1st time at UOR: Is Universal Express worth it?

yup the 6yo eliminates single rider for you so more worth it. :slight_smile:

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Honestly, it’s not required like FP is. If you’re willing to be at the park 45 minutes prior to open, follow a touring plan, and stay to park closing then you’ll be able to see and ride everything.

That being said, Express Pass is a GREAT luxury to have and really makes the vacation more relaxed.

I say price out a WDW hotel w/ EP and price out Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, and/or Portofino and compare the differences in price. It might be worth your time to do a split stay where you hop hotels.

Pro Tip: Resort Unlimited Express is good on your check-in AND check-out date, so if you stay one night you’ll have Express for two days (if you stay two nights you’ll have it for three days, etc).

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You’ll enjoy the short walk/boat ride back to the resort as well. I prefer the Universal Florida/Disneyland California style of everything being in walking distance and only two parks which is controversial I’m sure. With the cost of Universal Deluxe hotels being so much more affordable alone than WDW Deluxe plus the benefits it’s a no-brainer for me every time it’s available.

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Also, I had a friend who was able to once book Portofino on a discount site for a significant discount discount but I can’t remember the deal. Any hotel guest gets the universal express so you do not have to book as a package so check discount sites too.

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Oh! I read it as April 21st! Yes, the last week is only NH around here.

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This is absolutely correct!

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One main thing to take into account…Express Pass is good for check in and check out day…I believe it is possible to just get 1 night at one of the qualifying hotels and get 2 days worth of Express Pass…It’s 100% worth paying the difference between the lower tier hotel and the higher tier (I think it’s about $200 per night more on average) since you would get the “value” of almost 5x that

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I like to call that math “Express Pass People Days.” If Cabana bay is 89 a night, and Royal Pacific is 169 a night, (annual pass holder prices), and I am staying for three days with two people per room, it works out to (169-89)*3nights/4park days/2 people per room , which is $30 plus tax per person per day for an express pass.
I have spreadsheets that do the math for me.
Totally worth it.

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With a family of five, I don’t even bother with the math. It always works out. And when it’s just my sister and I, well, how often do we actually vacation anyway? :heavy_check_mark: Justified! :rofl:

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When I am the one paying for the entire trip of a family of five (sis and 3 kids), and we need two rooms due to personalities, I do the math and make sure its worth it.

With two rooms, that’s a whole other story! Plus, if you’re like me, making it all work out in the end and seeing the numbers come together makes me feel all the better. We stay in one room, so I did the math once and knew for us it would always work. (Except, maybe, perhaps during a holiday or something.) It made me happy!

For the trip of 5, we did have one room the final night, a Jurassic World suite. I am glad I splurged on two rooms for the previous two nights.
My coming trip, which has the math example I put above, its me, MIL, SIL, and DH. Sharing a room with the four us would be difficult. And with 4 adults, the extra adult cost per night adds up a lot.

I’m either a party of 2 or 3 max. So, that’s why I’m always a “wait & see when I get there” person. For smaller families it can still be a savings IF you were going to buy it anyway. However, if you go and waits are low you paid an extra $100+ per night when it’s not necessary. I’ve never actually bought an UXP as I don’t go in the summer or holidays.

With my concerns about Disney crowds next year I am, more than ever, leaning to getting a Universal AP and going about every other month for long weekends. (I’m really anxious that if Disney goes back to normal it’s going to be flooded with people who skipped 2020 plus guests going for the 50th and others just going for a “normal” vacation)

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Yeah, I would be doing math for a party of two or three if I was on the fence about it. When my sister and I go, we will often just delay our trip to save up more money to be able to splurge on the EP. I feel like once I went with it, it’s tough to go back to going without. But if the choice was go without or don’t go at all, I would most definitely make it work without!

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I got addicted to Express Passes early December last year even with the super low crowd levels. Because I go 2-4 days in early December and February, (I had a may trip last year that got canceled) I just splurge get the passes anyway. My DH doesn’t really do rides, but because I would get the EP anyway, for us, it is worth the extra $90 per room per night to get the passes and stay at RPR. Then he waits in line with me and takes the exit before the ride. Also, I love the water taxis and where you are let off compared to the security hub when taking busses from CBBR.

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Yes, 4 adults in a room definitely makes a difference, both financially and space-wise!

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Spring break season had typically started the 2nd week of March and ran into mid April. I’m not familiar with a “spring break week”. I know they used to have month long Mardi Gras events.

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So it’s good on check-in day and that helps… I think.
Checking out from Poly and then Uber over to the new resort, I expect I’d have a pretty late start on the first park no matter what but could I check-in early, leave my luggage at the concierge and head off to IOA before noon?

Have they let you have 4 adults in the room? I haven’t been able to get a clear answer on whether that is allowed.

According to the booking website, Two Queen rooms that allow for a rollaway can have 5 adults. However, each adult has an extra charge depending on the hotel level.

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