Universal Express Pass

[britlightyear]

We will be visiting Universal Studios and IOA for 1 day the last week of January during our Disney vacation and I am trying to figure out if spending about $75 for the 2 park express passes for the 3 of us makes sense?
We are hoping to have time to visit both parks in one day.
Can anyone tell me what the lines will be like at the end of January? I know the Harry Potter area will be pretty busy but we will probably head there first. Also I have heard that in the slow months US can sometimes close as early as 5pm so that would give us even less time. Any help or any touring tips would be great since the last time I was at Universal was before IOA was even built! :wave:

 

[Skip]

If you're attempting to hit both parks on a January day (which will have significantly shorter operating hours, like you've noted), then yes, I think an express pass set would be a good idea. Head to Potter & Rockit as early as possible as those are the only two attractions that do not include Express.

Have a great trip!

 

[JillC LI]

We will be visiting Universal Studios and IOA for 1 day the last week of January during our Disney vacation and I am trying to figure out if spending about $75 for the 2 park express passes for the 3 of us makes sense?
We are hoping to have time to visit both parks in one day.
Can anyone tell me what the lines will be like at the end of January? I know the Harry Potter area will be pretty busy but we will probably head there first. Also I have heard that in the slow months US can sometimes close as early as 5pm so that would give us even less time. Any help or any touring tips would be great since the last time I was at Universal was before IOA was even built! :wave:

We were there for one day in October pre-Potter and had no trouble doing almost everything at US and IoA by park closure at 6pm without the Express Passes. But I would think that things might have changed due to Potter now. Why don't you check their web site for park closure hours. January is probably posted by now. That might give you a better idea with your planning. Also, keep in mind you may not want to hit all the water rides in January, so that would save you some time. Another thought is that you can buy the Express Passes at the park if it seems like a particularly crowded day.

 

[Exblink182]

I would say that I would not recommend it to be honest... We went in Sept of this year for just one day and pretty much got to do everything with little to no wait... Since express pass doesnt work for harry potter not much need for it... We went straight to potter once the park opened and it was pretty much walk on... We were kinda glad when we did it again later that afternoon and had like an hour + wait just so we could get to look at everything in the queue

 

[Bravo 229]

I went to IOA a month ago and the only lines we encountered all day were for everything in the Wizarding World, save for Deuling Dragons, which was 5 minutes on both Fire and Ice. The rest of the lines in the park were posted at 10 to 15 minutes, but we walked right on most of them. It really comes down to how large the crowds are on the day you are there, but I would say they aren't necessary.

 

[lilclerk]

Yeah I wouldn't get it. I've been to US/IOA a few times during slow season and have easily knocked out everything I wanted to do in both parks in the same day, and had time to get to the early Blue Man Group show. Now, this was before HP opened, but if you do that first and get there early, it shouldn't be a problem.
You can also wait until you get there, see how crowded it is, and purchase the express passes there if necessary.