Express Passes

[acamusic]

We're staying at HRH in two weeks and it will be our first time at Universal. We're wondering about the wisdom of spending extra $$ on hotel for the primary benefit of Express Passes for my family of 5 (including 3 teenage boys). With probable light crowds, would it make more sense to book a cheaper hotel with larger sq ft. and just go with virtual lines and/or standby? Do Express Passes provide any real advantage if, for example, Hulk is posting a 5 minute wait, like it has today?

 

[C&Jx2]

I think the EP is still a good idea. There are less people, but with the cleaning and spacing of riders the rides aren’t running at capacity.

 

[TikiRob]

Plus, any time saved from standing in lines in masks would be money well spent!

 

[Erica Ladd]

Are there stand by lines? Or only VQ and EP?

 

[Wreckem]

Are there stand by lines? Or only VQ and EP?

Depends on the ride, time of day and how busy the parks are.

 

[helenb]

EP saves a ton of time. We were at the parks today, and with EP we went on almost every ride in both parks in a single day. You can spend 1 less day at the parks if you have EP. Seriously. Today, we did:

Hogwarts Express
Forbidden Journey
Hippogriff Coaster
Hogwarts Express (other way)
MiB
Simpsons
Kang & Kodos
Mummy
Blues Brothers show
Fast & Furious
Jimmy Fallon
Transformers
Rip Ride Rocket (3X)
Minions
Hagrid
Kong
Spiderman
Hulk (3X)
Dr. Doom
Storm Force

This was all between 9 am and 5 pm, and we had a sit down lunch at Finnegan’s too. This is what you can do in a single day with EP.

 

[TommyJK]

Depends on the ride, time of day and how busy the parks are.

This is the important response. From everything I've been reading they've seemed very wishy-washy on when to use VQ and on what rides and when. The last thing you want is to show up to a ride, only to find that it's busy, and they've swapped it over to VQ and now you have to mess with trying to get a VQ spot for sometime later.

With EP you tour the parks however you want, and just ride whatever you want whenever you want (with the exception of Hagrid's coaster which does not have EP).

 

[Oscar Madison]

EP saves a ton of time. We were at the parks today, and with EP we went on almost every ride in both parks in a single day. You can spend 1 less day at the parks if you have EP. Seriously. Today, we did:

Hogwarts Express
Forbidden Journey
Hippogriff Coaster
Hogwarts Express (other way)
MiB
Simpsons
Kang & Kodos
Mummy
Blues Brothers show
Fast & Furious
Jimmy Fallon
Transformers
Rip Ride Rocket (3X)
Minions
Hagrid
Kong
Spiderman
Hulk (3X)
Dr. Doom
Storm Force

This was all between 9 am and 5 pm, and we had a sit down lunch at Finnegan’s too. This is what you can do in a single day with EP.

How did the Virtual Line work for you with Hagrid's?

 

[acamusic]

If some lines go Virtual Only, does that also eliminate Express Pass lines, even for those rides that usually offer it? (i.e. Kong, Mummy)

 

[helenb]

How did the Virtual Line work for you with Hagrid's?

Pretty well. It’s reasonably easy to grab a spot when the parks open. You can also go to Guest Services to get one if you don’t have a phone... again, when the park opens. Getting them during the day is potluck.

@acamusic All rides that had EP before still do, even if there is ‘only’ a virual line.

 

[tinkerbell1991]

Just to confirm, you can only get 1 virtual queue at a time?
Do tickets link to the app in any way? I'm just wondering if the app only knows you're in the parks via GPS, does that mean I could get a virtual queue for one ride and select for 2 people then my partner do the same on his phone for a different attraction?