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

[patster734]

Interesting..... It seems odd to have a field trip on a non school day to me, but whatever works for the school I guess. The fact that they can be there on a Saturday as well as weekdays is definitely good to know.

I agree. When I was in school, I'd have nothing to do with it on the weekends, but then we didn't have field trips to Universal!

 

[damo]

The thing is, they are coming from out of town. It is a school trip, so they usually go back home on Sunday. When we were there the end of April, Saturday was absolutely swarming with school groups. Friday wasn't too bad (they were probably somewhere else) and Sunday was glorious.

 

[lookingforward]

OKW isn't a moderate resort. It is a DVC resort. Most rooms have full kitchens in them as well as a laundry room & the rooms are huge. While the studios don't have that they do have ktichenettes. Although it is my least favorite of the DVC resorts I could never compare it to a moderate.




You know I never really thought about that. We always go in the summer so I always see better rates at the Disney resorts then I do at the Universal resorts. The best I have seen for the RPR is $239 per night.

By the way, I pulled up a trip plan from 2003 last weekend and we paid $85/night @ Coronado Springs & $169/night @ HRH. I am not comparing the resorts just wishing I could get those kind of rates again.


Anyway, to get back on topic, I insist on staying at one of the Universal resorts because of the FOTL perk. If I have to be at the park at opening to enjoy the benefits, when the lines are short anyway, then what is the point. I can stay at a cheap offsit hotel & be at the park for opening & still experience the short lines. Why spend the extra money for the hotel? I would rather spend it on food or souvy's.

My mistake, I thought you were talking about Port Orleans for some reason. Oh well, good prices are to be had all the way around if you get the right time of year and the right code. I got the 40% off pin and I live in Florida. To be honest, I love the Loews product much more than Disney's hotels, but will continue to stay at both...whichever is the best fit and buy at the time. Poly and Port Riverside are my next WDW trips and we are headed to the Portofino again in July. The only perk to living so close is you can zip up for a long weekend whenever the prices are good.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

The thing is, they are coming from out of town. It is a school trip, so they usually go back home on Sunday. When we were there the end of April, Saturday was absolutely swarming with school groups. Friday wasn't too bad (they were probably somewhere else) and Sunday was glorious.

That makes sense. I was looking at it from the POV of my son's school going there. They go weekdays, but they're able to drive over & back the same day.

 

[ChisJo]

truth be told, I too am getting nervous about our trip in early December....We booked a night at HRH, despite the fact that we already have a condo booked for that night too. We wanted to take in the FOTL perks and hotel in such close proximity, since we are going to be there on the weekend. If the FOTL is going to be utilized by more people than the regular lines, why would I waste the money on the hotel?? I hope this is resolved....I would hate to be disappointed at USO/IOA.

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

So in everyone's opinion which day of the week is the slowest or is there really no slow day in summer. We're going July 1-4 which starts on a Sunday?? I'm thinking of staying on site, but what I'm reading here is starting to scare me...even though we're getting the military rate it is still higher then what we're used to at a hotel, is it even going to be worth it??

 

[patster734]

So in everyone's opinion which day of the week is the slowest or is there really no slow day in summer. We're going July 1-4 which starts on a Sunday?? I'm thinking of staying on site, but what I'm reading here is starting to scare me...even though we're getting the military rate it is still higher then what we're used to at a hotel, is it even going to be worth it??

So far, the only day of the week that's been bad for express is Saturday. I'd also like to add that even on Saturdays, the express line will be much quicker than the regular line. So for those of you staying on-property for upcoming trips, "Don't worry, Be Happy!"

 

[damo]

So far, the only day of the week that's been bad for express is Saturday. I'd also like to add that even on Saturdays, the express line will be much quicker than the regular line. So for those of you staying on-property for upcoming trips, "Don't worry, Be Happy!"

I agree.

 

[loribell]

But I am going to be there Friday, Saturday & Sunday!

 

[robvia]

That's why I tell people to go early, even if you have FOTL. The walkways are less crowded, and you can get front seat rides on the coasters.

There's another group of people who like to sleep in and take their time waking up. That's fine, but I wouldn't go to the park at 11am. If you're not going to wake up early, then you midas well make it a pool day, then go to the park around 4pm as the tired are leaving.

 

[phamton]

If the FOTL is going to be utilized by more people than the regular lines, why would I waste the money on the hotel?? I hope this is resolved....I would hate to be disappointed at USO/IOA.

If the express line is busy I can assure you that the regular line will be extremely long. The first week in December is not going to be near as crowded as July. I have never read any complaints about FOTL in the first part of December.

We're going July 1-4 which starts on a Sunday?? I'm thinking of staying on site, but what I'm reading here is starting to scare me...even though we're getting the military rate it is still higher then what we're used to at a hotel, is it even going to be worth it??

The 4th of July weekend is one of the busiests times for all the themeparks. Even if the FOTL line wait is longer than usual, the standby line will most likely be 60-90 minutes long. You are going at a peak time so expect peak crowds.

 

[bubba's mom]

The 4th of July weekend is one of the busiests times for all the themeparks. Even if the FOTL line wait is longer than usual, the standby line will most likely be 60-90 minutes long. You are going at a peak time so expect peak crowds.

been there at that time last year and again this year. it was more crowded on the weekend, but still, never waited over 15 min. for EP line..... (probably didn't wait more than 10, but phamton is right...if the Ep lines are long, the standby's are longer...... we go 6/26- 7/1 and i'm not worried at all!

 

[chobie]

Just got back. We spent Friday and Saturday at Universal and Sunday and Monday at Disney. We had no waits wtih our hotel keys, except for Saturday afternoon for Dueling Dragons we waited about 20 minuts but part of that was form them adding another train. We went back that evening about 7pm and got right on.

 

[Claymax]

truth be told, I too am getting nervous about our trip in early December....We booked a night at HRH, despite the fact that we already have a condo booked for that night too. We wanted to take in the FOTL perks and hotel in such close proximity, since we are going to be there on the weekend. If the FOTL is going to be utilized by more people than the regular lines, why would I waste the money on the hotel?? I hope this is resolved....I would hate to be disappointed at USO/IOA.

Don't worry any more, really.

We went to HRH last December and stayed Wed 13th and Thurs 14th and it was almost embarrassing to use the FOTL. We rode Mummy until we were silly from it, about 10 times in a row. Regular lines weren't bad but we still lapped some people. It was a walk on for us.

The only ride we waited was Fire/Ice and that's just because they filter you back into the line with everyone else so if it get crowded, everyone waits. Hulk had maybe 2 trains pass before you got on. You have to jump right up though as the regular passengers won't stand there and wait for the FOTL folks to make a move.

No worries at all in December. I'll be back at HRH this year Dec 5th and 6th.

 

[Lewisc]

Universal gives the time share hawkers express passes to use for promotions. I understand there is no limit to the number of the number of express passes that can get issued to those guests willing to "participate in an informative......."

I understand Mummy uses one loading area for Express Pass and one loading area for "regular" guests. I think that's fair but it basically limits express pass guests to half the capacity of the ride.

 

[dpayne1969]

Hello,
we were there from May 23-29 & I can say it was awful with not the fact of them over selling express passes but the "line cutters"! We were in line for jurassic park & a group of about 10 teenagers jumped the rope from the regular line & cut us in the express line.They did this all week long,very frustrating for my kids. The teenagers would get in the regular lines then halfway through they were jumping the ropes & getting in express lines. The problem there was the attendants were checking passes on entrance but once you boarded the ride they were not double checking your passes so the teens would call all their friends on their cells & laugh saying "hey,they aint checking passes dude" so by the end of the day you had these groups of teens going from ride to ride jumping ropes to get on. Did I complain yes I did all we got were excuses saying "we are under staffed right now"! This was our 3rd visit to the parks & I can say it is not like it used to be.When we first came in 2004 they checked our passes each time we went on,now its just "go,go,go".So that is our experience from this past week.

 

[nymomof3]

we'll be there in july and i know for a fact my husband will go crazy if teenagers are jumping the lines..he will definetely say something to them and then try to get them kicked out.. i just hope he keeps his cool and doesn't go off. they should have some attendants in between the lines if this is a occuring problem.is this something that happens often???????????

 

[MSUBB1]

We were at the parks May 3, 4, 5 and the crowds were noticibly larger on Friday the 4th (with school groups) and also on Saturday the 5th. We walked on to every ride on the 3rd, but had minor waits (15 or less) the other days. We did notice, thankfully, that they were checking passes at a couple of different places on the most popular rides, but they were't always marking off the express passes.

We have decided to plan around the weekends in general next time, and try to go Monday - Thursday.

 

[sr6888]

We were there May 25th thru the 31st and never had any of the problems mentioned in this thread. Almost every busy ride we went on they double checked the express lanes and our longest wait was 30mins for Hulk (our fault, we went at noon on Saturday!!!). The next longest wait was 15 min for Spiderman just before we did Hulk. We went to IOA on Saturday and to the Studios on Monday. I would guess our average wait those two days was no longer than 10 minutes. I kept thinking to myself that I would never go at a busy time without staying onsite since the regular lines for most rides was a minimum wait of 45 minutes.

 

[lookingforward]

We were there May 25th thru the 31st and never had any of the problems mentioned in this thread. Almost every busy ride we went on they double checked the express lanes and our longest wait was 30mins for Hulk (our fault, we went at noon on Saturday!!!). The next longest wait was 15 min for Spiderman just before we did Hulk. We went to IOA on Saturday and to the Studios on Monday. I would guess our average wait those two days was no longer than 10 minutes. I kept thinking to myself that I would never go at a busy time without staying onsite since the regular lines for most rides was a minimum wait of 45 minutes.

I love US/IOA and will continue to go there frequently. That said, 30 minutes for express is still quite a wait. My main contention is that it is not what it was a few years ago when we started going to the parks. MANY more people now have express access. Yes, during non-busy times there is no problem. Even 30 minutes is better than the regular line at 90 minutes...BUT it is still not what it used to be, in my opinion. The lines this weekend definately went down in the evening and the parks were open until 9 p.m so that did provide relief. We were at US on Saturday and it was mobbed. Express worked okay on Jaws, MIB (about 15 to 20 minutes) but Mummy was well over one hour on express. One positive was the Horror Make-up show. The line was HUGE and they let all express pass people in first. That group filled up 3/4 of the theater.