Just back and an observation about EP (or lack of)

[HM]

We stayed four nights at Sapphire Falls (Dec 16-20), which is a very nice resort with a great shower and comfy beds. We spent our afternoons at the pool which was nice and relaxing. The food at the Stormwater bar was great. We tried six different things and liked them all.

We did early entry the first day, but the lines to get in were so long and the TMs were so cursory about checking the hotel keys at IOA that we felt it wasn't worth getting up early the next days.

We got to the parks just before 9 each day after that and were in the park just after 9. The crowds were much heavier than I expected...more so than our trip in late May by a lot.

Despicable Me was down that second morning and it had been our first order of business...so on to HP to do Gringotts instead with masses. We also encountered two other rides being down during our trip, which was surprising as we'd not experienced that much in the past. We did the parks in the morning and evenings skipping the really busy part of the day.

I will say that we did miss having EP. I've never gotten it before when staying offsite or at Cabana Bay, but this trip we could have used it due to the crowds. We didn't bother to buy the EP though as we only did a few attractions a day and just waited when the wait times didn't seem daunting. However, I will say, that at no time was the wait time listed on the board the same as the actual wait. Every single time we waited from 5-30 minutes more than the listed time, and I think this was why EP would have been good.
(At least at WDW the waits are generally shorter than listed and you feel like you won something by getting on faster than expected).

 

[schumigirl]

Glad you enjoyed Sapphire Falls........we’re looking forward to staying there in May......not planning park time so EP won’t be essential........

Strongwater Tavern is our favourite onsite bar!

 

[WhitneyMB]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad to hear you enjoyed the hotel. My family always has to visit theme parks during spring break or Christmas break, so the crowds are always intense. We've always gotten the EP because of that--but our emphasis when we go is to spend a lot of time going on rides (often repeat time).

I appreciate hearing the feedback on early entry. When we went a few years ago, I also found Universal's early entry not quite as useful as Disney's, but I'm hoping to use it for Volcano Bay.

 

[DisBuckMan]

When we went a few years ago, I also found Universal's early entry not quite as useful as Disney's

Same here. The fact that they only open the Potter areas for EE leads to them being packed. We quit fooling with EE because we found the lines to be longer during EE than they are during regular hours. Just open an entire park for EE, and problem solved.

 

[bchbetha]

I think it’s great that the HP sections are open early because it’s a great time to explore. Not the best time to ride but the low crowds help with simply getting around.

 

[KEW]

Can the express pass be used during EE?

 

[DisBuckMan]

Can the express pass be used during EE?

Yes, but you have to keep in mind...on any given day, over half of the people there during EE have EP's, so it's not as much of a benefit as it would be during normal park times.

 

[KEW]

Yes, but you have to keep in mind...on any given day, over half of the people there during EE have EP's, so it's not as much of a benefit as it would be during normal park times.

Yeah. I figured.

I had early entry at Universal Hollywood last year (only HP open as well) and found it SO beneficial. I didn't have front of the line or anything else. We rode the HP ride twice...walk ons...run ons. Skipped hippogriff. Explored HP area a bit (quite small in LA) and went to minions right when the regular park hours started. Felt it really helped us keep a step ahead of the crowds. We were done with everything we wanted and left before dinner. I know that won't be the case in Orlando this year.

Not sure if we'll be as successful being ahead of rope drop because this vacation is more intense/exhausting than ours last year, so wondering if we should even try during EE or just go later and use our EPs.

 

[hhoope01]

Not sure if we'll be as successful being ahead of rope drop because this vacation is more intense/exhausting than ours last year, so wondering if we should even try during EE or just go later and use our EPs.

How many days will be at the parks? Now that the main HP rides have EP entries and we tend to stay 5+ days, we don't normally get up to make use of EE (notable exception was for VB access this past September as we didn't have EPs there.)

So if you are only going to be there for 1 or 2 days, I might suggest using EE to hit the HP sections (while the crowds are lighter with only the EE folks there). Then once the park opens to the general public, I'd head out to the other areas (as probably a large percentage of folks will head straight to the HP sections when the parks open leaving the other areas with small or no lines for a while.) If you will be there longer, then with EPs should be able to see and do most everything you want probably as many times as you want without having to get up really early.

One note, if you are going during the winter months, then the early morning times might be pretty "cool" and waiting a few hours might give the weather time to warm up. In the heat of summer, it is the exact opposite. I prefer to get up early while the temps are still fairly tolerable and then once lunchtime comes around and the temps are sweltering, we like to head back to the hotel for the pools. So the time of the year affects whether we really try to use EE or not.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Same here. The fact that they only open the Potter areas for EE leads to them being packed. We quit fooling with EE because we found the lines to be longer during EE than they are during regular hours. Just open an entire park for EE, and problem solved.

We saw this too. FJ was 45 mins during EE and as soon as the rest of the park opened, it dropped to 25 mins. We only went to EE twice during 4 park days since we had EP anyway.

With Adventura opening in the near future (I assume it will also have EE) it will only get worse. Having only 3 rides open for EE is not working anymore with the number of guests that have that entitlement.