Does anyone else think Universal should have FP's like disney?

[glocon]

I'm another one to say NO! We've tried it all 3 ways- visiting from offsite without express pass, staying offsite buying the ep in the park, and staying onsite. No doubt as to which is the funnest option! Will never stay offsite again as long as unlimited ep is offered as a perk to onsite guests.

What I'm thinking is that the OP was thinking about what it is like for guests coming over from their Disney vacation for just one day, and how much harder it is to do it all without the ep perk. For those people, esp those who don't buy the ep, it probably does stink (it did for me- that's why only onsite for us from now on). I can definitely see why those people would like to see a free fp system at US.

But it works for US, and I hope it never changes. HRH here we come!

 

[DorianDonP]

After waiting in a FP line for 90 minutes at Magic Kingdom yesterday, I vote NO!

I miss being able to ride a favorite a second or third time without worrying about messing up "the plan."

 

[DorianDonP]

I don't see it as an unethical/greedy life lesson or being treated differently dilemma either. I save until I'm able to afford the type of vacation I want.

I don't have 'more money' than the average park goer. I'm sure of that much. That's why I skip the fancier restaurants, and skip the pricey ride photos, and skip buying first class tickets when I travel, etc. i would not think visitors who left the park with more store gifts and left with VIP parking are being treated differently. They paid for what they valued.

I value the shorter lines over some of the other things a different person might value more. It's not really about having more money, IMO. Just spending money on what you value the most in an uveal vacation.

 

[Metro West]

After waiting in a FP line for 90 minutes at Magic Kingdom yesterday, I vote NO!

Ahhh...now that's what I call "magic".

 

[Planogirl]

We normally stay offsite when we go to Universal and we go in June or August and I still vote "no". With proper planning and a little thought, you can avoid most of the lines without Express. If it gets too crowded, we can still buy the Express passes. We have yet to do so.

I want that extra perk available for when we stay onsite again. I worry about such a freebie becoming available at WDW because of the sheer number of hotel rooms. I wonder if offsite guests would ever ride popular attractions such as Toy Story Mania if some kind of front of the line perk was added. I can see tons of hotel guests descending on that attraction all at once. If I understand it right, actual reservations for such rides might be Disney's future approach. No thanks!

 

[cieslack]

I have to agree with the op on this one. I hate the directions theme parks have gone on this one. I try to instill in my kids that those with more money should not be treated any differently but that is certainly not the case any more. We are able to afford this "perk" but will not be paying an extra $1,000 to do so. I am sure that eventually Disney will go after the old mighty dollar in this respect, but I will certainly not be happy about it.

I respect your right to teach your children that lesson. I teach my children not to envy the "haves", I teach them that they have to work hard and be successful to afford some of life's luxuries. I'm not necessarily a "have", but I'll scrimp and save on my vacation budget to make onsite happen. It isn't that people are being treated differently, everyone gets the same ride experience. Some just choose to pay for more convenience.

 

[heidi8]

I just got back from two days at Disney and one at IoA with my kids; this is the first time I've stayed offsite since the WWoHP opened, and seriously - we are never staying at Disney again (unless we're there for a convention and need to be). Since we drive up and have our car anyway, there's no significant benefit to staying on-site, other than Extra Magic Hours, and given that my kids are not late-night people, we never use the evening ones anyway, and a Character Breakfast in a non-EMH park at 8 AM gets us in when and where we want to be, anyway.
But to go through IoA without our Express Hotel passes was maddening and frustrating - even if we'd purchased them, it would've been good for one trip on each ride, and my kids - who don't ride the Hulk or Spider Man or Dragon Challenge or Jurassic Park, but who love Woody Woodpecker and Seuss Landing and the Hippogryff ride - want to go on their favorite rides over and over again. We can do that if we stay onsite, and given my Florida resident rate, AAA rate and Annual Pass, it's usually not totally unreasonable to do so.