Clarification of "Unlimited express pass" benefit of staying in luxury on-site hotel

[Joseph19672]

Howdy all. I have a question about the "unlimited express pass" benefit that you get along with staying in a luxury on-site hotel.

I booked a hotel for several days in late July with my family, and on the website when booking the rooms, it describes the unlimited express pass benefit as being:

" FREE^ Universal Express℠ Unlimited ride access to SKIP THE REGULAR LINES in both theme parks all day, a benefit worth up to $89** per person, per day (valid theme park admission required)."

The ** refers to the following text in "Terms and conditions":
"**Based on seasonal peak pricing for the Universal ExpressSM Unlimited pass"

However when I look to purchase an unlimited express pass (2-park), in fact they cost $130 at this time. ($129.99 which I prefer to cite as $130) If "seasonal peak pricing" means right now, then express passes are going for up to $115 which is still more than $89.

I looked fwd 1 calendar year in the online express pass purchase option and there is no month of the year in which the highest price of the pass is $89. Closes was september, where highest price was $100. (=$99)

Is there something I'm missing? Are they in fact a value of up to $130, or whatever the maximum price is? Or are they limited in some respect, and thus actually worth only up to $89?

Im just concerned as I am calculating the cost of avoiding having to buy express passes into the budget to justify the Universal on-site hotel and this language makes me feel like there's going to be some last-minute gotcha... otherwise why wouldn't they say a value of "up to $130" or "up to $140", whatever the maximum "up to" price is?

Thanks for any help.

Joe

 

[TubaGeek]

I am PRETTY DARN SURE you get the passes, regardless of price, for the regular day (so it wouldn't work for the HHN event). For absolute certainty, though, I'd call Uni to check.

 

[JoeCamel]

You get the express passes regardless of cost that day for one. They tend to underpromise and overdeliver. No gotcha here, they just do what they say.

 

[danpam1024]

You get them. Period. And they are park-to-park absolutely unlimited. The only time we have paid for EP was HHN (worth every penny). Enjoy your trip!

 

[flynnibus]

Your price checking is probably off because of comparing different options of the express pass. They offer and unlimited one that is more difficult to find in the number of offerings. The passage to get with the hotel stay is the true park to park on the minute one meaning you can use. You can use them multiple times at the same attraction without limitation.

You also get the pass for the day you check in and the day you check out. So a one night stay actually gets two days worth of passes. Make sure you get your passes at the hotel before going to the park for the day on arrival day

 

[fosse76]

Unless you are single and planning to stay off-site at a Days Inn, then it will be cheaper to stay on-site than to stay off-site and purchase the passes. Everyone registered to the room will get the Express Passes. Keep in mind, the Express Passes will be valid on both check-in and check-out days. When I do the math, staying off-site never seems to work in my favor for a cheaper room (assuming I plan on buying the Express Pass). Even with off-season pricing and I always use the price point for the cheapest Express Pass and it almost always works out to be cheaper for me to stay on-site (as a solo traveller with an AP discount).

 

[Joseph19672]

Thanks all! That's what I suspected!

Yes when you factor in the price of the express passes, staying on-site becomes the obvious choice.

 

[Mouse_Trap]

Thanks all! That's what I suspected!

Yes when you factor in the price of the express passes, staying on-site becomes the obvious choice.

It does. However, if you were going in a quiet period, I would question the need to buy an express pass.

For 'free', sure I'd not turn it down, but paying like even $60 each when the rides have waits of just a few minutes each; I don't think so.

 

[JediMasterMatt]

It does. However, if you were going in a quiet period, I would question the need to buy an express pass.

For 'free', sure I'd not turn it down, but paying like even $60 each when the rides have waits of just a few minutes each; I don't think so.

Time is the most valuable and precious commodity while on vacation. Nothing else compares to it. Anything that can reduce the amount of time you are not getting the most out of your vacation is being wasted.

Even on days when the Universal parks are slow, Express Pass is always faster than the normal line.

We've now visited Universal during the offseason on some of the slowest days imaginable and have recently returned from seeing it at full summer season peak. Express Pass provides value under both scenarios. The only debate is how much and what's it worth to you as a guest.

During offseason times, lower capacity attractions still have waits and you can use Express as virtual walk on to those rides. Even if a wait is only like 20 minutes for standby during the offseason, those are still 20 minutes of your time that can be used elsewhere and during the offseason, you have reduced operating hours to cope with.

During peak season, I can't imagine a Universal trip without Express Pass. Evaporating hour long waits into a few minutes is an absolute game changer.

When it comes to determining the value... Unlimited Express is a no brainer if you are needing to stay somewhere in the Orlando area. When you factor in the cost of a night's stay and the value of 2 days worth of Unlimited Express and early entry - you can't find a better value proposition anywhere.

Time is always being eaten away while on vacation and time equals your money. Put the power of using the time you're sleeping to use and invest in staying at a Uni deluxe resort at least 1 night for every 2 days you visit Universal. It's the best purchase you can make in Orlando these days.

 

[Mouse_Trap]

Time is the most valuable and precious commodity while on vacation. Nothing else compares to it. Anything that can reduce the amount of time you are not getting the most out of your vacation is being wasted.

Even on days when the Universal parks are slow, Express Pass is always faster than the normal line.

We've now visited Universal during the offseason on some of the slowest days imaginable and have recently returned from seeing it at full summer season peak. Express Pass provides value under both scenarios. The only debate is how much and what's it worth to you as a guest.

During offseason times, lower capacity attractions still have waits and you can use Express as virtual walk on to those rides. Even if a wait is only like 20 minutes for standby during the offseason, those are still 20 minutes of your time that can be used elsewhere and during the offseason, you have reduced operating hours to cope with.

During peak season, I can't imagine a Universal trip without Express Pass. Evaporating hour long waits into a few minutes is an absolute game changer.

When it comes to determining the value... Unlimited Express is a no brainer if you are needing to stay somewhere in the Orlando area. When you factor in the cost of a night's stay and the value of 2 days worth of Unlimited Express and early entry - you can't find a better value proposition anywhere.

Time is always being eaten away while on vacation and time equals your money. Put the power of using the time you're sleeping to use and invest in staying at a Uni deluxe resort at least 1 night for every 2 days you visit Universal. It's the best purchase you can make in Orlando these days.

Sorry, I don't fully agree.

Maybe I'm the odd one out here, but I don't find the need to do attractions commando style in order to get the most out of a vacation.

Not all time spent in lines is wasted, in fact some of my best memories from Orlando vacations are in lines waiting - only when they're pretty short mind, I'm talking about 20 mins or so. It's part of the experience and heightens the experience. Running straight to the front just spoils the whole experience for me.

Paying $60+ per person, per day is off no value to me. When it's free that's nice, but it's not necessary to enjoy the park on all but the busiest of days.

In my experience, the only people who feel the need to pack in every minute of every day are trying to compensate for something else; maybe they don't spend enough timer with their family outside of a vacation...

 

[danpam1024]

Sorry, I don't fully agree.

Maybe I'm the odd one out here, but I don't find the need to do attractions commando style in order to get the most out of a vacation.

Not all time spent in lines is wasted, in fact some of my best memories from Orlando vacations are in lines waiting - only when they're pretty short mind, I'm talking about 20 mins or so. It's part of the experience and heightens the experience. Running straight to the front just spoils the whole experience for me.

Paying $60+ per person, per day is off no value to me. When it's free that's nice, but it's not necessary to enjoy the park on all but the busiest of days.

In my experience, the only people who feel the need to pack in every minute of every day are trying to compensate for something else; maybe they don't spend enough timer with their family outside of a vacation...

it's really NOT "Commando style". It allows you to enjoy more of the non ride areas of the park because you're not waiting in line or rushing around to get it all in. Personally, I'd rather be sippin' a Duff Dry and eating a big pink in the beer gardens talking with the fam than waiting an hour for a ride. Some of our best memories come from people watching. But that's just us