First Timers at Universal Express Pass?

[AngelaVa]

We will be visiting the last week of February to Universal, being our fist trip. The group is 3 adults and a 5 yrs old boy that is looking forward to seeing the Transformers and Spiderman.
Should I add the Express Pass when I buy the package with my travel agent.
We are stay 2 days at Aventura Hotel then going to Disney for 7 days.

I'm sorry if this question has been asked.

 

[damo]

Personally, I wouldn't. You might not need them. I would purchase them at the parks if you find that you would like them after experiencing wait times.

 

[cschaaf]

What rides are you interested in doing? How tall is your 5 yr old?

When are you going in Feb? Crowd calendars show the first half as Slow and the second half as Busy with a few Very Busy days in there.

 

[pattyw]

You'll still get early entry at Aventura and as @damo says, wait until you get there and see how the crowds are.

 

[DebbieB]

You may want to price upgrading to Hard Rock or Portifino and get a Express Pass included. We stayed 2 nights at Portifino in April, loved it! Having Express Pass was very convenient.

 

[macraven]

Don’t know if you are doing the weekend for the darkside portion of your trip

Mardi Gras will bring in crowds at the studios
Staying at one of the deluxe hotels may be worth it for the free ep

 

[AJ1983]

It might be cheaper to upgrade to a deluxe hotel and get length of stay Unlimited Express Pass included rather than purchase daily indiviual Express Passes for everyone. I find Royal Pacific to generally be the cheapest of the 3 deluxe hotels.

 

[AngelaVa]

We are checking in Thursday night February 28 and checking out Saturday March 2nd.
My grandson is 47 inches as of today.
I know the adults rollercoaster we will not be doing!

 

[macraven]

We are checking in Thursday night February 28 and checking out Saturday March 2nd.
My grandson is 47 inches as of today.
I know the adults rollercoaster we will not be doing!

You’ll miss the big crowds since you check out on Saturday
If you have P2P tickets, leave the studios and go to IOA on Friday if the studios becomes crowded in the early evening

 

[nkereina]

I agree with PPs that it would probably be a negligible price difference to upgrade to RPR and have unlimited EPs for the whole duration. If that's not an option, I'd probably purchase EP since you have Friday and what I presume is 3/4 of the day Saturday if that's the day you're heading to Disney. I find EP lets us go at a more leisurely pace, since we're not rushing for early entry or to get things done in the morning. That's worth the cost to me.

 

[GoldmanTrust]

Most likely you wont need it. Spend the money on a wand!

 

[kohlby]

No. That's a pretty good time of year to go. If you are surprised by crowds, then I'd just buy it for your last day - which you can do while there.

 

[jerseygal]

Personally, I wouldn't. You might not need them. I would purchase them at the parks if you find that you would like them after experiencing wait times.

THANK YOU for this answer. We are doing a quick 4 day trip mid December. We have always stayed on site, typically HRH, sometimes RP, and I not only love the convenience of the on site hotels, but the EP. This is our first trip staying offsite. That is great advice to not purchase in advance, but to wait and get a reading on how crowded the parks are.
THANKS! CAN'T WAIT for King Kong, just missed the opening last time.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Kong is great! Hit it early in the day if possible, it tends to have one of the consistently longer lines.

Have fun!

 

[bumbershoot]

I would look at the Loews Hotels website to make sure a package is the best way to do this. It's entirely possible that booking it through the hotel site and buying tickets from wherever you want (Universal, undercovertourist, etc) will be a better deal.