Hotel Express pass is not what it used to be...

[AlexandNessa]

I agree ... we were there the first week of May, and MIB, Mummy, Jaws, and Hulk all had pretty bad waits in the Express Line. I mentioned this on the chat thread, but express passes were outnumbering hotel keys about 3-to-1. Sometimes I tend over-estimate, but Mike actually thought it was closer to 4 or 5 express passes for every hotel key.


Clearly they are over-selling. At the very least, they have underestimated the demand. Me thinks they need to RAISE their express pass prices significantly to curb demand. They are currently undervalued.


In addition, they need an efficient scanning system to ensure the "1 ride per express ticket" rule.

Fan, who specifically did you write your letter to? Guest relations?

 

[patster734]

I think it depends on day and time. Jurassic Park had a large Express line on Saturday, May 19, around 2pm. When we went back on it the next day, there was no wait.

 

[damo]

One day 2 Park
Between 30.99 and 40.99.

One day 1 Park
Between 25.99 and 35.99

Price em higher and sell less. I wonder what the summer will bring.

$25 is too low.

Jurassic Park lines were weird when we were there in February and the lines were really low. Twice when we went, the express line was almost out to the entrance.

 

[GemmaPixie]

Universal want to make money...the more express passes they sell the more money they make- plain and simple. Sad really...

 

[tlinus]

they should make less of them available. how many rooms are there total in the three onsite hotels? multiply that by the number of people in each room, that is plenty of express passes....does anyone know how many EP's are available for purchase each day? I would say cut that number in half ESPECIALLY when the onsites are filled to capacity!

we didn't encounter anything like the crowds you all are describing while we were in the parks on 4/26-5/1. The parks themselves were WAY crowded but the express lines were walk ons for the rides. The only day that we had a wait (very short one) was on Saturday.

 

[damo]

they should make less of them available. how many rooms are there total in the three onsite hotels? multiply that by the number of people in each room, that is plenty of express passes....does anyone know how many EP's are available for purchase each day? I would say cut that number in half ESPECIALLY when the onsites are filled to capacity!

we didn't encounter anything like the crowds you all are describing while we were in the parks on 4/26-5/1. The parks themselves were WAY crowded but the express lines were walk ons for the rides. The only day that we had a wait (very short one) was on Saturday.

Saturday was absolutely insane at IOA with the express line when we were there on 4/29. There was a battle of the bands that day and I am sure every kid had bought express. The express lines were crazy out to the doors on every ride...we headed over to Universal and all was well. I think the passes were really cheap that day since there is a low crowd expectation around then.

I recall the line for Dr. Doom being 90 minutes and Hulk was 2 hours. We could see the tail ends of the express lines when we were looking from the entrance. So not only were the express lines very long but the regular lines were insane as well. Thursday, Friday and Sunday were fine.

 

[tlinus]

Saturday was absolutely insane at IOA with the express line when we were there on 4/29. There was a battle of the bands that day and I am sure every kid had bought express. The express lines were crazy out to the doors on every ride...we headed over to Universal and all was well. I think the passes were really cheap that day since there is a low crowd expectation around then.

I recall the line for Dr. Doom being 90 minutes and Hulk was 2 hours. We could see the tail ends of the express lines when we were looking from the entrance. So not only were the express lines very long but the regular lines were insane as well. Thursday, Friday and Sunday were fine.

I agree!
The only not fine thing was not finding you AND we were staying at the same hotel!!!!
Got to set up a meeting place if it ever happens again!!!

 

[AlexandNessa]

$25 is too low.

Jurassic Park lines were weird when we were there in February and the lines were really low. Twice when we went, the express line was almost out to the entrance.

ITA ... cut the # of express passes available in half and double the price. Same amount of $$ for Universal with < passses available.

I forgot how long the express line for JPRA was as well. It wasn't much shorter than the regular line.

 

[yaytezIOA]

They wont cut the number of passes available. Lets get real. If people are willing to shell out the money for them, and they are, they will still sell as many as they can get away with. The only thing they will do is enforce the one time ride deal. They'll get some complaints, but they'll do it.And what happens if they open those other two hotels? The one is going to have twice the rooms that PFB has. What happens to Express then? Will they make that hotel not eligible for express?

 

[AlexandNessa]

They wont cut the number of passes available. Lets get real. If people are willing to shell out the money for them, and they are, they will still sell as many as they can get away with. The only thing they will do is enforce the one time ride deal. They'll get some complaints, but they'll do it.And what happens if they open those other two hotels? The one is going to have twice the rooms that PFB has. What happens to Express then? Will they make that hotel not eligible for express?

True, but if they doubled the price, that would certainly curtail the demand. If Universal sells 1000 passes at $25 each or 500 passes at $50 each during a supposedly "slow" season, it's all the same $$ to them, and would certainly help with the express lines. For peak weeks, they should charge a lot more than $50 for express.

I don't even want to think about what the new hotel will do to the Express Lines. Personally, I hope it's a value hotel that's not eligible for Express. Right now, the resort experience/FOTL is the main reason we go to Universal. If the perk of FOTL becomes watered down by Universal overselling express passes (at an undervalued price) and not enforcing the 1x per ride rule, we will find another vacation venue ... which isn't hard for us to do. We would certainly be glad to take our big, bad vacation fund elsewhere. We already have Wait Disney World ... we don't want Unlimited Lines at Universal too.

 

[Rags]

This will be our first time staying on site an I was really excited about the express pass. Do you think it will be the same Labor day weekend? TIA

 

[bubba's mom]

True, but if they doubled the price, that would certainly curtail the demand. If Universal sells 1000 passes at $25 each or 500 passes at $50 each during a supposedly "slow" season, it's all the same $$ to them, and would certainly help with the express lines. For peak weeks, they should charge a lot more than $50 for express.

I don't even want to think about what the new hotel will do to the Express Lines. Personally, I hope it's a value hotel that's not eligible for Express. Right now, the resort experience/FOTL is the main reason we go to Universal. If the perk of FOTL becomes watered down by Universal overselling express passes (at an undervalued price) and not enforcing the 1x per ride rule, we will find another vacation venue ... which isn't hard for us to do. We would certainly be glad to take our big, bad vacation fund elsewhere. We already have Wait Disney World ... we don't want Unlimited Lines at Universal too.

exactly.....i totally agree!

i really hope some UO suits are reading this

 

[damo]

This will be our first time staying on site an I was really excited about the express pass. Do you think it will be the same Labor day weekend? TIA

Probably not. The school groups wouldn't be there then. I don't think that as many families buy the express pass as would individuals.

 

[mayerobeyer]

Can anyone tell me what they are expecting the lines to be like this coming Thursday through Sunday (May 31-June 3rd)? We'll be staying onsite just for the express passes (my dad's legs can't take the super long lines). I picked that weekend because I had a feeling the crowds would be super low the weekend after Memorial day.

 

[damo]

Can anyone tell me what they are expecting the lines to be like this coming Thursday through Sunday (May 31-June 3rd)? We'll be staying onsite just for the express passes (my dad's legs can't take the super long lines). I picked that weekend because I had a feeling the crowds would be super low the weekend after Memorial day.

Lines should be good. Schools are just finishing up so the school groups should be done.

 

[christophfam]

The ONLY reason we are planning an end of June trip is because of FOTL. I wouldn't be caught dead in FL with the heat and crowds if I didn't think we would have short waits for the rides. I sure hope they get their act together soon or this will be the first and last peak season trip we take. Off season, we always end up at Disney.

 

[mayerobeyer]

Lines should be good. Schools are just finishing up so the school groups should be done.

Thanks, Damo.

 

[inkkognito]

I understand their wanting to make money, but in a way the money that they made off Express is offset by what they lose from other disgruntled guests. Take hubby and I, a couple of DINKs with Premier Passes. We always come early and eat an expensive meal on property, and we drop money on games, t-shirts etc. on virtually every visit. FOTL after 4 with Premier is the main draw for us...if they hose the Express Lines, we will stop coming because if we want to wait in forever lines, Disney is a lot closer to our house. So they might make $$ on the Express passes, but that is offset by what they lose by alienating guests like us.

 

[bubba's mom]

The ONLY reason we are planning an end of June trip is because of FOTL. I wouldn't be caught dead in FL with the heat and crowds if I didn't think we would have short waits for the rides. I sure hope they get their act together soon or this will be the first and last peak season trip we take. Off season, we always end up at Disney.

We are going the last week of June this year...as we did last year. Last year the longest we waited in EP line was maybe 7 minutes.....

 

[Rags]

Probably not. The school groups wouldn't be there then. I don't think that as many families buy the express pass as would individuals.

That's fantastic!! Thank you for putting my mind at ease! Even if the parks are crowded there is so much more to do citywalk, visiting other resorts etc. ! I can't wait!!!