What are your thoughts on buying the express pass?

[Eureka]

When we went to US in 2013, we stayed at Royal Pacific (loved it) and got the unlimited express pass for free. I'll be going down with my sister in mid-Feb (a school vacation week for a lot of the Northeast) while she's at a conference and we're going to go to US for one day. Won't be staying there, and will be getting park to park tickets so we can do both sides of HP. Looks like the express pass that lets you do one of each attraction that offers it is about $85 for the day we're planning on, and the unlimited one is not much more comparatively speaking. I know HP doesn't matter for express passes, but I'm thinking with just one day there, it would be nice to not have to wait as much for other stuff. Touring plans.com has the parks at crowd levels of I think 4-5 for that day. So, long-winded way of asking, do you think buying the pass would be worth it or will I just get frustrated at wasting the money on it? Thanks for any advice. Staying overnight at one of their hotels is not an option.

 

[macraven]

Wait and make the decision of buying ep's when you are in the park

If lines are long go for it
If lines are not, use the single rider lines

Ep 's are non refundable
Make the decision once you see the ride line signs that show wait times

 

[Eureka]

I hadn't thought about that, thanks. They have guest services in the parks, I presume?

 

[pcstang]

Yes they do, also a lot of places throughout the parks to buy express as well.

 

[alopez926]

I stayed at Cabana Bay with my daughter last April and you do not get the Express Passes at CB like you do at the 3 other Loews on-site hotels because it's considered a value hotel. As a side note, CB was the bomb and we'd stay there again in heartbeat. We bought the Express passes for one day. It was cheaper for us to do that than to stay at one of the deluxe hotels that gives them to you "for free". IMO, they were totally worth it. We only had 1 day to spend in the parks, and easily did everything we wanted to do in a day. When we go back, we will take a more leisurely pace, but we so enjoyed our day of no waiting. It was a luxury for sure, but I don't regret a single penny of it!

 

[Eureka]

I stayed at Cabana Bay with my daughter last April and you do not get the Express Passes at CB like you do at the 3 other Loews on-site hotels because it's considered a value hotel. As a side note, CB was the bomb and we'd stay there again in heartbeat. We bought the Express passes for one day. It was cheaper for us to do that than to stay at one of the deluxe hotels that gives them to you "for free". IMO, they were totally worth it. We only had 1 day to spend in the parks, and easily did everything we wanted to do in a day. When we go back, we will take a more leisurely pace, but we so enjoyed our day of no waiting. It was a luxury for sure, but I don't regret a single penny of it!

When we were there, we loved the passes and got so much done in two days. I think it spoiled me for thinking about waiting in regular lines. But I also think crowds were higher then too. Thanks for your input.

 

[kohlby]

During our last visit there in Nov/Dec, it said crowds of 4-6 but we didn't need express. We had it for half the time as we did split stay. We did take advantage of the early hour some days though and I really liked that as the HP areas get crowded pretty easily. I agree with figuring out if you want it while you're there. Also, don't forget about single rider line to shorten waits at some rides.

 

[macraven]

not everyone is lucky in being at the parks during a low crowd period.
for those that are going for their first time, or someone that has limited experience at the darkside, might not be able to do everything on their list in one visit.

for newbies, look at www.universalorlando.com and get the layout of the parks on that site.
see the paths that lead to the rides, shows, eateries, restrooms, first aid, etc.
make a mental note of which way to go for what you want to do.
have an alternative plan if crowds are too great in the direction you are headed.

if you know the layout of the parks, that is a plus.
the first time you are in a park, it can become a big blur but if you know some highlights from the park maps, it will help you out.

sometimes single rider lines are open and sometimes they are not.
you can't always count on a ride going down.

things will happen that can frustrate a person when they have a limited time in the parks.
tickets are expensive and you want to do as much as you can to justify that cost.

ep/express pass can be bought in advance or the day of you are in a park.
they are sold in the parks at guest services and in the shops in the parks.
if you buy them in advance and find it was a waste of money due to low crowds or a rain storm, you are out of luck on getting a refund.
they are marked, non refundable.

go during a holiday time and you will have crowds of 8 and up.
kind of a given to buy the ep then.
prices for ep can go up
its flexible pricing based on advanced info of crowds.
the more in the park, the higher the ep.
if you buy them in advance, you are locked in on that price.
no extra fees in case prices for the ep do increase.

crowd prediction is a good thing but the numbers can be off sometimes.
if you have limited time and money, check out the parks before buying them.

it all comes down to personal choice.
do you feel lucky........
go for advance purchase or wait until you are there in the parks.

 

[illinidp]

We have to go in the summer and we wouldn't go without it. For us it is cheaper to stay in one of the hotels that include it one night and have it for two days.

 

[macraven]

i feel the same way as you do but i have some friends that don't have the budget to stay on site and get the ep perk.

for me, i stay onsite and it's worth every penny with those perks.