With all the soul searching and frustration re Genie+ I thought that it might be useful to contextualize a bit more vs Universal Express. I did G+/$ILL at WDW over the holidays and UEx at Universal just now, and can share a few thoughts.
Universal Express is a lot more $. For my dates advance rates started at $140/day for 2-park unlimited, which allow rerides and can be used in both Universal parks. Prices rose to $160-$180 a few days ahead and reportedly can go much higher day of. You can get a discount by buying through UT. They are nonrefundable which poses a risk if you can’t go for some reason. This compares to a more stable ~$30/day for G+ and 1 $ILL.
UEx is more flexible. I don’t have to plan or crisscross the parks as much and there are no reservations to make. If we feel like going on ride X now, we can. I feel like the bigger and more diverse your party, the more valuable UEx is relative to G+/$ILL. We were 5 including DW, DD, bro and his GF, and me. Bro/GF sometimes wanted to do their own thing - no problem with UEx. With G+/$ILL it would have been harder to coordinate as they are first timers and earlier risers.
UEx has longer Express lane waits than G+/$ILL. I was often waiting 15-30mins with UEx. Sometimes more for the Hogwarts Express train which was inconvenient as that’s what you typically use to hop between the parks. With G+/$ILL most waits were very short, 5-15 mins typically.
Universal Express is a lot more $. For my dates advance rates started at $140/day for 2-park unlimited, which allow rerides and can be used in both Universal parks. Prices rose to $160-$180 a few days ahead and reportedly can go much higher day of. You can get a discount by buying through UT. They are nonrefundable which poses a risk if you can’t go for some reason. This compares to a more stable ~$30/day for G+ and 1 $ILL.
UEx is more flexible. I don’t have to plan or crisscross the parks as much and there are no reservations to make. If we feel like going on ride X now, we can. I feel like the bigger and more diverse your party, the more valuable UEx is relative to G+/$ILL. We were 5 including DW, DD, bro and his GF, and me. Bro/GF sometimes wanted to do their own thing - no problem with UEx. With G+/$ILL it would have been harder to coordinate as they are first timers and earlier risers.
UEx has longer Express lane waits than G+/$ILL. I was often waiting 15-30mins with UEx. Sometimes more for the Hogwarts Express train which was inconvenient as that’s what you typically use to hop between the parks. With G+/$ILL most waits were very short, 5-15 mins typically.
