Fast pass

[kids67]

We will be going to universal/ioa in July 2022. We will have 2 to 3 days there with park hopper. We are going to do 1 day of fast passes (the park hopper one). Should we do the fast passes the 1st, 2nd or 3rd day? Get our barring under us the 1st day and use the 2nd day? Also, what rides are must do and is it possible to do all the must rides in both parks with a fast pass in 1 day? I figure july is going to be hot standing in line and lots of people but can only do fast passes 1 day. Suggestions please

 

[wdwrule]

If you stay at a “deluxe” UO hotel Portofino, Hard Rock, or Royal Pacific, you’ll get unlimited express passes included in the hotel cost for each person in the room. For a one nights stay, you’ll each get two days worth of express passes… check in day AND check out day. Just an idea even if staying deluxe for one night then moving to “moderate” or “value” hotels the other nights. July will be busy
ETA: just to clarify, when I say express passes, I’m assuming you mean shorter waits in ride lines which is similar to the term of Disney’s fast passes which I guess is now lightning lane or something like that

 

[AJA]

If you are going to have Express one day out of 3 I like your idea of day 2. You can learn the layout of both parks and have a solid plan of what you don’t want to miss and how to totally maximize your time. Then the 3rd day you could watch the shows, do some re rides, and explore the shops (especially if you have a Harry Potter fan).

Do at least run the numbers on a one night stay at a delux hotel as it would give you express for 2 days. During heavily crowded times express pass can be $200 plus per person for 1 day.

 

[cschaaf]

We will be going to universal/ioa in July 2022. We will have 2 to 3 days there with park hopper. We are going to do 1 day of fast passes (the park hopper one). Should we do the fast passes the 1st, 2nd or 3rd day? Get our barring under us the 1st day and use the 2nd day? Also, what rides are must do and is it possible to do all the must rides in both parks with a fast pass in 1 day? I figure july is going to be hot standing in line and lots of people but can only do fast passes 1 day. Suggestions please

Depends on what you and your family will consider "must dos".

For us, I think I'd put the must dos as (in order of how I'd ride)
IOA - Hagrid's (no Express), Velocicoaster (no Express), JP River Adventure, Kong, Spiderman, Hulk. For first time visitors, I'd add in Forbidden Journey (it makes us both feel not-so-great, so we skip it on most trips) - can be added anywhere around the Hagrid's/Velocicoaster/JP rides.
USF - Gringott's, MIB, Mummy (but it will be closed when you are there), Transformers, Rip Ride. If you like shows, both Horror Make Up and Bourne might make that list, too.

If you have an HP fan in the group, riding Hogwart's Express both ways might be a must do, too.

I'd also recommend what others have said - price it all out, look into an Annual Pass for the potential hotel discount at one of the Premiere resorts that include Express.

If you end up with 2 or 3 days and only 1 with Express, I'd say to either get it on what will be the busiest day (like a weekend day) or your last park day. It wouldn't be fun to stand in standby lines after you've enjoyed whisking past them in an Express Line.