How long are the waits at Universal without "fast passes"??

[labattblue]

I'd like to sneak in a 1 day visit to Universal on a Saturday during a Disney trip next April. Without any "fast passes" or whatever they are called at Universal, how long will the wait times be for the more popular attractions?

Thanks!!!

 

[Metro West]

I'd like to sneak in a 1 day visit to Universal on a Saturday during a Disney trip next April. Without any "fast passes" or whatever they are called at Universal, how long will the wait times be for the more popular attractions?

The wait times w/o the Express Pass can be anywhere from 5mins to well over an hour. There is just no way to tell.

 

[sha_lyn]

best advise.... arrive in the parking deck about 45 min before the park opens.
Be one of the first in the gate and hit all the high demad stuff first.

Are you doing US/IOA or both?
Any chance of making it a week day instead? although it being spring break, it probably won't matter.

 

[mikem699]

We have used the Express Plus passes the past two times we have gone and they have been a Life Saver for us with our 7 and 4 year old. We never had more than a 5 minute wait for each ride except for Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls. I don't know how the crowds were in April but the passes were magic during 4th of July weekend. It's very nice to look and see a 70-80 minute wait time at a ride and then just walk into the empty Express Plus lane and walk right in.

 

[Starry]

We have used the Express Plus passes the past two times we have gone and they have been a Life Saver for us with our 7 and 4 year old. We never had more than a 5 minute wait for each ride except for Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls. I don't know how the crowds were in April but the passes were magic during 4th of July weekend. It's very nice to look and see a 70-80 minute wait time at a ride and then just walk into the empty Express Plus lane and walk right in.

Express is the only way to go!
The one time, we went on Spidey about 4 times in a row and the
same people were in the "regular" line, had hadn't ridden once yet
Needless to say, they weren't too happy with us

 

[labattblue]

Express is the only way to go!
The one time, we went on Spidey about 4 times in a row and the
same people were in the "regular" line, had hadn't ridden once yet
Needless to say, they weren't too happy with us

This is my concern. Maybe we'll just skip universal as I am not paying for express passes.

 

[Darcy03231]

I was there in August and didn't get the Express Pass. I found the lines really weren't bad until after 11 (less than 20 min). From 11 until about 1 the lines started getting longer until the really popular rides (Hulk, Spiderman, Popeye, Dudley Do-Right, Jurassic Park, Dueling Dragons, Men in Black, Terminater, Mummy) had lines that were anywhere from 60-90 minutes.

 

[sha_lyn]

This is my concern. Maybe we'll just skip universal as I am not paying for express passes.

No need to pay for express if you arrive at the turn-stile about 20 min before the posted opening time. You'll have plenty of time to hit the high demand rides before the park fills up around 11-11:30

 

[Starry]

This is my concern. Maybe we'll just skip universal as I am not paying for express passes.

I didn't mean to scare you off about visiting Universal//IOA
The time I was refering to was in the summer, when the crowds
were insane.
If you are going during the fall, it sould be alot better.

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

We went to UO/IOA in April during our WDW trip. while the crowds were crazy at WDW parks, Universal wasn't too bad. The lines were a little long for some attractions, but nothing unbearable. I think one of the longest lines we waited was for the Jaws ride at UO.

as everyone stated, it really depends when you go, if you go during peak season, like spring break you will find longer wait times.

 

[Seamus_Bean]

Last time I went (in September) the lines weren't bad at all. Nothing over 20 minutes.

 

[WDW Princess]

We decided to run over to Universal yesterday (Friday) after late lunch. The wait at 14:25 for Spiderman was 30 minutes, however, I timed it myself from the moment we walked in until we were seated in the pod and it was more like 40 minutes. Same for Cat in the Hat. At 17:30, the wait for Hulk was 60 minutes and Spiderman – 75. Oh, the wait for Jurassic Park around 15:00 was over 60 minutes as well. I don’t know what other waits were as we just stopped by to ride one or two rides and hung out with our friends the rest of the time. IOA was quite packed.

 

[lizanne]

We're going to UA/IOA for the first time at the end of November. We bought the express passes because a friend told us the one regret he had from a trip he took last year was that he didn't buy the express pass for Universal.

 

[Metro West]

We're going to UA/IOA for the first time at the end of November. We bought the express passes because a friend told us the one regret he had from a trip he took last year was that he didn't buy the express pass for Universal.

It's better to be safe than sorry sometimes. Since you have the EP's...just relax and enjoy!

 

[vacation dreamer]

We went last year the week of Thankgiving....Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We arrived in the park around 8:45 each morning and worked our way around the park, going from one attraction to the next. We walk from one attraction to the next with no wait, unless it was a show type, were everyone had to wait. By lunchtime the lines were no more than a 15 minutes wait. I was totally shocked by the empty park. We are not getting express passes for our Jan trip. Online it looks like the Express passes are around $60.00 but I remember seeing a sign in the park one day advertising express passes for I think $19.99 or $14.99. Someone care to comfirm this.......or was I dreaming again! lol

 

[lizanne]

We went last year the week of Thankgiving....Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We arrived in the park around 8:45 each morning and worked our way around the park, going from one attraction to the next. We walk from one attraction to the next with no wait, unless it was a show type, were everyone had to wait. By lunchtime the lines were no more than a 15 minutes wait. I was totally shocked by the empty park. We are not getting express passes for our Jan trip. Online it looks like the Express passes are around $60.00 but I remember seeing a sign in the park one day advertising express passes for I think $19.99 or $14.99. Someone care to comfirm this.......or was I dreaming again! lol

It depends on the time of year. For the week after Thanksgiving (when we'll be there) the express pass for one park/one day is $19.99, the pass for 2 parks/one day is $25.99.

There were some dates during the year that were as high as $60.00. If you go to the UniversalOrlando web site it gives you the exact dates.

 

[brucec32]

45 min plus on any popular ride on a Sat in October. Didn't realize the new policy till we got in the park! Terrible move, the parks will be ghost towns soon as the economy slows and enough people realize you have to pay extra to ride rides conveniently. Standing in long lines is a thing of the past in Orlando. Why would anyone go back? You can ride coasters in many other cities so why travel to Orlando? Also, lines with 15 min listed times at the front turned out to be more like 30-40. Obviously they're fudging to get more people in line and out of the popular attraction lines that were hour plus in some cases.

Also, food service was really slow, crowds were rough looking and sometimes drunk by lunchtime, and staff were surly with one exception.

3rd and last visit to Universal. Previous two (2-4 years ago) were pleasant. The express pass mess ruins it. Even the EP lines were long. Kinda defeats the purpose.

The cheap annual passes for locals killed the atmosphere. Hard to define, just more like a shopping mall than an amusement park. I say this having entered as a FL resident.

And the locker rental requirement to ride the coasters is a slap in the face. I don't even know what they cost, but charging a paid guest to store his stuff because you won't allow him to carry it on? Business must be good to think you can pull that off. I heard more than one person grumbling about it.

 

[damo]

45 min plus on any popular ride on a Sat in October. Didn't realize the new policy till we got in the park! Terrible move, the parks will be ghost towns soon as the economy slows and enough people realize you have to pay extra to ride rides conveniently. Standing in long lines is a thing of the past in Orlando. Why would anyone go back? You can ride coasters in many other cities so why travel to Orlando? Also, lines with 15 min listed times at the front turned out to be more like 30-40. Obviously they're fudging to get more people in line and out of the popular attraction lines that were hour plus in some cases.

Also, food service was really slow, crowds were rough looking and sometimes drunk by lunchtime, and staff were surly with one exception.

3rd and last visit to Universal. Previous two (2-4 years ago) were pleasant. The express pass mess ruins it. Even the EP lines were long. Kinda defeats the purpose.

The cheap annual passes for locals killed the atmosphere. Hard to define, just more like a shopping mall than an amusement park. I say this having entered as a FL resident.

And the locker rental requirement to ride the coasters is a slap in the face. I don't even know what they cost, but charging a paid guest to store his stuff because you won't allow him to carry it on? Business must be good to think you can pull that off. I heard more than one person grumbling about it.

The lockers are free. Shame on Universal for trying to keep their guests safe by making other guests store anything that might fly off and hit someone. What kind of park would do that?

If you don't want to wait in line, just go early. It is pretty simple.

 

[ahowanitz]

And the locker rental requirement to ride the coasters is a slap in the face. I don't even know what they cost, but charging a paid guest to store his stuff because you won't allow him to carry it on? Business must be good to think you can pull that off. I heard more than one person grumbling about it.

Universal is not the only place that does this. So when you go to the other amusement parks that you are speaking of, chances are you will find the same thing. It is frustrating, agreed, but I don't want to stop going to places I enjoy over something that minimal. That is just how I feel as far as my own trips, but I can understand where you are coming from. Just wanted to let you know that you will find that MANY places anymore.

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

Universal is not the only place that does this. So when you go to the other amusement parks that you are speaking of, chances are you will find the same thing. It is frustrating, agreed, but I don't want to stop going to places I enjoy over something that minimal. That is just how I feel as far as my own trips, but I can understand where you are coming from. Just wanted to let you know that you will find that MANY places anymore.

I agree with you on this, and I would also like to add that when we went to UO in April, we found locker rentals free for the first 15 minutes, but charge for longer than that....at least I think it was for the first 15, could have been longer but I doubt it. SW does the same thing with the Krakken coaster- have to have your stuff stored in a locker before you go on. But it's still a pain in the butt nonetheless.