VIP Ticket and other questions

[CarlFredricksen]

Has anyone ever used this before? How was your experience?

We are planning a trip to WDW in May, and would like to take 1 day to do as much as possible at Universal, and thought the VIP ticket would be the way to go. I know it's big $$, however is it worth it?

How long is a usual wait in the Express Plus line? Walk on? 5m? 10m? I know they advertise the wait will be at most half the standby line, but what is it on average?

Also, since the VIP ticket doesn't work on HP or Rip Rocket, how long are normal lines for these attractions? The plan would be to get to HP right at 9am park opening, so I assume the wait is shortest then. Is this a safe assumption, or will there already be a big line since Universal guests get in at 8am? What lines can I expect for Rip Rocket?

Thanks!

 

[crazydaveh]

I have done the VIP tour twice and I believe it's well worth the money. We did both parks in about five hours while taking our time from attraction to attraction and even riding twice on some of the rides (we did have to get off the ride and get back on, but didn't have to walk the entire que).

As for waits, we entered through the "VIP" door as the guide called it and waited no more than five minutes at any attraction.

I do believe that Potter and Rockit are a part of the VIP experience. I'm sure everyone on the board will be quick at telling me if I'm wrong, but I have seen people in line with the VIP badges.

The best part of the tour is you get to go at your pace and do what you want. The guide tells you a bunch of cool back stories and facts about the attractions and areas while you're walking from ride to ride.

The cool thing, after the tour is officially "over," you can use your VIP badge as an Express Pass for the rest of that day, though Potter and Rockit are NOT included in that. The average Express Pass wait is about 5-10 minutes, depending on the ride.

Plan for a standby line for Potter of 45-60 minutes and maybe 45 for Rockit. Mornings are the best, but so is late at night right before the park closes for Potter.

 

[timeman]

The VIP Ticket and the VIP Tour are two totally different things. The VIP Ticket is an Express Pass that is good for both parks for however many days you have on your park ticket. The more days you have the more it costs. It is expensive and doesn't include the Forbidden Journey or HRRR coaster. That ticket for one day will run you between $160 - $180 depending on when you go. If you are only going for one day I would recommend the VIP Tour.

The VIP Tour will run you either $150 for the one park tour which runs around 5 hours or the two park tour which runs $185 and last around 8 hours. The tour guide takes you to each ride and there is no waits for the rides. Like the previous poster said after the tour is over with you can use the VIP Lanyard as an Express Pass for rides that accept the Express Pass unlimited times. You also get select discounts on Food & Merchandise. If you are planning on only going one day than I would recommend this as you will see more and not feel rushed. You can contact Universal with any questions about the tour and they will answer them. If you do the tour I would recommend asking for the tour guide I had as he was great. His name was Joe and all you have to do is ask for Joe the Translator and they will know who you are talking about. There will be no more than 12 people in your tour group and as few as you, depending on how many people have booked the tour for that day. The tour starts at 10am you do have to have tickets to the parks as they are not included in the tour price. They ask for you to check in no later than 15 minutes before 10am. Here is a link to their site with the tours listed and cost along with the email address you can contact them about any tour questions.

VIP Tours

 

[CarlFredricksen]

I was referring to the actual ticket, not the tour. The tour would cost about $450 more for our group since the $185 doesn't include the admission ticket.

Is the Express Plus line usually a walk on?