FAQ about the Hotel Express Pass - AKA FOTL

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so i want to book one night stay on-site to get the harry potter early morning hour as that is the main focus of our one day trip to universal.

i'm wondering if i should just book cabana bay for that benefit rather than one of the other three resorts that will also offer us express pass. my daughters and I don't care for headliner/thrill rides - my husband does. but like i said, our focus is harry potter for the most part.

are there single rider lines for most of the thrill rides? is it worth it for the shows/restaurants? any other downsides to cabana bay?

thanks!

I'm also interested! DD is a big Harry Potter fan, and thinking about the best way to approach it.
 
I'm also interested! DD is a big Harry Potter fan, and thinking about the best way to approach it.

I am a HUGE Potter fan too ! I've been to Universal twice in the past year and April will be my first trip where I stay on site. I've been lucky enough to travel during less popular times of the year so I was able to walk onto Forbidden Journey and waited about an hour for Gringott's both in the afternoons.
If I only had one day of extra hour I would get in at 8am and head straight to Gringott's, then to The Hogwarts Express, onto Forbidden Journey and then go back and explore the shops in each area.

Are you planning at least two days in the parks?
 
Can we get our EP at the RPR kiosks at any time? We will be getting in kind of late, after 9m. I want to get our room keys and EP all squared away, so that we can hit the parks at RD the next morning. Thanks
 


I am a HUGE Potter fan too ! I've been to Universal twice in the past year and April will be my first trip where I stay on site. I've been lucky enough to travel during less popular times of the year so I was able to walk onto Forbidden Journey and waited about an hour for Gringott's both in the afternoons.
If I only had one day of extra hour I would get in at 8am and head straight to Gringott's, then to The Hogwarts Express, onto Forbidden Journey and then go back and explore the shops in each area.

Are you planning at least two days in the parks?

Thanks for the recommendation! We were only planning on one day to basically just do all the Harry Potter attractions. We are looking at arriving in Orlando for Halloween, and doing the Magic Kingdom.
 


What is the cost for FOTL Pass?


the costs vary based on date and park.
there is an option to make the ep a 2 park pass.

there are 2 types of ep you can buy.

the basic one is only one ride/show usage.
the other is the unlimited ride usage.


you can go to www.universalorlando.com and click on the ticket site to find out the cost for the ep.
put in the dates you want to buy for and check the ep costs for that day on the calendar.

if the price is high, that is an indicator that universal is expecting a high crowd day.
low price for the ep, low crowd day.
 
So please can I just ask for clarification on the checking in process...

Arrive at RPR and self park, go to the desk and check-in. Get a room key and then go to a booth to get our FOTL passes?
Go off and have fun, resort will call us when room is ready and then when we check out, we can do that on-line or via a kiosk?

Do we have to print a FOTL for each of the days or is the first one good until the end of our stay?
 
yes that is what you do.
use the kiosk in the hotel lobby to make the photo express pass.

your dates of stay will be listed on it so that one pass will cover from check in day until the day you check out for ee and express lines.
everyone in your reservation needs to make their own express pass

you can check out of the hotel through the tv in your room
or you can do the express drop off paper in the lobby.

checking out from the check in counter is your
third option
 
Arrive at RPR and self park, go to the desk and check-in. Get a room key and then go to a booth to get our FOTL passes?
Go off and have fun, resort will call us when room is ready and then when we check out, we can do that on-line or via a kiosk?

Don't forget stashing your bags with Bell Services. Not safe to leave them out in the car no matter where you are.

Checkout...we actually totally forget to do ANY checkout process more often than not. We still get checked out just fine. :)
 
Looking to book our first trip to the Dark Side for next April. As I understand it, if I book a room only at RPR, this gives us the Express Pass privileges for our length of stay. Correct?

If I purchase park to park tickets from a 3rd party (say UT), do I purchase them now or wait closer to my trip?
 
Looking to book our first trip to the Dark Side for next April. As I understand it, if I book a room only at RPR, this gives us the Express Pass privileges for our length of stay. Correct?

If I purchase park to park tickets from a 3rd party (say UT), do I purchase them now or wait closer to my trip?
I would buy soon as we never know when tickets/passes will increase
 
My friends are going to Uni for the first time. They're a family of 5--2 Adults, 1 12 year old, a 5 year old and a 6 year old. They can't decide to stay at Cabana Bay with no passes or Pacific Bay with the passes. If they stay at Pacific Bay, they were told they would have to pay for a pull-out bed. Is this correct? How valuable are FOTL passes December 12-16? Is a crowd calendar for Universal available anywhere?
 
maybe they are talking about the deluxe rooms which include the pull out sofa.
costs more than the standard rooms that have the 2 beds in the room.

in the standard rooms at pbh, you can use the star service button on your room phone and request bedding to be brought to your room.
make a pallet on the floor for one of the kids.
request blankets, linens, pillows, etc
no charge for that.
 
so i want to book one night stay on-site to get the harry potter early morning hour as that is the main focus of our one day trip to universal.

i'm wondering if i should just book cabana bay for that benefit rather than one of the other three resorts that will also offer us express pass. my daughters and I don't care for headliner/thrill rides - my husband does. but like i said, our focus is harry potter for the most part.

are there single rider lines for most of the thrill rides? is it worth it for the shows/restaurants? any other downsides to cabana bay?
We're looking at these options, too, though we think a two night stay makes more sense for us. One thought that occurred to me was going without the express pass on day 1, and deciding on day 2 whether or not to get it on the fly, and only getting the simple express pass. (Day 3 will be at a WDW water park.)

Note that the new Sapphire Falls hotel, like Cabana Bay, does not include the free Express Pass. As near as I can figure, the Express Pass incentive for the higher priced hotels doesn't work when it's only two people, no kids.
 
We are finally flipping over to the Universal. I am surprised at the cost of the hotel at 360 per nite. Is it really all that to have the express pass?
 
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