October 2 day Universal- express or not?

[ittaiz]

Hi,
We're coming in October to Orlando and will have 2 full days (Mon/Tue) in Universal (rest in disney and rest) and am wondering if express passes are really needed in that time of the year and on a week day.
We are a dad + 2 kids (23/12) and we like rides a lot + harry potter fans + marvel.
First time in Universal and likely last for the foreseeable future since we're out of the states.
Ok with not doing everything.
Got many recommendations that the express isn't really needed but also got some other advice from pros that they are so looking to hear to get your thoughts

I know I can get them for free if we stay in the premier but we're strongly considering cabana bay for budget reasons so I'll only do premier if I decide I want express.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Hi,
We're coming in October to Orlando and will have 2 full days (Mon/Tue) in Universal (rest in disney and rest) and am wondering if express passes are really needed in that time of the year and on a week day.
We are a dad + 2 kids (23/12) and we like rides a lot + harry potter fans + marvel.
First time in Universal and likely last for the foreseeable future since we're out of the states.
Ok with not doing everything.
Got many recommendations that the express isn't really needed but also got some other advice from pros that they are so looking to hear to get your thoughts

I know I can get them for free if we stay in the premier but we're strongly considering cabana bay for budget reasons so I'll only do premier if I decide I want express.
Thanks in advance!

If you are buying park to park tickets, I would only buy one day of Express. Hit the high capacity rides and shows on the day without Express.

 

[trr1]

Hi,
We're coming in October to Orlando and will have 2 full days (Mon/Tue) in Universal (rest in disney and rest) and am wondering if express passes are really needed in that time of the year and on a week day.
We are a dad + 2 kids (23/12) and we like rides a lot + harry potter fans + marvel.
First time in Universal and likely last for the foreseeable future since we're out of the states.
Ok with not doing everything.
Got many recommendations that the express isn't really needed but also got some other advice from pros that they are so looking to hear to get your thoughts

I know I can get them for free if we stay in the premier but we're strongly considering cabana bay for budget reasons so I'll only do premier if I decide I want express.
Thanks in advance!

where are you staying

 

[ittaiz]

Sorry for the late reply, had connectivity issues for a few days

If you are buying park to park tickets, I would only buy one day of Express. Hit the high capacity rides and shows on the day without Express.

Thanks! Actually not planning (for now) on buying park to part tickets.
After diving into more and more details, lists and movies of IOA and the Studios I'm considering turning Universal into 3 days where the 3rd one will be park to park to enjoy the hogwarts express. Dependent on DW still for inputs...

where are you staying

Probably Cabana Bay

 

[GuyFawkes]

You only need park to park for the train. Is that worth the extra money???? I would say no. It's nice but it takes a while to get on and off. It's an attraction not really for transportation between parks. BTW it's different in both directions, in others words it's two shows dependent on which way you go.

You may want to check out annual passes. The reason is an annual pass is a park to park ticket. 3 days of park to park tickets will cost you more than a annual pass, period. Express passes will cost even more.

With AP's you can get really good discounts on rooms so what I do is book a room at one of Universals high end hotels that include express passes. That is hit or miss with pricing and availability. That's the downside, in my case I live about 4 1/2 hours driving to Universal so I'm flexible and can take advantage of low room rates. Portofino is my favorite hotel in Orlando. With 4 people, trust me run the numbers. AP's at Universal are cheap...

 

[GuyFawkes]

Oh, sorry didn't really answer your question. With 3 days at Universal, no need for express passes and for that matter you won't need them for 2 days. Some attraction are hard to get on any time of year. Hagrid's comes to mind and you want to go on that a few times. Closest you'll come to riding a motorcycle full out without the fear of death involved. LOL. Top 5 ride in Orlando for sure.

 

[ittaiz]

haha, thanks!
Re AP- We're actually traveling from Abroad so I think that's less relevant.
I'm thinking of taking 3 base park tickets and then upgrading only on the 3rd day to park to park. Without the express.
That will give us the lowest combo I think.
Re hogwarts express- I was set on passing on that one but my eldest is really keen on it...

 

[Figgy1]

You should be fine without EP with 3 days but you won't save money by upgrading the last day as opposed to just buying the hopper for all 3 days straight away. IMHO it's worth it to have the hopper in case one park gets a little busy, you decide you want to eat in the other park, hopping due to early closure for HNN and the train needs to be ridden each way as it's different both ways among other reasons

 

[JoeCamel]

You should be fine without EP with 3 days but you won't save money by upgrading the last day as opposed to just buying the hopper for all 3 days straight away. IMHO it's worth it to have the hopper in case one park gets a little busy, you decide you want to eat in the other park, hopping due to early closure for HNN and the train needs to be ridden each way as it's different both ways among other reasons

It adds flexibility ive found

 

[GuyFawkes]

haha, thanks!
Re AP- We're actually traveling from Abroad so I think that's less relevant.
I'm thinking of taking 3 base park tickets and then upgrading only on the 3rd day to park to park. Without the express.
That will give us the lowest combo I think.
Re hogwarts express- I was set on passing on that one but my eldest is really keen on it...

The Express train is for the young I think or the hard core fan. You say you are traveling from abroad which in my mind means you have been on a train before? In the US most people have never been on a train so part of the Express is simple being on what looks like a train. I don't want to say what all happens but it's not boring.

Funny part is the size of the cabins isn't right, they're small. The whole "train" is scaled down or at least that's what it feels like to me.

As far as the AP, just run the numbers, you might be surprised what is the best deal. Just looked it up and AP's have jumped $100 since the last time I bought them I think? https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/tickets-packages/annual-passes/promo#2-park-annual-passes

The AP thing might not work any more. The last seasonal passes I bought, the end of last summer were something like $1,200 for 4 of us, tax etc. included. The price has gone up......