Just back from a spilt stay Universal/Disney..... here's what I learned.

[Jake&IzzyLand]

I have not done universal yet. My friends rave about it. They stay at the Pacific resort and love it.

They said the express pass is wonderful because you can use it over and over and you don't need to plan anything in advance. I think I would like it go the same reasons.

Compared to disney waits, 25 minutes would seem express to me!

 

[schumigirl]

I have not done universal yet. My friends rave about it. They stay at the Pacific resort and love it.

They said the express pass is wonderful because you can use it over and over and you don't need to plan anything in advance. I think I would like it go the same reasons.

Compared to disney waits, 25 minutes would seem express to me!

We adore RPR and wouldn't stay anywhere else while we are in Orlando. Beautiful resort that is a home away from home for us now. We have stayed here exclusively for our trips since 09. 18 nights isn't really enough for us if I'm honest. Never want to leave.

One of the many things we love about Universal is we don't have to plan anything.........that's a nightmare thought for us.......we wake up in the morning and decide what we'll do that day........we spend some time going around Orlando too, we don't just do the parks all day every day......

And unlimited EP makes that possible. We can spend as little or as much time as we want in any one day........

You would enjoy it I'm sure.........and yes, walking past the regular lines at times makes you very grateful for EP.

 

[jknc]

This thread is very helpful as I am in the beginning stages of planning a Universal only trip next year.

It would seem people's experiences with Express Pass vary based on time of year?

I'm planning a trip the week before Presidents Day. Is it crowded that time of year?
I was thinking to just book Cabana Bay as EP may not be that valuable.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

. I thought RPH was okay. Certainly not worth the $400 price per night I paid. But I realized it was about the passes, not the hotel.

Fair enough, but Standard view rooms at Wilderness Lodge- no EP - started at $544 per night that same week! Better views were over $600. Beach Club rooms were $630 and up. Poly started at a whopping $750 per night!

WDW mods were about $300 and up per night Easter week.

I've been to WDW during Easter week a number of times, but the prices this year really made us think twice. (really the past few years)

 

[RDawn]

Thank You so much to everyone on this thread. I love all the research & prep work for Disney vacations - that is half the fun for me. However, we are about 3 months away from our trip and I really don't have anything planned for Universal except Hotel reservations & tickets purchased. I now feel assured that this is acceptable for USF. We will be in Universal parks early in October on a week day, so I am feeling hopeful that we can experience most of our to do list in one day. I have been following some trip reports on the Universal thread also just because it feels like I am doing it all wrong to have such a relaxed approach. My husband thinks I'm a bit off the wall for my love of vacation planning, but when we vacation in places other than Disney, he still asks, "what is next, what is the plan, where is our next meal"... I have told him many times that we are not at Disney & I do not have a touring plan prepared. I guess I can rely on my notes from these threads and go with the flow at Universal. Thanks again to all!

 

[lcborn2run]

We will spend 5 days at WDW and 2 at Royal Pacific Resort at Universal, but only have 1day park to park USF passes this fall. Have never been to Universal, so hoped that the early entry plus the express passes would allow us to see/do a majority of attractions. Hubby & kids do not enjoy roller coasters, so that helps with time management. I was happy to read that you didn't need 2 park days for Universal, but concerned when you said express passes are not express and the early morning entry didn't help much. Our priorities are Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, King Kong and Minions. Spiderman, Transformers, Shreck & Men in Black are secondary. Any advice? Thanks for sharing your insights with us.

I've done Express Pass and always practically walked on the rides. Unless things have changed; it's the reason we stay at the Universal Resorts where you get it free. Wouldn't do Universal without it!

 

[tlmadden73]

The problem with some of these comparisons it is Apples versus Oranges.

Universal is "better" now in a lot of ways because they are the underdog. Less crowds, smaller parks, less attractions. Their express pass "works" since they don't have a capacity issue like Disney. They can "give it away" to draw people to their hotels (as opposed to people just driving over from Disney resorts).

Comparing Cabana Bay and Pop Century (from a noise perspective?) .. again apples to oranges. Comparing the cheapest hotel in Disney to a more "resort"-like hotel isn't really fair.

All that being said, I think US is really starting to cut into Disney's market share as Disney gets more crowded with less "value" for the dollar. I was impressed with Hogsmeade when I saw it and the speed that they built Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. I am curious what this new Kong attraction is like too.

 

[luvsJack]

I believe that 30 to 40 minutes is a bit of an exaggeration. I was there during spring break and outside of Minions and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, the waits were walk on to 10 minutes. Minions varied wildly. Sometimes it was only a few minutes until you were in the preshow room and sometimes it was a half hour or more. HRRR was ALWAYS a long wait for some reason.

Overall it is way better than FP+. And for the record, I love both Universal and Disney, so I don't believe my opinion is biased in any way. We take turns going to them - one year Disne, Universal the next. Last year we did both. And there are many things that Disney does better than Universal - but FP+ vs EP isn't one of them.

Same over Memorial Day weekend. Express waits were about the same as the last time we used FP+ about the same time of year.

 

[luvsJack]

The problem with some of these comparisons it is Apples versus Oranges.

Universal is "better" now in a lot of ways because they are the underdog. Less crowds, smaller parks, less attractions. Their express pass "works" since they don't have a capacity issue like Disney. They can "give it away" to draw people to their hotels (as opposed to people just driving over from Disney resorts).

Comparing Cabana Bay and Pop Century (from a noise perspective?) .. again apples to oranges. Comparing the cheapest hotel in Disney to a more "resort"-like hotel isn't really fair.

All that being said, I think US is really starting to cut into Disney's market share as Disney gets more crowded with less "value" for the dollar. I was impressed with Hogsmeade when I saw it and the speed that they built Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. I am curious what this new Kong attraction is like too.

I don't agree about Cabana Bay and POP being apples to oranges. They were very close to the same price when I booked Cabana Bay.

 

[SaintsManiac]

1 day won't be enough for us as first time visitors to Universal next year. We plan to go 2 days and stay at Hard Rock. I would not want to rush through it all.

 

[luvsJack]

1 day won't be enough for us as first time visitors to Universal next year. We plan to go 2 days and stay at Hard Rock. I would not want to rush through it all.

Our first trip was 3 days and I could have done more!! LOVED it. The Harry Potter sections alone were enough to keep us busy for at least one whole day!

 

[mellyf]

We adore RPR and wouldn't stay anywhere else while we are in Orlando. Beautiful resort that is a home away from home for us now. We have stayed here exclusively for our trips since 09. 18 nights isn't really enough for us if I'm honest. Never want to leave.

One of the many things we love about Universal is we don't have to plan anything.........that's a nightmare thought for us.......we wake up in the morning and decide what we'll do that day........we spend some time going around Orlando too, we don't just do the parks all day every day......

And unlimited EP makes that possible. We can spend as little or as much time as we want in any one day........

You would enjoy it I'm sure.........and yes, walking past the regular lines at times makes you very grateful for EP.

We stayed at RPR when we did our first Universal-only stay in January, 2014. Loved it! Before we left, we visited Portofino Bay, which was absolutely beautiful, but felt like we would stick with RPR. Loved the proximity to the parks. We're doing another short trip at the end of August and are staying at Sapphire Falls. Our daughter-in-law really wants to stay there, since it will be so new. So I'm really hoping we don't miss Express Pass, because we loved it when we stayed at RPR. 18 nights sounds so awesome, but I know we would miss our dogs way before that. However, sometime I'd like to go for a week.

 

[ErinC]

Fair enough, but Standard view rooms at Wilderness Lodge- no EP - started at $544 per night that same week! Better views were over $600. Beach Club rooms were $630 and up. Poly started at a whopping $750 per night!

WDW mods were about $300 and up per night Easter week.

I've been to WDW during Easter week a number of times, but the prices this year really made us think twice. (really the past few years)

Well, we are DVC members, so I've never paid those kind of rates before. RPH was okay, but I would put it on the level with a moderate resort at WDW (just my opinion of course). We were basically in the basement of the hotel, looking at a ditch outside our window, so that may be tainting my judgment a little. I thought the room was small and cramped (again, just my opinion). I realized that the price tag was tied to a peak season. I knew I was just basically there to sleep and get my express passes for 2 days, so that was factored in to me be willing to pay that.

 

[geenerbell]

This thread is very helpful as I am in the beginning stages of planning a Universal only trip next year.

It would seem people's experiences with Express Pass vary based on time of year?

I'm planning a trip the week before Presidents Day. Is it crowded that time of year?
I was thinking to just book Cabana Bay as EP may not be that valuable.

You can stay at Cabana and pay extra for Unlimited EP, which is what we did.

 

[Nugent]

You don't have to plan your rides at Universal, but it's advisable during crowded periods to reserve meals at some of the more popular sit-down restaurants, such as Mythos, and save yourself a long wait. However, unlike Disney, they don't take reservations until a month before.

 

[kirstenb1]

We also had a split stay, one night at Royal pacific last Saturday, with Express Passes for Universal Studios on Sunday. For the most part, the EP gave us not more than a 20 minute wait. However, the crowd levels built significantly as the day went on. We made a big mistake in waiting to go on Transformers. The stand by was 140 minutes. The cast member gave us an estimate of 45 min to 1 hr for EP. This was late afternoon.

We're longtime DVCr's so I won't try to compare the accomodations, as its apples to oranges. However, we enjoyed the RPR a lot. Beautiful hotel, and truly great service from all employees. I loved their poolside restaurant and drink service, and they give out free sunblock, which was a nice touch.

We spent a day at the MK and a day each at Sea World and Aquatica. There was a very heightened security/Sheriff's deputies presence in all the parks, which was understandable given the tragedy at the nightclub.

I do wish we could explore Universal during a slower season, but we're still tied to the school schedule.

 

[luvsJack]

As to the security the OP mentioned: We were there over Memorial Day and everyone had to go through the metal detectors then. So it started sometime before May 27. I was very impressed by the security at the parks as well as at Cabana Bay.

 

[melana]

We were in the "longer than expected or should have been" Express Pass boat this past May(what was supposed to be a 2/10 according to TP). HRR wait was almost an hour in EP. Transformers line was really bad. Last year, we found Hippograffs was a longer wait for non EP(group of kids were laughing at those in the EP line). It got to the point where we said that the premium price of the onsite hotel was no longer worth it when EP lines were that long.

I remember when we were there Flight of the Hippogriff wasn't really terrible for general ride line. My niece and sister rode it 7 times and the longest they had to wait was 10 minutes.

 

[bumbershoot]

Anyone who thinks express pass means "walk on" or even "front of the line" has a serious misunderstanding of it. It just means a different line than standby and it's almost always shorter.

Our first trip we did Hippogriff 14 times in a row with EP. It was literally freezing so there weren't many there. Standby was 5 min. EP was 2. Basically the time it to to walk through the line.

Most of us on the Uni boards are very careful to NEVER call it "fotl" because that's not the intent of it.

Our first trip was 4 days and we were yearning for more. Our longest was 8 nights and we have to do that again bc ds and I had gotten supersick at WDW and we were still sleeping most of the day and recovering. Thankfully we were Club level at portofino and that fed me and Ds because our stomachs were just not hungry. And they let me take cups of wine back to the room at the wine/beer time.

I truly cannot imagine wanting to do Uni in one day. We keep APs there so sometimes we will drop in between a cruise and a flight home but that's hardly a proper visit.

This is of interest to me. So you pay for the express pass if you are not a hotel guest at Universal but you still have to wait 30 - 40 minutes? I did not realise that. I thought it was a walk on maybe 10 mins load time max.

The question to ask is "how long was standby?" It was almost certainly much much longer.

Transformers is pretty much the best ride there.

And MiB is horrible, don't waste your time.

You and I have nearly opposite views of what a good ride is.

Thank you I can't wait in line due to my health conditions and last time I went to universal they did not have anything like a DAS card. So this I don't think would work for me.

As far as I know, when WDW changed from GAC to DAS they ended up with a system very similar to what Uni has had and still has. I'm confused by your post, therefore.

We waited in a 50 minute Minion ride and the front of the line peeps zipped through

I have never zipped through minions with EP. And I haven't yet gone at a very busy time. Minions has a lot of wait and watch the show moments and everyone goes through them. So there's really no zipping. And I haven't even zipped through the non show part of the line. Fwiw.

It got to the point where we said that the premium price of the onsite hotel was no longer worth it when EP lines were that long.

Fwiw that's not a normal experience.

Probably wouldn't waste my time again even with EP

Try it once more with EP. Any ride feels cruddy when you wait ages for it.

Ds loved small world in Anaheim until he waited more than an hour in the line at MK. Since then he has such a bad memory of the whole experience he can't separate it out from the wait.



$400 for RPR is either a fancy room or a busy busy time. I wouldn't pay that at all. No hotel is worth that. When you pay less for it you might see how much better it is than a mod at WDW.

 

[catfan98]

$400 for RPR is either a fancy room or a busy busy time. I wouldn't pay that at all. No hotel is worth that. When you pay less for it you might see how much better it is than a mod at WDW.

I don't mean to hijack, but, Bumbershoot, I just have a quick question for you regarding price points on RPR. I need to book 2 rooms at a US resort for 4/5-4/8 2017. The price I am seeing for an RPR 2 queen standard right now is around $400 a night. Do you think that is because it is a busy time, or are the prices not discounted for that time yet? I don't know whether to book now or wait, it hurts to think I will have to pay $400 a room/night for 2 rooms. I am considering SF because it is cheaper, even though we won't get the EP. Thoughts?