.

 

[macraven]

I came to the. Darkside on Sunday October 5 .

Been in the parks from noontime on.
Regular lines. Long, ep lines have been minutes for the rides I have been hitting.

First time I have seen long lines ever for this month for sun,mon,tues.

For the park I am not in or the ride line not in, those be a different story.

Hotel early entry had a 30 minute wait yesterday for me, but another rides had half of that time
Studios is where the long waits were for me

 

[macraven]

Grin gotta is getting Hugh crowds.
Did it Sunday with a short wait around 11
Next day long wait and ride broke down when I was at that first drop.
Stuck in the position of being partially over the hill sitting against the restraint in the car for 6 minutes.
Not a good thing.
Entire car walked directly back on after off from first ride
Much better

Yesterday long lines all afternoon for ride.
Went back at 5:20 and a 90 minute wait.
Came back again near park closing at 6:50 and still closed
I asked why the shut down
TM told me they closed the lines the ride at 5:30 as line wait 90 minutes and they needed everyone off around 7:00 which makes sense.

So the theory to going to this ride prior to park closing didn't work for me yesterday

 

[dedex13]

We just got back and were surprised at how long the lines were. We didn't even bother with early entry after the first time with waits for Gringott's over an hour at 7:30 am. Plus the posted wait times appeared to be overly optimistic. We waited over 40 minutes to ride the Hogwarts Express from King's Cross Station with a posted wait of 20.

 

[rastuso]

We will be going to US/IOA sometime during the week of Oct 19th. We are hoping on sponging one day and getting through both parks. We are NOT Harry Potter fans, so we won't be visiting those attractions. Should we get unlimited express passes or will we be okay without them? It's been several years since I've been to the Universal parks, and I have NO IDEA what to expect, crowd wise.

Are you big Song of the South fans? How about the Eddie Murphy Haunted Mansion movie?

Do you watch old Twilight Zone episodes all the time?

Hogwart's Express will be lost on non-fans, for sure, but it is also a conveyance system.

You are obviously a Disnoid, but why on Earth does not being a HP fan not make you a fan of some of the most advanced theme park rides in the world?

I scratch my head every time I read this.

-Jason

 

[rastuso]

I came to the. Darkside on Sunday October 5 .

Been in the parks from noontime on.
Regular lines. Long, ep lines have been minutes for the rides I have been hitting.

First time I have seen long lines ever for this month for sun,mon,tues.

For the park I am not in or the ride line not in, those be a different story.

Hotel early entry had a 30 minute wait yesterday for me, but another rides had half of that time
Studios is where the long waits were for me

Agree, the lines are on a whole different level than we've seen before. We've had our longest dry spell, not being there since HP opened, but the October crowds were MUCH bigger. EP saved us MANY hours.

-Jason

 

[crostorfer]

Here right now. I wasn't prepared for how crowded yesterday was, I figured on Wednesday wouldn't be so bad. Diagon Alley wasn't fun an hour before closing. It was barely possible. Gringotts broke down sometime yesterday afternoon and was still down this morning.

Early entry seemed crowded, but the people at the gate didn't equate to an impassable DA. It was quite pleasant in the area. Every ride was a walk on for the first hour the park was open. We left at 11 and the lines were starting to build. I'm expecting this afternoon to be horrid too. I just hope they fix Gringotts.

 

[rastuso]

Here right now. I wasn't prepared for how crowded yesterday was, I figured on Wednesday wouldn't be so bad. Diagon Alley wasn't fun an hour before closing. It was barely possible. Gringotts broke down sometime yesterday afternoon and was still down this morning.

Early entry seemed crowded, but the people at the gate didn't equate to an impassable DA. It was quite pleasant in the area. Every ride was a walk on for the first hour the park was open. We left at 11 and the lines were starting to build. I'm expecting this afternoon to be horrid too. I just hope they fix Gringotts.

The problem with DA on HHN nights is that you can stay there until 6, one hour past close, but you MUST then leave via Hogwart's Express to IOA, which is open until 8.

And, oddly, they said you can't stay in DA until 6, then enter into USF for HHN. If you are in DA past 5, and planned on going to HHN, you are SCREWED, and will have to wait in the very long line for HE, ride to IOA, then walk all the way back to USF's entrance, and enter with the masses. I guess while they are doing their sweep, no one can enter. I don't understand why they don't use bands like MNSSHP. Then you don't have to search every nook and cranny for stragglers, just check bands.

I would hope they have special arrangements for folks stuck on Gringott's, who then miss that window, but I wouldn't count on it. Entering the Gringott's line after 3 is a bit risky, and you may have to bail after waiting a long time.

Luckily, one day we got an exit pass for an EFG breakdown, used it to pass the 75 minute post-5 O'Clock wait for HE, they didn't take the passes, so we then bypassed a 45 minute wait for FJ.

-Jason

 

[johde]

The problem with DA on HHN nights is that you can stay there until 6, one hour past close, but you MUST then leave via Hogwart's Express to IOA, which is open until 8.

And, oddly, they said you can't stay in DA until 6, then enter into USF for HHN. If you are in DA past 5, and planned on going to HHN, you are SCREWED, and will have to wait in the very long line for HE, ride to IOA, then walk all the way back to USF's entrance, and enter with the masses. I guess while they are doing their sweep, no one can enter. I don't understand why they don't use bands like MNSSHP. Then you don't have to search every nook and cranny for stragglers, just check bands.

-Jason

The word from the site that can't be named is that DA will be opened till 6:00 then, those with HHR will be goto a holding area probably in the London Waterfront to be released slightly slightly early for Roanoke and Dollhouse of the Damned (similar to the holding area in Kids Zone). Everyone else will exit through the HE and IOA.

 

[glocon]

That would be great! I think we will be doing HHN next Wednesday, and that would be awesome!

 

[rastuso]

That would be great! I think we will be doing HHN next Wednesday, and that would be awesome!

I would triple check that with Universal. They were clear in stating you HAD to leave DA via HE.

Heck, I was asking if I could run down the street to go to the non DA bathroom, and get a Coke refill, and she looked at her watch and said I wouldn't make it back it time.

They seem hardcore on all that, and it seemed pretty clear if you had the blue band to stay in DA, you weren't going to HHN.

-Jason

 

[damo]

I would triple check that with Universal. They were clear in stating you HAD to leave DA via HE.

Heck, I was asking if I could run down the street to go to the non DA bathroom, and get a Coke refill, and she looked at her watch and said I wouldn't make it back it time.

They seem hardcore on all that, and it seemed pretty clear if you had the blue band to stay in DA, you weren't going to HHN.

-Jason

When we were there two weeks ago, that was what they said as well. However, we witnessed a few people who misunderstood or missed their timeline and were allowed to go into the park.

 

[johde]

I would triple check that with Universal. They were clear in stating you HAD to leave DA via HE.

They seem hardcore on all that, and it seemed pretty clear if you had the blue band to stay in DA, you weren't going to HHN.

-Jason

I hate to say but that's very sound advice. From reading the various sites, This is the 4th HHN weekend and at least the 3rd variation on how they've handled DA. Better safe than sorry.

 

[connab]

We just got back from Universal about an hour ago. We arrived on Monday and went to the parks Mon, Tues, Wed and Thurs and I would recommend getting a pass. Our kids usually have fall break during sept and we always stay at the Royal Pacific so we had the passes for the lines, but I always felt that it was a not worth the money because there were not ever any lines in Sept but we LOVE the Royal Pacific. Now the kids fall break moved to Oct and the crowds were shocking, I felt like I was at Disney! Families walking side by side, stopping suddenly to talk, or take pictures, scooters EVERYWHERE!!! I was very surprised at the crowds and felt that the passes were absolutely needed. Even with the passes I think we waited like 10-15 mins on some rides. It was fun, but geez, if people would learn how to act and walk instead of suddenly just stop, it drives me insane!! Again, I felt like I was at Disney! People on scooters were just stopping and huddling in the middle of the walk ways- smoking, eating.... just very annoying why people don't have enough brains to move over to the side so you are not blocking the walk ways. After a week at the parks, I really hate people. I was glad we stayed at Royal Pacific and got he passes. Enjoy your trip and be prepared for all the stupid people you will encounter!

 

[pcstang]

We just got back from Universal about an hour ago. We arrived on Monday and went to the parks Mon, Tues, Wed and Thurs and I would recommend getting a pass. Our kids usually have fall break during sept and we always stay at the Royal Pacific so we had the passes for the lines, but I always felt that it was a not worth the money because there were not ever any lines in Sept but we LOVE the Royal Pacific. Now the kids fall break moved to Oct and the crowds were shocking, I felt like I was at Disney! Families walking side by side, stopping suddenly to talk, or take pictures, scooters EVERYWHERE!!! I was very surprised at the crowds and felt that the passes were absolutely needed. Even with the passes I think we waited like 10-15 mins on some rides. It was fun, but geez, if people would learn how to act and walk instead of suddenly just stop, it drives me insane!! Again, I felt like I was at Disney! People on scooters were just stopping and huddling in the middle of the walk ways- smoking, eating.... just very annoying why people don't have enough brains to move over to the side so you are not blocking the walk ways. After a week at the parks, I really hate people. I was glad we stayed at Royal Pacific and got he passes. Enjoy your trip and be prepared for all the stupid people you will encounter!

Glad you had a great time! I'm hearing from a lot of people that crowds are heavy this week. It's supposed to be a slow week as is next. I am taking my son for a last minute trip to USO next week and the calendar says slow again. I was going to do Cabana Bay but, now I'm not sure. We always stay deluxe except for a couple of nonpark days when we stayed CB. Since it's only me and my DS 9 I was thinking CB again. Hmmm......

 

[rastuso]

Glad you had a great time! I'm hearing from a lot of people that crowds are heavy this week. It's supposed to be a slow week as is next. I am taking my son for a last minute trip to USO next week and the calendar says slow again. I was going to do Cabana Bay but, now I'm not sure. We always stay deluxe except for a couple of nonpark days when we stayed CB. Since it's only me and my DS 9 I was thinking CB again. Hmmm......

I can't imagine next week getting better. You have a holiday Monday, and closer to Halloween.

-J

 

[macraven]

I arrived here last weekend and there were line waits and crowds.
I'll still be here next week and figure the crowds are here to stay.

Lines for the eateries have been long.

 

[duranasaur]

Was just in IOA/US this past week and I was definitely glad we had the Unlimited Express passes. It didn't matter on some rides since the standby line was really short anyway. Waited about 15 minutes for Minion Mayhem and Transformers even in the Express Pass line.

My DD loved Ripsaw Falls and we rode that over and over again with virtually no wait with the Unlimited Express pass. At that time, the standby wait time was 75 minutes.