Universal - is fastpass a must?

[tentaguasu]

Is the Universal version of fastpass a must over the summer for US or IoA?

I just couldn't imagine doing Disney without Fastpasses and I cringe to think of doing it at Universal... but it seems VERY expensive...

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this over to our Universal Studios board for you.

 

[dlbbwu]

One word in my mind...YES...I don't want to wait in lines and the Simpsons one time was a 75 min wait....ouch...the most we had to wait was 5 min for that same ride, otherwise, it was always in, just about.

 

[damo]

You can plan around it. The most important thing is to get to the gates about 45 minutes before opening and do the big rides right away. The shows and minor rides can all be done later. Yes you will have bigger waits in the afternoon but it is a theme park and waiting is normal.

 

[ckay87]

We just finished a US/IOA visit with Express Passes in hand. I occasionally considered that it could have been done w/out EPs, with careful planning and a lot of running around. But with the EPs, it changes the whole "feel" of your visit. I mean, there we were, at Universal in summertime, and we were able to do what we wanted, when we wanted, as often as we wanted (we were onsite). Extremely relaxing, enjoyable visit at one of the busiest times of the year. Disney can't even do that with their Fastpass system. It was amazing.

 

[spincandy]

We've never done US without EP and I wouldn't want to. We've found even the EP lines can get quite backed up and, at the busiest times you're looking at upwards of a 90 minute wait in standby.

I guess you could attack it like a Disney park- get there really early and do the headliners first. But they're quite spread out across the park- Shrek and MIB, for example, are quite far apart. I think the EPs are worth the extra outlay- if just for stress free touring more than anything!!

xx

 

[macraven]

if you are traveling a long way and spending a lot of money on your vacation, go for the ep.

the people that go on vacation occasionally, such as once every 2-3 years, would want to do and see everything that was there in the parks.

go ahead and splurge on the ep as it will keep you from standing in lines up to an hour or more for a 3-4 minutes ride.


figure out the cost it would be for you to buy the ep's for the family.
factor in what it would cost to stay on site. make a decision to book a room for the onsite hotel if the cost difference is less than $75.

the ep is valid for your check out day.
you get 2 days of fotl for the cost of one night at the hotel.

if you have the AAA, you can get discounts up to 30% off of some rooms.
if you have one AP in your group, the discount could be greater.

for the summer dates listed in the Ap newsletter, you could stay on site for close to $160 a night. if you have a family of 4, and the epp is $35 a person, that would make a day trip, besides park tickets, an additional $140.

put that $140 towards the room rate and the difference would be about $20 more to stay on site.

Now that is a bargain.

some people have posted in the past they stay at dvc or a time share and don't want to move everything to the onsite hotel for just one night.
what they posted is they rent the room on site and never use it.

they just want the hotel key for the fotl and the perks.

 

[Detailor]

I'm going to say that if you're going to USO and IOA for a day each (or less) then the express pass makes sense so you can get as much in as possible. But if you're planning to go to the parks for a few days then you probably don't need express pass as long as you plan properly. Get there at or before opening and make a bee line for whatever you most want to do and the lines shouldn't be an issue.
We were there last week and walked on to Mummy, Men In Black and even Simpsons once (the posted wait time was five minutes) and had a wait of about 15 minutes another time - both of these after 10 am. Similar situation with Jurassic Park, Spiderman, etc. in IOA. The crowds seem to build more slowly at the beginning of the day at USO/IOA than at the Disney parks.
But maybe this'll be different later in the summer or at other peak periods.

Dick Taylor

 

[disneycrazycatlady]

We used express on June 10th- We were in US on the 9th and we were able to handle the crowds- no problem (Simpsons was a 15 min wait at 11:00AM) - on the 10th at IOV- hulk was a 60 min wait at 10:30AM- so we bought the express passes and were glad we did.

 

[clickrs]

Hi,
We did Universal on 6/16 (Sunday) & IOA 6/17 (Monday). It was definitely worth it to us to have the EP's. Walked on every ride with none or very lil wait times. This gave us more time to enjoy the parks & our meals (we also used the Meal Deals & Sipper cups). We were able to do both parks in 2 days at a leisure pace and wait in line for pictures with the characters for my grandson. The kids loved being able to eat whenever they wanted (they really liked Mel's went back there 2 more x's after the 1st meal there). We were a party of 7 and everyone felt they got there money's worth, esp. with the EP's. Went on the Simpson's ride again when park was getting ready to close (line's were shorter and we had already used the EP so had to wait about 30 mins.)
Wouldn't do it without them ever. It was hard getting used to the Fastpass at Disney after the EP's.
Good luck and enjoy.

 

[jheigl]

My opinion is it is not worth having to buy the express pass. Get to the parks at opening and you can do both parks in less than a day. We went this past May (middle of the month) and we got there (IOA first) at park opening. We immediately went to the Hulk and rode it twice no wait. Then we went clockwise around the park and did everything we wanted to do, sometimes more than once. We then left to go to the Studios and did everything in a counter-clockwise manner. We left both parks at about 4 or 5 PM with everything done that we wanted to do, and even some re-rides, WITH NO EXPRESS PASSES. I guess it depends on the time of year and crowd levels, but with some careful planning and countless hours wasting away on the DIS, you will do everything you need to do at USF.

 

[macraven]

My opinion is it is not worth having to buy the express pass. Get to the parks at opening and you can do both parks in less than a day. We went this past May (middle of the month) and we got there (IOA first) at park opening. We immediately went to the Hulk and rode it twice no wait. Then we went clockwise around the park and did everything we wanted to do, sometimes more than once. We then left to go to the Studios and did everything in a counter-clockwise manner. We left both parks at about 4 or 5 PM with everything done that we wanted to do, and even some re-rides, WITH NO EXPRESS PASSES. I guess it depends on the time of year and crowd levels, but with some careful planning and countless hours wasting away on the DIS, you will do everything you need to do at USF.

you have a valid point. some people just want to hit the highlights and they can be successful doing that in one day w/out epp if need be.

if you go early, get to the park by 8:15, and do the highlights your groups wants to, you can avoid crowds. eat at off times as the crowds start to build around 11ish usually.

you went in mid may and the crowds are very light usually. if you went on weekdays, less crowds, especially tu-wed-thu. yes, it is possible not to buy the epp and do specific rides that all in your group want to do.


i could not do it all in one day.
even with the fotl for staying on site, i don't get one park completely done.
i go in the fall when the hours are cut back to closing time of 7:00 pm.

i see the shows and that takes time away from rides.
for lunch, i sit at enchanted oak for a good 30 minutes, another time away from the rides.
i watch the mystic fountain action and blow an hour sometimes....

i do about every ride except plutos at ioa and still need more time when the park closes.
when i first started going to universal, i did the highlights. it took some years before i ventured into doing the shows. then, i finally did the rides i overlooked in the past trips. adding all that together, i spent more days then at the parks.

you do what makes you happy.
not every ride is interesting to everyone.

if you have a great time, that is what counts.
if you are on a budget, then do the highlights of what appeals to you and make a plan.

it can all work to your advantage with the epp or without it.

if you go in the slow season, the epp is really not necessary.
that is just my opinion. it is not etched in stone but how i feel about it.

 

[jheigl]

When I say we did everything, I mean we did everything!!! We did just about all of both parks, and even did re-rides all in one day! The lighter crowds definitely helped

 

[macraven]

My opinion is it is not worth having to buy the express pass. Get to the parks at opening and you can do both parks in less than a day. We went this past May (middle of the month) and we got there (IOA first) at park opening. We immediately went to the Hulk and rode it twice no wait. Then we went clockwise around the park and did everything we wanted to do, sometimes more than once. We then left to go to the Studios and did everything in a counter-clockwise manner. We left both parks at about 4 or 5 PM with everything done that we wanted to do, and even some re-rides, WITH NO EXPRESS PASSES. I guess it depends on the time of year and crowd levels, but with some careful planning and countless hours wasting away on the DIS, you will do everything you need to do at USF.

When I say we did everything, I mean we did everything!!! We did just about all of both parks, and even did re-rides all in one day! The lighter crowds definitely helped

i guess what confused me was at first you said you did everything you WANTED to.

which to me says you did not do every ride.
that is why i agreed with you on it is possible.

even when you said you did repeats on the rides you wanted to i figured was possible since you skipped rides.

p-flyers, unicorns, stormchaser, the shows/sinbad, posideon, marvel characters ride it, etc


but to each their own, as long as you went and came out happy from a great time at the park, that is a good thing.

 

[czycropper]

We just got back and I'll tell you that if we didn't have the Express Pass we wouldn't have enjoyed the parks as much

We stayed at RPR and the only thing we had to wait for was Poseidon's Fury and that was because they had had a "technical difficulty"! We rode most rides 2 or 3 times.

We were talking to a couple from England that said they wished that they had purchased it because they waited 1 1/2 in the Simpson ride and over an hour in Superman, Hulk & the water ride.

When we go back in a couple of years we'll definitely stay on site to be able to have the Express Pass

Now, don't get me started on the Meal Deal which is absolutely NOT worth it!!

 

[macraven]

yea, i read your post on another thread.

i love louie's pizza so it works for me.


glad you enjoyed rph, it is great there!

staying on site roxs........