Express Passes?

[wdisneyaholic]

Hi all, we are taking our first trip to Universal before 10 nights at Disney. We will be there the end of July 2012. I was pricing hotels onsite and was a little surprised at how expensive they are. SO I thought if we stay off site but just get the Express passes we would be ok.

My question is, are these passes the same as like staying on site access? I know resort guests get in earlier which would be a benefit for WWOHP, which is the primary reason we are going.

Never been to Universal so looking for some input. Party is Me, hubby and 3 boys 11 and 12.

TIA

 

[mesaboy2]

The Express Pass that's included with your onsite stay is your room key and gets you unlimited access to all attractions that accept it. The purchased Express Pass gets you access once per attraction. That's the main difference.

 

[wdisneyaholic]

Thanks Mesaboy2, I did not know that. I may just have to suck it up and stay onsite. Im thinking that July will probably be pretty crowded.

 

[mesaboy2]

Thanks Mesaboy2, I did not know that. I may just have to suck it up and stay onsite. Im thinking that July will probably be pretty crowded.

If you do opt to purchase the Express Pass itself, know these things:

- it is non-refundable,
- it is date specific,
- it can be purchased in advance, and
- it can be purchased day-of.

The best advice I can give you is to wait until you are there and see the crowds for yourself before buying it. That way you can make an informed decision as to whether it's worth it or not. If you buy in advance and your plans change or a brief rainstorm clears the park, you just wasted your money.

No matter what kind you get, this one or with an onsite stay, there are four attractions that do not accept them: Forbidden Journey, Ollivander's, Pteranadon Flyers, and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.

 

[christophfam]

Thanks Mesaboy2, I did not know that. I may just have to suck it up and stay onsite. Im thinking that July will probably be pretty crowded.

If there is any way possible, onsite really is the way to go. No only do you get the unlimited express, but you also have such easy access to your beautiful resort and awesome pool. We love staying onsite and letting your kids ride the same ride over and over again if they choose is priceless.

 

[Bluer101]

If there is any way possible, onsite really is the way to go. No only do you get the unlimited express, but you also have such easy access to your beautiful resort and awesome pool. We love staying onsite and letting your kids ride the same ride over and over again if they choose is priceless.

It's the best in the summer to ride the water rides over and over. We once rode Dudley about 8-10 times before this group in the regular line even got on once.

 

[AnjieNet]

Hi all, we are taking our first trip to Universal before 10 nights at Disney. We will be there the end of July 2012. I was pricing hotels onsite and was a little surprised at how expensive they are. SO I thought if we stay off site but just get the Express passes we would be ok.

My question is, are these passes the same as like staying on site access? I know resort guests get in earlier which would be a benefit for WWOHP, which is the primary reason we are going.

Never been to Universal so looking for some input. Party is Me, hubby and 3 boys 11 and 12.

TIA

Also consider what you'd be spending in express passes for your family. Could make up the cost of an overnight stay. You stay one night, you get two days of unlimited express.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Hi all, we are taking our first trip to Universal before 10 nights at Disney. We will be there the end of July 2012. I was pricing hotels onsite and was a little surprised at how expensive they are. SO I thought if we stay off site but just get the Express passes we would be ok.

My question is, are these passes the same as like staying on site access? I know resort guests get in earlier which would be a benefit for WWOHP, which is the primary reason we are going.

Never been to Universal so looking for some input. Party is Me, hubby and 3 boys 11 and 12.

TIA

We stayed at PBH in July 2010 and was totally worth the extra cost to stay onsite. The unlimitted Express Pass was worth the cost of staying onsite.

July will be VERY crowded! Touring with the Express Pass was very different that our previous WDW experience. I would plan our touring around obtaining specific FP's and return times, knowing what rides to hit and when. The Express Pass changed touring for the better for us. All but two of the headliner rides have EP access, so we planned to ride Rip-Ride-Rocket coaster 1st thing on US day and then were able to just take in US and ride when we wanted to with little to no wait...in July! Men-in-Black ride, EP line was 3 minutes, the regular line was 45. The Mummy, EP line none, regular line 60min. The great thing about the unlimitted EP is that you can ride, over and over as many times as you want. We rode the Mummy x6 and never waited.

WWoHP will be very crowded and the hour early entry was priceless for us. We love HP and were super excited to tour WWoHP. We were able to ride; FJ, DD and see all the shops we wanted to see in that 1st hour.

If at all possible, stay onsite. Check for discounts on the US website as they have a current discount (more you stay, more you save). We only stay 3 nights normally and when we are going you need to stay 4 for the 10% discount. I am looking into buying an AP when the AP discounts are released to see what kind of deal you can get. Check the Lowes website for AP discounts.

I am not sure what your transportation options are, but we took ME from MCO to WDW and then rented a car from the Car Care Center at WDW. We then drove from WDW to US and then back to MCO. It was super easy to find US from WDW and very fast to rent from the CCC with National.

When we arrived at PBH at 11:00 AM, our room was not ready until 4:30. We used the time to swim and make a grocery stop to replenish our supplies delivered by gardengrocer for our WDW stay. I think next trip, we will head to the park on arrival day if our room is not ready.

We really liked US and loved WWoHP and IOA. Hope you guys have a great trip!

 

[AJA]

Stay at least one night at Universal. As others have said you'll get the unlimited express pass for 2 days. It really, really is worth it. I am sure we will see discounts for the hotels before your dates. Don't let the rack rates scare you. We got over 30% off using the stay more save more rate for May.

 

[canadiankim]

Like many have said, i think if you look at buying one AP (not sure which one) but it will give you discounts on the room rates. July will be crazy and any extra's you can get from staying on-site will be more than worth it.

If the costs gets too crazy, opt for the EP and at least you will get to ride the best once without having to line up for them.

 

[DCTooTall]

And also remember that the Universal On-site hotels are comparable to a Disney Deluxe. So when looking at the price of the room, realize you aren't going to be getting a POP/AllStar type experience for your $$.

A lot of people, if they can comfortably afford it, Actually seem to enjoy taking a day (or 2) at a Universal onsite hotel when doing Universal on a Disney trip because the Universal hotel/resort combined with the Express help them to have some very relaxed days which can help then recharge or charge up for the chaos that can be Disney.

 

[ChuckGA]

The only thing I have to add is that if possible, put Universal at the END of a Disney trip. Disney is tough in the summer and onsite at Universal is absolutely going to spoil you for no waiting in line, no running for FPs, and no reservations required at sit-down restaurants. Just flash that hotel key and get seated next after any other onsite guests waiting.

 

[Badge]

Ok, so I did some pricing for you. I am sure you have done this as well, but I just wanted to lay it all out there. I have no idea how many days you plan on spending at Universal nor do I know the date, so I just went with one night on the 23th of July.

The price for one night is $279.00 which will include TWO days of UNLIMITED express passes. During the summer, you will love to have them and will REALLY miss them when you get to Disney.

Now, on both the 23th and 24th (since you would be getting TWO days of express staying onsite) the express passes would cost you $69.99 PER PERSON PER DAY!

So, if you do the math, thats $349.99 for JUST the express passes for ONE day! For the two days you get with staying onsite, that would cost you almost $700 if you were to buy them alone.

A lot of people get scared when they see the near $300 room rate for rooms at Universal during the summer and think "Oh well, we will just stay off site for $80 and buy the express passes". People who do this spend MORE money than if they were to just stay onsite in a very nice hotel.

So basically your options are to stay onsite for $279 a night or to spend $700 on the express passes plus you still need a place to sleep. The choice is clear when you do all the math which way is cheaper to go.

So, enjoy your trip to Universal and enjoy your nice onsite hotel! You will love it!