View Full Version : Express passes
firsttimer
19-04-2004, 18:18
Just thought I'd mention that Universal resorts have 2 sorts of express passes.
They have the free ones like at Disney where you put your entry ticket in a machine and get a time to come back for the ride. These seem to run out quite early in the day and you are limited to how many you can have at once.
We decided to opt for the bought passes which you can use on all rides. They cost $25 but we decided that on balance it was better for us (3 people) to do this than sppend alot of time queuing. The number of passes to buy is limited and we ended up running round the park to find an outlet that still had some. By the way, you are still likely to have to queue for 15 mins but this is better than 90!
firsttimer
19-04-2004, 18:19
Another option is to join the single person queues if you are all grown up enough. You get slotted into gaps in carriages, so you wait can be reduced considerably.
Nostromo
19-04-2004, 21:04
Can you get these for both IoA and US? Also, am I right in understanding that it is $25 per person per park, but this gets you ahead on all the rides (with Express) in that park as many times as you wish? For example, can I use my $25 pass to go twice EACH on Duelling Dragons, Hulk, Dudley etc?
I think I read that you can only use your pass once on each ride:(
Nostromo
19-04-2004, 23:24
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Ruth
I think I read that you can only use your pass once on each ride:(
[/quote]
No, I meant the PAYING type pass. Is that not for unlimited use on that day?
Nostromo,the passes you pay for only give you one express ride per attraction, they cost $25 each however if you park hop on the same day you can buy a combi express ticket. see thread on universal studios
joe
firsttimer
21-04-2004, 17:25
They swipe your pass each time you go on a ride or mark it so you can only use it once. They have to do this so that if you have a large group you dont just pass it on to the next person.
But all the rides, apart from mummy use it so you dont have a wait longer than 15 mins all day.
It last for one day only and in that park only.
I didn't know about the combi pass, but we didn't park hop.
Yes, I meant that pass too:)
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Nostromo
No, I meant the PAYING type pass. Is that not for unlimited use on that day?
[/quote]
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
21-04-2004, 18:37
See http://www.park-tickets.com/UniversalExpress.aspx for more details.
They actually hand-write the initials of each ride on the back of the pass as you go in each ride / attraction - so you cannot use them more than once on that ride. You can clearly see some of them on the picture of the pass in the attached link.
ujpest doza
21-04-2004, 19:36
Do Universal Islands of Adventure do Baby Switch like Disney?
They do this at all the parks as far as I know
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
21-04-2004, 19:50
Yes they do.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by ujpest doza
Do Universal Islands of Adventure do Baby Switch like Disney?
[/quote]
juts need to find a baby then :D
This is the first year we'll be using the baby swap facilities. Now if we could just find one that will sit still and go to sleep when required !!! [msnwink]
Sometimes the single rider option is quicker than the express tickets - neither of our kids wanted to ride Spiderman, despite getting the express tickets, so Stuart used his and queued for 15 minutes. I then went for the single rider queue and got on in under 10 minutes (the regular queue was showing a 60 minute wait at that point).
Lesley
Not to mention, if you get to stay in the Universal on-site hotels............
(I know why would you when there all these fantastic villas available:)) - but if only for a few nights, you get a 'special' express pass that lets you go to any ride as many times as you like just using your room key.
Just a quick warning though, once you've done it - its hard going back to the queues.......[msnscared]
The trouble with the Express Passes on the likes of Spiderman is that they regularly run out before midday, leaving the 60 minute queue or single rider as your only options.
I assume that if you pay for the privilege, you wont be affected by this.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by mikewj
The trouble with the Express Passes on the likes of Spiderman is that they regularly run out before midday, leaving the 60 minute queue or single rider as your only options.
I assume that if you pay for the privilege, you wont be affected by this.
[/quote]
On busy days Universal make sure that they dont issue too many of the purchased ones, so its best to buy early.
With the purchased ones you get them 'swiped' on the way in so you dont have to queue for an express pass (or worry about them running out), but as someonelse mentioned its only 1 per ride.
When we bought the Express Plus Passes last year, we went on the Spiderman three times. We also went on all the rides and went through the entire park in no time. Since using teh Express Plus Passes we have not been able to go on the queue.
Nostromo
29-11-2004, 10:53
IoA is a peculiar park. On Tuesdays for example, the park seems to be not so crowded, especially at off-season times of the year. This year we visited in early May and went through the entire park in 7 hours without needing a single Express Pass. In fact, we have decided that in future we'll always go to IoA on a Tuesday and do it anti-clockwise, that is starting from Suess Landing and work back to Marvel Superhero Island. We did that twice before and it worked wonderfully well.
LiesaAnna
29-11-2004, 12:00
thanks for that, we will go on Tuesday!
ujpest doza
29-11-2004, 19:29
I can' remember what day of the week it was that we went, possibly was tuesday, but it was empty.
Did Suess Landing first for the little one and there was barely anyone else there apart from us. Went on everything at least twice.
When we bought our tickets we asked about the express pass plus thingy and the girl in the ticket booth told us then not to bother as the park was quiet.
Different story in universal studios, but that was probably because we went on the day the mummy officially opened. Absolutely crammed.
Nostromo
29-11-2004, 21:08
The problem with it being TOO QUIET is that it can be counterproductive. Part of the fun is to watch the fear, thrill etc on other people's faces and hear their screams! When we went on Duelling Dragons this time, both Coasters were half empty. The vision of empty seats rushing at you simply isn't as thrilling as it would be if there were people in them.