Crowds on Sunday afternoons at IOA?

[Goldilocks1990]

My family will be arriving on Sunday, June 25th around 2:00PM to IOA. We are staying offsite, but wanted to take advantage of our first day. We realize that we will have to park a distance away and walk, but main concern is the lines. Since there is no longer a free "express pass", what will be the time waits and is it even feasible to try and attend the park on this day? Will it be possible to purchase the Express Plus passes when we arrive (I heard that there is only a limited supply sold every day.) This is our first trip to Universal and I really don't want our first day ruined by long waits...
Any suggestions?

 

[damo]

Even if there was a free express pass, they would all be gone by that time. You can purchase your express pass online or just go knowing you will be waiting in lines. You can do the shows instead of the most popular rides and probably still have a great time!

 

[robvia]

Welcome aboard.
I'll also be there June 25, but I'll be arriving early in the morning.

Don't worry about the express passes for half a day, it wouldn't be worth it.

Rush hour at the parks is between 11am and 4pm. The walkways are packed, and it's very hot out. I wouldn't worry about trying to visit the parks during this time.

The parks stay open until 9pm on Sunday, then stay open until 10pm during the week. If you arrive at say 4pm, most of the bars in the park will be doing happy hour for draft beer. Take your time, have a few drinks, then check the wait times at the front of the park. There is an electronic board that has all the rides listed with the wait times. As the sun goes down, the tired will leave, and you can do a few attractions or go watch the Sinbad show, which I believe starts at around 06:30pm. Or you can head over to USF and watch a couple shows.

3 to 4 hours is plenty of time to see a few attractions as the sun is going down. From 8-9pm, the lines for the major attractions should thin out.

The next day, wake up early and arrive the parking garage at 8am, visit for a few hours, leave, then come back at night.

 

[Goldilocks1990]

Thank you for info...we will probably just wait and go around 5:00ish, maybe some of the lines will be a tad bit shorter and I will keep in mind about the shows...
THanks again!