Express pass and cool queues

[ShannyMcB]

Hi folks. Going to UO for only the second time ever, last trip was over 11 years ago.
We'll be staying at RPR so we will have EP. I have a couple big harry potter fans (myself included) will using the express pass make us miss walking through hogwarts and gringots? Or will we still see most of the castle and bank?
Any situations where EP causes you to miss interesting parts of the overall experience? I am excited to skip lines but there are some instances where I know I don't want to miss the entire queues.

 

[AJA]

Yes you will miss a lot by using the express lines. But if you only have one day its worth it to get in all the rides, except for big Harry Potter fans I would definitely make time for a castle walk through. The castle is a must see. You don’t miss quite as much at Gringots, but you’ll also miss some at the train, especially on the IOA side. But really if you are pressed for time just make the castle walk through your priority.

 

[Skippyboo]

Forbidden Journey you miss most of the castle , you start with the founders portraits in the express queue. You still get goblins in Gringotts in Express.

 

[nighttowll]

What we've done is we do the castle or bank tour. This way you can take your time looking at everything in the queues, especially with Hogwarts Castle as each room of the queue is a separate little pre-show that set the story up for the ride, and many times, the line moves too fast, puts you in the middle, or cuts off a scene, and it also usually skips the outside herbology area as well.

There's no guarantee they will be running the tours. It's hit or miss, but I'd check. We've had better luck with getting the Castle Tour than the Bank. We've only been turned down once for the castle tour since it is self guided.

Then, we ride using EP or single rider.

 

[Kit Jackson]

If there is a major Harry Potter fan in the group, do the full line for Forbidden Journey. If they are regular or more casual fans, than what you skip will probably not matter to them.

 

[only hope]

Gringotts- dont miss anything other than the outside queue if that is open, but thats not all that interesting

Forbidden Journey- miss a lot; worth doing the regular line. If the line is moving too fast just stand back letting others pass you til the “show” in that area is done.

Train- miss nothing in Hogsmeade; I think maybe you skip walking through the wall in express on the Kings Cross side

MIB- miss the entire preshow and a significant part of an interesting queue

Spiderman- the queues are different and both interesting

Kong- I think you miss quite a bit for that one

Transformers- miss the entire set up for the ride. I had only ever taken express or single rider for my first few rides; the first time I took the regular line I was surprised at how much of the story is set up in the queue and I understood the plot of the ride much better. I have never seen a Transformers movie though so maybe those that have can follow the plot without the queue.

Mummy- not essential but I think you skip quite a lot.

Whether any of these queues are worth it depends on how big a fan you are of that particular IP and the wait time, but I would at least do Forbidden Journey and MiB once.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

What we've done is we do the castle or bank tour. This way you can take your time looking at everything in the queues, especially with Hogwarts Castle as each room of the queue is a separate little pre-show that set the story up for the ride, and many times, the line moves too fast, puts you in the middle, or cuts off a scene, and it also usually skips the outside herbology area as well.

There's no guarantee they will be running the tours. It's hit or miss, but I'd check. We've had better luck with getting the Castle Tour than the Bank. We've only been turned down once for the castle tour since it is self guided.

Then, we ride using EP or single rider.

How does the castle tour work? I was under the (maybe mistaken) impression that you just walked the EP line and let people go past you. Is it something different than that?

 

[Kit Jackson]

How does the castle tour work? I was under the (maybe mistaken) impression that you just walked the EP line and let people go past you. Is it something different than that?

The Castle Tour is not the express line. I was not aware of something organized with a Universal Team Member leading it. What I have heard described as the Castle Tour is going through the full regular line (not the EP line) and letting people pass you if you want to spend more time looking at something. When you get to the front and are about to ride, explain that you do not want to go on the ride and they will send you out a different exit.

 

[only hope]

How does the castle tour work? I was under the (maybe mistaken) impression that you just walked the EP line and let people go past you. Is it something different than that?

There’s old info online. Before they added FJ to the express pass, they sometimes used what is now the express line as a castle tour line for those who didn’t want to ride. That pretty much stopped after FJ was added to express.