Express Pass - What is the real deal?

[twin43]

Just want to put my 2 cents in. We have 4 children and have "survived" twins. Three of my children are teens. We are going PEAK in Feb over vacation. What I have learned is that to splurge on the RPR we can cut cost other places. We will have a room full of food and beverages that our children can conveniently access. Also FOTL for 6 people is amazing. We are staying 5 days and the pass would add up. We paid $279.00 per night but we ended up with 4 free 5 day passes with that price and the time we are going even the cheap hotels cost more.I am a bargain hunter believe me. I will gladly be hanging out at the pool while our teens walk back and forth to the parks. It's worth every penny. I know every situation is different but certainly for us I feel I have the best deal.

 

[phamton]

I read on another site something about purchasing an express pass "book" ...is this the same as the express plus? Kind of like a coupon book or something? Also..what website did you go to to find out the price for the express plus on a particular day??

Thanks!

It used to be a booklet a couple of years ago but now it is just a card, the size of your ticket.

Universal usually only sets the price based on the anticipated crowds so sometimes you can only purchase them a month in advance, so if your date is further than one month in the future, it might not show the express pass plus option when you purchase the tickets.



Go to: http://www.univacations.com/
Click on "tickets only" then enter your dates and number in party. Then
click search.

When it takes you to the next page. scroll down to where it says:

Departure Date: Nights:
Use the GO button to Book Your Tickets Now!

Enter the date and number of nights and click "Go." It should then take
you to a page that has the Universal and Islands of Adventure Express
plus pass along with tickets. That says: Option Price Guide
Universal Express Plus-Islands of Adventure $XX.xx (this will be the
price not x)
Universal Express Plus-Universal Studios Florida $XX.xx


Included features and/or taxes:
Handling Fee 2.00



Do NOT purchase express unless you know the exact date you need them as
they are dated and only good for the date on the pass. Also the express
pass is sold for each park. You can't use the Universal express pass
card at IOA. They do have one that includes both parks and is about $10 more and is called a Combo.

 

[disneyjunkie]

If you get there early enough you will be ok. I for one would never pay for the express pass anyway & $50 is just nuts I have gone over Easter break & not stayed onsite...we got there early & as I have said in other posts, we do single riders when it gets too crowded. To be very honest, this past Christmas break (12/17-23rd) we did Universal & Disney. I thought Disney was way too crowded & all the fast pass were out anyway. They do not have many rides with single rider options so we didn't get on much once the crowds came. We actually did more attractions at Universal. I plan on going to Universal over Easter this year. I am a seasonal passholder for Disney and annual for Universal. My pass is on a black out at Disney for that week, so Universal here I come.. maybe will run into you?? If you decide to brave it

Thanks for posting. This gives something to think about.

Maybe I can just purchase express pass for one park (IOA) and get to US at opening. That should allow us to stay ahead of the crowds at US and avoid long lines at IOA. At least I hope it does.

OK, time to do more research on IOA/US.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Thanks for posting. This gives something to think about.

Maybe I can just purchase express pass for one park (IOA) and get to US at opening. That should allow us to stay ahead of the crowds at US and avoid long lines at IOA. At least I hope it does.

OK, time to do more research on IOA/US.

If you plan on only going for one day, then that would be the wise move. If you were going 2 or more days (which is what we did), we did each park once first thing in the morning. Do not let the crowds scare you away if you really want to go. As I said, Disney was way more crowded than Universal. Yeah, the fast pass at Disney is still free, but what good is it when it is so crowded that they are all used up by mid afternoon If you do any theme park at holiday time, just be ready & get a plan together on how to do it... We knew just were we wanted to go & in what order. Within the first hour at US we did, Mummy 3 times in a row, MIB, ET, the next hour we did Jimmy Neutron, Shrek & Twister. The next morning we went to IOA, withing the first 2 hours we did Hulk, DD's (each side 2 times), Spidy 2 times in a row, Dr Doom, Cat in the Hat, Flying Unicorn & still managed to have pic's taken with the Grinch (Christmas pic's). Just sit with your kids, decide what rides are what you want first, go in somewhat of an order or the park so you aren't racing back to front then back again. As I said, once it gets crowed we went to single only lines... that was after our first 2 hours in each park doing everything together.

 

[disneygal55]

Has anyone heard why they took away the free express passes? Being from out of state (Massachusetts) we always tried to spend one day doing a two park hopper visit, usually once a year.We stay at WDW as we are vacation club members so drive down to Universal once a trip. We start at IOA and are able to usually ride everything we enjoy by lunch. It was usually at Universal in the afternoon that we needed fast passes. I don't think that it is right for them to take away something that the general public enjoyed. Sure , making the passes available to their hotel guests makes wonderful financial sense to them...fills up their onsite rooms! But for those who stay elsewhere or can't visit regularly {during low attendence times} it makes it difficult to do it all. I will not pay for something that was complimentary for many years!

 

[phamton]

I will not pay for something that was complimentary for many years!

Then don't pay for it. I never have and I would bet 95% of the people who post here haven't either, except for possibly HHN. I seldom wait in lines. During busy times, arrive early and hit the more popular rides first.

 

[disneygal55]

But really, with all due respect, your address shows that you are a local. Chances are that you can visit a lot more during slower times. Most visitors can come once a year...if we're lucky. It just doesn't seem right to take this "service" away. I really love Universal and am just dissapointed...that's all.

 

[phamton]

I understand that you are disappointed but really it is quite doable without express. Slacking went on New Years Eve which is one of the most crowded day of the year. He did all this without express.
This was what Slacking rode on NYE without express pass:

Doom
Spiderman
Hulk
Cat in the Hat
1 Fish
Dragons Fire
Dragons Ice
Flying Unicorn
JPRA
Popeye
Poseidon
Mummy (x2)
Jaws (x2)
MIB (x2)
Fear factor
Earthquake
Barney
BTTF
ET
T-2
Horror Makeup
Jimmy Neutron
Shrek
Twister"

He rode 27 rides on New Years Eve. It can be done if you arrive early and go against the crowds.

 

[macraven]

when i first started going to universal, there were no express pass machines.
i took three sons all under the age of 9 the first time. many trips after that also.

once express pass machines were functioning, we didn't use them.
we always started early. we would get to the gate 30-45 minutes before opening time. quite often universal opened the gates early if there was a long line waiting.

we went opposite of the crowds.
we ate early, 11:00, did dinner also at an off time.
we hit every big attraction and some repeats.

there were lines sometimes but no longer than you would find at disney, sea world, six flags.........
if it was a repeat ride that had the line, we stood in it. we had already experienced it and decided any line of 20 minutes was well worth it.

some years back we started to stay at the on site hotels. yes the fotl is fabulous but on mib, spidey we choose to use the single line riders. that is much faster than the other two.

just letting you know, it can be done without the express passes.

 

[Twin's-Mom]

I will not pay for something that was complimentary for many years!

"...a business such as universal has the right to discontinue the free express. Your choice is to take your business elsewhere or learn to tour the parks without express."

-phamtom

 

[lindalinda]

how rude.

 

[jayster]

I went to USF in May 2003-2004 and 2005. It has generally gotten a little more crowded in the last year or so, but it is not that bad. I went for the extra money last year and booked Royal Pacific (onsite resort) it was a mid-season rate and I signed up for a "Lowes Club" membership which gave us a tremendous room upgrade and many perks. The reason I did it was to get the express pass free as an onsite guest( your room key is the pass), plus they gave us length of stay tix for both parks and one day at sea world. When you add it up, it is pretty much the same money I would have paid if I stayed in an off-site hotel and booked everything al-a-carte. As far as the express pass goes (your original question) you can go to the park and decide the day of your visit. There were kiosks that had the pass available for purchase as well as customer service booths in both parks to get them. Quite honestly, I walked onto many of the rides and they didnt even check my express pass (my room key) I bypassed lines at eight or so rides. While USF was crowded early one morning, IOA was empty when we arrived.

 

[jayster]

Ahhhh a true veteran of the USF! You tips are great for alot of the newbies on the site. You are 110% right in saying that all you have to do is make a couple of minor switches off of the normal routine, and you can have a great time. I stayed in the resort onsite (mid and low season) because when you add up everything, you pay pretty much the same as if you purchase all of your tickets and rooms seperate off-site.