Universal "Express" ..... I don't think so!

[damo]

I've been at Universal a kazillion times with express passes and never had this issue that I can recall. Just as a note to the OP though, if you see a shorter line, jump into it! Just because you are in the express line doesn't mean you have to stay there. You can use the normal line as well. Don't be so polite!

 

[ksdave]

In our eight trips to UO where we stayed on-site, we never had an issue with the Express access via our keycards. In January, May, July, and September trips, it was always a very nice perk. There were a few times it really was not "necessary", but it was always a nice-to-have. Our feelings about WDW Fastpass is more like the OP's feelings about Express. Fastpass is pretty much useless, and staying on-site at WDW provides virtually no benefit to us at all at this point in our lives.

 

[phamton]

So by my experience, FOTL is not necessary during slow times and it is a blessing during busy times.

Exactly!

This is a very slow time of year. I usually tell people not to buy the express pass during this time of year. If you are staying onsite, the FOTL hotel key doesn't do much good. But many people stay onsite because of the quality of the hotels and the easy access to the park.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

I've been at Universal a kazillion times with express passes and never had this issue that I can recall. Just as a note to the OP though, if you see a shorter line, jump into it! Just because you are in the express line doesn't mean you have to stay there. You can use the normal line as well. Don't be so polite!

Agreed - if the regular line is shorter who says you have to use the express pass/FOTL - I'd definitely get my butt on over the quicker line instead of waiting in a longer express line.

 

[Timmy Boy]

Also, a lot of the theming in the queue lines you miss completely by going through the Express line. If you have Express, and the regular line says 10 minutes, and you have 10 minutes to spare, just go through the regular line, to see the theming at least once.

 

[diskids2]

Agreed - if the regular line is shorter who says you have to use the express pass/FOTL - I'd definitely get my butt on over the quicker line instead of waiting in a longer express line.

I'd agree with this except if I am paying extra for the perk of FOTL (which I plan to do...actually pay for a hotel room for one night that I will not need to get two days of FOTL in July), I would be mad.

It does sound to me from many previous posts and folks that have travelled to Universal that I know...this privilege is usually awesome but on the busy times of the year.

Interesting post...makes you think.

 

[lachica]

OP: How many trams are they running in the mummy? Typically during the slow time they only have one going to that slows down the express queue. Also shows (T-2 3D, shrek, twister) and DD are sorta unfair to time them. Shows are based on occupancy and merges with the regular queue, and DD queue merges with the regular line so you are able to pick which side to ride (fire or ice) not to mention construction.

 

[Timmy Boy]

OP: How many trams are they running in the mummy? Typically during the slow time they only have one going to that slows down the express queue. Also shows (T-2 3D, shrek, twister) and DD are sorta unfair to time them. Shows are based on occupancy and merges with the regular queue, and DD queue merges with the regular line so you are able to pick which side to ride (fire or ice) not to mention construction.

Lol, I know Mummy runs more than 1 car. On slow days, they may only have 1 station open, so maybe that's how you got confused.

 

[mikipe2]

I hope this doesn't happen when we're there in early Feb. We've specifically booked at the RPR for FOTL (even though it's a quiet time) and easy access to the parks.

It sounds like it's very unlikely to happen, I feel very sorry for the original poster! Not cool at all!

 

[mackay_j]

I may be able to shed some light on this- Over the last week of very cold days 2 things happened

1. the car parks were almost empty even at 2pm we drove in and were parked in the only one in use - less than 1/4 full. It was so cold that most of those in the parks were from the hotels - need to go in as paid for hotel to get express pass, and want to make use of it. Thus express pass queues bussier than regular lines. (same on Xmas day and boxing day we stayed on site and noticed a few reg lines shorter than exprerss- so we just used the reg ones)


2. Most of the rides were closed until between 12.30 and 2pm as they cannot open until tested temp as in manufactures guides most have to be above 45oF for this safety aspect. Therefore everyone did all the open ones then were queueing at the same time for each new ride as it opened up.


All very unfortunate and unusual - but noones fault, we just made the best of it- It's better than work!!!

 

[Coach81]

I hope this doesn't happen when we're there in early Feb. We've specifically booked at the RPR for FOTL (even though it's a quiet time) and easy access to the parks.

It sounds like it's very unlikely to happen, I feel very sorry for the original poster! Not cool at all!

We'll be there with you in Feb.. we're heading back for Mardi Gras.. we can't wait, it's been over two years, and we are itchin' to try out Rip, Ride, Rocket!!!! We'll also be staying at RPH.. when are your dates??

 

[Pink Flamingo]

I may be able to shed some light on this- Over the last week of very cold days 2 things happened

1. the car parks were almost empty even at 2pm we drove in and were parked in the only one in use - less than 1/4 full. It was so cold that most of those in the parks were from the hotels - need to go in as paid for hotel to get express pass, and want to make use of it. Thus express pass queues bussier than regular lines. (same on Xmas day and boxing day we stayed on site and noticed a few reg lines shorter than exprerss- so we just used the reg ones)


2. Most of the rides were closed until between 12.30 and 2pm as they cannot open until tested temp as in manufactures guides most have to be above 45oF for this safety aspect. Therefore everyone did all the open ones then were queueing at the same time for each new ride as it opened up.


All very unfortunate and unusual - but noones fault, we just made the best of it- It's better than work!!!

Ahhh - that could explain things!

 

[TraceyL]

I may be able to shed some light on this- Over the last week of very cold days 2 things happened

1. the car parks were almost empty even at 2pm we drove in and were parked in the only one in use - less than 1/4 full. It was so cold that most of those in the parks were from the hotels - need to go in as paid for hotel to get express pass, and want to make use of it. Thus express pass queues bussier than regular lines. (same on Xmas day and boxing day we stayed on site and noticed a few reg lines shorter than exprerss- so we just used the reg ones)


2. Most of the rides were closed until between 12.30 and 2pm as they cannot open until tested temp as in manufactures guides most have to be above 45oF for this safety aspect. Therefore everyone did all the open ones then were queueing at the same time for each new ride as it opened up.


All very unfortunate and unusual - but noones fault, we just made the best of it- It's better than work!!!

Plausible but definitely not the case for our visits

 

[mikipe2]

We'll be there with you in Feb.. we're heading back for Mardi Gras.. we can't wait, it's been over two years, and we are itchin' to try out Rip, Ride, Rocket!!!! We'll also be staying at RPH.. when are your dates??

We're there from the 7th-13th Feb.
First time ever to Florida, all the way from Australia, looking forward to making the most of it.

 

[macraven]

i'm so sorry the OP is not returning to the darkside due to the issues of long waits in the express lines.

if they stayed onsite for only the FOTL perk, i can see why they are unhappy.



i have been going to universal since 1992.

most of my stays have been onsite.

i have not had the experience the OP did and hope i never do.


one of the draws of staying onsite is the total convenience for a relaxing vacation.
you are near the parks, city walk and other 2 resorts.
you get the free delivery of purchases to your room, the FOTL perk, and don't have to rush from hotel to park during your stay.

 

[SunnyP4Disney]

We've stayed at Hard Rock twice and Portofino Bay and never had an issue with the express lines. We also purchased the express last year for Halloween Horror Nights (only one express entry per haunted attraction) and it was WELL worth it!

 

[Pinkpony]

We were there over the busy Thanksgiving week and never waited over 5 minutes to ride anything with our FOTL pass. Same as the year before and the time before that too.

 

[Frances999]

OP here and I'm just reporting back now that we are home from our vacation.

Firstly, I'd just like to say that I am happy so many of you have never had the same problems we experienced. We have stayed onsite atUniversal at least 5-6 times in the past (but always during the summer...). We have never before had such issues - we have always been BIG fans of the hotel keycard express access and never had much wait. It's been great.

This trip was just one big disappointment. For the vast majority of attractions Express was not worthwhile. In addition to the attractions I have already discussed earlier in the thread, on the ET ride we had to physically climb over the railings to move from the express line to the regular line, because we had been waiting in the "forest" area for 15 minutes whilst people in the regular line were walking straight on to the ride. To me, this is completely unacceptable. The folks in front of us complained to the ride operator and she said "it's been like this for the past 5 years... it ain't gonna change now" (huh?) -- read that as you like(!).

The most noticeable thing, in addition to the waste-of-time express passes was the rude nature of the employees. Maybe it's because we had been in Disney for 2 weeks before coming over to Universal but many of them were very rude and provided poor service. On Jaws my poor DS got yelled at for taking his camera out of his case; it was completely unnecessary. I also didn't appreciate the boat driver to Portofino using expletives - it may have been 10 at night but there were at least 7 kids on board.

Rip Ride Rockit wait time was always over 100 minutes, even though the parks were quite quiet. It's really bad that there is no Universal Express - their excuse is that it's "too new" -- huh? Can someone expand on that for me? Why does it being new mean it shouldn't have an express line?

As you can probably gather, we'll be giving Universal a miss on our next trip.

 

[Timmy Boy]

I don't know the reason the E.T. Express line was so backed up. That's very strange. With the camera on Jaws, people in the past have had their cameras out and the skipper said nothing and the cameras fell overboard and into the water, then they pitched a fit saying "it's the ride's fault for me losing my camera" then guest services is involved telling him its impossible to get his camera now, then the guest is ordering guest services to pay for it, which they won't do, so then the guest tries to get a lawyer involved for his own stupidity and carelessness. So Universal just says no cameras.

Oh and Rockit doesn't have all the trains yet on the track (I think they're trying for 7) so right now they run with 4. The reason for no Express is because of the horrible capacity they're getting on that ride. They're also trying to get the moving walkway to work so that the ride basically never stops moving, and with that functional, then they'll be able to run with 7 trains. But if they did offer Express, the regular line would probably be over 2 hours everyday, and Express line would be at an hour most likely. Then it's even more of a headache.

I think Rockit was a good idea in the planning and design stages, I just think that ride didn't live up to the hype. It is a fun ride, but the operation of it has gotten ridiculous.

 

[mackay_j]

I don't know the reason the E.T. Express line was so backed up. That's very strange. With the camera on Jaws, people in the past have had their cameras out and the skipper said nothing and the cameras fell overboard and into the water, then they pitched a fit saying "it's the ride's fault for me losing my camera" then guest services is involved telling him its impossible to get his camera now, then the guest is ordering guest services to pay for it, which they won't do, so then the guest tries to get a lawyer involved for his own stupidity and carelessness. So Universal just says no cameras.

Oh and Rockit doesn't have all the trains yet on the track (I think they're trying for 7) so right now they run with 4. The reason for no Express is because of the horrible capacity they're getting on that ride. They're also trying to get the moving walkway to work so that the ride basically never stops moving, and with that functional, then they'll be able to run with 7 trains. But if they did offer Express, the regular line would probably be over 2 hours everyday, and Express line would be at an hour most likely. Then it's even more of a headache.

I think Rockit was a good idea in the planning and design stages, I just think that ride didn't live up to the hype. It is a fun ride, but the operation of it has gotten ridiculous.

We also had problems with staff at IOA. Our locker got jamed shut and noone could open it, it then went over the allowed free time so we needed money to get into the locker. At that piont the staff said they could no longer help and we need to get money first then they would come back to assist. but our money was in the locker!!! To make the whole thing worse so was my daughters insulin pump- no one would help no shop would lend us $5 - assistance was sent for noone arrive - got money off another tourist but still locker would not open 2hrs later help arrived- by now my girl was ill, help only came when I threanted to call 911. Later at customer services they were very sorry- did not help it was Xmas day and I now had 1 ill girl whos sugars where too high to eat xmas dinner booked at emerils in PR!!! Not happy at all with IOA staff