Express Pass needed for Solo Trip?

[hamilkm]

So, I just got back from my first trip to Universal. I had a great time, but with taking my 2 younger cousins I didn't get to spend near enough time taking in the atmosphere, shopping, visiting city walk, etc... I am planning to take a solo trip either end of August or end of September/first of October. I currently have a room booked for the end of September/first of October at RPR. When I booked the room I thought my cousin was coming with me to do HHN, but now she is not coming and I will be solo. I could save a good bit of money by swapping resorts to Sapphire Falls (I still want the water taxi mode of transportation). Do you guys think going solo and using the single rider line I would be okay without Express? I am really wanting to spend a good majority of my time in Harry Potter, and I can't use Express there anyway. I would save enough money to pay for my flight and a HHN ticket. This past weekend when we were there the single rider lines were actually moving much faster than the express lines due to the crowds!

 

[macraven]

I go solo and stay i site at rpr
Will be there early to mid October

For me, as I go in October , I would not switch hotels and lose that ep perk

I would cut other ways to save money if that was my issue

There are some rides I do repeats and don't want to deal with lost time if using regular or SRL

 

[hamilkm]

I go solo and stay i site at rpr
Will be there early to mid October

For me, as I go in October , I would not switch hotels and lose that ep perk

I would cut other ways to save money if that was my issue

There are some rides I do repeats and don't want to deal with lost time if using regular or SRL

We must have just had a bad experience with Express because for most rides it was only knocking 5-10 minutes off the standby time this past weekend when we were there. We actually ended up using single rider instead. We waited 20-30 minutes in every Express line. Is this not normal? That is why I thought I wouldn't need it going solo.

 

[macraven]

I see
If you go end of August, not many crowds then
If you choose that time period you could rely on the SRL

 

[georgina]

I was planning a solo trip for Sept and going to stay at Cabana Bay, then my DH decided to come along so I changed to RPR. Like you, I would have spent a lot of time at Harry Potter areas, and figured solo I could do single rider where available and try to hit the others at lower crowd times of day. (I do not have as much trip experience as macraven however!)

 

[hamilkm]

I was planning a solo trip for Sept and going to stay at Cabana Bay, then my DH decided to come along so I changed to RPR. Like you, I would have spent a lot of time at Harry Potter areas, and figured solo I could do single rider where available and try to hit the others at lower crowd times of day. (I do not have as much trip experience as macraven however!)

This is my thought. Since it's now going to be solo, I can stay at Sapphire Falls for 4 nights instead of the 3 nights I had planned at RPR for the same price. I also then get $150 food credit that will save even more money. My main plan staying solo is to explore Harry Potter, shop, and see all the shows that I didn't get to see on my first visit. I also want to get to ride Kong which wasn't open yet. I'm not big on the coasters (might try hulk once). Only rides I really wanted to do over and over were the Potter rides that I can't use Express for, lol!

 

[hamilkm]

Well just to update, I decided to move to Sapphire Falls for my solo trip. I'm going September 29th- October 3rd. By moving I added an extra night (was only staying 3 at RPR) and still saved $50 dollars. I also got the $150 resort food credit which will pay for a good bit of my food (I tend to eat one meal a day by the pool, plus breakfast at the hotel). It was just too good of a deal to pass up when I can use the single rider lines and will have 3 full park days along with 2 half days to take things at my own pace. I also saved enough money that I can buy myself Express pass for one day if I think I want it to re-ride stuff. 4 nights at RPR was $350 dollars more that 4 nights at SF. Plus without the food. That was just too big of a difference for me for a solo weekend trip!

 

[mellyf]

Asking my question on this thread, since it's similar...we're thinking of going down for a quick trip the last weekend of August (fly down on Friday night, leave late on Monday). I thought that would be a fairly slow weekend, but Touring Plans shows Sunday as a 9 for IoA. Is there something special going on that weekend? Otherwise the numbers are mostly 5s and 6s (which is actually still a little higher than I thought it would be). Thanks!

 

[agavegirl1]

Asking my question on this thread, since it's similar...we're thinking of going down for a quick trip the last weekend of August (fly down on Friday night, leave late on Monday). I thought that would be a fairly slow weekend, but Touring Plans shows Sunday as a 9 for IoA. Is there something special going on that weekend? Otherwise the numbers are mostly 5s and 6s (which is actually still a little higher than I thought it would be). Thanks!

It is summer and it is the weekend. Even though schools may already be in session in much of the country, where I am, we by law, cannot start until after labor day. However, that said, you will not see the same number of people on a "9" day at WDW as you would at US. Weekends are not slow in warm months. The OP was a solo traveler.

I will say, staying onsite will make your trip manageable with a good touring plan. Stay at Royal Pacific for the least expensive, Hard Rock for the closest, and Portofino for the "Calgon take me away" experience and make the most of it. Use all your advantages, like early entry and free unlimited express pass and you are still golden. It is always money
vs timing.

ETA: I have stayed at all three US Deluxe resorts and I have my reasons.

 

[mellyf]

It is summer and it is the weekend. Even though schools may already be in session in much of the country, where I am, we by law, cannot start until after labor day. However, that said, you will not see the same number of people on a "9" day at WDW as you would at US. Weekends are not slow in warm months. The OP was a solo traveler.

I will say, staying onsite will make your trip manageable with a good touring plan. Stay at Royal Pacific for the least expensive, Hard Rock for the closest, and Portofino for the "Calgon take me away" experience and make the most of it. Use all your advantages, like early entry and free unlimited express pass and you are still golden. It is always money
vs timing.

ETA: I have stayed at all three US Deluxe resorts and I have my reasons.

Thank you! We visited Universal in January 2014 and stayed RPR, and LOVED it. The resort, unlimited Express Pass, Early Entry...we loved it all. We swore we would never stay at a resort that didn't have EP. However, as it turns out, my son and DIL decided to make reservations for themselves at Sapphire Falls since it's brand new, and a little more economical, and then asked if we wanted to join them. We hadn't been expecting to go back for another year, at least. I'm a teacher and our school starts the middle of August (wish we started after Labor Day!), so that's why we're just doing a quick trip...our kids will be there longer.

And we just found out that my stepson and his family are going to join us too, and we don't get to see our granddaughters very often because they live across the country, so very excited about the trip and definitely all want to stay at the same hotel. For my husband and I, our granddaughters will be the priority now, although I think we are the main early risers, so I'm hoping we will get some riding done during EE, and then meet up with everyone else as they get to the parks. (After all...gotta ride Kong!) Our youngest granddaughter will be 2 1/2, so I'm hopeful there will be enough for her to do, although I suspect that the pool, which looks amazing at Sapphire Falls, will be a main attraction for the girls.