Crowds Christmas week and Express Pass

[rmclain73]

Looking at the app the wait times are very high this week. Does Universal inflate them same as Disney?

What have the waits been this week with Express Pass? The app does not show those times.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I'll be at Universal (both parks) tomorrow with Express pass so I can report back what the wait times with Express were.

 

[rmclain73]

I'll be at Universal (both parks) tomorrow with Express pass so I can report back what the wait times with Express were.

Thanks!

 

[denman007]

Looking at the app the wait times are very high this week. Does Universal inflate them same as Disney?

What have the waits been this week with Express Pass? The app does not show those times.

Express wait times haven’t been over 25 mins for the things we’ve done. There are a ton more ppl today since the weather has turned.

The escape ride wait time stated 120 mins and they said 60 or less for express. We waited 23 mins. (On Sunday)

Waited 4 mins for mummy max over 6 rides. Yesterday waited about 15.

Would be tough to be here without express.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Okay I can report that Express wait times, for the most part, are in the 5-20 minutes range with a few exceptions. Escape from Gringotts took about 40 minutes with standby being 175 and Minions was 50-60 minutes with a 140 minute standby. It's VERY busy here today with A LOT of people using Express.

 

[Tatum20]

We just got back. We were there the 24th through 29th, no express passes. I think the standby wait times posted have been fairly accurate.

The 24th through the 26th was busy but manageable. Yesterday we gave up about 10 am. By that time, all standby waits were 60+ minutes. Long lines just to buy water and popcorn. We had ridden everything by yesterday and were just going to do things with short wait times, but there really wasn't anything.

And the crowds were horrific- the number of families or groups wanting to have a discussion while blocking exits and entrances was insane- how are people this oblivious? A family of four bought pretzels and donuts from a cart and proceeded to stand there and eat them- while at the register after paying! Like, they seriously just stood there after they paid and chowed down, completely ignoring the line behind them. The lady behind the register didn't say anything, so I just nudged them over as I went to pay. It wasn't even like they were waiting for any items- I guess moving one foot over was just too much work for them. Husband glowered at them (he's kind of an intimidating guy, I think) and they eventually moved on as we were getting our change. Also annoying were the people who lined up their groups for photos, right in the middle of the busiest sections, and audibly grumbled when the hordes walked through their shots. What do you expect? You're not going to get the perfect photo op when thousands of people are crammed in a tiny space. You can't help the crowds, but you can certainly help your own manners.

I will say every single employee I came across was unbelievably kind and friendly. That was a bright spot. We will never do a peak week at any park again. I knew it would be bad (although the cold weather did help quite a bit early in the week), but just too frustrating dealing with these oblivious (or indifferent) people.

 

[rmclain73]

Okay I can report that Express wait times, for the most part, are in the 5-20 minutes range with a few exceptions. Escape from Gringotts took about 40 minutes with standby being 175 and Minions was 50-60 minutes with a 140 minute standby. It's VERY busy here today with A LOT of people using Express.

Thank you!

While it sounds very crowded the express lines are not bad as I was anticipating.

 

[rmclain73]

We just got back. We were there the 24th through 29th, no express passes. I think the standby wait times posted have been fairly accurate.

The 24th through the 26th was busy but manageable. Yesterday we gave up about 10 am. By that time, all standby waits were 60+ minutes. Long lines just to buy water and popcorn. We had ridden everything by yesterday and were just going to do things with short wait times, but there really wasn't anything.

And the crowds were horrific- the number of families or groups wanting to have a discussion while blocking exits and entrances was insane- how are people this oblivious? A family of four bought pretzels and donuts from a cart and proceeded to stand there and eat them- while at the register after paying! Like, they seriously just stood there after they paid and chowed down, completely ignoring the line behind them. The lady behind the register didn't say anything, so I just nudged them over as I went to pay. It wasn't even like they were waiting for any items- I guess moving one foot over was just too much work for them. Husband glowered at them (he's kind of an intimidating guy, I think) and they eventually moved on as we were getting our change. Also annoying were the people who lined up their groups for photos, right in the middle of the busiest sections, and audibly grumbled when the hordes walked through their shots. What do you expect? You're not going to get the perfect photo op when thousands of people are crammed in a tiny space. You can't help the crowds, but you can certainly help your own manners.

I will say every single employee I came across was unbelievably kind and friendly. That was a bright spot. We will never do a peak week at any park again. I knew it would be bad (although the cold weather did help quite a bit early in the week), but just too frustrating dealing with these oblivious (or indifferent) people.

Yeah the older I get the more annoyed I am at peoples behaviors in large group settings. Either I am running thin on patience, or people are becoming more selfish.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Thank you!

While it sounds very crowded the express lines are not bad as I was anticipating.

Agreed. I expected way worse. I will say that if you want to do Minions, do it earlier in the day even if you have Express. That line was dreadful lol

 

[ruthies12]

Yeah the older I get the more annoyed I am at peoples behaviors in large group settings. Either I am running thin on patience, or people are becoming more selfish.

I swear I think people forgot how to behave during the quarantine. Not that they were great before, but they are definitely worse now.

 

[Tatum20]

Yeah the older I get the more annoyed I am at peoples behaviors in large group settings. Either I am running thin on patience, or people are becoming more selfish.

I just don't get it. While I don't condone line jumping/cutting, at least I can logically understand why someone would do it (not saying it's acceptable, just saying I could see where someone would be tempted to do so).

But the people who stand in large groups blocking exits and entrances? Most people try to avoid them, but some will just barrel on through. Some will be pushed into them involuntarily by the crowd. At bare minimum, they will be jostled every couple of minutes, or even seconds.

Even for people who are clearly lacking in common sense or situational awareness- would it not get annoying to have someone constantly bumping into you? It's like it is pure stubbornness in these people to not move.

 

[cc1013]

We are currently on our flight back and were in the parks Wednesday-Friday. We should have been there Tuesday too but after a six hour flight delay, we finally got to PBH around 9:30pm.

The crowds were intense. We took advantage of the early entry and express passes that came with staying at PBH at were at the parks around 7am each morning, Without those perks, I don’t think we would have handled it well. My son is also on the spectrum and can struggle in long lines, so we got the AAP and used that for Hagrids.

The crowds in Hogsmead were shoulder to shoulder and overwhelming, especially at night. I think crowd control in Diagon Alley was much more effective. It seemed like walkways were constantly taken for lines to either Hagrids or the Hogwarts Express.

I have to agree that some people are oblivious and will just block walkways and exits. That got frustrating sometimes. I did raise my voice saying ‘excuse me’ as we squeezed by them a few times. The employees were fabulous and so patient/kind. It reminded me of how Disney was 25+ years ago.

We anticipated heavy attendance but seeing it in person was shocking. We still had a fabulous time though and would go back. (I’m pricing out options for next December while on my flight home, lol).

 

[Morgol]

We are currently on our flight back and were in the parks Wednesday-Friday. We should have been there Tuesday too but after a six hour flight delay, we finally got to PBH around 9:30pm.

The crowds were intense. We took advantage of the early entry and express passes that came with staying at PBH at were at the parks around 7am each morning, Without those perks, I don’t think we would have handled it well. My son is also on the spectrum and can struggle in long lines, so we got the AAP and used that for Hagrids.

The crowds in Hogsmead were shoulder to shoulder and overwhelming, especially at night. I think crowd control in Diagon Alley was much more effective. It seemed like walkways were constantly taken for lines to either Hagrids or the Hogwarts Express.

I have to agree that some people are oblivious and will just block walkways and exits. That got frustrating sometimes. I did raise my voice saying ‘excuse me’ as we squeezed by them a few times. The employees were fabulous and so patient/kind. It reminded me of how Disney was 25+ years ago.

We anticipated heavy attendance but seeing it in person was shocking. We still had a fabulous time though and would go back. (I’m pricing out options for next December while on my flight home, lol).

Can you speak to your experience with Express Pass wait times for rides during your visit?

 

[cc1013]

Can you speak to your experience with Express Pass wait times for rides during your visit?

Waits ranged from walking right onto rides up to a 30min wait for Gringotts with express pass. Generally, I think they try to say that express pass should be 50% of the wait of the regular line, but the express pass waits were far shorter. For example, Spiderman was 70 minutes for the regular wait and we waited 10 minutes. Going between Xmas and NY would be very hard without the express pass unless you had many days.

 

[Morgol]

Waits ranged from walking right onto rides up to a 30min wait for Gringotts with express pass. Generally, I think they try to say that express pass should be 50% of the wait of the regular line, but the express pass waits were far shorter. For example, Spiderman was 70 minutes for the regular wait and we waited 10 minutes. Going between Xmas and NY would be very hard without the express pass unless you had many days.

Very helpful, thank you - we're trying to weigh going between sometime in June or the week before Christmas. If wait times are generally 20 mins or less with Express Pass, I was going to say lets go right before Christmas. Were most waits other than Gringotts pretty low?

Did you get a chance to see what lines were like at park close?

 

[cc1013]

Very helpful, thank you - we're trying to weigh going between sometime in June or the week before Christmas. If wait times are generally 20 mins or less with Express Pass, I was going to say lets go right before Christmas. Were most waits other than Gringotts pretty low?

Did you get a chance to see what lines were like at park close?

I will say that the lines for Hagrid's were pretty extreme (180-240 minutes) most of the time. We didn't track Velocicoaster but I would assume those were long as well.

Generally, lines seemed to lighten before the parks closed and waits were a bit shorter.

The holiday decorations and shows were great so between that and cooler weather (I'm not a fan of extreme heat) I would vote going before Christmas.

 

[Morgol]

I will say that the lines for Hagrid's were pretty extreme (180-240 minutes) most of the time. We didn't track Velocicoaster but I would assume those were long as well.

Generally, lines seemed to lighten before the parks closed and waits were a bit shorter.

The holiday decorations and shows were great so between that and cooler weather (I'm not a fan of extreme heat) I would vote going before Christmas.

Thanks - I'm thinking about avoiding the heat and rain in June as well.

 

[NJlauren]

This thread was very helpful! I am debating 5 days next year around Christmas with express pass but I just wasn’t sure it would be worth it.

I’m still not sold, but this gave me some good data points.

 

[DisGhost]

We were there Dec 28-31 with EP. It was somewhat crowded up until the 31st and then it was VERY crowded. We have been at Disney for the entire Christmas week and it was less crowded. We always go during President's Week but have skipped the past 2 years so I'm a bit nervous, but we are very much used to crowds and know how to manage our expectations and have fun.

That said, Express Pass was definitely worth it and the only things that were bad were:
Hagrids broke down both mornings we were in line with early entry and we had to wait about 75 minutes, should have been around 15 minutes both times. Ended up getting 8 Ruby Passes for our next trip. I know the wisdom is to do VC instead but that line goes pretty fast so that wasn't a concern for us. Also it broke down the 1st day while we were waiting on Hagrids to come back up lol.
Minions - even the EP line was about 75 minutes.
Hosgmeade was wall to wall people at most times. Like literally unable to move.
New Years Eve night - so crowded in the front of the park (back of park was just fine), and the sound mix was horrendous on the stage, so we left at 10pm and had drinks at the hotel.
Disneyfication of dining. You HAVE to get a reservation for every meal now, and well in advance. We never used to have to do that, ever. But people are jumping ship from Disney and have been trained to get reservations, so now they are snapping them up well in advance so you can't get in last minute these days.

The good/great:
Velocicoaster - posted wait time 90 minutes, actual wait time 60 (no EP, clearly.)
Forbidden Journey - posted standby time 90 minutes, wait in EP was about 5
Spiderman, MIB, Hulk, and Mummy all had very short EP waits when the posted standby time was 90+ minutes (Hulk was a walk on EP with a 120 minute standby)
Diagon Alley was just fine, not nearly as crowded, though the Gringotts EP wait is much longer than FJ due to where the two lines come together.
Cast members are lovely! And all of the wait staff in particular was great, although we had some issues with cold food at some spots (I'm looking at you, Confisco

 

[rmclain73]

We were there Dec 28-31 with EP. It was somewhat crowded up until the 31st and then it was VERY crowded. We have been at Disney for the entire Christmas week and it was less crowded. We always go during President's Week but have skipped the past 2 years so I'm a bit nervous, but we are very much used to crowds and know how to manage our expectations and have fun.

That said, Express Pass was definitely worth it and the only things that were bad were:
Hagrids broke down both mornings we were in line with early entry and we had to wait about 75 minutes, should have been around 15 minutes both times. Ended up getting 8 Ruby Passes for our next trip. I know the wisdom is to do VC instead but that line goes pretty fast so that wasn't a concern for us. Also it broke down the 1st day while we were waiting on Hagrids to come back up lol.
Minions - even the EP line was about 75 minutes.
Hosgmeade was wall to wall people at most times. Like literally unable to move.
New Years Eve night - so crowded in the front of the park (back of park was just fine), and the sound mix was horrendous on the stage, so we left at 10pm and had drinks at the hotel.
Disneyfication of dining. You HAVE to get a reservation for every meal now, and well in advance. We never used to have to do that, ever. But people are jumping ship from Disney and have been trained to get reservations, so now they are snapping them up well in advance so you can't get in last minute these days.

The good/great:
Velocicoaster - posted wait time 90 minutes, actual wait time 60 (no EP, clearly.)
Forbidden Journey - posted standby time 90 minutes, wait in EP was about 5
Spiderman, MIB, Hulk, and Mummy all had very short EP waits when the posted standby time was 90+ minutes (Hulk was a walk on EP with a 120 minute standby)
Diagon Alley was just fine, not nearly as crowded, though the Gringotts EP wait is much longer than FJ due to where the two lines come together.
Cast members are lovely! And all of the wait staff in particular was great, although we had some issues with cold food at some spots (I'm looking at you, Confisco

I will be there Presidents Day week this year. I hope the crowds are at least bearable.

We have dinner reservations each night, but we were planning on quick service for lunch. We have a suite so breakfast will be in the room. How hard will it be for lunch quick serve?