Express pass worth it?

[Life is good]

We are two adult yearly WDW visitors- commando style- rope drop to close, add on fast passes during the day, touring plans, etc. Going to Universal Dec 6-10 with 4 day park to park tickets. Knowing our style of touring (and the last time we were at Universal we shared it with Hurricane Andrew (1992)) what are your thoughts on the value of the express pass at $89 per person per day. TIA

 

[pcstang]

I would say no. With 4 days and a generally slow time you should be fine without them. If you decide you need them you can buy them in the parks.

 

[bumbershoot]

Any chance of staying at one of the onsite deluxe hotels? If you do that, you get unlimited express pass plus early entrance every day from the moment you check in to the close of the parks on check out day.

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

I just did 2 days in August with crowd levels of 8/9 without the express pass and didn't think it was necessary (especially as it doesn't cover all rides).

In two days I managed to do all the major rides (except minions - I just did not want to wait for that one even though I had the time) and shows between 9 and 5 each day when the parks were open til 9pm, and never waited more than 30 minutes for everything. Getting there at RD did help as I was able to do all the HP attractions as a walk on basically.

You also don't really need it if the two of you are willing to go single rider on the bigger rides (some HP attractions, the Hulk, Mummy etc.) - this reduced wait times considerably!

 

[tinydancer09]

I've been at Universal during that week before. We had all done universal before so we skipped quite a bit.. but we did both parks in a full day and had time to spare. I might add it was also raining so crowd levels were extra small. I don't think it's worth your money for express passes for this trip. You have 4 full days which will give you plenty of time even during the high season.

PLUS- while I LOVE my express passes.... You miss a lot of themeing on rides when you use them. They take you through a short line that's off to the side. I had always used them when I first started going... then one trip we didn't stay on site and I went through the queues and realized just how much I was missing. If you get to the parks and decide you don't want to wait in line you can always purchase them there.

 

[macraven]

tinydancer, when was the last time you were at the darkside, i thought you posted somewhere it was 5 years ago.
do i have you mixed up with another dancer?


was the one day two park visit this july?
nice when it rains as it clears out people.
bad when it had lightening as outdoor rides go down

 

[tinydancer09]

tinydancer, when was the last time you were at the darkside, i thought you posted somewhere it was 5 years ago.
do i have you mixed up with another dancer?


was the one day two park visit this july?
nice when it rains as it clears out people.
bad when it had lightening as outdoor rides go down

Oh no not I, said the little one. I went this past December and will be there again in a few weeks for my birthday... and then maybe again in December... and at some point for Mardi Gras. It's been a long time since I've stayed on site. Probably 5 years. It was PBH and I was... 19 or 20 What year did WWOHP (part 1) open? That's when it was. So yeah about 5 years since I stayed on site.

But since that I went in 2011 first week in December- that's when I did both parks in less than a day. My mom and sister don't ride so I use single rider lines... that's also why in the past I haven't gotten to go to the dark side as much as I'd like. It's "too intense" for them. Then again this past December and spent nearly the whole day in Diagon Alley. CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK!

 

[tinydancer09]

And to add to that I never, ever, never, go to parks during the summer. EVER. Unless I suppose someone else is paying.. then I'd consider it. There's a reason I buy the seasonal passes and it's because I don't care to be in the parks during black out days anyhow! NO THANKS. I work in beach property management on the north florida coast so my down time is usually disney/dark side downtime too. Works out well