Express Pass

[IheartBroncos]

Is it worth it to buy the Express Pass to skip lines? We are going the middle of May, 4 of us, and the crowd calendar is only 4-6. We have never been to Universal, so not sure how beneficial it is to have it. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[snoopboop]

No matter the time of year or the crowd level, I never go to the parks without EP. I'm spending a lot of money to be there in the first place... my time is WAY too valuable to waste it standing in line. We always stay onsite to get the EP perk.

I know not everyone agrees, but that's my take on it.

 

[Kivara]

Mid-May, it would probably be cheaper to get a room at Royal Pacific and get free Express Passes than pay extra for them (if all 4 of you are going.)

No, the lines aren't terrible mid-May, except for Minions, which is always long w/o Express it seems. But I'm with snoopboop...we enjoy staying on-site to relax, walk to the parks, and get express passes thrown in.

 

[damo]

Avoid Fridays in May. It is when the school groups converge and clog up the lines.

 

[kohlby]

No, I would not buy express pass ahead of time for that time of year. Instead, I'd decide when in the park.

On our last trip, this past Nov/Dec, we had express pass for half of our trip due to doing a split stay with half on-site at RPR. We barely used our express pass that was included. And then it was mainly just to get a shorter walk. On the Sat, crowds picked up a little, but it meant saving 10 minutes here and there, so still not a lot. The crowd calendars had our days at 4-5, with the Sat being a 6 I think. Even Minions was a walk-on at 9:30am on a Sunday - we didn't have express pass that day. (I think it got up to 30 minutes later in the day. I had read about crowds and lines at Minions and was surprised we had zero issues).

 

[RMulieri]

I am spoiled so I don't do Universal without express pass ( we stay onsite ) but you can wait till you get there to decide. They are date specific , park specific and nonrefundable. The headliner Harry Potter stuff doesn't accept express pass. It is helpful with the Despicable Me ride that has long lines pretty much all day ( even with express I have waited up to 20 mins for it )

 

[schumigirl]

Another who wouldn't do the parks without EP. Crowd calendars can be so vague.......I don't look at crowd calendars at all but a TM mentioned one day it was supposed to be 4-5.......and it was mobbed!

Every day we arrived around or before 9am Minions was at least 45 minutes, it was an hour wait at least once......and only gets longer as the day goes on. Yes, EP may be a luxury for some but it's worth every penny.

Check the onsite hotel prices for one night.....it gives you 2 days EP, that may be a worthwhile option for you since there are four of you......if not definitely wait till you get into the park before deciding if you need them or not as they are date and park specific and cannot be refunded.

 

[SuperTink]

I wouldn't leave home without it. Just got back and saw standby lines over 60 minutes for Spiderman and this is January.

 

[IheartBroncos]

Thanks everyone!!