Universal is really behind WDW when it comes to FP/EP information

[glamdring269]

Just transitioned to Universal and wow what an unorganized madhouse. All riders enter the same entrance for HP rides which is already odd for someone transitioning from WDW. On top of that the information given by their employees while in line is wildly inconsistent. Just entered the express line and asked roughly how long the wait would be. Was told it’s about 2 hours for standby so assume 1.5 hours. We decided a few mins later to leave the line and an employee then told us that no, the original person was wrong and it would be about 30 minutes.

I get it. The parks are busy. But come on it shouldn’t be that hard to have sufficient information to allow people to make good choices. We can rope drop tomorrow and the next day and dominate these rides. I don’t mind waiting 30 minutes one time but 1.5 hours is crazy for ‘express’. Just need sufficient info to make a good choice.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Just a bit annoyed by seeming lack of Universal organizational awareness.

 

[bchbetha]

I found the Universal app and the posted signs to be accurate. I never attempted to ask workers as I saw no need.

 

[glamdring269]

I found the Universal app and the posted signs to be accurate. I never attempted to ask workers as I saw no need.

Have you been here when they break the line into bag / no bag? When express takes more than 30 minutes but you have no way of knowing how long it’s going to take?

We’ve been here during much less busy times and it’s fine. But they’re awful right now. Just my opinion.

And to be clear, I’m referring specifically to EP estimated times. I do have the app and unless I’m overlooking it there are no EP time estimates there.

 

[RalphinSC]

So you are going at the absolute busiest time of the year and expect it not to be just a little bit crazy?

To be fair, the bag checks and line entrances at Forbidden Journey and Escape from Gringotts are always a little harried, but you get the hang really quick.

And both also have single rider lines which tend to be shorter waits than even express passes.

Wasn't aware Disney posted fastpass wait times either.

 

[glamdring269]

Never said I wasn’t expecting it to be crazy but I do expect the employees to be prepared to handle it. Disney doesn’t post FP times either but any time I asked one how long the FP line would take I got an answer that was pretty close. If folks don’t think getting an answer of ‘probably about 1.5 hours’ from one employee and then ‘no, that’s way off it’s closer to 30’ is unacceptable then I’ll just assume I’m the one off base here.

 

[glamdring269]

One other note. Been chatting with some of the employees who have the misfortune of monitoring Hogsmeade during the shows tonight. The place is completely shut down and people are basically stuck. Not too dissimilar to some of the MK shows but at least there you have multiple exits.

Let’s just say they were somewhat on the side of the shows were better earlier in the month but probably shouldn’t be having them right now and actively encouraged submitting feedback. Unfortunately HM wasn’t really made with the logistics of a show in mind.

 

[EveDallas]

Sounds like you'd be happier at Disney

 

[mjhtvchick]

One other note. Been chatting with some of the employees who have the misfortune of monitoring Hogsmeade during the shows tonight. The place is completely shut down and people are basically stuck. Not too dissimilar to some of the MK shows but at least there you have multiple exits.

Let’s just say they were somewhat on the side of the shows were better earlier in the month but probably shouldn’t be having them right now and actively encouraged submitting feedback. Unfortunately HM wasn’t really made with the logistics of a show in mind.

That is so true - I LOVE Universal but Hogsmeade is stressful on a good day - I can't imagine being there right now!

 

[damo]

Hmmmmm. That is quite the conclusion from one piece of misinformation!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Never said I wasn’t expecting it to be crazy but I do expect the employees to be prepared to handle it. Disney doesn’t post FP times either but any time I asked one how long the FP line would take I got an answer that was pretty close. If folks don’t think getting an answer of ‘probably about 1.5 hours’ from one employee and then ‘no, that’s way off it’s closer to 30’ is unacceptable then I’ll just assume I’m the one off base here.

Agreed that that’s frustrating and unfortunate but it happens. Just call Disney twice and ask two different CMs the same question. Very good chance you’ll get two different answers. Sorry you had a bad experience. I found it difficult to find the lockers again on the way out of FJ. Signs would be nice. But it was one frustration out of my day and didn’t in any way come close to ruining the magic of the WWoHP.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just transitioned to Universal and wow what an unorganized madhouse. All riders enter the same entrance for HP rides which is already odd for someone transitioning from WDW. On top of that the information given by their employees while in line is wildly inconsistent. Just entered the express line and asked roughly how long the wait would be. Was told it’s about 2 hours for standby so assume 1.5 hours. We decided a few mins later to leave the line and an employee then told us that no, the original person was wrong and it would be about 30 minutes.

I get it. The parks are busy. But come on it shouldn’t be that hard to have sufficient information to allow people to make good choices. We can rope drop tomorrow and the next day and dominate these rides. I don’t mind waiting 30 minutes one time but 1.5 hours is crazy for ‘express’. Just need sufficient info to make a good choice.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Just a bit annoyed by seeming lack of Universal organizational awareness.

So I'm guessing part of this feeling is the transitioning from WDW to USO. They utilize EP and FP differently. They are not the same thing really at all. Timing is not going to be the same for WDW as it is for USO.

For USO you have two options for EP: once through the line per ride or unlimited.

I don't know about the time difference but it's possible the front end employee doesn't get updated as frequently as employees inside able to see the line. Have you ever been in a line at WDW that wasn't accurate or have you ever asked a WDW CM who said it would be X time but it turned out to be differently? I mean realistically they are both theme parks that have the opportunity to have wait times not be accurate.

As far as the HP entering the EP line for the same entrance...I mean they are separate lines though. I would argue that the way that WDW does some of their FPs lines don't make as much sense that you have to go to this side way over here when riding in the FP line instead of over here for the standby. USO is more constrained in space and I would honestly say that makes more sense in a variety of ways how they do their entrances.

But really in the end you may find USO isn't your cup of tea. Personally I recognize that there are strengths and weaknesses to both companies but when I go into WDW I'm not constantly comparing what USO does and vice versa.

 

[kohlby]

I've actually been told incorrectly how long the FP line is much more than when I ask how long the EP line is. I have had people close to correct more time than incorrect at both parks but it's been off in the wrong direction far more at Disney than Universal. This week - I wouldn't trust anyone at either park when asked. Most really don't know. They are giving you their best estimate and that will vary depending on who is working. I'd expect both parks have more people working ride lines who don't usually work at that one. (Or any ride line in some cases even).

 

[glamdring269]

Now that I’ve slept let me circle back here and at least provide some fairness to Universal.

At WDW we had the opportunity to rope drop each morning and escape before park madness struck. Yesterday we transitioned from WDW to Universal and got to the park much later than we normally would.

Today we will be heading in right at 7, out by lunch, then back at night, so should be able to form a more accurate apples to apples comparison.

Don’t get me wrong regarding Universal though. We’ve been here before and love it. I’m just realizing that the way the parks are laid out, maybe more specifically IoA, is probably not optimal for peak crowd times and regardless of what the employees do they will always be limited by that problem. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot they can do about it.

 

[bumbershoot]

Disney doesn’t post FP times either but any time I asked one how long the FP line would take I got an answer that was pretty close. I

Impressive. People on the Wdw side often talk about how Wdw gives times that are drastically off from reality.

Also remember that this is the first xmastime that they’ve had EP for any HP ride (still in existence) other than Hippogriff.

 

[glamdring269]

As expected our issues yesterday were primarily due to timing. We had a very successful morning for the most part, getting there just after 7am (more on that below) and out of the park for lunch. We’re about to head back in to try to take in the night time atmosphere It does seem like the parks empty out a bit after 8 so hopefully we’ll get to take in a less crowded Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley tonight around closing time.

Only issue we had this morning is a bizarre one to me from a logistics standpoint. We’re staying at RPR and you have to go through a security checkpoint en route to City Walk. This morning they were only running one of the two scanners so regardless of bag / no bag this was an unnecessarily long wait just to get into City Walk. Should be easy enough to improve but annoying today and I assume will be the same tomorrow (so we will just get up that much earlier tomorrow). Should definitely have folks with no bags go through a second line here at minimum.

As for the FP/EP time variance, as I said before, it’s one thing to be somewhat off (15 vs 30 minutes for example). It’s quite another to get 90 vs 30 minutes. Of course opinions will vary on what is and what is not acceptable and that’s ok.

 

[RalphinSC]

I'll definitely agree with you on the not wanting to be in Hogsmeade during the nighttime show this week. It's always been the single biggest crowd bottleneck in Universal and the show makes it pretty much impassable. I try to ghost out of there before 10:30am on a typical Summer day. Cannot imagine the frustration of trying to work through it on a 10 crowd day with a popular nighttime show grinding traffic to a stop.