TR: Surviving Universal Orlando without Universal Express passes, 7-14-07 About This Page:

[BarryH]

On numerous Universal Orlando travel discussion boards, I’ve heard ad nauseum, “Whaaa, whaaa, I don’t want to visit Universal Orlando if the Universal Express passes aren’t free!” Since the discontinuation of the free Universal Express pass system, many guests believe they will be stuck in an endless line waiting for rides like the Caro-Seuss-Sel if they do not pay for the Universal Express passes or do not stay onsite at a Universal hotel to obtain the same perk. Without Universal Express, they believe that they will spend a lot of money on admission tickets to the Universal parks and only be able to ride two or three rides during the day. They would rather visit the Disney parks and partake in their free Fast Pass option. To this I say, “Bah humbug!” I’ve visited the Universal Orlando Resort many times with and without Universal Express. I’ve survived each time and was able to ride what I wanted most of the time.

After reading all the posts on the discussion boards where people are whining over the loss of the free Universal Express passes, I decided to engage in a “Great Science Experiment.” What if I decided to visit Universal Orlando and not purchase the Universal Express passes or stay at an onsite Universal hotel? What if I utilized the regular queues and single rider lines that are available for all guests to use? Would I be able to ride all that I wanted during that day? When I mentioned this idea to others, many people shook their heads and thought I was crazy! However, I knew that I could do it and use my many years of Universal Orlando Resort visits to develop a survival guide.

As I thought of a game plan, I had to think of how the crowds were during past visits. It seemed that low crowds (and hence, the shorter wait times) were during the first few hours of park opening. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man had a 5-minute wait at park opening. Hours later in the afternoon, the wait time had risen to over 60 minutes. Many times during the last few hours of the park’s operation, queue times were low as well. The bulk of the crowds arrived in the late morning or afternoon and left a few hours before park closing.

To see if I could survive Universal Orlando without Universal Express, I had to select a time of the year where the crowds were large. Universal Orlando’s crowds seemed to have been the lowest in September (except for Labor Day weekend). If I chose a weekday in September to visit and try my experiment, I would have succeeded with little effort. Most of the rides would have had less than 15 minute waits and it would not have been a challenge. To prove my theory that you can survive Universal Orlando without Universal Express, I had to choose a time of the year when the park was the most crowded. The largest crowds I’ve seen were during the summer and the last two weeks of December. Saturdays are particularly busy, too. Thus, I chose to visit on Saturday, July 14. I surmised the crowds would not be at their largest, but they would be large enough for my experiment to be challenging.

Before my visit, I developed a plan of attack. It is listed below:

- Arrive at the front gates of Islands of Adventure before 8:30 am
- Do the rides in the following order before 12 noon:
- Marvel Super Hero Island: Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Dr. Doom’s Fearfall
- Seuss Landing: One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Ride, The Cat in the Hat: Ride Inside
- Lost Continent: Dueling Dragons, The Flying Unicorn
- Jurassic Park: Jurassic Park River Adventure
- Toon Lagoon: Popeye and Bluto’s Bildge Raft Barges, Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
- Do Posideon’s Fury, The Eight Voyage of Sinbad, Storm Force Accelartron, and Caro-Seuss-Sel if there’s time
- Head over to Universal Studios Florida and do the rides with short wait times or single rider lines (Revenge of the Mummy and Men In Black: Alien Attack)
- Watch shows and high-capacity attractions (like Twister, T2: 3-D – Battle Across Time, Earthquake) as I hide from the heat and wait for the queue times to lower
- During the last few hours of park operation, hit the rides that I missed and that have relatively short wait times

It is critical to formulate a game plan to survive a busy day, but it is equally critical to behave in a healthy way. If I’m going to be on my feet for 12 hours (or more) during the day, I have to ensure that I have a good night’s sleep the day before and eat healthy at the parks. At the theme parks, guests are surrounded by sugary snacks like ice cream and candy. These foods will give guests a short sugar rush, but a few hours later, the rush will end and they will become tired. They will be begging for naps! I planned to avoid sugary snacks.

To start my experiment, I arrived in Orlando the night before and checked into a hotel to have a night’s sleep. I woke up early to eat breakfast and load up on essential proteins. I slapped on my battle gear of a t-shirt, cargo shorts, and Tevas and headed out to conquer Universal Orlando. I didn’t want to deal with any bags today, not even a fanny pack. If it didn’t fit into my pockets, then it wasn’t coming along. Good thing that emergency ponchos and a digital camera fit into the pockets. I stopped by IHOP and have a chicken fajita omelet. Eggs are the quintessential protein source! I made it to Universal Orlando and the Team Members lead my car to a parking spot in Jaws 212. Jaws 212 is one of the furthest parking spaces from Citywalk and the two theme parks. I arrived at the front gates of Islands of Adventure at 8:30 am.

As I walked towards the entrance gates, I noticed a large sign that welcomed UK guests. I also saw numerous people dressed in the same color shirts. People who are dressed in similar color shirts means a tour group. There were many groups standing outside the park. I don’t know if they were from Brazil or elsewhere, but these groups will obviously have a large effect on the wait times. Most other guests would run away and decide to visit the other park if they saw these large crowds. As for me, I was excited. These tour groups would help the experiment even more!

At 8:30, the gates were opened and guests were entering the parks. I was in the slow line due to numerous guests scanning their fingers at the gates. I saw a line that was moving quickly. A Team Member was scanning tickets with her PDA. She was not taking finger scans. I entered that line and was in the park in under a minute.

I headed to Marvel Super Hero Island and rode the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk Coaster, and Dr. Doom’s Fearfall. All of these rides had a 5-minute wait. When 9:00 am rolled around, I was done with the three rides in the park that tend to have long waits. Arriving early does have its rewards! I decided that since these rides still had short waits, I did a second ride on them. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and Dr. Doom’s Fearfall had 5-minute waits, but the line for the Incredible Hulk Coaster had a 15-minute wait. The line for the Hulk Coaster moved quickly, though. In five minutes, I had moved through a third of the queue. I was on and off in no time.

I decided to skip Storm Force Accelatron. The ride had no wait, but I was more concerned about riding the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Ride. The trolley ride is known to have a line that can get long fast. I walked by the queue board in the Port of Entry. The queue board showed that the waits for the Seuss Landing ride had 5 minute waits. I decided to first experience a ride in Seuss Landing that can have a long wait – One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. I hadn’t ridden it in a long time either. I waited one cycle for this wet Dumbo-like ride, which was a few minutes. I headed next door to ride Cat in the Hat: Ride Inside. I walked through the empty queue and waited two minutes to be spun around and around by the crazy cat. I decided not to ride the Carol-Seuss-Sel and I would ride it if I had the time. I saved the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Ride for last. I waited five minutes so I could hear the story of the Sneetches. As I waited, I chatted with the friendly Team Member who was operating the control panel.

I left Seuss Landing and headed into Harry Potter Land…no wait, too early…the Lost Continent. I decided to pass on Poseidon’s Fury. If it were raining, the attraction would have been a nice place to hide. Today, though, I did not feel like watching a Darth Maul reject try to take over an underwater domain. The posted wait for Dueling Dragons was 5 minutes. I rode Fire and Ice in less than 10 minutes. My wait time was a few minutes on a one train operation. I went to the Flying Unicorn and waited two minutes for my ride.

The next island to conquer was Jurassic Park. After encountering low waits throughout the park, I wondered if the crowds would catch up with me and when would I start to see long lines. I checked the Jurassic Park River Adventure and the posted wait was 15 minutes. The crowds are beginning to trickle in! I decided to ride. I also decided to put on a poncho because I was feeling wimpy towards the water. I didn’t feel like walking around in wet clothes.

After experiencing the dinosaurs, I took off my poncho because it was hot. It’s not very comfortable wearing a plastic sheet in 90-degree heat! I passed by Camp Jurassic. Today was not the day to run around the rope bridges. I was too busy trying to get in as many rides as I could. I did stop by Thunder Falls Terrace because I hadn’t seen to open in a long time. I took a short look around inside the restaurant.

It was around 11:30 am. As I headed from Jurassic Park to Toon Lagoon, I noticed there were more guests in the park. The crowds are coming in, so I figured the attraction lines would be much longer. At Toon Lagoon, I checked the wait times for Popeye and Bluto’s Bildge Raft Barges and Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls. They both had posted wait times of 45 minutes. The day was very hot, so more guests wanted an opportunity to cool down. I didn’t see the single riders line open in Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls, but I decided to enter the regular queue. The line would probably not be shorter during the rest of the day. I ended up waiting 55 minutes. The wait wasn’t so bad, though. As I waited, I was able to note the theming and figure out the storyline of the ride. If I had used Universal Express, I would have missed the build-up to the ride. I usually miss all the theming in the queue because I either walk past it because the waits are so short or I use Universal Express. Experiencing the build-up for the ride in the queue helped me appreciate the ride much more. When I made it to the load area, the single riders line was open! Doh! I could have waited in the line for Popeye and Bluto’s Bildge Raft Barges and then come back to Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls to use the single riders line. I could have finished both rides in about an hour.

I disposed of a very wet poncho and walked into Marvel Super Hero Island. I checked out the wait times on the rides. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man had a 105-minute wait. The Incredible Hulk Coaster had a 125-minute wait! That’s the longest wait I’ve ever seen on that roller coaster! I didn’t check to see if those two rides had their single riders lines open. I checked the queue board in the Port of Entry and the other rides in the park had long waits. The Caro-Seuss-Sel, however, had a 5-minute wait. With these long waits, I knew it was time to park hop and head over to Universal Studios Florida. As I walked through the Port of Entry, a large group of guests were walking into the park, while a very small group was walking out.

I headed to Universal Studios Florida and entered through the entrance by the Blue Man Group building. The nice Team Member scanned my Preferred Annual Pass and also did a finger scan. I picked up a show schedule to see what I could watch while waiting for the queues on the rides to lower. I checked the queue board by Lucy: A Tribute. Most of the rides had long waits, but I noticed T2: 3D – Battle Across Time and Earthquake had 15-minute waits. I decided to watch T2: 3D since it was closest. The posted wait was 15 minutes. Actually, I had to wait about 10 minutes (or one pre-show cycle) to experience the epic battle between the T-800 and the futuristic robots.

Around 2:00 pm, the sky was clouding up and it felt like it was going to rain. I was also becoming hungry, so I decided to find a restaurant where I can eat and wait out the rain. I checked Louie’s and the line was very long. It looked like a 30-minute wait, just to pick up food. I checked Richter’s Burger and the lines were equally as long. It started to rain, so I headed into Earthquake. The posted wait was 20 minutes, but I really didn’t care what the wait was. I could wait in the covered queue and experience the indoor attraction. By the time I was finished, the rain would most likely be done. The wait time actually was around 10 minutes. After I was done with Earthquake, I was right. The rain had ended, but it was still cloudy. It looked like it could rain at any time. I walked by Jaws, but it was down.

I was becoming very hungry and I was afraid I would pass out if I didn’t find food. I headed over to the International Food Bazaar. The lines there were as long as Louie’s! I decided to find a stand and pick up a hot dog or turkey leg. I picked up a turkey leg, chips, and a soda at the food stand in front of Animal Actors Live. I hoped the turkey leg would not make me sleepy! The rain started up again, so I decided to take in the 2:30 pm show of Animal Actors Live. I hadn’t seen this show in a while. There were a few changes due to the removal of the Animal Planet association, but still, it’s the same old show with animals doing tricks for us lowly guests.

I looked across the way to Jaws. It was still down. When it is up and running, I usually see a black puff of smoke rising from Jaws’ general area every so often. I didn’t see the puff at all. In fact, I didn’t see the puff all day.

I headed over to Men in Black: Alien Attack next. I didn’t check the wait time, but I’m sure it was huge considering the time of day. I used the single rider line twice. The first time, I waited 5 minutes. During my second use of the single rider line, I waited 15 minutes. Still, the wait in the single rider line was considerably less than the wait in the regular line of…er, whatever it was. I decided to experience more single rider line goodness in Revenge of the Mummy. I waited 15 minutes. I headed over to Twister: Ride It Out. I experienced it because it had a very short wait of 5 minutes and I hadn’t seen it in a while.

I worked my way down Production Central and checked the waits on Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast and Shrek 4-D. Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast had a 45-minute wait, while Shrek 4-D had a 15-minute wait. I decided to check out Shrek 4-D. The 15-minute wait was more like a 5-minute wait in the line outside and a 10 minute pre-show.

I hadn’t worn my Tevas in a long time. I didn’t remember that when I wore them last, my ankles hurt after about 8 hours. I wore the Tevas so my feet would dry out quickly after riding the water rides. I hate walking around in wet sneakers and socks all day. At this time around 6:00 pm, my ankles began to hurt and I had a little trouble walking. I was determined to finish my experiment. I really wanted to ride Popeye and Bluto’s Bildge Raft Barges since I missed it earlier, so I headed back to Islands of Adventure to ride it. I waited 45 minutes for a drenching good time. I wimped out again and wore a poncho. The queue line wasn’t as intricate as the line for Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls, so it didn’t really tell much of a backstory to prepare you for the ride. I checked the queue board by the Port of Entry and most of the rides were running wait times of at least 30 minutes.

I headed back to Universal Studios Florida to try to catch the two rides that I missed: Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast and the E.T. Adventure. According to the queue board by Lucy: A Tribute, both rides had 30-minute waits. My ankle was hurting more, but I decided to ride Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast since it was closest to the exit.

After riding with Jimmy Neutron and doing the polka, I was about to head to the E.T. Adventure, but my ankle was hurting too much and I couldn’t continue on with my day. In hindsight, I should have bought a backpack with sneakers in it. I could have stored the backpack in a locker and changed into the sneakers after I was done with the water rides. If I had more comfortable shoes, I would have survived the day. I would have been able to ride the E.T. Adventure and a few other rides before ending the day with Universal 360.

I left Universal and of all days, I had to walk back to one of the furthest parking spaces in the Universal parking garage with a bum ankle. I shuffled my way back. Every step to the parking space was a chore. I was walking like Jason Voorhees! Someone should have handed me a hockey mask and a machete so I could go after teenage campers.

Even though I didn’t ride the E.T. Adventure or see Universal 360, I declare my “Great Science Experiment” a success. With careful planning, I was able to do a lot of rides and attractions at the Universal Orlando theme parks with minimal waits. When I visited, the 1 day/2 park Universal Express passes ran for about $55. If I had bought the pass, I would have probably used it on four rides due to their wait times: Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls, Popeye and Bluto’s Bildge Raft Barges, Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast, and the E.T. Adventure. My Universal Express per ride cost would have been $13.75. I must have spent around $13 for lunch!

This article is not to discourage anyone from using Universal Express. I believe Universal Express can be helpful so guests can experience all the rides and attractions they want with a minimal amount of waiting. Universal Express can be very helpful during busy times of the year. Using your onsite room key as an unlimited Universal Express pass is a strong perk to stay onsite, but the onsite hotels are quality accommodations in themselves. However, I can see families and groups on limited budgets that choose not to buy the Universal Express passes or stay at an onsite hotel. $55 per person per day can be used for meals and a few souvenirs instead. Depending on which resort you choose, the average cost of an onsite Universal hotel is $200 to $300 per night for a standard room. $300 can buy a few nights’ stay at an economy hotel.

If you’re still upset that Universal Orlando no longer has the free Universal Express passes, consider that when the program was in effect, it rarely ever worked. Free Universal Express passes for popular rides like Revenge of the Mummy ran out about 30 minutes after park opening on busy days. The regular wait for Revenge of the Mummy would be very short around park opening. During the afternoon, the only Universal Express passes that were left were generally for attractions that you didn’t really need the passes, like Twister: Ride It Out or the Caro-Seuss-Sel. If you arrived in the afternoon, you would have to stand in the regular line for most of the A-list attractions, as their supply of Universal Express passes would be depleted. This is not something that was indicative of Universal Express. At Epcot, Fast Passes for popular rides like Test Track and Soarin’ often ran out of Fast Passes quickly during busy times. With the paid Universal Express option, you can ride what you want, when you want. You don’t have to wait for a time slot or hope that the Universal Express tickets won’t run out by the time you reach the parks. You can choose to enter the Universal Express line at any point during the normal park hours with your paid pass or your onsite hotel room key.

Also, although you can do both parks in one day, I would not recommend it. I consider myself a professional Universal Orlando guest, so I can do both parks in one day. Kids, don’t try this at home! The first-time visitor should not conquer both parks in a day, unless you are very pressed for time. Spend at least a day at each theme park to experience all that they have to offer. My recommendation for the first-timer is three days. I would split the days up like this:

- 1 day for Islands of Adventure
- 1 day for Universal Studios Florida
- 1 day to re-do your favorite attractions and experience things you may have missed

The 7-day, $86 early bird pass makes it affordable to follow this plan.

Not using or not being able to afford Universal Express should not dissuade anyone from visiting Universal Orlando. Not utilizing Universal Express does not mean you have to stand in eternally long lines. With some planning, anyone can enjoy all that the Universal Orlando theme parks offer and not wait in long lines all day long. Let’s face it…the Disney theme parks still thrived in the days before Fast Pass. No one refused to visit Disney just because they didn’t have Fast Pass!

[romarbeardies]

Thanks, this was really helpful as we plan to go in Oct. I have already purchased the 7 day pass that was on sale.
Now what can you tell me about Horror Night as we want to plan for that as well. Have you attended (I sure you have) this event and what suggestions do you have. I am looking at getting the either the mult. evening pass or an express pass.
Thanks again for the great report

[chezp]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[Shell_of_the_South]

Barry, that's an awesome trip report! I knew you could do it!

[Shell_of_the_South]

Originally Posted by romarbeardies

Thanks, this was really helpful as we plan to go in Oct. I have already purchased the 7 day pass that was on sale.
Now what can you tell me about Horror Night as we want to plan for that as well. Have you attended (I sure you have) this event and what suggestions do you have. I am looking at getting the either the mult. evening pass or an express pass.
Thanks again for the great report

Hi Marsha & Roland - welcome to the Universal forum! I think you will get more answers to your question if you post it in a new thread. I know there are several members who have been to Horror Nights and would love to share their experiences.

You will love that 7 day pass - gives you plenty of time to leisurely enjoy the parks. It's still a great deal even if you only use it a couple of days.

[lauren-roxy]

Thanks for sharing your trip and thought!!

[BarryH]

Originally Posted by romarbeardies

Thanks, this was really helpful as we plan to go in Oct. I have already purchased the 7 day pass that was on sale.
Now what can you tell me about Horror Night as we want to plan for that as well. Have you attended (I sure you have) this event and what suggestions do you have. I am looking at getting the either the mult. evening pass or an express pass.
Thanks again for the great report

Well, I did give my "short" answer in your other post.

[nconover]

Thank you so much for the report. I was on the fence about purchasing the express for at least my DH and DS since they are more likely to do thrill rides which have the highest wait times. We are planning to visit for three days total to Universal and IOA so I think I'll just work it out where we'll just stay in the regular que the first two days then the last day only do the most popular rides early in the morning. Thanks again for all the insight as I haven't been there for at least 8 years.

[jenifermg0]

When last we went they were not charging for the Universal "Fastpass", at least I don't think so. We were lucky enough that a friend of mine works at US and she was kind enough to get us tickets to US and IOA. We used the Express or what ever it was called a couple of times, but not on all the rides. After seeing this thread, I looked it up on the US website and was DISGUSTED!!! Seems like it would be a great way to keep lines moving and people out doing things (ie: spending $$) instead of standing in line!!! We weren't going to stay at one of the US hotels, but we may have to look into this for the three days prior to our cruise. We were going to go kind of "cheap" just to save the $$ since this trip is going to be pretty major (reads: EXPENSIVE)!! Two days at US/IOA, day at SeaWorld, day at Kennedy, 4 day WDW cruise and 5 or 6 days at WDW. No question really, just my two cents worth.

[janicelovesmickey]

great report, is it me, or am I missing the wait time for dueling dragons?
how is harry potterland coming along?

[BarryH]

Originally Posted by janicelovesmickey

great report, is it me, or am I missing the wait time for dueling dragons?
how is harry potterland coming along?

I did mention the wait time here:

Originally Posted by BarryH

The posted wait for Dueling Dragons was 5 minutes. I rode Fire and Ice in less than 10 minutes. My wait time was a few minutes on a one train operation.

The last I checked, Harry Potter's area was just a bunch of dirt.

[janicelovesmickey]

oh thanks Barry, i think i may have overlooked that part.

Great trip report though.

[erinys]

Very grateful for your report. I spend $100 on Express Passes last month during a lot of people's Spring Break, when I ended up using single rider lines a lot of the time. Express passes are now down to $31/day, so I guess they don't expect big crowds April 26-30. If I get their early, I can do my necessities (Spiderman, Ripsaw Falls, Bilge Rat Barges, Jurassic Park River Adventure, and Revenge of the Mummy).

[Joy J]

Thanks so much for all those helpful tips in your trip report!

Joy

[Sue M.]

Thanks, very helpful to have a plan. I am staying at Hard Rock for 1 night, for the Express pass benefit. I've heard it's actually good for 2 days of express pass. On your check out day it still works. So that takes care of 2 days. One full day at The Studios & one at IOA. That leaves 2 more days we can just go to Favorites. We are also going to Sea World. got the on-line 7 day unlimited special for Universal! There is also an on-line special for Sea World too, 2 day 2 park pass is apparently good for 7 days too. But planning 4 days Univ. & 3 days Sea World. Looking forward to Aquatica.