Universal with front of line
 

I’m beginning to think about next years visit. We have never been to Universal before and I’m a bit confused about how much tickets cost and where to get them from. I always just buy my Disney tickets direct but they seem far more expensive on the universal website. Does anyone know how much it would cost for 2 day tickets with front of line pass. Not staying on site. Would I need to have park hopper or would 1 day at each park be ok? Many thanks.

Express passes for universal for both parks are: from $89 per day plus tax
for IOA for one day: from $54 plus tax
for US for one day: from $74 plus tax

some people see it cheaper to go stay in one of there hotels and get express passes for the day they arrive and day they leave it sometimes works out cheaper that way.

then tickets to enter are between $165 to $178 plus tax for park to park day.

so i have done an example on my computer for the 21st november 2017 for one day park to park ticket plus express day is: $324.89! for one day! so i would say for two days it would be around $600. cheaper getting park tickets from here! This is one person!

i think the 2 park express pass unlimited is about £100 which is only about £10 more than a single park one

tickets for the park i get the theme park passport from
www.OrlandoAttractions.com
but thats about £700 per adult which is about £50 per day
that also unlimited and a disney park hopper too

back onto the universal express pass
i dont buy them in advance i wait till i get to the park and see how bizzy it is (if you buy with an amex card you can get into the amex vip lounge )

I think you mean express pass rather than front of the line passes which is what everyone has responded to. This normally reduces the wait by 50% or more.
However Universal also have a front of the line product called the VIP tour. With this you will be escouted in a small group around the park(s) and get real front of the line access to the rides and shows. You also get valet parking continental breakfast and a quick service meal deal and unlimited fast pass once the tour is over (approx 5.5 hours). Starts from $189 on top of your park entrance and is an option most people ignore but it is the ultimate way to get on the rides in the shortest possible time with NO queuing first time and then express pass later in the day when the tour is finished. For 2 people it should give booking in a express pass hotel a run for its money but it rarely gets mentioned as a way of seeing the parks.

Thank you for the advice. That all makes sense. It is expensive isn’t it! I’m going to look into staying on site for one night, as that seems to be a sensible budget option and would be lots of fun. That Disney and Universal bundle seems very good value. Do you know if you’re still able to make a fast pass reservations at 60 days out if you are staying on site with it?

Wow, now this really does seem like a good option! Did you book it through the universal website directly? I’m thinking, we could probably get away with one day at universal studios if we had this private tour and access to the front of the lines. Just as a taster. Then the year after I’m sure we would go for longer.

Thanks for this for me this would be a good option the last thing in the world I want to do is spend my holiday time standing in line. I would offset the cost of this against the cost of a second day in the park and the use the addional day I would have had round the pool. Sure it still costs a little more but I am guessing that this is the only way not to have to queue for Harry Potter

I think we will notice a difference this time . When I went last there were still only the 3 express pass hotels and we went towards the end of August when the theme park is quieter , we only paid 99 dollars each for our ticket on a special offer . This time we are there end of Juky peak time . We are going to book hotel but not actually done it yet .

For 2 people it is not financially beneficial to stay on site for a night but, having said that, 1 room at the RPR (for 2 people) would certainly be a lot less than 2 x $190 = $380 and all you'd miss out on is a breakfast and meal (about $15 per person). Also, 'real' front of line would normally be about 5/10 minutes faster than express pass in my experience.

The VIP tour also only gives you unlimited FOLP for 1 day; staying on site gives you unlimited FOLP for 2 days. So a true comparison would be ... at least 2 x ( $190 + $90 ) = $540 (plus accommodation elsewhere) or a 1 night stay onsite @ about $300. So approximately twice as much.

I know which one I would go for ;)

But why would you need two days when you can VIP both parks in a day :grin: I would suggest at 5/10 mins for express you might not need express anyway. 10 rides at 10mins is still getting near 2 hours of wasted queuing in a day. Not saying VIP is for everyone there is a cost but it is true front of line. Breakfast and meal at $15 seems a little light. The quick meal deal at Universal is $27 which does not include breakfast and you save a min of $20 on parking (you actually get valet)