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Hi everyone! My sister, boyfriend, and I (all in our 20s) are traveling to Orlando for 10 days this August in celebration of my 25th birthday, and we plan to split our time between the Disney, Universal, and Sea World parks. My sister and I haven't been to Orlando in over 8 years, and my boyfriend's latest visit was when he was just 10 years old, so - needless to say - we're all really anxious to see and do as much as we can in the parks (without going too crazy, of course).
My sister is a HUGE Harry Potter fan, and I know that all three of us will enjoy the more adult-friendly rides at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, so I was wondering if anyone could offer reviews of the Universal Express Plus program? It'll be an additional $40 per person, per park added to our admission tickets for the days we plan to visit these two parks, so it's certainly a hefty price to pay for jumping the lines...but I would love to hear from some other people who have made the investment to get a better sense of whether it's worth the additional cost.
Do you REALLY jump right to the front of the line (once per attraction, I know), and did you find that it saved you a significant amount of time/energy in the parks? We plan to arrive to the parks as soon as they open, but I'm mainly afraid that the crowds of fans coming to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter this summer are going to make it difficult to see everything we want to see in just one day at Universal Studios and one day at Islands of Adventure.
During our last visit to Orlando, Universal had a similar FREE Express program (like Disney's Fast Pass), so I have no frame of reference as to just how long the lines at the these parks are WITHOUT the line-jumping privilege.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Last edited by Belle*; 06-08-2010 at 07:27 AM..
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Something to consider - all Universal onsite resort guests get unlimited FOTL access, so you might price a resort stay versus adding the Express Pass to your tickets.
Do you really jump to the front of the line? Technically no. You enter the Express Pass line, which is similar to Disney's Fastpass. However, the line is significantly shorter than a typical Fastpass line since less people utilize Express Pass. Sometimes you walk right on the ride, sometimes you wait a few minutes.
Oh, I know. We've already booked our lodging, though - I can't/won't pay resort prices, either for Disney or Universal. Way too much $$$ when we're going to be in the room only to sleep and shower, you know?
Makes sense! Thanks for the explanation. Some of the stuff you read makes it sound like you present the pass and just walk right on. Still, it'd be nice to wait 10-15 minutes as opposed to 45-60!
It's just my opinion, but if you are really planning to go at rope drop (right when the park opens), I wouldn't worry about paying for the express pass. Lines are usually very reasonable for the first couple hours. Are you planning to stay till close too? If so, I would probably recommend doing the big ticket rides at the very beginning, and saving WWoHP for the evening. I bet most people will run to WWoHP right away. My biggest pet peeve with the Express pass is that it's kind of expensive for a 1-time-per-ride thing. We got it when we went to Halloween Horror Nights at Universaly (and it was $75 JUST for the Expresss pass ), but the lines for the haunted houses there are easily 90+ minutes, and we only had 7 hours, so that made it worth it to us. If I had all day though, I think I would just look for hints/tips online about when to go to which rides to get the best lines and skip the Express Pass. Just my opinion. Have a great trip!!!
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
I'd highly recommend it. If you're going at rope drop, ride the rides you really want as many times as you can until the lines build, and the then use Express Pass Plus
We stay onsite a couple nights to get the Express pass benefit. (For a family of 5 it works out to pay the hotel rate, and the hotels are very nice.) It's great, I love being able to ride my favorites again and again and never have a long wait. However, some rides don't participate in the Express pass. Usually the newest rides - including the Harry Potter rides. So I don't think I would pay for the Express pass alone unless I really had limited time.
Just wanted to add some more food for thought. If you stay one night in a Universal resort, you can get 2 days worth of FOTL access. Even though check in is 3 or 4 pm, you can check in at the front desk, retrieve your room keys, store your luggage, and head to the park. You show your room key to the ride attendants and they will direct you to the Express Pass line - as many times as you want! The day you check out they are good for most of the day too. Used to be they were good until 3 pm, but I've read reports where people used them all day long.
You could also save money on food by packing sandwich stuff in your room -- Universal resorts are so close to the parks that you can walk back and forth.
So I wouldn't count out a resort stay all together until you've crunched the numbers. I have never paid full price for a room at Universal or Disney, so there are plenty of discounts out there if you look. Good Luck!!
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We went for Spring Break one year, stayed offsite and didn't get the Express passes. Getting to the park before opening was key. We were able to do the Big attractions before most of the crowd appeared. By 3pm the place was packed and we left the park each day....having done what we set out to do. I imagine it will be similar this August. Since you plan a full day anyway, do the big, must do things first and save the lesser rides and shows for later in the day. If it doesn't work out well the first day, then you can reconsider and buy the Express pass at your second park, the next day.
Thanks everyone for your input! Maybe I'll just play it by ear. We're definitely getting there first thing in the AM, so let's see what we can accomplish. And if the crowds are really that bad, well, then perhaps 40 bucks is worth it. We'll see!
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), but the lines for the haunted houses there are easily 90+ minutes, and we only had 7 hours, so that made it worth it to us. If I had all day though, I think I would just look for hints/tips online about when to go to which rides to get the best lines and skip the Express Pass. Just my opinion. Have a great trip!!!
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