IoA & US Sat and Sun in late June. Pre-purchase Express Pass??

[FiveofusNL]

Hi. We will be visiting US and IoA June 22 & 23 (Sat & Sun). I am ordering my tickets soon so I have them as Christmas presents for the kids. Wondering if I should purchase Express Pass at the same time?? I am reading a lot of contradictory information - buy now because cheaper earlier and worth every cent or... wait until you see what park is like at that time. I have also read that they have a limited supply available for each date and you may not get them the day of your visit. USO website is showing an Express Pass daily rate of $55.99 plus taxes/fees each for both parks at that time. For a family of five that is already steep but, if it really is needed to enjoy the parks more, I would budget for it. I do not think I could swing it if it goes any higher though. We are not staying at US hotels and will not be doing the big coasters. Any advice/information welcomed!

 

[macraven]

i know you want to avoid the epp increasing in price.


but, i would never buy the epp's in advance.
wait until you are in the park to make that decision.


the epp are park and date related.
they are nonrefundable.

if it would rain on the day you prepurchased those passes, you might not need them.
the parks do thin out when it rains.
especially when it is a downpour.


go early to the park.
do what rides you can before the lines become long, such as a 30 minute wait.

then decide if you need them to finish the day in the park.

you can only use them one time only per ride/show.


think about booking a one night stay onsite.
you would get early entry and unlimited usage of the express lines then.

even if you already have a room for the night, you could just do this for the hotel perks.
you do not have to use the room onsite.

 

[mesaboy2]

i know you want to avoid the epp increasing in price.


but, i would never buy the epp's in advance.
wait until you are in the park to make that decision.


the epp are park and date related.
they are nonrefundable.

if it would rain on the day you prepurchased those passes, you might not need them.
the parks do thin out when it rains.
especially when it is a downpour.


go early to the park.
do what rides you can before the lines become long, such as a 30 minute wait.

then decide if you need them to finish the day in the park.

you can only use them one time only per ride/show.


think about booking a one night stay onsite.
you would get early entry and unlimited usage of the express lines then.

even if you already have a room for the night, you could just do this for the hotel perks.
you do not have to use the room onsite.

I completely agree with everything macraven said.

 

[Maytrix]

There's an even simpler solution.

Stay onsite Saturday night. It gives you unlimited express both Saturday and Sunday.

You are already looking at spending over $250 for the express passes for one use on each ride.

Royal Pacific is $333 for that one night. So if you were planning on staying offsite for anything over $83, you'd actually save by staying onsite and getting a far better express pass and the convenience of being right there.

Even if you are staying for free offsite, the extra $100 it would cost to stay onsite is well worth the express for both days. There will be waits in June and you will save plenty of time and be able to ride over and over.

 

[FiveofusNL]

Thanks to all of you for your advice. We are renting a townhouse this trip and will be visiting US/IoA part way through the stay so we would be paying for 2 sets of lodgings if we book a room at US for a night. When you look at the math though it may be worth it. I will have to check it out further. One ride per attraction is all we usually want, but I like the early park entry you get through US hotels. If we don't go that route, I definitely don't think I will purchase the EP prior to arrival. I don't want to be locked in to visiting certain days in case things change while we are there. I did not realize they could not be switched for other days if desired. I thought you would just need to pay any price increases. Makes sense though.

 

[Maytrix]

I do think it probably would be worthwhile to get a room onsite. Just given the benefit of having express both days is well worth it. I think just packing up what you'd need for a night and even making use of it would be a nice break too - being able to walk back and forth is great.

Another benefit is that on Sunday you'd be able to go in the morning, ride all the wet rides, go back to change into dry clothes and check out and then go back and ride some more.

There's a number of things where doing it once makes sense, but there's a lot of rides that are fun to do multiple times. Here's the ones we do multiple times (usually) where express is a benefit:

IOA
-------------
Bluto's Barges (We've done this 16 times in a row)
Spider-man (especially for the first time - there's stuff you'll see that you missed)
Hulk

USF
-------------
MIB (we do this a number of times)
Simpson's
Mummy


The other rides are all worth doing at least once - maybe more being your first visit - we ride them each every visit, but don't always repeat.

 

[FiveofusNL]

Another benefit is that on Sunday you'd be able to go in the morning, ride all the wet rides, go back to change into dry clothes and check out and then go back and ride some more.

Good idea!