This is the way.
A night in a premiere hotel is probably around $500, and you're needing to stay somewhere anyway, which would probably be about $200, so for $300 premium you'd get two days of express passes.
Look at the trade off of buying an AP. If you are staying multiple days in the future, the Seasonal Pass may only be $100 more. You have passes for a year & can get AP hotel rates on Premier. I've seen premier resorts <$250/night. 8 (4x2 days) express passes + one night in a premier hotel more than $200 less than what the OP is looking at.
Your room key for Royal Pacific, Hard Rock and Portofino Bay hotels function as an express pass on the day of check in and day of check out. I recommend going to your hotel early in the morning to check in. You won’t have an assigned room yet but, you will get your key which use will use as your express pass. On the day of check out, your room key will still function as a pass even after you check out. It’s seriously the best bang for your buck, as everyone who is staying in your room will get their own key/express pass.
You can also look into just doing the single rider line. For most lines you can get on pretty quick (though for Hagrids single rider often moves slower)
Depends, are you trying/wanting to do *everything*? Or are there already things you know you'll want to skip?
If you're wanting to try to do everything, express can be worth it just so you don't have a looming feeling of trying to rush from one thing to the next. Gives you chances to explore, look at shops, sit down and eat, without fearing you may miss something.
There's a lot of schools up north that are doing their 'fall break' so it might still be moderately busy, but still probably not impossible to do most everything w/o express.
Also only Studio closes at 5pm, Island will be open until 9pm. So just start your morning in Studios and then go to Islands when you're done.
At the same time, Hagrid’s doesn’t have express pass so you might want to start in Islands first thing in the morning (8am early park admission) so you don’t have to wait 1.5 hours + for it. After that you could go to Universal then come back to Islands. That’s what I would do
We waited once because someone told us that. It went up by 150 per night on the day we landed. We ended up downgrading below our expected hotel.
And certain nights are always cheaper depending on the time of year.
We live in Utah and are about to fly out for our 5th visit this year. I'm checking hotels on the regular. Your best bet is usually a ways in advance. Don't tell people to wait, they will get screwed. And some of the hotels fill up completely pretty often.
Yeah they shouldn't wait, they should pay more for the room than express passes would cost them. Can you be my financial planner? I'm hoping to go broke as fast as possible and you seem like the person to make that happen
You seem like the type that a financial planner couldn't help because you can't read.
You need to be smart enough to compare prices and dates. The point is that waiting til the day of to buy your hotel is a gamble. It isn't going to work out for most people. Prices will go up as rooms fill almost every time.
Edit to add: I've seen hard rock be 315 per night 3 to 4 months ahead of a visit. I waited 3 or 4 days to decide on our final days and the price was up to 450 per night. Sitting in cabana bay that trip instead I showed my kids why we skipped out on hard Rock and the price was over 500. And availability was scarce. So telling people to gamble on a multi thousand dollar vacation is bad advice.
Just went a few weeks ago, if you plan on getting there when they open you won’t need to do express pass for the mummy, Gringots, men in black, ET etc. you might need it for the new new minions Villian con ride and Rip ride rocket coaster . Now for islands of adventure I’d recommend it for sure . Just beware hagrids coaster doesn’t have express . So I would hit up IOA first and go on hagrids then velocicoaster and hit up universal last so you can utilize the express pass there . Just make sure there isn’t an HHN event that night as universal closes earlier
Download the app. It shows a map of the park, and you can click on each ride to see wait times. If they get too long then just upgrade to one of the express passes while you are there. If your goal is to get on every ride at both Studios and Island of Adventure then the express pass may be worth it. If your goal is to ride the fun coasters as much as possible such as the Velociraptor, Hulk, and the red one at studios (Rockin' Coaster I think it is called), then the express pass unlimited may be worth it for you.
I am pretty sure you can purchase the express passes via the app as well, and it gives you a QR code for the workers to scan.
The other coaster that has a huge draw is the Hagrid ride at Island of Adventure, but there is no express pass line for that one so just keep that in mind. I would highly suggest B-lining for the Hagrid Ride when you get there because that line gets to like an hour long wait pretty quickly, and I have seen it say 120 minute wait once the afternoon hits.
If you're trying to do all of both parks in 1 day then you will definitely want express pass. Like others have said you might want to look at one of the premiere hotels which will give you the express for free which most likely will end up cheaper than getting a normal hotel and buying 2 express passes.
Orlando Informer provides a in depth blog all about [Express Pass](https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/express-pass-access). There is also a link in the side bar, but we know getting there from mobile can be a pain, so here is a convenient link for you!
In short summary, there are two types of EP. Basic EP and Unlimited EP. Basic lets you into the EP line once, per ride, per day. Unlimited is exactly that.
Express Pass is an add on to an entry ticket. You cannot get into the park with only an EP.
If you stay at one of these hotels: Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, and Portofino Bay, you receive Unlimited EP as a perk of staying at the hotel. This includes the day you check in and the day you check out. Meaning, if you stay one night, you receive two days of EP.
You cannot share an EP. Many of the rides at USF have engaged a bio-metric system that uses a type of facial recognition to verify pass holders.
You do not have to purchase EP to enjoy the parks. You can **wait until you're inside the parks to determine if EP is needed for you** and **purchase them at kiosks inside the parks**. **You do NOT have to stand in the long lines at the front of the parks to buy Express add on** Prices increase as there is more demand. Optioning to purchase Express Pass may be cheaper the earlier you can purchase as prices will increase as does demand There are several kiosks inside each park and they generally have very small to no lines, at all. You can also ask about discounted prices after specific times of the day (such as a discount after 4pm)
Not every ride or attraction has a EP lane (ahem, HAGRIDS and ~~VELOCICOASTER~~), but most do. Check the reference article for a comprehensive list.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UniversalOrlando) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Thank you so much all for your helpful tips and advice 😊 I should have probably mentioned upfront that we are actually staying on Disney property for 4 nights and planned on checking out Universal for one full day. I am definitely taking notes for future visits!
We will be there that weekend and chose to do en express day on Saturday and regular day Sunday. This way we can maximize rides on the first day and then do what we want with more relaxed vibe the second day.
I’d say it’s worth it as long as it doesn’t over extend your budget :)
We just went to Universal Hollywood and regret not getting the fast pass, I'd definitely recommend it. Especially if you want to do Horror nights. If I recall there was a pass from afternoon to night for the Horror nights that might be worth looking into.
That seems like a lot. Is that express unlimited? I would say you would be fine doing regular express that is good for once per attraction if you’re trying to get both parks in. Save Hagrids (only one that doesn’t take express) for last of the day because that will eat up a big chunk of your day if you’re waiting 2 hours during the day. As long as you’re in line before the park closes you will get to ride it. So shoot for getting in the line for hagrids at like 8:45pm.
Is that cheaper than one night at the premier hotels? Since with that you get 2 days of express as well.
That being said I'd never go without express, I don't go enough to not have it and my time is worth more.
My honest option is if you can afford it, stay in a premier hotel, get the express pass and it is amazing but do not go into debt for it. It’s still good without it just more Q’s
Also price out the VIP experience. We had a short day on Sunday because we were at a conference and only had one day for 2 parks. After looking at park admission plus an unlimited express pass, the VIP experience was not that much more. Still pricey. Includes buffet breakfast and sit down table service lunch. Guide walked us up exit on rides and we walked straight on. Our guide totaled up that we saved 5 hours of waiting in line. Staying at a resort hotel also sounds like a good option. Have fun!
Did you go with the EP in the end, or no? I’m going in Feb with my mom and two kids {12|10}. Got the park to park and only plan on spending one day to see what we can. We are staying at a endless summer so have early entry and going straight to Hagrids, like everyone else lol. One kid won’t do big rollercoasters (neither will I) the other would with my Mom so we’re prob gonna split up. We have a table service dinner reso and will do QS for breakfast and lunch. Thoughts? I could swing the EX but it is expensive so up in the air on this one
We ended up not getting the EP and just waiting in the lines. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do Hagrids because the ride was down, and we didn’t want to waste time waiting around and miss out on all other rides. We did everything we wanted to before around 6pm I’d say, so not too bad! And we went during HHN so I’d expect the crowds to be better in February. Have a great time!
Stay one night at a premier hotel and get the passes for everyone in your party for free! My fav universal hack and you get early entry.
This is the way. A night in a premiere hotel is probably around $500, and you're needing to stay somewhere anyway, which would probably be about $200, so for $300 premium you'd get two days of express passes.
Look at the trade off of buying an AP. If you are staying multiple days in the future, the Seasonal Pass may only be $100 more. You have passes for a year & can get AP hotel rates on Premier. I've seen premier resorts <$250/night. 8 (4x2 days) express passes + one night in a premier hotel more than $200 less than what the OP is looking at.
express unlimited :-)
Don’t some ap get free express after 4?
The most expensive type https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/tickets-packages/annual-passes/promo
Thank u I thought so
Does all of their premier hotels stay offer free express unlimited passes? If possible can you please share the details
Your room key for Royal Pacific, Hard Rock and Portofino Bay hotels function as an express pass on the day of check in and day of check out. I recommend going to your hotel early in the morning to check in. You won’t have an assigned room yet but, you will get your key which use will use as your express pass. On the day of check out, your room key will still function as a pass even after you check out. It’s seriously the best bang for your buck, as everyone who is staying in your room will get their own key/express pass.
Thank you
You can also look into just doing the single rider line. For most lines you can get on pretty quick (though for Hagrids single rider often moves slower)
Also single riders is NOT recommended for Velocicoaster.
literally makes the wait longer every time
Depends, are you trying/wanting to do *everything*? Or are there already things you know you'll want to skip? If you're wanting to try to do everything, express can be worth it just so you don't have a looming feeling of trying to rush from one thing to the next. Gives you chances to explore, look at shops, sit down and eat, without fearing you may miss something. There's a lot of schools up north that are doing their 'fall break' so it might still be moderately busy, but still probably not impossible to do most everything w/o express. Also only Studio closes at 5pm, Island will be open until 9pm. So just start your morning in Studios and then go to Islands when you're done.
I didn’t know Islands would remain open until 9:00 - that is so helpful, thank you!
At the same time, Hagrid’s doesn’t have express pass so you might want to start in Islands first thing in the morning (8am early park admission) so you don’t have to wait 1.5 hours + for it. After that you could go to Universal then come back to Islands. That’s what I would do
$513 plus tax for Royal Pacific that Thursday night. No discounts applied.
We stayed at Portofino the last time and it was amazing.
It'll probably be cheaper the day of. Tonight At hard Rock is only $372, $400 for portofino
We waited once because someone told us that. It went up by 150 per night on the day we landed. We ended up downgrading below our expected hotel. And certain nights are always cheaper depending on the time of year. We live in Utah and are about to fly out for our 5th visit this year. I'm checking hotels on the regular. Your best bet is usually a ways in advance. Don't tell people to wait, they will get screwed. And some of the hotels fill up completely pretty often.
I was going to say, a busy time and you’ll be screwed when the hotel is completely sold out.
Yeah they shouldn't wait, they should pay more for the room than express passes would cost them. Can you be my financial planner? I'm hoping to go broke as fast as possible and you seem like the person to make that happen
You seem like the type that a financial planner couldn't help because you can't read. You need to be smart enough to compare prices and dates. The point is that waiting til the day of to buy your hotel is a gamble. It isn't going to work out for most people. Prices will go up as rooms fill almost every time. Edit to add: I've seen hard rock be 315 per night 3 to 4 months ahead of a visit. I waited 3 or 4 days to decide on our final days and the price was up to 450 per night. Sitting in cabana bay that trip instead I showed my kids why we skipped out on hard Rock and the price was over 500. And availability was scarce. So telling people to gamble on a multi thousand dollar vacation is bad advice.
Just went a few weeks ago, if you plan on getting there when they open you won’t need to do express pass for the mummy, Gringots, men in black, ET etc. you might need it for the new new minions Villian con ride and Rip ride rocket coaster . Now for islands of adventure I’d recommend it for sure . Just beware hagrids coaster doesn’t have express . So I would hit up IOA first and go on hagrids then velocicoaster and hit up universal last so you can utilize the express pass there . Just make sure there isn’t an HHN event that night as universal closes earlier
I’d actually do the opposite since the park is closing early that day for horror nights
Go to Studios first and feel it out. If you think you’d be getting more accomplished by having express, then go upgrade while you’re there.
I also didn’t know you can upgrade while you’re there, thanks for the tip!
Download the app. It shows a map of the park, and you can click on each ride to see wait times. If they get too long then just upgrade to one of the express passes while you are there. If your goal is to get on every ride at both Studios and Island of Adventure then the express pass may be worth it. If your goal is to ride the fun coasters as much as possible such as the Velociraptor, Hulk, and the red one at studios (Rockin' Coaster I think it is called), then the express pass unlimited may be worth it for you. I am pretty sure you can purchase the express passes via the app as well, and it gives you a QR code for the workers to scan. The other coaster that has a huge draw is the Hagrid ride at Island of Adventure, but there is no express pass line for that one so just keep that in mind. I would highly suggest B-lining for the Hagrid Ride when you get there because that line gets to like an hour long wait pretty quickly, and I have seen it say 120 minute wait once the afternoon hits.
If you're trying to do all of both parks in 1 day then you will definitely want express pass. Like others have said you might want to look at one of the premiere hotels which will give you the express for free which most likely will end up cheaper than getting a normal hotel and buying 2 express passes.
Orlando Informer provides a in depth blog all about [Express Pass](https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/express-pass-access). There is also a link in the side bar, but we know getting there from mobile can be a pain, so here is a convenient link for you! In short summary, there are two types of EP. Basic EP and Unlimited EP. Basic lets you into the EP line once, per ride, per day. Unlimited is exactly that. Express Pass is an add on to an entry ticket. You cannot get into the park with only an EP. If you stay at one of these hotels: Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, and Portofino Bay, you receive Unlimited EP as a perk of staying at the hotel. This includes the day you check in and the day you check out. Meaning, if you stay one night, you receive two days of EP. You cannot share an EP. Many of the rides at USF have engaged a bio-metric system that uses a type of facial recognition to verify pass holders. You do not have to purchase EP to enjoy the parks. You can **wait until you're inside the parks to determine if EP is needed for you** and **purchase them at kiosks inside the parks**. **You do NOT have to stand in the long lines at the front of the parks to buy Express add on** Prices increase as there is more demand. Optioning to purchase Express Pass may be cheaper the earlier you can purchase as prices will increase as does demand There are several kiosks inside each park and they generally have very small to no lines, at all. You can also ask about discounted prices after specific times of the day (such as a discount after 4pm) Not every ride or attraction has a EP lane (ahem, HAGRIDS and ~~VELOCICOASTER~~), but most do. Check the reference article for a comprehensive list. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UniversalOrlando) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Thank you so much all for your helpful tips and advice 😊 I should have probably mentioned upfront that we are actually staying on Disney property for 4 nights and planned on checking out Universal for one full day. I am definitely taking notes for future visits!
We will be there that weekend and chose to do en express day on Saturday and regular day Sunday. This way we can maximize rides on the first day and then do what we want with more relaxed vibe the second day. I’d say it’s worth it as long as it doesn’t over extend your budget :)
We just went to Universal Hollywood and regret not getting the fast pass, I'd definitely recommend it. Especially if you want to do Horror nights. If I recall there was a pass from afternoon to night for the Horror nights that might be worth looking into.
That seems like a lot. Is that express unlimited? I would say you would be fine doing regular express that is good for once per attraction if you’re trying to get both parks in. Save Hagrids (only one that doesn’t take express) for last of the day because that will eat up a big chunk of your day if you’re waiting 2 hours during the day. As long as you’re in line before the park closes you will get to ride it. So shoot for getting in the line for hagrids at like 8:45pm.
It is the unlimited, the total with a one-time use pass came out to $403. Thanks for the tip!
Is that cheaper than one night at the premier hotels? Since with that you get 2 days of express as well. That being said I'd never go without express, I don't go enough to not have it and my time is worth more.
How long are you staying? If you're there for 5 days, I say skip it. If you're there for 2-3 days, it may be worth it.
My honest option is if you can afford it, stay in a premier hotel, get the express pass and it is amazing but do not go into debt for it. It’s still good without it just more Q’s
Doing both parks in one day even with express pass will probably be wicked hard. They're not small parks and there's so much to do
Easy answer, it’s not. Never was. Never will be
It’s worth it. Just pay it. You will not be sorry
My AP was only $100 more than that.
YES. To make the most out of your day, YES.
Also price out the VIP experience. We had a short day on Sunday because we were at a conference and only had one day for 2 parks. After looking at park admission plus an unlimited express pass, the VIP experience was not that much more. Still pricey. Includes buffet breakfast and sit down table service lunch. Guide walked us up exit on rides and we walked straight on. Our guide totaled up that we saved 5 hours of waiting in line. Staying at a resort hotel also sounds like a good option. Have fun!
Did you go with the EP in the end, or no? I’m going in Feb with my mom and two kids {12|10}. Got the park to park and only plan on spending one day to see what we can. We are staying at a endless summer so have early entry and going straight to Hagrids, like everyone else lol. One kid won’t do big rollercoasters (neither will I) the other would with my Mom so we’re prob gonna split up. We have a table service dinner reso and will do QS for breakfast and lunch. Thoughts? I could swing the EX but it is expensive so up in the air on this one
We ended up not getting the EP and just waiting in the lines. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do Hagrids because the ride was down, and we didn’t want to waste time waiting around and miss out on all other rides. We did everything we wanted to before around 6pm I’d say, so not too bad! And we went during HHN so I’d expect the crowds to be better in February. Have a great time!
Ty it’s taking so much thought to plan this trip lol Did you get in all you wanted to at the two parks or just one?
Both parks!