Express Pass during high crowds

[rmclain73]

I am considering a 3 day trip during our February vacation week which is the Presidents Day week. All crowd calendars show this to be a very high in crowd wise which is to be expected. Anyone have any idea what wait times look like for express pass lines on high traffic weeks? Is there a site that keeps track of express wait data?

 

[wickedwrister]

In our experience express cuts about 2/3 of the wait or so. So a 1 hour wait turns in to a 15-20 minute wait.

Also a reminder that express is included with your room in the 3 premier hotels (Hard Rock, Portofino and Royal Pacific) and that there are 3 rides that do not take express (Velocicoaster, Hagrids, Pteradon flyers)

 

[Dmto4]

We were there that weekend a couple years ago. It was pretty crowded and lines were LONG. the ride time I remember the most was Kong, as it rarely dropped below 90 min. That weekend we found that EP generally dropped the wait time to half so we were still in line for 45 min. I’m sure I remember that because of the crowded, long, hot hallway the EP line feeds into.

 

[rmclain73]

We were there that weekend a couple years ago. It was pretty crowded and lines were LONG. the ride time I remember the most was Kong, as it rarely dropped below 90 min. That weekend we found that EP generally dropped the wait time to half so we were still in line for 45 min. I’m sure I remember that because of the crowded, long, hot hallway the EP line feeds into.

Yikes! I would go in the middle of the week and avoid the weekend at all costs, but even that may be too crowded.

 

[PantherPete]

It really depends. Generally, the more crowded it is, the more time it saves vs the standard wait time. The percentage of those with express pass drops as the park attendance rises. I've never been on Presidents Day weekend, but I have been there during popular spring break weeks and the week of Thanksgiving. It is rare to wait more than 15 minutes with express. There are a few exceptions. Kong, Rip Ride Rocket, Simpsons & the High in the Sky Trolley Ride all seem to take longer than other rides. Fastest is Forbidden Journey. It is practically walk on, even when busy with express pass. Of course, you walk seemingly for a long time getting on FJ, so maybe the wait is about the same as other rides. But you are moving at a decent walking pace most of the time.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We have gone Thanksgiving week (but leave the Wed right before Thanksgiving). It’s busy and we’ve only had a handful of times that we waited longer than 20 mins with EP. there’ve been times also when we saw that an EP line was long and just come back when it was less. I think it’s well worth it but we get it by staying at a deluxe resort. It really takes the bite out of crowds IMO.

 

[BrotherCraig]

We have gone Thanksgiving week (but leave the Wed right before Thanksgiving). It’s busy and we’ve only had a handful of times that we waited longer than 20 mins with EP. there’ve been times also when we saw that an EP line was long and just come back when it was less. I think it’s well worth it but we get it by staying at a deluxe resort. It really takes the bite out of crowds IMO.

Great to hear that. That is what we are doing. We are going to Disney the week before and going to Universal the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. We will have Express Unlimited Passes since we are staying RP. Thanks.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Great to hear that. That is what we are doing. We are going to Disney the week before and going to Universal the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. We will have Express Unlimited Passes since we are staying RP. Thanks.

They’re definitely going to be handy Mon and Tues.

If you’re looking to eat somewhere sit down, you might want to make reservations too. If you want to eat at the HP restaurants I highly recommend doing it for dinner. We’ve eaten at 3B and LC about an hour before closing on that M and Tues and it’s a lot less crowded than lunch.

 

[BrotherCraig]

They’re definitely going to be handy Mon and Tues.

If you’re looking to eat somewhere sit down, you might want to make reservations too. If you want to eat at the HP restaurants I highly recommend doing it for dinner. We’ve eaten at 3B and LC about an hour before closing on that M and Tues and it’s a lot less crowded than lunch.

Sounds good. Thanks. We have a finnegans lunch reservations one day and Mythos for dinner the next day. Can't wait. Thanks

 

[CynBeth]

We are doing the reverse will be at Universal staying at Portofino next Wed and Thurs barring anything unexpected and then on to Disney until the Sun after Thanksgiving. We did not book any restaurants we want to just go with the flow since Disney is so planning intensive and hope with early lunches and dinners we will be ok if we decide to try a TS. I have family members with food allergies so know we can’t do either of the HP restaurants.