The scenario where it really makes the most sense financially is someone coming for 1 day who is not at a deluxe resort (which includes EPs). In fact, I would not recommend going to your first trip to UO without it. We did one day at Universal Hollywood without EPs and it seemed like a waste considering how little we got to do.
We were signed up to do a non-private VIP tour in March 2020, but had to cancel because of Covid. So I can't tell you about the actual experience or how Covid changed things. I will say that the person I talked at the VIP line was extremely knowledgeable, so it might be worth a call to see what they have to say...