What’s up with these wait times?

[Mrs~Incredible]

Headed to UO this Nov for our first time in over 10 years. Been checking out wait times the last week or so, and I have a bit of sticker shock with seeing the lengths of waits! Many attractions at 60, 70 minutes or more. Is this typical?
I guess I was hoping things would be generally 45 min or under....
I know we can fork over more money for an express pass, but wasn’t planning on that unless it was really needed.

Is this just a post Quarantine surge of locals, itchy to be out and about? Or is this what is typical and I need to adjust my expectations?

thanks!!

 

[puffkin]

We were there last week. I have no idea what their capacity numbers are, but it was busy (Saturday was down right packed and at capacity). I can say that most rides were sitting every row, but they weren't sitting multiple parties together....so while not full capacity, they are inching closer. Shows they are seating every other row and leaving 2 seats between parties. I really don't think there is going to be a "slow" time for awhile. That being said, especially towards the end of the day, ride times were very inflated. But mid day, they were pretty accurate and we were very happy to have EP's.

 

[shawthorne44]

I think you should adjust your expectations. It wasn't locals. They've been able to go since last summer. Also, many of the on-site hotels were booked solid. Then you add in the people that won't travel now, but will by Nov. Then you add in people going to Disney's 50th and adding in a couple of Universal days

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

I think you should adjust your expectations. It wasn't locals. They've been able to go since last summer. Also, many of the on-site hotels were booked solid. Then you add in the people that won't travel now, but will by Nov. Then you add in people going to Disney's 50th and adding in a couple of Universal days

Thanks. Think we will be saving our pennies for some express passes. Appreciate the input.

 

[shawthorne44]

Thanks. Think we will be saving our pennies for some express passes. Appreciate the input.

I'd either do Premier hotel or buy them now. Express Pass prices for the last few weeks really skyrocketed.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

I'd either do Premier hotel or buy them now. Express Pass prices for the last few weeks really skyrocketed.

Aw man that’s good to know! We are staying off site but will think about getting them now. Thanks for the inside info

 

[ClapYourHands]

This is still spring break. While there were definitely bigger crowds around Easter, last week and this week are spring breaks in New England.

Weekends are much busier than weekdays. We were there last week, and were able to do pretty much everything, even without EP. We rope dropped, kept an eye on the app for wait times, and were willing to do some extra walking to go to shorter lines. Other than Hagrid’s, we didn’t wait an hour for anything.

It’s hard to predict what November will look like. Yes, people will be traveling then, but people are traveling now. There are capacity limits on the parks, but also restrictions on rides. Right now there are no single rider lines, and you’re never seated next to someone not in your party. So if there are 4 seats across, and you’re a party of one or two, you still get the whole row to yourself. By November, I don’t know if UO will be open to more people, but I don’t think they will let more people into the park without seating people more closely on rides and in shows.

So I agree that you need to adjust your expectations regarding wait times. However, I don’t think EP will be a must to have a good time, if you plan well and stay flexible. What if instead of adding EP, you added another day to your trip? That would give an extra day to rope drop and more time to get things done.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

This is still spring break. While there were definitely bigger crowds around Easter, last week and this week are spring breaks in New England.

Weekends are much busier than weekdays. We were there last week, and were able to do pretty much everything, even without EP. We rope dropped, kept an eye on the app for wait times, and were willing to do some extra walking to go to shorter lines. Other than Hagrid’s, we didn’t wait an hour for anything.

It’s hard to predict what November will look like. Yes, people will be traveling then, but people are traveling now. There are capacity limits on the parks, but also restrictions on rides. Right now there are no single rider lines, and you’re never seated next to someone not in your party. So if there are 4 seats across, and you’re a party of one or two, you still get the whole row to yourself. By November, I don’t know if UO will be open to more people, but I don’t think they will let more people into the park without seating people more closely on rides and in shows.

So I agree that you need to adjust your expectations regarding wait times. However, I don’t think EP will be a must to have a good time, if you plan well and stay flexible. What if instead of adding EP, you added another day to your trip? That would give an extra day to rope drop and more time to get things done.

Awesome, thanks for your thoughts! We are actually going to jump on a 4 day ticket deal so we will have plenty of time without being too stressed.
This is such a hard year to predict!
Thanks!!

 

[cfoxga]

It’s hard to predict what November will look like. Yes, people will be traveling then, but people are traveling now. There are capacity limits on the parks, but also restrictions on rides. Right now there are no single rider lines, and you’re never seated next to someone not in your party. So if there are 4 seats across, and you’re a party of one or two, you still get the whole row to yourself. By November, I don’t know if UO will be open to more people, but I don’t think they will let more people into the park without seating people more closely on rides and in shows.

Holidays and weekends are not too hard to predict: they will be busy. We were there for the last Thanksgiving and President's Day weekends, and both were packed. Ride times were over 60 minutes for most rides after 10:30 am every day. EPs were an absolute must for us. Spring Break sounded even more crowded and as Universal starts allowing more people into the parks, it will probably get worse.

To the OP. If you are considering buying EPs, it will likely be cheaper to buy at least one Annual Pass and rent a room at a Deluxe Resort. I know it sounds odd, but just run the numbers to see if it works out for you. Take a look at https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-i-plan-a-universal-trip.3794121/ for details...

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Holidays and weekends are not too hard to predict: they will be busy. We were there for the last Thanksgiving and President's Day weekends, and both were packed. Ride times were over 60 minutes for most rides after 10:30 am every day. EPs were an absolute must for us. Spring Break sounded even more crowded and as Universal starts allowing more people into the parks, it will probably get worse.

To the OP. If you are considering buying EPs, it will likely be cheaper to buy at least one Annual Pass and rent a room at a Deluxe Resort. I know it sounds odd, but just run the numbers to see if it works out for you. Take a look at https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-i-plan-a-universal-trip.3794121/ for details...

Thanks for your thoughts! Trying to learn all we can!

 

[cfoxga]

Universal is easy compared to Disney, especially if you can swing a Deluxe Resort. Just book your room and you've done the hard part. EPs really reduce the planning needed in the parks to almost none. Some people like to make restaurant reservations, but we just try to avoid busy dining times so we don't have to plan every meal...