Fast pass

[ransam]

are you able to buy fast passes for Universal?

[BrerGnat]

You can buy Express Pass. They are pricey though. Were selling for $99 each last month on a Friday.

[Strmchsr]

It's also a benefit for staying onsite so if you're wanting to do universal you might consider staying one night at one of their resorts, which are all very nice.

[1DisneyNut]

We haven't been to Universal yet but I have been gathering information getting ready to plan a trip. Unless I am mistaken, they aren't good for the premium most popular rides like the Harry Potter stuff. Those rides are like they should be: first come, first serve, standby only I believe.

[Strmchsr]

Unless I am mistaken, they aren't good for the premium most popular rides like the Harry Potter stuff. Those rides are like they should be: first come, first serve, standby only I believe.

You are correct. Another benefit of staying on site is getting into the HP lands an hour before the general public. Doing it that way you can definitely get 1 or 2 rides in before the lines get long.

[faline]

We just recently returned from a visit to Universal. They had spots set up everywhere to sell their front of the line passes. We stayed on site so the front of the line access was included with our stay. I don't believe you receive "free" front of the line access if you stay at their new value priced resort. You are correct, the Harry Potter rides are not included in the front of the line access. On our recent visit, we did not use the early entry option.

The original Harry Potter ride was running around 20 minutes in the standby line. On one occasion, I literally walked right on to the ride using the single rider line. The Escape from Gringott's ride typically had standby wait time of 70 minutes or more. The single rider ride took about 25-30 minutes. The train ride from either direction was typically 20-30 minutes in wait time.

[NJGIRL]

Everyone gave great info but I would like to combine all of the info into one post.

Staying onsite at either the Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, or Portofino you get:

Unlimited express pass for all attractions except the HP stuff. Unlimited means you can go on the ride and get right back into express pass line again....over and over again.

You also can get into the park 1 hour before opening to do the Harry Potter stuff. I have found (the time of year we have gone Oct & April) this will only buy you 1 or 2 (if you are lucky) attractions.

Also, these three hotels are TRULEY deluxe hotels, they are steps away from the park gates. No transportation is necessary.

Staying at the Cabana Resort you get the early entry but NOT the express pass. Plus I believe you need to take the bus over the park gates.


Staying off site and buying an express pass will only get you 1 time on each attraction in the express line. It does NOT include any HP stuff and does not get you in 1 hour early. The express pass price does change day to day.

One note: I am not doubting the wait time our members have posted, but since HP has opened we have stayed onsite for multiple days at least 6 times and I have never waited less than at least 45 - 60 mins in line once the park was opened to everyone. I believe 20 mins is pure luck, something I have never seen.