Express pass is amazing and totally worth it!

[luvsvacation]

DD (20) and I went to Universal for the first time on Monday. Using the unlimited express passes was a million times better than I’d even imagined! We booked 1 night at Portofino to get the passes and early entry. We only had 1 Universal day and it was our first time so we wanted the best shot at getting everything in. We arrived at 7:10 (took the first ferry from the hotel). They let us in a bit before 8 and we ran to hargrids, which was unfortunately doing a late open. So we headed to velicicoaster and were finished riding it by 8:06! We spent the next 45 minutes looking around HP world and ride Forbidden journey. At 9 we hit Kong, Spider-Man, and Hulk all in about 45 minutes time total. We made our way back around the park to HP stopping at the cat in the hat just for fun. By 10:30 ish we were finished with IOA and took the train to US. We walked all through HP world there and rode Gringotts. Then we headed out for the rest of US. We stopped for a leisurely lunch and ice cream. Then we rode the Mummy, Jimmy Fallon, Rip Ride Rocket, & Transformers all in just over an hour. We had Fast & Furious, Minions, Simpson, and MIB on our possible list but decided we were getting kind of tired of motion simulators and 3D glasses. We opted to walk around looking at everything and then rode ET which we throughly enjoyed! By now it was 3ish and we decided to ride the Mummy again and get some snacks to eat in the train back to IOA. After getting back we rode forbidden journey again and then the Dr Suess ride. We spent about an hour just hanging around resting because my daughters knee was bothering her. We got some fudge and just chilled. By now it was 5:30 and we weren’t really sure what else to do…hargrids had reopened but had a 150 minute wait. We ended up walking the park again and rode the dr doom drop. I convinced my daughter to wait for hargrids so we waited about an hour and 20 minutes and absolutely loved it! Then we rode forbidden journey for the 3rd time and watched the light/fireworks show and finally decided to head out. We never waited more than 10 minutes for anything all day (except hargrids). I was unsure before went if it would be worth it but it totally was!!!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

DD (20) and I went to Universal for the first time on Monday. Using the unlimited express passes was a million times better than I’d even imagined! We booked 1 night at Portofino to get the passes and early entry. We only had 1 Universal day and it was our first time so we wanted the best shot at getting everything in. We arrived at 7:10 (took the first ferry from the hotel). They let us in a bit before 8 and we ran to hargrids, which was unfortunately doing a late open. So we headed to velicicoaster and were finished riding it by 8:06! We spent the next 45 minutes looking around HP world and ride Forbidden journey. At 9 we hit Kong, Spider-Man, and Hulk all in about 45 minutes time total. We made our way back around the park to HP stopping at the cat in the hat just for fun. By 10:30 ish we were finished with IOA and took the train to US. We walked all through HP world there and rode Gringotts. Then we headed out for the rest of US. We stopped for a leisurely lunch and ice cream. Then we rode the Mummy, Jimmy Fallon, Rip Ride Rocket, & Transformers all in just over an hour. We had Fast & Furious, Minions, Simpson, and MIB on our possible list but decided we were getting kind of tired of motion simulators and 3D glasses. We opted to walk around looking at everything and then rode ET which we throughly enjoyed! By now it was 3ish and we decided to ride the Mummy again and get some snacks to eat in the train back to IOA. After getting back we rode forbidden journey again and then the Dr Suess ride. We spent about an hour just hanging around resting because my daughters knee was bothering her. We got some fudge and just chilled. By now it was 5:30 and we weren’t really sure what else to do…hargrids had reopened but had a 150 minute wait. We ended up walking the park again and rode the dr doom drop. I convinced my daughter to wait for hargrids so we waited about an hour and 20 minutes and absolutely loved it! Then we rode forbidden journey for the 3rd time and watched the light/fireworks show and finally decided to head out. We never waited more than 10 minutes for anything all day (except hargrids). I was unsure before went if it would be worth it but it totally was!!!

And just think - EP would have been included free on Tuesday, too, if you wanted a second day! We really like EP and really enjoy US/IOA when we go. Although from the sounds of your full day, you might not have needed a second day!

 

[macraven]

Next time you go, hit the shows!

There are 3 I can’t miss on my trips
UO parks entertainment is as great as their rides are

 

[georgina]

DD (20) and I went to Universal for the first time on Monday. Using the unlimited express passes was a million times better than I’d even imagined! We booked 1 night at Portofino to get the passes and early entry. We only had 1 Universal day and it was our first time so we wanted the best shot at getting everything in. We arrived at 7:10 (took the first ferry from the hotel). They let us in a bit before 8 and we ran to hargrids, which was unfortunately doing a late open. So we headed to velicicoaster and were finished riding it by 8:06! We spent the next 45 minutes looking around HP world and ride Forbidden journey. At 9 we hit Kong, Spider-Man, and Hulk all in about 45 minutes time total. We made our way back around the park to HP stopping at the cat in the hat just for fun. By 10:30 ish we were finished with IOA and took the train to US. We walked all through HP world there and rode Gringotts. Then we headed out for the rest of US. We stopped for a leisurely lunch and ice cream. Then we rode the Mummy, Jimmy Fallon, Rip Ride Rocket, & Transformers all in just over an hour. We had Fast & Furious, Minions, Simpson, and MIB on our possible list but decided we were getting kind of tired of motion simulators and 3D glasses. We opted to walk around looking at everything and then rode ET which we throughly enjoyed! By now it was 3ish and we decided to ride the Mummy again and get some snacks to eat in the train back to IOA. After getting back we rode forbidden journey again and then the Dr Suess ride. We spent about an hour just hanging around resting because my daughters knee was bothering her. We got some fudge and just chilled. By now it was 5:30 and we weren’t really sure what else to do…hargrids had reopened but had a 150 minute wait. We ended up walking the park again and rode the dr doom drop. I convinced my daughter to wait for hargrids so we waited about an hour and 20 minutes and absolutely loved it! Then we rode forbidden journey for the 3rd time and watched the light/fireworks show and finally decided to head out. We never waited more than 10 minutes for anything all day (except hargrids). I was unsure before went if it would be worth it but it totally was!!!

Glad you had a great day! FYI for any future trips, MIB does not have 3D glasses or simulator, it's kind of like Buzz Lightyear at MK, you ride around shooting at aliens.

 

[bbeagle]

We had the exact OPPOSITE opinion of Express Passes. We had them for 2 days (Dec 19 and 20) and they were a complete waste of money. We got them free with a 1 night hotel stay, and it still wasn't worth it.

Express Passes can't be used at early entry. You need to wait in the entire line. We rope-dropped Forbidden Journey, and since we had a young kid and couldn't walk fast to get to the back of the park, we waited 35 minutes for the ride. Hagrid's was down on the 19th and opened late on the 20th. We waited 80 minutes for it the next day.

When we got to a line, like say, Minions, it posted an 80 minute wait. Using express passes, we got on in 35 minutes. Horrible! In 2 rides, the express pass line was longer than the regular line, and using the express pass was actually SLOWER than the regular line. One was the Seuss train. The cast should monitor this, but they don't. As first time visitors, we weren't expecting this.

Sometimes the express lane for certain rides wouldn't open until 10:00 - a full 2 hours after we were at the park. We couldn't find the express lane for some rides - there were no signs. For a first-timer, it was horrible. After going, I understand now where the express lanes and single rider lines are, but for a first-timer it was very confusing. We accidentally cut the line many times at Hagrid's, confused where single rider line was. We ended up in a locker line at one point. The locker lines were very confusing as well. Not marked, regulars just 'knew', first-timers had to keep asking - and many times, it was hard finding employees.

We were just at Disney for the previous 7 days and never waited in a line more than 5 minutes with the Genie+. Waiting in line for 15-45 minutes with a 10x as expensive 'fast pass' just wasn't worth it. One day, we went to 22 rides at the Magic Kingdom with no waits longer than 5 minutes. We rode all 6 rides at Animal Kingdom in 3 hours. At Universal and IOA, we spent half our time in the parks waiting.

There were long lines that the express pass didn't help in either - not just the 3 rides you can't use it on. Getting into shops was a 20+ person line, getting butter beer took 20 minutes, waiting for Blue, the dinosaur at Jurassic World took more than an hour. Getting food took 20-30 minutes.

The park didn't seem insanely crowded, but maybe it was. The crowds were less than Disney when we were there just days before, but the lines were much worse. Especially Harry Potter area.

 

[disneyseniors]

DD (20) and I went to Universal for the first time on Monday. Using the unlimited express passes was a million times better than I’d even imagined! We booked 1 night at Portofino to get the passes and early entry. We only had 1 Universal day and it was our first time so we wanted the best shot at getting everything in. We arrived at 7:10 (took the first ferry from the hotel). They let us in a bit before 8 and we ran to hargrids, which was unfortunately doing a late open. So we headed to velicicoaster and were finished riding it by 8:06! We spent the next 45 minutes looking around HP world and ride Forbidden journey. At 9 we hit Kong, Spider-Man, and Hulk all in about 45 minutes time total. We made our way back around the park to HP stopping at the cat in the hat just for fun. By 10:30 ish we were finished with IOA and took the train to US. We walked all through HP world there and rode Gringotts. Then we headed out for the rest of US. We stopped for a leisurely lunch and ice cream. Then we rode the Mummy, Jimmy Fallon, Rip Ride Rocket, & Transformers all in just over an hour. We had Fast & Furious, Minions, Simpson, and MIB on our possible list but decided we were getting kind of tired of motion simulators and 3D glasses. We opted to walk around looking at everything and then rode ET which we throughly enjoyed! By now it was 3ish and we decided to ride the Mummy again and get some snacks to eat in the train back to IOA. After getting back we rode forbidden journey again and then the Dr Suess ride. We spent about an hour just hanging around resting because my daughters knee was bothering her. We got some fudge and just chilled. By now it was 5:30 and we weren’t really sure what else to do…hargrids had reopened but had a 150 minute wait. We ended up walking the park again and rode the dr doom drop. I convinced my daughter to wait for hargrids so we waited about an hour and 20 minutes and absolutely loved it! Then we rode forbidden journey for the 3rd time and watched the light/fireworks show and finally decided to head out. We never waited more than 10 minutes for anything all day (except hargrids). I was unsure before went if it would be worth it but it totally was!!!

Did you get to ride Gringott's in HPland in the Studios side? It is 10 times better than FJ to me. It is awesome with a fantastic walk through the bank and atmosphere is great! It sounds like you had a great time. We will be at Universal in February and can't wait. It is our go-to vacation spot now. Disney is on hold for now until they start getting afew things right again.

 

[xipotec]

They are only worth it if the park
is very crowded (rare)….or you only visit for one day…

You can buy another entire day at each parl for the average price of EP.

 

[Magical2017]

They worked great for us on our Memorial Day trip. Looking forward to having them over MLK weekend, also!