Express passes - wwyd?

MeeskaMooskaMickey

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
we are going on a family holiday from the Uk next may and are planning on staying at Universal on site. We don't go on many holidays like this due to expense so want to make it great for our children. We all love the theme of Cabana Bay and this fits in with our budget! However we don't get the express passes with this hotel. Would it be worth us transferring to one of the deluxe hotels for one night to get the benefit of this or would it be too much hassle? We like to be relaxed on holiday and stress free so I don't really like the idea of packing and moving but if we could have a whole day of jumping the queue would it be worth it?
 
You'll actually get express benefits for 2 days by staying 1 night at Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, or Portifino. The express pass is valid for check in day & check out day. Hence 2 days for a 1 night stay.
 
If it were me, I would have express passes most of the time especially if you don't get to go very often. If that is not doable, then I would get them for at least a couple of days.
 


IMO, EP is always worth it regardless of the length of time you will be there. Whether I'm there 2 weeks or 2 days, there is never an instance where I want to wait 60 minutes for Minions. You could also consider just purchasing EP. I've priced out Cabana Bay with purchased unlimited EP for my stay against staying at RPR for the whole time and the prices were comparable. That said, RPR has the edge in terms of convenience to the parks so the price becomes a better value at RPR when comparing all factors.

We were just there this past weekend. Crowd levels projected it to be slow, but we didn't find that to be the case. We got a lot done, though, because EP saved us time. I think it's well worth the cost.
 
Express passes weren't in our budget and I didn't know about that hotel perk when I booked. We stayed at Cabana Bay and really liked it. We had 3 days and did everything we wanted to. Yeah, there was no immediate gratification sometimes- we'd check wait times and plan that way vs just being able to ride anything anytime. But we rode everything multiple times and our only long line was when Gringotts was having technical difficulties. I'm sure Express Passes are lovely but they just don't fit everyone's budget.
If 1 night at one of the 3 hotels is in your budget though, I'd totally do it.
 


Hi I think it would be a great idea to do this. We did it in August for one night. We had 2 Adults and 2 teens and reserved a standard room at RPR. You do not have to pack everything up, you can just take an overnight bag leave your stuff at CBBR put your "do not disturb" sign up and nobody will come in your room. Technically you don't have to sleep there if you don't want too. I think it is a cool way to experience another hotel.
 
I think it depends on how long you are staying at Cabana. If Cabana stay is only 3- 5 days I suggest just booking over at RPH for the entire stay. If your stay is 7 days or longer (something like this) consider getting an express pass for 1-2 days. But a little more information on your stay would be helpful (how many are in your room and how long your stay).
 
You'll actually get express benefits for 2 days by staying 1 night at Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, or Portifino. The express pass is valid for check in day & check out day. Hence 2 days for a 1 night stay.
We did a split stay when we went in April. 1 night at Hard Rock Hotel, and rest at Cabana Bay. This gave us the 2 days worth of express passes for cheaper than it was to buy them separately. gave us the best of both words...EP for couple days, but cheaper on the budget rest of the time. Totally worth the slight hastle of changing rooms.

If you decide to do this it would be beneficial to "check in" to the upgrade hotel VERY early in the morning to print your EP and get the whole day's worth of benefit. They will store your luggage until the room is ready.
 
Hi I think it would be a great idea to do this. We did it in August for one night. We had 2 Adults and 2 teens and reserved a standard room at RPR. You do not have to pack everything up, you can just take an overnight bag leave your stuff at CBBR put your "do not disturb" sign up and nobody will come in your room. Technically you don't have to sleep there if you don't want too. I think it is a cool way to experience another hotel.
hmmm....never thought about doing it this way as I didn't want to pay for 2 hotels for the same night, but maybe with the SMSM rate at CB it might be worth it not to have to move everything.
 

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