Front of the line.....How long are the waits?

[tracyd3]

We are going maybe May, June or beg. of July. (haven't decided yet) How long are the lines on average with the front of the line pass? Are they way shorter than the regular lines or just a little shorter at that time of year? I am planning a trip for 12 people and it was my suggestion to stay at the hotel to benefit from shorter lines and I don't want to be wrong when we get there. Half hour wait?, hour wait? I don't know what to expect. I don't want the people to think it was a waste of money.

 

[donaldduck352]

When rides are posting 60min,youll be on in 15 for most!!Except for Simpsons that has a long pre-show..

 

[Metro West]

We are going maybe May, June or beg. of July. (haven't decided yet) How long are the lines on average with the front of the line pass? Are they way shorter than the regular lines or just a little shorter at that time of year? I am planning a trip for 12 people and it was my suggestion to stay at the hotel to benefit from shorter lines and I don't want to be wrong when we get there. Half hour wait?, hour wait? I don't know what to expect. I don't want the people to think it was a waste of money.

Keep in mind...there is no such thing as a "front of the line" pass. The Express Plus passes will help the wait time in the lines but you will still have 15-20 minute waits...which is certainly better than 60-75 minute waits!

If you look at the website under the dates you're going and check out the price of the EP, you will get an idea of what kind of crowd to expect. The pricier the EP is the higher the anticipated crowd level will be. If you decide not to stay onsite, make sure you're there as early as possible. You will be able to avoid lines on some of the bigger attractions before the crowds arrive.

 

[Greengirl137]

Thanks for this info...I was wondering as well!

 

[Darcy03231]

We were there last August (peak time). Wait for Hulk was 90 minutes. With FOTL it was about 15 min. Wait for Spiderman was 45 min. With FOTL it was 10 min. Wait for Popeye was over an hour. With FOTL it was 10 min. FOTL is definitely worth it.

If you stay off-site make sure you get there prior to park opening. If you're at the turnstiles when the park opens you can get quite a bit done with little to no wait between 9 am - 11 am.

 

[GinaBean]

Keep in mind...there is no such thing as a "front of the line" pass. The Express Plus passes will help the wait time in the lines but you will still have 15-20 minute waits...which is certainly better than 60-75 minute waits!

Yeah, I thought "front of the line" meant bypassing the express line and was surprised to find out differently. We were there at Christmas, and the only ride that we really had to wait on was The Simpsons.

 

[Metro West]

Yeah, I thought "front of the line" meant bypassing the express line and was surprised to find out differently. We were there at Christmas, and the only ride that we really had to wait on was The Simpsons.

Right and I try to correct people when they mistakenly refer to the Express Plus passes as FOTL. I would hate to have someone go for the first time and expect to see FOTL signs everywhere and not know better.

 

[wallstreet123456]

If you look at the website under the dates you're going and check out the price of the EP, you will get an idea of what kind of crowd to expect. The pricier the EP is the higher the anticipated crowd level will be. If you decide not to stay onsite, make sure you're there as early as possible. You will be able to avoid lines on some of the bigger attractions before the crowds arrive.

We are going to be there from 3/24 - 3/31 and I can't figure out how to check the price for the EP as you mentioned so that I can see how crowded it might be.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Steven

 

[Metro West]

We are going to be there from 3/24 - 3/31 and I can't figure out how to check the price for the EP as you mentioned so that I can see how crowded it might be.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Steven

http://www.universalorlando.com/tickets/express-pass-plus.html

Click on which pass you would want and a pop-up calendar will...well...pop-up. Check for your dates by month...the pricing is color-coded by date.On your dates, the price of the 1 day/2 park EP for all days except for that weekend are $30.99/per person and the weekend dates are $40.99/per person...which would indicate a moderate crowd level.

 

[shafke]

Over President's weekend the longest we waited with FOTL was for Dueling Dragons... I figure we waited at least 1/2 hour. The next longest was for Jurassic Park which was probably close to 30 minutes also. Other than those we waited tops 15 minutes.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

We have been on-site at US a few times, with very little wait in the off-season. BUT...this past year we went in late June, and with our on-site express we waited almost an HOUR for Riptide Falls. The Mummy was at least 20 mins. Other rides were better,though. I was shocked at the Riptide Falls wait. If I had known it would have been that long, we never would have waited.

 

[Krustycarnie]

We have been on-site at US a few times, with very little wait in the off-season. BUT...this past year we went in late June, and with our on-site express we waited almost an HOUR for Riptide Falls. The Mummy was at least 20 mins. Other rides were better,though. I was shocked at the Riptide Falls wait. If I had known it would have been that long, we never would have waited.

If you were waiting in the express line for an hour; most likely one of two things happened:

1)the ride went down for a technical issue
2)the person at the merge point of the two lines was not merging correctly

My guess is number one being that you were there in late June, a busier time, more technical issues will and do occur. Also keep in mind that Ripsaw like most water rides will drain all the water out of the ride if it has a e-stop situation occur; be that the ride system has a fault or someone enters a restricted area. When this happens it takes no less than 45 minutes to fill the flume again.