Question re: Universal Express (onsite stay)

[jcvalenti]

We're going to Universal in 2 weeks, and staying on property for 2 nights. It's our first time ever staying at Universal.

We're Disney veterans, and used to getting to the parks at open, and working the Fast Pass system to get in as many rides with as little waiting as possible.

Since we will have the Universal Express access, I'm just wondering how effective this "privilege" will be. Will it significantly cut down wait times ? What might the waits look like for rides like Revenge of the Mummy, Spiderman, or The Simpsons (my kids favorites) ?

 

[Bluer101]

For rides that accept express they used to say up to 15 minutes. But most of the time I would say from walk right on to 5-8 minutes. Staying onsite will spoil you. You will have a hard time waiting in lines after.

Sometimes when real busy you might see 10-20 but regular line might be 60-90+.

 

[jcvalenti]

For rides that accept express they used to say up to 15 minutes. But most of the time I would say from walk right on to 5-8 minutes. Staying onsite will spoil you. You will have a hard time waiting in lines after.

Sometimes when real busy you might see 10-20 but regular line might be 60-90+.

Thanks,Bluer101 - that was the exact response I was praying I'd see

As I understand it, the onsite express passes can be used multiple times for each ride, right ? I hope so, as my 6 year old will likely want to ride Spiderman (his favorite superhero) about a hundred times.

 

[JoShan1719]

Thanks,Bluer101 - that was the exact response I was praying I'd see

As I understand it, the onsite express passes can be used multiple times for each ride, right ? I hope so, as my 6 year old will likely want to ride Spiderman (his favorite superhero) about a hundred times.

Yup, your express is 100% unlimited, so you're 6yo can ride Spiderman 'til his head falls off. There are only 3 attractions the express isn't valid for: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket, and Pteranadon Flyers.

Have fun!

 

[RMulieri]

We had little to no waits with the express pass for resort guests.The longest waits were the water rides ( Dudley do right and Popeyes) but we skipped those.As mentioned there are a few rides that do not accept the pass...Pterandon flyers ( appealing to kids and only kids under acertain height can ride), Rip Ride Rocket, Forbidden Journey and Ollivanders wand shop.All the other rides AND SHOWS( express pass has its own waiting area by the theater and is let in a few mins before the other guests-so GREAT Seats) use Express pass

 

[Metro West]

We're going to Universal in 2 weeks, and staying on property for 2 nights. It's our first time ever staying at Universal.

I'm sure you will have a blast and will want to visit again!

 

[macraven]

you'll enjoy staying onsite and using that perk.
unlimited usage of the express lines..........!

when it is hot out, you'll be so glad you're using the express lines.

i can't imagine standing in line for up to an hour.
for those that do it, it has to be tiring.

 

[jcvalenti]

Wow. Glad to hear the express passes work as advertised, even in the busy summer months. It'll certainly be a change from the usual summer in Disney routine.

 

[momof2lilboys]

We just went May 21st &22nd and rented a room for the express pass and it was soooo worth it. It was our first trip and we won't go without the pass for sure. We walked on to every ride and it was decently busy. My kids rode Flight of the Hippogriff 5x in a row with no wait the regular line was a 40 minute wait.

The early entry was great for riding The Forbidden Journey several times with a 5 minute wait (basically the time it takes you to walk through the line) after we watched the Ollivanders show (first group in). We took an afternoon break and came back in the evening when the Rip Ride Rocket was only 10 minutes (and really they just walked on). You are going to have a great time!!

 

[sorul82?]

Are there any cool things that will be missed by not going through the regular lines?

 

[macraven]

Are there any cool things that will be missed by not going through the regular lines?

yes.......

the regular lines for:
Mummy
MIB
ET (kind of)
Dr. Doom
Spiderman

have great things to see while in the regular line.

i stay on site and use the express lines but i make it a point to use the regular line twice for the Mummy and MIB as soon as they open.

the others i try to hit the regular line once during my stay.

once the lines are long, i start using the express lines for the rides.
i have my fix to see some of the amusing/entertaining portions that i miss in the ep line.

everyone will feel different about this.
some are into the ride only and some like the ambiance that leads up to the line.
there is a story to be told by using the regular line before you get on the ride.

Mummy has a few things in the line that are over looked by many.
table, button are the two i'm thinking of.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

It is possible, though not likely, for Express lines to creep in to the 20-30 minute range. This usually happens when it's super busy and at popular attractions (where the regular line may be 90+ mins). Most of the time, 10 mins or less is the norm for Express.

 

[disneywithfive]

We went for 10 days last week and utilized FOTL for all the rides we could. It has spoiled us. Some lines were really long and I was so glad we didn't have to wait. We're returning tomorrow for the summer concert series on Saturday and I made a one night reservation so we could use FOTL again. It's about $175 more then the offsite hotel I booked but for the four of us, it will save a lot of time and frustration so it's money we'll spent.

 

[Scarletyoshi]

It was like Theme Park Heaven. We went in Mid July and if we waited longer than 10 minutes for a ride I'd be surprised. I actually felt bad for the people waiting in the long line for Popeye as we waltzed by. Even shows were great with Express pass, we were able to get great seats for the animal show and sinbad without having to hang wait in line super early.

 

[anorman]

It was like Theme Park Heaven. We went in Mid July and if we waited longer than 10 minutes for a ride I'd be surprised. I actually felt bad for the people waiting in the long line for Popeye as we waltzed by. Even shows were great with Express pass, we were able to get great seats for the animal show and sinbad without having to hang wait in line super early.

We stayed onsite last year at the RPR. A couple of years before that we went to Universal and stayed offsite. You can't even begin to compare the two....it is a no-brainer! As long as the express perk remains part of staying onsite, I will never again do Universal as an offsite guest. It is truly a thing of beauty! Which is why I am staying onsite again for 3 nights for my upcoming vacation in August. I can't wait to get there!

 

[jcvalenti]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I've been to Universal before and while I enjoyed the park, we were offsite and the waiting in the ungodly hot (and unreasonably unshaded) lines were enough that it made it so I wasn't really looking forward to going back this year. Now we're starting off our 12 day vacation with a couple nights at Universal, and between doing nothing on the first day (except for hanging around the hotel pool and bars) and the front of line perk for the 2 days in the parks, I'm actually pretty fired up about going.

As long as Mama Della's is as good as I've read, this may be the surprise highlight of this year's "Disney" trip.

 

[Bluer101]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I've been to Universal before and while I enjoyed the park, we were offsite and the waiting in the ungodly hot (and unreasonably unshaded) lines were enough that it made it so I wasn't really looking forward to going back this year. Now we're starting off our 12 day vacation with a couple nights at Universal, and between doing nothing on the first day (except for hanging around the hotel pool and bars) and the front of line perk for the 2 days in the parks, I'm actually pretty fired up about going.

As long as Mama Della's is as good as I've read, this may be the surprise highlight of this year's "Disney" trip.

The only problem with starting your vacation onsite with Universal is, you will be spoiled with Unlimited Express it will make waiting in lines a Disney harder.

 

[jcvalenti]

The only problem with starting your vacation onsite with Universal is, you will be spoiled with Unlimited Express it will make waiting in lines a Disney harder.

Yes, but honestly, weve been to Disney so often the last 10 years, there isnt much we feel like we have to do. Takes some of the pressure off.

 

[MeRSiamese]

Do the passes you purchase by paying extra work the exact same way as the hotel guest ones? We will only be doing one day at Universal and are willing to put out the extra money for the express passes if they would be worth it...? We'll be down there the second week in December and it will be a Saturday too...

 

[macraven]

Do the passes you purchase by paying extra work the exact same way as the hotel guest ones? We will only be doing one day at Universal and are willing to put out the extra money for the express passes if they would be worth it...? We'll be down there the second week in December and it will be a Saturday too...

the express plus passes allow you to use them one time only on each ride or show that has express lines.
after you use the pass on a ride, you can ride it again as long as you use the regular line for that same ride.

staying onsite has hotel perks for each guest.
the guests are allowed unlimited usage on all rides and shows that have express lines.

the VIP tickets allow unlimited usage for express lines.
the cost is up there but it covers the tickets and express.

vip and express tickets that you purchase are date and park related.
there are some dates that the express will be at a lower cost.
(lower costs means universal does not expect crowds in the park that day.)
when you see that, don't buy the express.
you probably won't need them.