Worried!!

[titansfan]

The first time we went to Universal/IOA they used the fast pass machines similar to the ones that Disney does. We came back again a couple of years later and found that you had to pay for the priviledge of jumping line in front of other patrons.

We were there in late June at that time and it was very HOT, no air-conditioned ques like Disney. The thing that was very noticeable to me was the length of the fast-pass que lines. Those lines were sometimes over 30 minutes for those who had purchased fast passes.

We went to Disney for the first time last year and although it was crowded, we planned well and spent little time in que lines. We have decided not to go back to Universal/IOA this year and one of the determining factors was the fast passes. I refuse to standby and watch as someone BUYS their way in fornt of me. We learned these lessons as kids NO JUMPING LINE...., but that's just my opinion.

[ferris]

Was at Universal 2 days ago. Express passes were $46 per person and the wait time on the rides for standard entrance ranged from 10 mins to 90 mins (Hulk Roller Coaster)

[Sniff]

I was at Universal last week, and the price of the Express pass varies from $20-75 (according to the people we spoke to) depending on time of day and how busy they expect the parks to be. We were there just after opening and the passes cost $20 at that time. As there were about 10 of us we decided to invest, and we all thought it was worth it.

On the Jaws ride for example there was a posted wait time of 45 minutes, but with the passes we walked right to the front and stpped right onto a boat, waiting time absolutely zero! Other rides also were cut from 30-40 minutes to just a few minutes.

Personally I'd say if you're there early and can get the passes for $20 then go for it. I'm not sure I'd pay more than that for them though.

One other point...the passes limit you to one Express use per ride, and the operators are supposed to scan the barcode for this. This only happened on the Mummy ride, so we were able to have multiple goes on many of the rides. [msnwink]
But for this reason don't even think about buying an Express Pass from someone who's leaving the park early (we saw quite a few peopl etrying to sell passes outside) because you might pay for something that's already been used to the max.