Touring strategy with Express Pass . . . do I need one?

[iujen94]

My two sons (ages 12 and 15) and I are heading to Universal for 2 1/2 days in February. It's the Sunday evening/Monday/Tuesday of Presidents' Week, so I'm expecting the parks to be busy, busy. We're staying at HRH and thus getting the Express Pass. This will be our 3rd trip to Universal, so we've got a decent grasp of the park layouts and basics.

The biggest different in this trip versus our last trip is that all of the HP rides are now included in Express Pass. This wasn't the case before (and maybe Minions also didn't have EP?), so we made sure to hit those first thing. Now that (pretty much) everything has Express Pass, do I "need" a touring strategy? I'm guessing that Express Pass lines will get long on a busy holiday weekend, so does anyone have any suggestions on how to attack the parks to minimize those waits? We'll have park-to-park tickets, and my 15-year-old DS would very much like to avoid any early mornings if possible. Ideally (to him), we'd hit the parks starting around 10:30 or 11 each day. My boys will want lots of re-rides on things like the HP rides, Hulk and Rip Ride Rockit.

Thanks for any tips!

 

[skylock]

You have a 15 yo DH?

Early morning is probably best for avoiding longer lines but with EP just get there when you can.

No matter how crowded the park is, the EP line will be shorter than standby. If you think a line is too long, move on and come back later.

 

[macraven]

Think that is a typo and it is son (ds not dh)

But agree the hour of early entry is good for Potter as crowds and lines will only grow once park opens at 9:00

 

[skylock]

Yeah, I knew it was a typo. It just hit me as funny.

 

[iujen94]

Yeah, I knew it was a typo. It just hit me as funny.

Oops! I fixed it!

 

[cschaaf]

You should be able to do a good amount with a late arrival and EP. You'll do a lot more with an earlier arrival and EP, though. Take a look at the park hours - Universal closes earlier than most probably expect. If you won't be out late, it's easier to make mornings a bit more palatable.

I don't think a touring plan is necessary when you have EP, YMMV.

A few things to keep in mind. Minions builds a line very quickly. With a late entry, I'd peek at the EP time and make a game time decision. If it's too long, come back later.

The HP areas are probably best toured either very early in the morning or around closing. The areas are pretty tight and get crowded.

 

[nkereina]

We never set an alarm and sleep in when we have EP, getting to the parks whenever we get there. We have no touring plan and just go in order of the park riding what we want to. That said, we don't travel during the busiest times.

With 2.5 days over Presidents Week, I don't think you need a touring plan per se, but I would still get there around open-ish. I don't think you need to rush to get there or to take advantage of early entry, but the shortest waits will still be in the morning.

 

[bchbetha]

We never set an alarm and sleep in when we have EP, getting to the parks whenever we get there. We have no touring plan and just go in order of the park riding what we want to. That said, we don't travel during the busiest times.

With 2.5 days over Presidents Week, I don't think you need a touring plan per se, but I would still get there around open-ish. I don't think you need to rush to get there or to take advantage of early entry, but the shortest waits will still be in the morning.

I’d also recommend heading there in the AM because the parks tend to close really early in the winter. Might as well get a full day in- it’s not like the tickets are free (or discounted for the shorter hours)

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

If your sons don't want to do mornings then I'd plan to hit HP areas at night. We were there the Sat through Tues before Thanksgiving, so also pretty busy but didn't really notice it other than HP. The Hulk, RRR, and Minions can get long but we didn't wait more than 25-30 mins. If you can, try to hit those earlier in the day (before noon).

You don't 'need' a touring plan, but that said, we don't get as much done when we don't have one. We stand around deciding what everyone wants to do next or dealing with one kid wanting to ride again and the other 2 not, etc. We tend to miss shows or just catch them when we wander by because we aren't following a plan. But the time 'wasted' not moving forward is still less time than waiting in line would be. Its a more relaxed approach but for us, it can become too relaxed sometimes.