Express Pass question- first timer

[Buckeye Princess]

I've been searching so I am sorry if I missed this.

1)Is there a list of what rides have the express pass? We are staying onsite. I'm trying to plan our order of attack.
2) Is FJ still limited to one time with the pass?
3)Are there any rides that do not have the pass but get long?

 

[bumbershoot]

FJ has never been part of express pass. FJ, rip ride rocket, and Pteranodon Flyers do not participate.

Staying onsite gets you into wizarding world one hour before IOA opens to the public which can get you onto FJ quicker than otherwise, though.

 

[Badge]

1) Every ride except for the main HP ride, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, and Pteranodon Flyers have express access.

2) Like the poster above said, FJ has never had express access, and I doubt it ever will. The line is simply not set up to handle it unless they remove the single rider line.

3) All three rides mentioned that do not have express can and do get long depending on the time of year you are visiting. Pteranodon Flyers is a pain to ride anyway because of the requirements. You have to have a small child with an adult ride. You can't sit two adults on it. The rules of the ride are posted at the front of the ride explaining how it is, but it has to deal with height. Nobody in our family is short enough anymore to allow any of the adults to ride, so its something we will most likely never do again.

As far as your plan of attack goes, when are you visiting? How long are you staying?

With express, you can normally ride all of the big rides at both parks in one day if you rush. My suggestion would be to get to Universal first thing in the morning when it opens (normally 9AM) and ride Rip Ride Rockit before the line starts to get long. Ride it a few times in a row if you enjoy it! After that just work your way around the park starting with Mummy and moving around to Disaster (sp?), Jaws, Men in Black, Simpsons, ET, and Shrek.

Once you finish Shrek, you will be almost at the front gate of the park to head over to Islands. When you arrive, I would go left and do Hulk, Spiderman, Popeye, Dudley (popeye and dudley depend on time of year/weather), Jurrasic Park, and end the day at Harry Potter. Following this plan with express, you should have about 2-3 hours to explore Harry Potter depending on the time of year you are visiting. As the park gets closer to closing, the park really starts to empty out and HP can really become a great place to explore because of how few people there are. I remember when I was there christmas day last year at night, I was the ONLY person on the streets of Hogsmeade that I could see. It was amazing!

The next day, you can do the early access to HP in the morning to get your FJ and Butterbeer fix and then start to experince the rides and show that you missed the first day. If you are going for longer than 2 days, you will have more than enough time to see and do everything more than once.

Our last trip was 5 days and my ride count for a few rides was:

Mummy: 15
FJ: 10
MIB: 36
Rid Ride Rockit: 11

With express passes, you really don't need a "plan of attack" if your going for longer than 2 days. Just relax and enjoy your trip. It's a totally different experince than Disney because you never feel the need to rush around to try and beat the lines. Just do whatever sounds like fun, and if you don't get to see everything the first day, you will have a few days left to see it. Enjoy your trip!!

 

[Joey7295]

How is Rip Ride Rockit at close to closing?

 

[christophfam]

Just remember that there is the express pass (unlimited) that you get when staying onsite along with early entry to WWOHP. Then there is the pass you buy for those not staying onsite, that allows you ONE ride per pass.

 

[mesaboy2]

2) Is FJ still limited to one time with the pass?
3)Are there any rides that do not have the pass but get long?

2) Right around the time WWoHP opened, there was talk that an onsite stay would get you one and only one Express Pass entry to FJ per day. I imagine that's what you're remembering. But as PPs have stated, not even that materialized.

3) PPs are correct with the three rides that don't accept Express, but I'll add one more attraction: Ollivander's. Its line can be really long.

2) Like the poster above said, FJ has never had express access, and I doubt it ever will. The line is simply not set up to handle it unless they remove the single rider line.

I thought the Castle Tour queue was designed to be the Express queue if and when Express on FJ ever comes to be.

 

[Timmy Boy]

^Yes, the castle tour line was the original express line. My guess as to why the ride never saw express is probably that the ride is too popular, and the capacity is high enough to accommodate.

 

[zack123]

I've been searching so I am sorry if I missed this.

1)Is there a list of what rides have the express pass? We are staying onsite. I'm trying to plan our order of attack.
2) Is FJ still limited to one time with the pass?
3)Are there any rides that do not have the pass but get long?

To clarify, for other people looking for the same information: There are two types of Express passes. The Express pass for people staying onsite is good for an unlimited number of times on any attraction that offers it. The Express pass for other guests, that you buy at the ticket office, is good only one time on each attraction.

1) The only attractions that do not accept Express are Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, Pteradon Flyers, and the Ollivander's Show in WWoHP.

2) There is zero Express access for the Forbidden Journey ride, not even if you stay onsite. The only options for riders are the regular line, the single rider line, and the castle tour (for those who just want to experience the castle but not ride). If you stay onsite or book your vacation through the Universal website, you can enter WWoHP one hour earlier than the regular park opening time. This may result in shorter lines for FJ, but there is no Express line for that ride.

3) FJ gets long in the middle of the day, on a slow or moderate day it can be 45-60 minutes, I've heard much longer on a busier day. You can minimize wait times by a) going first thing in the morning or later in the afternoon/evening OR b) using the single rider line (note - in the single rider line your party will not all get to ride in the same car)

RRR can also have longer lines - first thing in the morning are generally the shortest wait times. I think this also has a single rider line? I know I did not wait more than 5 minutes to get on.

I do not know about Pteradon Flyers, it is a children's ride and adults are only allowed on if they have a child with them. I've heard it loads slowly though, so I imagine it can be a lengthy wait as well.

The Ollivander's show line has a tendency to get very long, very quickly, since they can only let about 20 people in at a time. I suggest watching the youtube video of the show first and deciding how long you're willing to wait to see it. First thing in the morning has the lowest crowds.

P.S. I imagine as long as the Castle Tour line for FJ is still used by a lot of people, they will not add an Express line. If/when the crowds are slower, and the castle tour option becomes less popular, they might consider closing it and making that the Express line. I can't imagine them ending the single rider line any time soon, they'd have to send through a lot of cars with empty seats, which probably makes the accountants as well as the park visitors unhappy.