Looking for some advice!

Can someone verify I'm understanding this correctly? A one day express pass is $64/per person, so for our family of 4, total cost would be $276. I found a one night stay at the "surf hotel" for $104. So with that one night stay, do we get the Express Pass included for one day, both days...? If Express Pass is included for each of us then yes, I'm thinking the throw away room is a better deal than adding on the express pass independently.

We're in a similar boat in that we are planning a one-day trip to Universal. You only get the "free" express pass with a premier hotel stay, not the Endless Summer/surf hotel. Those are the Loews Royal Pacific, Loews Sapphire, and Hard Rock Hotel. Also, there are two types of express passes. The cheaper one is one that allows you to skip the ride once per ride. The unlimited one obviously allows unlimited rides. You get the unlimited rides EP at the premier hotels.

I priced it out when we are staying as a throwaway room (we have already rented DVC points for our entire stay), and it came out to around $381 for the one night at the Loews Royal Pacific. I don't know the specific cost of the Unlimited Express Pass (we are going in April and they are only priced out until December 31st), but at a minimum its $99. We have a family of four, so it might make sense to book the throwaway room. Also keep in mind that the EPs are slightly more expensive if you pick the "two park" option, which we would most certainly do because Universal essentially divides the Harry Potter stuff among the two parks (Diagon Alley in one and Hogsmeade in the other).

Now the big mitigating factor is whether or not we will actually need the EP at all. Ultimately I don't think we will book the throwaway room just in case the crowds are manageable on the day we go.
 
We're in a similar boat in that we are planning a one-day trip to Universal. You only get the "free" express pass with a premier hotel stay, not the Endless Summer/surf hotel. Those are the Loews Royal Pacific, Loews Sapphire, and Hard Rock Hotel. Also, there are two types of express passes. The cheaper one is one that allows you to skip the ride once per ride. The unlimited one obviously allows unlimited rides. You get the unlimited rides EP at the premier hotels.

I priced it out when we are staying as a throwaway room (we have already rented DVC points for our entire stay), and it came out to around $381 for the one night at the Loews Royal Pacific. I don't know the specific cost of the Unlimited Express Pass (we are going in April and they are only priced out until December 31st), but at a minimum its $99. We have a family of four, so it might make sense to book the throwaway room. Also keep in mind that the EPs are slightly more expensive if you pick the "two park" option, which we would most certainly do because Universal essentially divides the Harry Potter stuff among the two parks (Diagon Alley in one and Hogsmeade in the other).

Now the big mitigating factor is whether or not we will actually need the EP at all. Ultimately I don't think we will book the throwaway room just in case the crowds are manageable on the day we go.

Glad I'm not the only one struggling with this! :-) I'm good with the one that lets you do it only once per ride as I think that is all my body can handle! LOL. I'm agreeing with you that I'm thinking/hoping that in the middle of that week, more away from MLK day, the crowds will be doable and if they aren't, we can just run and grab some if we all feel like it is beneficial.
 
Waiting is a fine option. If you simply decide you want a break from everyone too then you know you can head off for an overnight at one of the 3 deluxe hotels too...
FYI- those prices quoted in your post and pp's for the EPs are the **starting** at prices. They can go quite a bit up. Unlimiteds have the potential of being $150 EACH per day!
As a frequent January visitor, pack stretchy gloves and layers. We have had a lot of evenings where it got down to the upper 30s and highs only in the mid 50s. In the sun during the day feels great but darned cold at night and the morning.

Yes, layers will be key! However, being from Green Bay, WI 50's in January will feel like the tropics for us! 🤣
 
If you avoid the weekend days and the holiday Monday in the middle of January I do not think you will need Express Pass at Universal. You can always add it when you get there.
Especially if you have two days, Just don’t try to do every.single.thing.
The thing that draws us to Universal over Disney is the relaxed atmosphere and no need for extensive planning.

If you have Harry Potter fans then def budget the $50 for one “family” shared wand (as in shared with your immediate family, not extended) That way everyone can play together and try the spells (our daughter loves to watch my husband trying the spells) A family souvenir can be just as special.

Download the Universal App.

Also you will need to get familiar with the lockers at most rides. They are very easy once you get used to them. Just be prepared that you will need to use them.

Make sure you buy the park to park ticket so you can ride the Hogwarts Express!
 


You only get free unlimited Express Pass with the 3 highest level hotels, Portofino Bay, Hard Rock or Royal Pacific.

You do not get free Express at Sapphire Falls, Cabana Bay, or the new value Endless Summer. Is Express Pass a great option, sure, we have stayed at RPR 3 times in order to get it. BUT we have also had just as much fun staying at Sapphire Falls at a moderately busy time (mid October) and just got back from Cabana Bay (low crowd time) and honestly would rather spend the extra money on souvenirs than Express. If I were going at holiday time (high crowd time) it would be different.

I don’t think express passes are going to be a “make it or break it” deal for you with your dates.
 
Can someone verify I'm understanding this correctly? A one day express pass is $64/per person, so for our family of 4, total cost would be $276. I found a one night stay at the "surf hotel" for $104. So with that one night stay, do we get the Express Pass included for one day, both days...? If Express Pass is included for each of us then yes, I'm thinking the throw away room is a better deal than adding on the express pass independently.
No - Express Pass is only included with stays at Hard Rock Hotel, Royal Pacific Resort, or Portofino Bay. These are the 3 "deluxe" Universal hotels. The other Universal hotels do NOT include Express Pass.

I skimmed the thread so I apologize if I am repeating anything. But the purpose of a throwaway room is just to get each person in your party the unlimited express pass for less money. Often, when you have multiple people, purchasing unlimited EP for each person is more expensive than purchasing one night at a Universal deluxe hotel. When you have one night at a hotel, you get unlimited express pass for TWO days - your check in day and your check out day. This is why it often makes the most sense to book a room at one of the three deluxe resorts, even if you have no intention of using or even setting foot in the room.

Also, I'm not sure you're looking at the right prices for purchasing express pass. To purchase EP, the price varies depending on the day and I can't seem to find the pricing for January yet. For a true comparison, you want to make sure you're pricing out the UNLIMITED express pass, which is the more expensive one. This is the one that is included with the three resorts. The cheaper EP you can purchase permits one ride per person on each EP attraction. Unlimited lets you ride as much as you want on any EP attraction in either park. When purchasing EPs, you have to buy it for each day.

Looking at random days, the cheapest I'm seeing the unlimited EP for purchase is $80 per person per day. So that would be $80 x 4 people = $320. If you times that by 2 (because the resort includes EP for two days), then you're looking at roughly $640 (plus tax) if you purchase unlimited EPs for two days for your family. Compare that to a throwaway room at Royal Pacific Resort (usually the cheapest) in January, which is roughly $370 (plus tax) for one night and you get the same thing - plus a room that you can choose to use or not, even if only for a few hours or a break during the day.

You'd have to do the math for your exact dates and scenarios. It looks like if you bought the standard express pass (one time use per attraction) for one day, you'd save about $100. But IMO, $100 is not much more to have unlimited EP for two days. Its very much worth it.
 
No - Express Pass is only included with stays at Hard Rock Hotel, Royal Pacific Resort, or Portofino Bay. These are the 3 "deluxe" Universal hotels. The other Universal hotels do NOT include Express Pass.

I skimmed the thread so I apologize if I am repeating anything. But the purpose of a throwaway room is just to get each person in your party the unlimited express pass for less money. Often, when you have multiple people, purchasing unlimited EP for each person is more expensive than purchasing one night at a Universal deluxe hotel. When you have one night at a hotel, you get unlimited express pass for TWO days - your check in day and your check out day. This is why it often makes the most sense to book a room at one of the three deluxe resorts, even if you have no intention of using or even setting foot in the room.

Also, I'm not sure you're looking at the right prices for purchasing express pass. To purchase EP, the price varies depending on the day and I can't seem to find the pricing for January yet. For a true comparison, you want to make sure you're pricing out the UNLIMITED express pass, which is the more expensive one. This is the one that is included with the three resorts. The cheaper EP you can purchase permits one ride per person on each EP attraction. Unlimited lets you ride as much as you want on any EP attraction in either park. When purchasing EPs, you have to buy it for each day.

Looking at random days, the cheapest I'm seeing the unlimited EP for purchase is $80 per person per day. So that would be $80 x 4 people = $320. If you times that by 2 (because the resort includes EP for two days), then you're looking at roughly $640 (plus tax) if you purchase unlimited EPs for two days for your family. Compare that to a throwaway room at Royal Pacific Resort (usually the cheapest) in January, which is roughly $370 (plus tax) for one night and you get the same thing - plus a room that you can choose to use or not, even if only for a few hours or a break during the day.

You'd have to do the math for your exact dates and scenarios. It looks like if you bought the standard express pass (one time use per attraction) for one day, you'd save about $100. But IMO, $100 is not much more to have unlimited EP for two days. Its very much worth it.

This is hugely helpful, thank you! I'm not loving the Universal website in regards to tickets and pricing and it is not as intuitive as Disney is (IMO). So, I think I need to wait longer for January information to come out and then yes, price compare.
 


If you avoid the weekend days and the holiday Monday in the middle of January I do not think you will need Express Pass at Universal. You can always add it when you get there.
Especially if you have two days, Just don’t try to do every.single.thing.
The thing that draws us to Universal over Disney is the relaxed atmosphere and no need for extensive planning.

If you have Harry Potter fans then def budget the $50 for one “family” shared wand (as in shared with your immediate family, not extended) That way everyone can play together and try the spells (our daughter loves to watch my husband trying the spells) A family souvenir can be just as special.

Download the Universal App.

Also you will need to get familiar with the lockers at most rides. They are very easy once you get used to them. Just be prepared that you will need to use them.

Make sure you buy the park to park ticket so you can ride the Hogwarts Express!

Yes, we are definitely going to do the park to park tickets for the Hogwarts Express! I am not missing any HP stuff!! I honestly never thought of the "family" shared wand. Really my husband is more the Star Wars guy, and I'm more the HP one. Our kids love both! I like the shared idea for wand and then using the money we would have used for the 2nd wand for something else fun. Thank you! We are hoping to hit the parks during the week avoiding the weekend/Monday and using those days for Kennedy Space Center/beach.
 
We are doing Universal for the first time in 26 years. I am very much a researcher and a number analyst when planning my vacations.:rolleyes1 We are going in April and staying 4 nights. I went to Undercover Tourist and looked at their crowd calendar for the days we are going. I’ve got days with crowds of 6 and 7. I then compared those numbers to the current crowd calendar numbers. They are surprisingly close. Then I downloaded the Universal app for my phone. The app has maps that show the wait times for all the rides at Universal. This past two weeks I’ve been checking the wait times on the rides I figure my DH and DS are probably going to ride. I figured out that without EP we’re going to spend on average 3-5 hours each day waiting in lines (not including Hagrid). 3 hours a day is a lot of time. If the lines are longer we could end up spending half our time waiting in line. Cost for unlimited EP for just two of those days would be at a minimum $540, and could be as much as $660. If we bought for all days it would cost at minimum $1,080! We were going to stay on site at Universal no matter what so the upgrade (going from @$200 at SF to @$300 at HRH - so @$400 increase in cost) is definitely going to be worth it. You may want to do something similar for your dates.

Also, i noticed you mentioned not loving the universal site for hotels. I booked the HRH through Orbitz. It’s cancellable with full refund up to a week before we are due to check in AND Orbitz’s prices for Universal’s onsite hotel rooms are significantly cheaper than through the Universal site. I saved $100+ per night. I also looked at Expedia, travelocity and Hotels.com. Their prices came out to within pennies. It took a little bit of digging to find these hotels on the other sites but they are on there.
 
We are doing Universal for the first time in 26 years. I am very much a researcher and a number analyst when planning my vacations.:rolleyes1 We are going in April and staying 4 nights. I went to Undercover Tourist and looked at their crowd calendar for the days we are going. I’ve got days with crowds of 6 and 7. I then compared those numbers to the current crowd calendar numbers. They are surprisingly close. Then I downloaded the Universal app for my phone. The app has maps that show the wait times for all the rides at Universal. This past two weeks I’ve been checking the wait times on the rides I figure my DH and DS are probably going to ride. I figured out that without EP we’re going to spend on average 3-5 hours each day waiting in lines (not including Hagrid). 3 hours a day is a lot of time. If the lines are longer we could end up spending half our time waiting in line. Cost for unlimited EP for just two of those days would be at a minimum $540, and could be as much as $660. If we bought for all days it would cost at minimum $1,080! We were going to stay on site at Universal no matter what so the upgrade (going from @$200 at SF to @$300 at HRH - so @$400 increase in cost) is definitely going to be worth it. You may want to do something similar for your dates.

Also, i noticed you mentioned not loving the universal site for hotels. I booked the HRH through Orbitz. It’s cancellable with full refund up to a week before we are due to check in AND Orbitz’s prices for Universal’s onsite hotel rooms are significantly cheaper than through the Universal site. I saved $100+ per night. I also looked at Expedia, travelocity and Hotels.com. Their prices came out to within pennies. It took a little bit of digging to find these hotels on the other sites but they are on there.
FYI- there’s no Express Passes for Hagrids. I wasn’t sure if you were counting on EPs to shorten that long line or bc you knew it would suck up a lot of your time so wanted short lines everywhere else.
 
Just a reminder for the wands, you need to buy the interactive ones to use for spell in the parks! The interactive will come with a map to show you the interactive spell areas. They sell tons of both (regular souvenir wands and interactive) and they are boxed differently. If you have any questions just ask at the counter before you pay.

It’s been 2 years since we bought an interactive wand, so my memory is foggy, You’ll need a map for each side. Hopefully someone else will post and give you more info, I know you can ask at wand shops and they will give you one if you don’t have one for that side but I just cant remember details.
 

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