Express passes needed end aug/early sept?

[Srbj]

We’ve booked to do Disney 6 nites All stars Music then onto Royal Pacific resort for a 3 nite stay (been before and loved the hotel) to do Universal early sept but tbh is there a need to stay there for the express passes? With Disney genie etc, trying to pinch in a few more purses strings and rejig a few plans so my question is are the parks usually fairly quiet that time of year? I’m thinking maybe a 2 bed suite at the endless summer resort? (It’s half the price of RPR!) what are the die hard Universal fans thoughts?

[Squidgyness]

Hmm. We've been early September (as in from about the 4th) and I would say that they might not be needed but they absolutely come in handy.

Posted about this before, but in 2018 we got on Mummy ride without a wait (just the time to walk to the loading dock) which was amazing. Kong was cut from 45 minutes to about 15 mins. Simpsons ride as another example, cut from 30+ mins to more like 10, which we especially loved as that line always seems to beat us down with the heat.

I'd say from a purely express point of view you don't *need* them, but you absolutely can still benefit from them. However, I would also point out that RPR is such a step up from Endless summer in almost every respect except space in the room. Endless summer has the space and the price, but RPR has fantastic theming and a great vibe.

Tough to say really, if this were your first time I'd say you may not know what you are missing but I personally having experienced RPR twice now would struggle to downgrade. I'd feel it would cheapen the experience and I remember the experience of Orlando trips more than the cost, but I suppose without knowing your financial circumstances it might be more attractive to save the money.

[tow]

May not be needed - depends on your aversion to queues. For us it makes the whole experience much more enjoyable. You get early entry so can knock off the big queue rides, can come back to the hotel for a nice lunch by the pool and cool off and go back later for more. We are all about Universal but 3 days would give you 4 days of express access so if you are looking to trim a bit why not just do 2 night RPR and that gives you 3 days in Universal with Express. I know people that do 1 night there, turn up at 7am and leave bags, get room keys and do 2 manic days at Universal.

[sha9]

Should be ok if you avoid Labour Day weekend. We’ve stayed at RPR over that weekend before and even with Express passes some rides had long waits. Actual Labour Day was ok though, I think lots of people head home on the Monday.

[Claudette]

I also struggle a bit to answer whether they are “needed” or not. Technically no they are not needed, but if it saves even twenty minutes on each of six rides, well that is two hours back to do more interesting things that stand in a queue, even when the standby line doesn’t sound that bad. Personally, we would never be without them and we never go in school holidays or other busy times.