Universal & Loews Portofino

[IMMkXLVI]

So next month we have a Disney trip planned staying at Grand Floridian for 3 days and Loews Portofino for a week. The idea being to enjoy both Disney & Universal..
For this, we opted to get UOAPs. Since we have DVC, Disney is more "accessible" which is why this trip favors Universal. Initially I was going to book our Hilton timeshare but after seeing
how much the Express Pass Unlimited (EPU) costs, it quickly made sense to book the Portofino and yes, pay more up front but then have the EPU for every day and in the long run, spend
less. It was either that or forgo having the pass every day. We don't "do Universal" every trip so the logic is, when we do, at least do it to enjoy it fully.

Next time we "do" Universal, it will be with a personal VIP tour and stay at Riviera or GF.

So, there seems to just be two rides that don't accept EPU, Hagrid’s Magic Creatures Motorbike Adventure & Pteranodon Flyers. I know for sure we'd like to ride Hagrid’s Magic Creatures Motorbike
so what I'm wondering is, would getting into the park an hour early (a benefit of staying at the Portofino) offer the best chance to minimize the wait at the ride? I'm guessing that during the day this
ride gets a long line like Guardians of the Galaxy does.

How does the EPU work? How long are its lines vs the standard lines? Are you able to come right off the ride and re-enter? or is there a cooldown time?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Express Pass is as lovely and simple as it sounds. You enter any EP line, whenever and however often you would like. They'll confirm you have EP when you get in line, then actually scan it later in the line.
Officially, the EP promise is "half the standby time" but in practice it's usually quite a bit less with a few exceptions (Hogwarts Express from King's Cross is a slow EP line). Many times it is 5-10min or less.
EP is not available during the early entry hour.

For Hagrids - early entry works great if you are near enough the front of the pack & if Hagrids does open on time. That means you will want to be at the gates 30+min before early entry starts, earlier for busy days. Alternatively, lunch time / mid afternoon can see lower waits for Hagrids, or later in the evening including hopping in line right before park close. As an added bonus, it's extra awesome in the dark! The queue is interesting, gloriously air conditioned once you reach the indoor portion (last 45min or so of queue), and moves well since it's all standby.

Pterodon Fliers requires a kid under a certain height to ride with. And I think is currently down for an undetermined amount of time.

Have fun!

 

[IMMkXLVI]

Express Pass is as lovely and simple as it sounds. You enter any EP line, whenever and however often you would like. They'll confirm you have EP when you get in line, then actually scan it later in the line.
Officially, the EP promise is "half the standby time" but in practice it's usually quite a bit less with a few exceptions (Hogwarts Express from King's Cross is a slow EP line). Many times it is 5-10min or less.
EP is not available during the early entry hour.

For Hagrids - early entry works great if you are near enough the front of the pack & if Hagrids does open on time. That means you will want to be at the gates 30+min before early entry starts, earlier for busy days. Alternatively, lunch time / mid afternoon can see lower waits for Hagrids, or later in the evening including hopping in line right before park close. As an added bonus, it's extra awesome in the dark! The queue is interesting, gloriously air conditioned once you reach the indoor portion (last 45min or so of queue), and moves well since it's all standby.

Pterodon Fliers requires a kid under a certain height to ride with. And I think is currently down for an undetermined amount of time.

Have fun!

Are you saying the EP only saves 5-10 minutes off the standby line time? That sounds like it might not be that much of a value. Given how much Universal charges for it, I'd have expected it to be of far greater meaningful real-world value.

For Hagrids, be at which gate 30+ minutes early? The main park gate or Hagrids gate? Part of the Loews perk is early admission to the
park which means 8am. Hagarts opens at 8am or 9am? issues of being late aside. My plan was to enter at 8am and head to the ride.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Are you saying the EP only saves 5-10 minutes off the standby line time?

No, I worded it poorly - often the EP wait is only 5-10min, even if the standby wait is 40-60min. So much less than half the standby time.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

For Hagrids, be at which gate 30+ minutes early? The main park gate or Hagrids gate? Part of the Loews perk is early admission to the
park which means 8am. Hagarts opens at 8am or 9am? issues of being late aside.

Be at the Islands of Adventure gate 30+ min early, so 7:30am on an 8am early entry day. Theoretically Hagrids will open at 8am for early entry but it is not particularly reliable first thing in the morning.

My plan was to enter at 8am and head to the ride.

Yours and almost everyone else at early entry, which is why being near the front is important. If you're under the first archways, in sight of the scanners, you are golden. If you are backed up onto the bridge, do something besides Hagrids first.

 

[IMMkXLVI]

No, I worded it poorly - often the EP wait is only 5-10min, even if the standby wait is 40-60min. So much less than half the standby time.

Oh that is all together better!

Disney will always be Disney and as such, hold a special place in our hearts but I do love Marvel and Universal has more Marvel than Disney so every few years, I'll satisfy my Marvel itch at Universal. This year it'll be a double scratch of that itch between Universal & a Disney MDAS cruise.

 

[IMMkXLVI]

Do I need to select a time to queue a ride using Universal EP like how Disney requires a person to use the app and schedule a ride time. Nothing I've read suggests they operate this way but best to ask.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Nope, just walk up whenever & hop in line. Want to do Spider-Man 5x in a row? No problem! EP 5x in a row.

An unadvertised benefit is that the EP lines are physically much shorter also, so you save steps too.