Universal Express Pass

Oakmark · 25 Apr 17, 10:36 PM

Hi Guys

We are off in August and I've booked a night at RPR to get the early entry and the Express pass.

I understand it gets us in early but don't know a lot about the Express pass, how does it work? Will it save a lit if time?

Any of your experiences and advise would be much appreciated.

Cheers
Mark

papasmurf · 25 Apr 17, 10:51 PM

You can check in from about 630 although your room won't be ready.

The pass is valid for unlimited rides on check in and check out days as well as any in between.

In my experience, they can save loads and loads of time.

Guest · 25 Apr 17, 10:54 PM

We book a couple of nights always (this time at RPR) just for the front of line (FOLP) passes, we get there on day one about 9, check in and collect our passes, we get a text when the room is ready (normally head back late afternoon, go to room, then a swim) before heading back to the park. My daughter loves the Simpsons Ride and the FOLPs meant she just went round and round and round and round... to us saves a huge amount of time

Guest · 25 Apr 17, 10:55 PM

This link might be of help. Dates are obviously off and some of the rides are out of date, but it explains the basic perks.

Helpful to have your FOLP (Front of line pass) in a lanyard around your neck with your Universal ticket on the otherside and your room key in the middle. That way they can scan your FOLP each time you go to an express line entrance. You will still queue, but it will significantly cut down on your queuing time.

There are some rides that FOLP does not work on. Try and aim for those very first thing in early opening and work out which park will be best for you on the first day that you go.

If you are only there for one night make sure you check in very early so that you can get there for early opening (and there is normally a bit of a queue and often a slightly earlier than expected gate opening) and aim for the non-FOLP rides first before the queues build up.

There are loads of threads on here about FOLP and how it works and how to check into the various hotels etc - have a quick search and see what the most recent info is.

Depending when you go in August it can save you a significant amount of time queuing, or just a reasonable amount of time queuing.

It is worth it for us.

Mentm · 26 Apr 17, 02:42 AM

Yes it save us loads of time in august last year. They are not valid on Harry Potter rides or King Kong, so try to do this in the early opening hours.

**scoobydooby** · 26 Apr 17, 06:58 AM

Yes it makes August visits a dream. Just utilise the early entry for Harry Potter areas too. Enjoy!

Redsox · 26 Apr 17, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by Mentm

Yes it save us loads of time in august last year. They are not valid on Harry Potter rides or King Kong, so try to do this in the early opening hours.

It was valid on King Kong when we used it in February

novocastrian · 26 Apr 17, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by Mentm

Yes it save us loads of time in august last year. They are not valid on Harry Potter rides or King Kong, so try to do this in the early opening hours.

kong is now on FOLP as above

only harry potter &i guess jimmy fallon

for the OP 2 days FOLP will greatly enhance your days in universal, there is still a short Q but you can rack up countless rides per day/evening with FOLP... last August we got caught in a storm whilst on the mummy, so just went round and round again.. keeping dry in the process

going without one is a pita now...

Nimbus · 26 Apr 17, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by Oakmark

I understand it gets us in early but don't know a lot about the Express pass, how does it work?

You'll go to a machine where you enter your details and then get a thin cardboard pass with your photo and a barcode printed on it. You show this pass at the ride entrance where the member of staff will scan the barcode. They will then let you enter the Express Pass queue.

You can use this pass as much as you want whilst it's valid. You can enter the Express queue as many times as you want, at any time that you want. The Express Pass is valid on the day you check in, the day you check out, and any days inbetween.

The Express Pass queue is almost always quicker than the regular queue. It will save you some time. How much depends on how busy it is. When we visited Universal at the very end of August 2014, the queues were all quite short and therefore having the Express Pass would not have provided much benefit. However, when we stayed at a Universal hotel last April, we found the Express Passes to be very handy.

Oakmark · 26 Apr 17, 09:06 PM

Thanks for all the information, very useful.

Glad I've done it now

Up early straight to Harry Potter and get that down first.

Cheers guys

25 Apr 17, 10:51 PM	#2
	25 Apr 17, 10:51 PM papasmurf Imagineer
papasmurf Imagineer Join Date: Sep 13	You can check in from about 630 although your room won't be ready. The pass is valid for unlimited rides on check in and check out days as well as any in between. In my experience, they can save loads and loads of time.

25 Apr 17, 10:54 PM	#3
	25 Apr 17, 10:54 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	We book a couple of nights always (this time at RPR) just for the front of line (FOLP) passes, we get there on day one about 9, check in and collect our passes, we get a text when the room is ready (normally head back late afternoon, go to room, then a swim) before heading back to the park. My daughter loves the Simpsons Ride and the FOLPs meant she just went round and round and round and round... to us saves a huge amount of time

25 Apr 17, 10:55 PM	#4
	25 Apr 17, 10:55 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	This link might be of help. Dates are obviously off and some of the rides are out of date, but it explains the basic perks. Helpful to have your FOLP (Front of line pass) in a lanyard around your neck with your Universal ticket on the otherside and your room key in the middle. That way they can scan your FOLP each time you go to an express line entrance. You will still queue, but it will significantly cut down on your queuing time. There are some rides that FOLP does not work on. Try and aim for those very first thing in early opening and work out which park will be best for you on the first day that you go. If you are only there for one night make sure you check in very early so that you can get there for early opening (and there is normally a bit of a queue and often a slightly earlier than expected gate opening) and aim for the non-FOLP rides first before the queues build up. There are loads of threads on here about FOLP and how it works and how to check into the various hotels etc - have a quick search and see what the most recent info is. Depending when you go in August it can save you a significant amount of time queuing, or just a reasonable amount of time queuing. It is worth it for us. Edited at 10:57 PM.