Question Regarding Express Unlimited

monkeyandgator2424

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 16, 2019
So we are looking to come to Universal/IOA in September, specifically the 2nd week in September. I know that starts low time. For anyone who has traveled there during this time, how quiet is it? I am asking because I was going to book at Hard Rock, Portofino or Royal Pacific which I know include the Express Unlimited. Is it quiet enough in September to skip getting the Express Unlimited and stay at a cheaper resort? I haven't been to Universal/IOA in 14 years, so I know the park has changed a lot and the main reason we are going is for Harry Potter world.
 
It's kind of a catch-22. The shorter the stay, the more you need express passes. The longer you stay, the more important staying at the Universal resort becomes because the parks and rides just become part of a much broader and enjoyable vacation.
 
Its possible you will only see crowds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday due to hhn
Rest of the days should be good for you

Weekends bring in a lot of locals if the weather is good
 
We would be at the park on a Wednesday and Thursday. When I went 14 years ago and it was in the middle of January and it was dead there. Granted it was way before Harry Potter was there, but we did not wait on line for anything at IOA or US.
 


I would expect it to be busier than it was 14 years ago. Especially with the Hargrid's coaster opening. We've stayed at both Portofino and Hard Rock in late December. Both great hotels but Hard Rock has a much better location. So easy to walk back and forth to the parks. Portofino we usually opted for the boat ride (or a much further walk).
 
The studios closes at 5:00
for the days hhn is happening

Switch to IOA around 4:00 and hit the potter section there if you ba e the P2P pass

Or spend Wednesday at the studios and Thursday at IOA if you don’t have P2P
 
What is HHN?

edit: nevermind, I found it's the Halloween thing. I mean, our dates are completely flexible, so I could change it from Monday to Thursday instead.
 
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What is HHN?

edit: nevermind, I found it's the Halloween thing. I mean, our dates are completely flexible, so I could change it from Monday to Thursday instead.
Monday would better than Thursday
Peeps that did hhn on Sunday night probably not going to the parks early Monday morning
 
There are a lot of single rider lines at Universal which help when you don't have EP. However, they often skip some of the best part of the queue for the Harry Potter rides, so definitely go through the regular line of Forbidden Journey and Gringotts once. Even the EP line skips some of the castle. Take advantage of the Early entry for all Universal resort guests if you stay at a less expensive Uni property.
 
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I stay onsite and have the free access for the express lines for rides and shows

Since most of my trips are solo, I use the single rider lines when it is a short line
 
My husband and I are going Sunday Sept 8 - Thursday Sept 12. I too was concerned about lines, etc. but we decided to stay at the DoubleTree and not getting P2P or EP. We will have 3.5 days in the park and are go-go-go people. We are not doing Volcano Bay or any hotel time. We will only do City Walk after park closure. Nothing is a must-do for us, so I'm hoping it works out fine. We got the TR for less than $70 a night, so it was really hard to justify staying onsite.
 
My husband and I are going Sunday Sept 8 - Thursday Sept 12. I too was concerned about lines, etc. but we decided to stay at the DoubleTree and not getting P2P or EP. We will have 3.5 days in the park and are go-go-go people. We are not doing Volcano Bay or any hotel time. We will only do City Walk after park closure. Nothing is a must-do for us, so I'm hoping it works out fine. We got the TR for less than $70 a night, so it was really hard to justify staying onsite.

Looking at last years wait times for all of the headliners for the same days as you are going this year, I see nothing that had gone above a 30 minute wait (other than Gringotts for a couple of hours on the Wednesday that went up to 45 min). Most of the rides hovered at around 15-20 minutes all day, every day during the same period.

I think you'll be fine without EP for your trip.
 
You could price out how much it would cost to stay at a cheaper hotel and just buy one day of EP instead. You could also do a split stay - 1 night at a deluxe resort, with the rest of the time at a cheaper resort. With one night at a deluxe, you get unlimited EPs all day for your check-in day and check-out day.

IMO, EPs are worth it no matter what time of year. With Hagrid opening this year, the start of Halloween Horror Nights in early September, and also the opening of Star Wars at WDW (which will drive some to Universal), I wouldn't expect the parks to be dead. In addition to EPs allowing you to ride with little to no wait, they also get you out of the outdoor queues on those hot/stormy September days, allow you to sleep in and go to the park at your leisure because you don't have to worry about rope drop, allows you to park hop at your leisure and tour the parks in any order you wish. They just provide so much flexibility beyond shorter waits that it really adds to the overall enjoyment of the trip, IMO.
 

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