What to expect from FOTL/Express Passes In July

[MrScubaBHT]

We are staying at the HRH July 23rd - July 29th and have the 7 days of 2 park unlimited tickets and since we are staying at HRH we will have the FOTL/Express Passes for our entire stay

I know summer months are the the most crowded times of year and July is even worse, but that is the only time our schedules will allow us to make the trip. 1 week WDW and 1 week US/IOA. So what can we expect when using the FOTL passes during this most hectic time.

So what kind of wait times can we anticipate using our FOTL access as resort guests? Will there be any lenghty waits with FOTL or can we expect to litteraly jump right on the rides even in the middle of summer?

 

[ATAfamily]

We have gone over the July 4th holiday the past two years. Like yourself, I was concerned about the crowds during the summer, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the FOTL helped ALOT and even though the regular lines some times had long waits, our wait with FOTL was minimal and saved us so much time to do other things (like swim & drink )

Set your mind at ease and know that you are going to have a great time on vacation because of FOTL.

 

[Bluer101]

Last July 6-12 when we went the most we waited I think for Simpsons was about 20-30 minutes, but the regular line was over 90 minutes. But most of the rides were around 10 minutes if you were to average them. This year we are going again July 3-10 and will enjoy every minute again. With FOTL its very laid back, lots of pool time, rest, and relaxing.

 

[NashvilleTrio]

The Simpsons always seems to take longer and we always seem to be in line at Dueling Dragons when they add/remove the third set of trains. You'll encounter some delays, but for the most part you'll be through the line in about 10 minutes.

Regardless you'll have a completely different experience from Disney and Universal's off-site guests. Enjoy!

 

[MrScubaBHT]

WaaHoo! That's what I was hoping for. With the special they had running for the free nights it actually made if fairly affordable and with FOTL benifits it makes it an unbeatable deal.

 

[Disneyhappy]

We have gone over the July 4th holiday the past two years. Like yourself, I was concerned about the crowds during the summer, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the FOTL helped ALOT and even though the regular lines some times had long waits, our wait with FOTL was minimal and saved us so much time to do other things (like swim & drink )

Set your mind at ease and know that you are going to have a great time on vacation because of FOTL.

Ditto on our experience is based on the lat two years furing July 4th time period. FOTL provided minimal waits. The longest waits tend to be at Simpsons and Dueling Dragons as prior posters stated.I also find that the waits are even less in the mornings and many attractions for FOTL being walk ons. We always head back to the resort to hand by the pool in the afternoons and then back to CW or the parks at night. FOTL is a benfit I hope is available at the resorts forever! It is so much better than the invention of sliced bread!

 

[mslclark]

We've been twice in July with FOTL priveleges - and it was awesome!! We rarely waited in line. Most things we rode over and over with no wait. Just get to the gates early - before park opening. They often open the gates a little early. You can ride lots of stuff in the morning before the crowds arrive. We usually finished up around 2 pm and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool.

We're going to WDW in July this year and I know I'll be missing that FOTL!

 

[SnowWitch]

Sorry to hijack the thread but we have not been to US/IOA in 4 years. Our experience had been if you hit the parks at opening you could literally ride all the biggies multiple times by lunch and then have lunch and catch some shows. Is this still realistic?

 

[ky07]

Sorry to hijack the thread but we have not been to US/IOA in 4 years. Our experience had been if you hit the parks at opening you could literally ride all the biggies multiple times by lunch and then have lunch and catch some shows. Is this still realistic?

It is if you are staying onsite so that you have the folt cause it gets you on the rides alot faster

 

[donaldduck352]

Simpsons-T2- Disaster Have long pre-shows.At IOA DD is very populer and the way they got the que set up,it will take sometime.Not long but alot of walking to ride both sides.As far as the Hulk-10min tops-Spidey less!!

 

[SnowWitch]

It is if you are staying onsite so that you have the folt cause it gets you on the rides alot faster

RPR here we come!!!!!!!!!!!! Very excited haven't been in 4 yrs. Been busy adding to the family and with being preggo and having toddlers we took a break. Now the babies are 2 and 4 so I thought we would give them a try. The 2 teens miss it. Its great to hear the old plan still works. We're early to rise people so this has always worked great for us.

 

[SnowWitch]

Simpsons-T2- Disaster Have long pre-shows.At IOA DD is very populer and the way they got the que set up,it will take sometime.Not long but alot of walking to ride both sides.As far as the Hulk-10min tops-Spidey less!!

With the exception being the Simpsons the others can wait until the biggies are done in early am. T2 and Diaster can wait until later in the day, they both supply a good air conditioner break when its getting hot because the preshows take a while. We'll probably be skipping T2 because my 4 yr old would not like that show. She would be terrified and would let me and everyone around us know it.

 

[Disney*All-Stars*]

We were at US over the 4th of July last year and were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to go from one ride to another with little (less than 10 minutes) to no wait. The parks were surprisingly emptier than I had expected. That might be because it is more open than Disney, but we had gone in the past (several years ago) and remember fighting the crowds to get from one point to another.