Passholder Nights- and not a pass member

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Hi all!

So I just happened to notice that the last two days of our trip (Aug 16 and Aug 17 - our check out day) are the pass member nights.

The site lists US closing at 7pm those nights, but IOA is listed as 10pm/9pm those nights. We're only driving 2 hours after leaving the park on the 17th, so our plan was to leave rather late.

Am I correct, then, that US will be closed to us at 7pm those nights for the event, but we'll be able to visit IOA until 10pm/9pm?

Will IOA be crazy crowded those nights as a result? (If so, at least we'll have UE from staying at RPR).

I'm also assuming that the military Freedom Pass does not qualify for this event.

 

[ClapYourHands]

IoA will get more crowded, just like it does when US closes early for HHN. If you have EP you will be fine.

I have heard the freedom pass does not qualify for these types of events, but others have reported different when it comes to things like the previews of DreamWorks land. Since the nights are supposed to work by online registration, you’ll know ahead of time if the military passes qualify because you’ll either be able to access the system to sign up or not.

Also, the tickets are limited, so there will be lots of APs who won’t manage to book. They will complain all over social media. Last year it was a big mess because so many people complained that they didn’t get one of those limited tickets, and the people who got tickets made their own posts warning UO would stop doing these events if people kicked up too much fuss. Then the night of the event, TMs were reportedly letting in people without event tickets. Cue the next round of social media griping by the folks who got the tickets and experienced normal-to-high wait times due to all the extra guests. Maybe doing two nights will help alleviate the pressure, but I predict griping no matter what.

 

[Jessem1133]

IoA will get more crowded, just like it does when US closes early for HHN. If you have EP you will be fine.

I have heard the freedom pass does not qualify for these types of events, but others have reported different when it comes to things like the previews of DreamWorks land. Since the nights are supposed to work by online registration, you’ll know ahead of time if the military passes qualify because you’ll either be able to access the system to sign up or not.

Also, the tickets are limited, so there will be lots of APs who won’t manage to book. They will complain all over social media. Last year it was a big mess because so many people complained that they didn’t get one of those limited tickets, and the people who got tickets made their own posts warning UO would stop doing these events if people kicked up too much fuss. Then the night of the event, TMs were reportedly letting in people without event tickets. Cue the next round of social media griping by the folks who got the tickets and experienced normal-to-high wait times due to all the extra guests. Maybe doing two nights will help alleviate the pressure, but I predict griping no matter what.

Ugh, I remember that fiasco last year. The event was during our vacation, but we weren't able to snag tickets. Walking by the line of people trying to get in...it looked miserable.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

IoA will get more crowded, just like it does when US closes early for HHN. If you have EP you will be fine.

I have heard the freedom pass does not qualify for these types of events, but others have reported different when it comes to things like the previews of DreamWorks land. Since the nights are supposed to work by online registration, you’ll know ahead of time if the military passes qualify because you’ll either be able to access the system to sign up or not.

Also, the tickets are limited, so there will be lots of APs who won’t manage to book. They will complain all over social media. Last year it was a big mess because so many people complained that they didn’t get one of those limited tickets, and the people who got tickets made their own posts warning UO would stop doing these events if people kicked up too much fuss. Then the night of the event, TMs were reportedly letting in people without event tickets. Cue the next round of social media griping by the folks who got the tickets and experienced normal-to-high wait times due to all the extra guests. Maybe doing two nights will help alleviate the pressure, but I predict griping no matter what.

Thanks for the info!

We still just have the vouchers; we won't be activating until Aug 3. I'll try using the voucher numbers just for fun. Can't hurt, right?

We will have EP, as we'll be staying at Royal Pacific.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Thanks for the info!

We still just have the vouchers; we won't be activating until Aug 3. I'll try using the voucher numbers just for fun. Can't hurt, right?

We will have EP, as we'll be staying at Royal Pacific.

It can’t hurt to try, but my understanding is that this will not work. Last year, I was in the same circumstance - the APs were purchased, but they were not activated so we weren’t eligible.

As it ended up being a bit of a fiasco, I’m glad we didn’t bother. We walked past the lines, and just went out to dinner and back to the pool.

We will be there again this year and our passes are active, so I’ll probably try for the tickets, but no big deal if we don’t get them. And if it’s too crowded and not worth it, we’ll just bounce. The beauty of being an AP is there’s not much urgency to do something on any particular day unless it’s a truly limited thing like meeting the Grinch.

With your EPs, you’ll be fine in IoA anyway.

 

[Heem]

We have purchased annual passes but are not able to activate them until we travel to the parks mid August. We live on the west coast so we cannot easily activate passes by attending the parks earlier. From what I have read, it seems like there is no way we will be eligible to get reservations on July 24 for passholder nights because the passes will not be activated yet. Is that the case, or is there anything we can do to activate the passes to be eligible for the July 24 reservation opening?

If we are not able to get reservations, is there a chance we could get in as standby? What are some unique activities passholder nights brings that are not available to all guests? We are just trying to determine how much effort we want to make to attend passholder nights.

We are staying at the Hard Rock Hotel for over a week so we will have express passes for our trip. We would like to attend passholder nights to enjoy more unique activities, but it is in no way a deal breaker if we are not able to attend. Thanks in advance for your expertise.

 

[GhostHost24]

IMO, I wouldn't make it a huge effort to try to go. There's really not much uniqueness to it. There may be a few characters out, some special snacks and drinks available for purchase, and I believe they'll have a DJ. Last year it was only in IoA.

 

[Heem]

IMO, I wouldn't make it a huge effort to try to go. There's really not much uniqueness to it. There may be a few characters out, some special snacks and drinks available for purchase, and I believe they'll have a DJ. Last year it was only in IoA.

Thanks for the information. I'm guessing this year it is in USF based on the hours it closes to the public (7PM both days). IOA is open those days until 10 (Fri) and 9 (Sat), so we won't miss park time if we are not able to attend.