Universal Qbot/Ubot experience anyone?

[kittylady1972]

Planning a June 2014 trip to the Universal Parks. We are a family of amusement park touring pros and have been to the Universal parks a few times, last time was June 2011. We know it will be HOT and we remember the lines for some rides being long so we skipped them. We have never stayed in on-site hotels or used their Express Pass system.

Considering a stay at Cabana Bay Beach with the understanding that we will NOT have FOTL and Unlimited Express Pass access. I think, knowing our commando touring style, we can hit the signature rides that we want to do with a 3-day P2P pass, but we may explore the possibility of alternative means to skip the lines.

Worried that they could end up opening up the new Harry Potter section sometime that week which could really make things ugly, even though we plan to hit the parks on a Wed/Thur/Fri...in mid-June.

Anyone done Qbot/Ubot there? Know the pricing on it? We did something pretty similar at Six Flags Magic Mountain over the summer to hit all of their coasters (and they have 18 of them!) and it worked out pretty well for us. I almost think by using that for one day and then just making good use of morning time at the parks we could probably do all we want at the two Universal Parks in 3 days and NOT have to have the added expense of staying at an onsite hotel, costing us a good $1000 more just for the hotel stay!

We may even be able to do the Express Pass for a day, even though it would be limited. It sounds like, from what I'm reading, we can buy one-day of Express Pass use while there. We will already have 3-day P2P passes purchased ahead of time.

Thoughts/opinions/suggestions? TIA!

 

[RMulieri]

Honestly..Given the HP expansion is going to be opening , I would stay onsite at one of the delux resorts.No one knows at this point what the opening is going to do to park dynamics.With the opening, ALL the resorts will have early entry privelages , so that will make the early entry crowds HUGE ( cabana bay is a very large resort with alot of rooms and CB is eligible for early entry).Once the parks open to all guests I imagine the crowds will be even larger.I have not used q bot and dont know any that have.Qbot prices depend on the park and the day.The more crowds projected, the higher cost for it, it will be cheaper than an express pass though..In general if you look at the price of express pass for the day, qbot is about $10-20 less than that for the day.Unlike express pass, you reserve times on the qbot.You can only hold reservation times for ONE ride at a time.You have to either , ride the booked ride or cancel it in order to book another. It really doesnt do much other than save your spot in the standby line.Once your time comes up you go to the express line and show the attendant the qbot.From there you enter the express line.Which means you might have a longer wait when all is said and done.Express line access is usually minimal waits, but at busier times it is not unheard of to have to wait 15-20 mins in the express line...Most people i know stay onsite or buy the express passes.

 

[kittylady1972]

Honestly..Given the HP expansion is going to be opening , I would stay onsite at one of the delux resorts.No one knows at this point what the opening is going to do to park dynamics.With the opening, ALL the resorts will have early entry privelages , so that will make the early entry crowds HUGE ( cabana bay is a very large resort with alot of rooms and CB is eligible for early entry).Once the parks open to all guests I imagine the crowds will be even larger.I have not used q bot and dont know any that have.Qbot prices depend on the park and the day.The more crowds projected, the higher cost for it, it will be cheaper than an express pass though..In general if you look at the price of express pass for the day, qbot is about $10-20 less than that for the day.Unlike express pass, you reserve times on the qbot.You can only hold reservation times for ONE ride at a time.You have to either , ride the booked ride or cancel it in order to book another. It really doesnt do much other than save your spot in the standby line.Once your time comes up you go to the express line and show the attendant the qbot.From there you enter the express line.Which means you might have a longer wait when all is said and done.Express line access is usually minimal waits, but at busier times it is not unheard of to have to wait 15-20 mins in the express line...Most people i know stay onsite or buy the express passes.

Thanks for the response. I am well aware of the possibility that the opening of HP could really make an already busy time there even BUSIER which is why I'm already looking to book something NOW. It's coming up with the extra $1000 or so for the hotel that is really killing me.

I'm familiar with the QBOT-like system, as is works just like the system that the Six Flags parks use. As I said, we used it in August in California and it really worked out well. As park touring pros, it doesn't bother us at all to plan out the day around a return time and I recognize the limitations. I guess I'm thinking there are LOTS of rides and shows to enjoy at Universal and we could easily use the Qbot and save some money to at least avoid some waiting.

Make no mistake...the thought of the HP opening during our trip REALLY scares me! I know we could manage the park easily without that as our trip back in 2011 was pretty crowded for June and we did fine. Three days should be good to get us through most of what we want to do I think. I am just trying to get an idea of the costs associated with the other options.

 

[Metro West]

The last time I was over there (for HHN) I thought I saw a sign showing prices for this "tool" but it's not widely used or pushed right now.

I'll be going over in a few weekends for the holiday stuff and I'll see what I can find out.