crowds/lines aug 16-22 w/o fotl?

[Hessie628]

i'm going to be staying at wdw for our annual friends trip. since we used dvc points from my very nice parents and are saving $ on the hotel, we have decided to do a day or two at us and ioa. i usually go the end of nov-dec to fl. last dec we were staying on disney property so we did not have fotl, however, we did not need it. we waited at most 15 min and that was rare. i hate lines and have been to wdw so many times that i am pretty good at using fastpass and going when lines are much shorter or skip a ride if it is too long. i'm concerned about us/ioa and the lines for aug since i have only been a few times and that has always been in nov/dec. am i going to be going crazy? also, i do remember a few years ago they had something similar to fastpass at wdw when you come back later. do they still have that? i didn't pay much attention to that in dec b/c we didn't need to worry about it and we were too busy arguing about what to ride! i would assume this isn't available anymore because they have fotl and the pass where you pay extra? any info is appreciated.

-jessica

 

[robvia]

They're called Express Passes, and no, they are not available unless you buy a booklet, which gives you one per ride.

Don't worry about it, the time you are coming has light crowds as the kids go back to school. Look at the park hours here.
http://www.universalorlando.com/cal...template=uo_park_hours.html&month=8&year=2006
First week of August they stay open until 10pm, park is still packed.
2nd week of August they stay open until 9pm, no more fireworks show.
3rd week of August they drop to 7pm, kids are back in school, crowds are light.
4th week of August thru September the place is a ghost town.

 

[The LK 4]

We'll be there during that same time period. While I'm happy about the low crowds, I'm bummed that it looks like we won't be able to see Universal 360.

 

[robvia]

Yep, always a tradeoff.
If you go from July 4th thru the 1st week of August, the place is packed, but you get to see the show at 09:50pm as the parks stay open late.

Go after this time, and the place is a ghost town, no crowds, but the parks close early.

 

[bubba's mom]

I'm bummed that it looks like we won't be able to see Universal 360.

i know you want to see it...but, you're not really missing much..... i like "Wishes" at MK better.....there were some fireworks, but mostly popular movie clips (about 10-15 seconds each) shown on the spheres on the lake... movies like: Breakfast club, Psycho, Shrek, Erin Brockovich...etc...classics... don't be TOO bummed, it wasn't that great! (Heck, even Fantasmic was better and I wasn't too thrilled with that!)

 

[The LK 4]

i know you want to see it...but, you're not really missing much..... i like "Wishes" at MK better.....there were some fireworks, but mostly popular movie clips (about 10-15 seconds each) shown on the spheres on the lake... movies like: Breakfast club, Psycho, Shrek, Erin Brockovich...etc...classics... don't be TOO bummed, it wasn't that great! (Heck, even Fantasmic was better and I wasn't too thrilled with that!)

Ok - now I feel a bit better. Thanks! Anyways, I'm usually the only one in my family that enjoys staying later in the parks and seeing the nighttime shows.

I'm happy with the 5 day pass that we have so we will have plenty of time to see everything instead of feeling rushed.

 

[bubba's mom]

I'm happy with the 5 day pass that we have so we will have plenty of time to see everything instead of feeling rushed.

absolutely....you won't have that "i need a vacation to recover from my vacation" feeling....i know we didn't!

 

[MickiMouth]

We are staying at WDW 8-18 to 8-26. My DD's want to go to Universal Studios one day. I was thinking Tues. 8-22 or Thrus. 8-24. I thought the crowds would still be huge. I was wondering if I could buy 1 day tickets at the gate with the express pass? We are a family of 4.

 

[bubba's mom]

I was wondering if I could buy 1 day tickets at the gate with the express pass? We are a family of 4.

You can buy 1 day tix at the gate and then you can purchase an Express Pass for each person in your party there. Remember tho, the EP you buy are for only 1 time each ride...if you really enjoy the ride, and want to ride again, you'll be standing in line. Think about the price of EP for your party of 4....appx. $160...w/ AAA card, you can rent a room (at RPR--if there's any available), for probably about $200/nite (inc. tax). For the extra $40 (an addtiional EP) your family could ride the whole day with EP's (room key is permanent EP)..... To answer your question: yes, but work the figures and see what is more practical for you. ETA: if you purchase EP's: go early, when the park first opens...ride everything important to you. Save your purchased EP's for the afternoon when it gets busy to reride your favorites w/o standing in line...or save the EP's for the rides you don't get to in the morning.