Did Express Pass replace the free fast pasting system at Universal?

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Waving at Notatourist - haven't been at UO lately - so just saying hello!


(who has met Notatourist and knows they know their stuff!!!)

 

[macraven]

and i am waving to phantomsgirl.............hey.....


hope to see you at shrek this fall......

 

[Notatourist]

Waves back at Phantomsgirl....You gonna tell Macraven, or should I?

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Oh you do it! (the myth of the term FOTL....)

Hey at least I'm not melting in that outfit this summer!

 

[Notatourist]

She's gone, Mac-

She's run off...

 

[macraven]

dang..........well, maybe she ran off to someplace kewl.



and i am not thinking "pixie dust"

 

[momof3disneyholics]

As someone that has actually worked at the attractions at Universal/ IOA, I can tell you from experience that the lines are longer with free express. That is from experience, not speculation.

 

[mill4023]

There must be lots of people using the new system or it wouldn't be continuing. If there are more people happy with it than upset with it, Universal is doing well.

First, the fact that Universal is sticking with this change only means that they are making money. So yes, I'm sure they are selling more express passes now that there is no free option.
Second, just because more people are paying for Express doesn't mean they are happy about it. It just means they have no other options if they want to avoid the long lines.

Notatourist is Not a tourist. He/she knows his/her stuff. It's not speculation.

Here's an idea--- If you are unhappy about the elimination of the free express, email: GuestServices@universalorlando.com Let your feelings be known.

I never questioned Notatourist's knowledge of Universal in general. But unless he/she has statistical evidence of wait time statistics, it is speculation. Or at the most, a guess based on observation. Either way, there's still no "real" evidence.

But I still don't particularly care whether the stand-by line would be longer with free express. Because I wouldn't be using the standby line.

And let's not pretend that Universal cares how long the standby line is either. They didn't eliminate the free express passes to make the standby line shorter. They eliminated them so more people would pay for the privilege and increase their profits.

 

[phamton]

I never questioned Notatourist's knowledge of Universal in general. But unless he/she has statistical evidence of wait time statistics, it is speculation. Or at the most, a guess based on observation. Either way, there's still no "real" evidence.

Didin't we have this exact same discussion a couple of months ago.

Hmm, yes, it seems we did: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=12385687#post123856

Whether notatourist has statistics/evidence is not something he/she could or would post just to prove a point.

 

[flatline]

it's a hypothetical question, but I wonder how the conclusion that the wait times are down is measured. you can see the crowd counts on attractions, and I know that the standby times are logged. but is it a park average? like momof3disneyholics said, I've seen some attractions that definately have a longer wait time than in the past, but there are quite a few that have remained unchanged for the most part in my experience.

I'm sure that's internal, confidential knowledge. if you spend enough time in the parks, you can pretty well predict the standby times on your favorites just by checking your watch.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

it's a hypothetical question, but I wonder how the conclusion that the wait times are down is measured. you can see the crowd counts on attractions, and I know that the standby times are logged. but is it a park average? like momof3disneyholics said, I've seen some attractions that definately have a longer wait time than in the past, but there are quite a few that have remained unchanged for the most part in my experience.

I'm sure that's internal, confidential knowledge. if you spend enough time in the parks, you can pretty well predict the standby times on your favorites just by checking your watch.

I think one of the reasons why it is faster is because in the past when they had the free express, they would have to pull from both lines for each cycle of a ride. So, because half was from the regular line and half was from express it made the regular line move so much slower. But if there is just a few people from each cycle coming from express, then the regular line will move much faster for everyone and wait time is almost cut in half. I could really notice this on those busy weekend days.

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

dang..........well, maybe she ran off to someplace kewl.

Oh, I'm sure I'll "shrek-up" again someday for a day or two...

Okay, for the other comments...as a former ride attendant and Lead I KNOW Universal cares about wait times for both stand-by and the Express lines.

As for some of the other things in regards to Express - I am not and was not in upper management - so I do not have those answers. I only know things in regards to what I saw. Now, let's face it - the bottom line is BOTH Disney and Universal are businesses - they are there to make money.

As for Shrek - yes, we knew we were going to get "hit" early in the morning until early afternoon for it was basically the first ride in the park. People naturally flock there and hit that ride first, therefore no matter what we did - the lines would be long. I told people who would ask - to go do the back of the park FIRST and come back later. Except for high-peak times (holidays, etc.) the line would be hardly anything after 2 p.m.!

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

There is a poll on one of the UK boards. It was posted by WilmaBride, who also posts here. The question was: OK, so following on from the threads about general discontent with Universal now they have done away with the free express pass, just wondering whether it actually will affect anyone's decision to visit the parks there.
The thread is 5 pages long and the result of the voting poll are so far is:

View Poll Results: Will you be visiting Universal/IOA on your next trip

Yes, absolutely! 109 49.10%
Yes, but buying Express Pass Plus 9 4.05%
Yes, staying onsite 45 20.27%
No, I refuse to visit now there's no free express 15 6.76%
No, but I had no plans to go there anyway 31 13.96%
Undecided 13 5.86%


So it looks like around 75% will visit. Around 7% won't visit because there is no free express. The other voters either had no plans to go even with paid express or free express or are undecided about going.

Not the question I asked. I said a poll about being happy/unhappy with the elimination of EP. Lots of people will visit Universal. A lot of people will be unaware of this hidden extra (I've still got my travel guides, not one mentions the charge). Now I know for sure no-one will want to pay more money, who would, but for four or five people, over two or three days it amounts to a hell of a lot of extra cash.

I also said about the repeat visitors. I was refering to vacationers. Universal don't give two hoots about the locals as you really don't count significantly towards their profits. You pay $99 for an AP (now "two years for one" no, we aren't desperate, honest). You may get a ride to the park, therefore no parking fee. You may return home for dinner, therefore no restaurant cash. They want hotel guests, people buying meals, people buying merchandise and photographs. They are fleecing people like YOU for EPs. I feel sorry for the locals with kids who have APs, now they spend between $15 and $40 each (unsure on exact price) to get a good place in line and that stinks.

A lot of people are so busy looking at the flashing lights, they don't realise their pockets are being picked.

 

[damo]

I personally know of two families that went to both Universal and Disney this past spring. Both were thrilled with being able to purchase the express passes at Universal and said they would have liked to have done the same at Disney. Both thought it was money well spent.

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

I personally know of two families that went to both Universal and Disney this past spring. Both were thrilled with being able to purchase the express passes at Universal and said they would have liked to have done the same at Disney. Both thought it was money well spent.

Well, I don't know anyone personally, but there are more than enough people who have posted on this forum who are less than pleased with the extra outlay.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I also said about the repeat visitors. I was refering to vacationers. Universal don't give two hoots about the locals as you really don't count significantly towards their profits. You pay $99 for an AP (now "two years for one" no, we aren't desperate, honest). You may get a ride to the park, therefore no parking fee. You may return home for dinner, therefore no restaurant cash. They want hotel guests, people buying meals, people buying merchandise and photographs. They are fleecing people like YOU for EPs. I feel sorry for the locals with kids who have APs, now they spend between $15 and $40 each (unsure on exact price) to get a good place in line and that stinks.

The good thing about being a local with an AP is that we can go anytime we want, so therefore spending the money on an EP would be a waste.

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

The good thing about being a local with an AP is that we can go anytime we want, so therefore spending the money on an EP would be a waste.

Not every local can go when they want, surely? With work, school etc won't some families be restricted to weekends and other busy times?

 

[mill4023]

Didin't we have this exact same discussion a couple of months ago.

Hmm, yes, it seems we did: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=12385687#post123856

Whether notatourist has statistics/evidence is not something he/she could or would post just to prove a point.

Yes we did. And the result is the same. We are still left with no evidence that wait times are shorter with the free express passes discontinued. And we are still left with the fact that standby wait times aren't really the point for those of us who were upset about this change.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Not every local can go when they want, surely? With work, school etc won't some families be restricted to weekends and other busy times?

I avoid going in the summer, around Easter and around Christmas. That leaves alot of time inbetween there to be able to go. Pretty much any weekend in the fall that you go you won't wait more than a few mins. Alot of parents of older kids just drop them off at Universal on the weekends like any other parent would drop them off at the mall.
I have 3 kids, one on the way, a job and I have time to go.
Believe me, you find time. With so much to do here, it is just sometimes hard to choose what you want to do.

 

[flatline]

it's a double-edged sword for us. UO's an hour away, so we're pretty much stuck on weekend trips. I skip out of work quite a few days throughout the year to go on weekdays to UO and WDW. even on weekends during slow periods, the standby's have been longer on some attractions than in the past.

so it's been either wake up and leave at 7:30 on a day off to beat the crowds, or just hang out in the parks and ride a couple of things. my wife and daughter have both said they're not going to wait an hour to ride Spiderman when they've been on it well over a hundred times. I can understand both sides of the situation.

my suggestion to UO was to allow AP holders to be able to swipe their AP's at the attractions once per day like a paid EP during non-peak times. I haven't heard back, but I think it's at least a starting point.