Universal during Christmas Break

Hi :slight_smile:

I’ll be visiting Uni and IOA on Dec 28th and 29th and I’ll be staying at Royal Pacific so I’ll have the express pass for both days.
To anyone who has been in the same period and with express: how were your waits in the express lines? Short (10-15 minutes) or also longer (like 30-45) for some attractions? Is there some attraction I should do in the morning (or in the evening) to have less wait in the express line?

And another question on the hotel. Do they have a cafè or something where you can take brekafast on the go?

Thank you! :slight_smile:

I can’t answer your question about holiday crowds, but just returned from a stay at Royal Pacific. The Sushi Bar has a (non-sushi) continental breakfast buffet for grab and go. You can read some reviews on TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34515-d6427138-Reviews-Orchid_Court_Lounge_Sushi_Bar-Orlando_Florida.html
This bar was our favorite for before and after dinner drinks as well!

Thank you :smiley:

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I worked there several years during that time of year.

It’s busy. In fact the busiest week of the year. They do their best to keep the express times down, but that week they do get long on the more popular rides. If the express line gets too long they have closed it temporarily, so be flexible in your plans.

This is the first I have heard of this. We will be in the parks 1/2-5 with express, and are used to going during crowded times (spring break and Thanksgiving). This is our first trip over the Christmas holidays though. Does it happen often, shutting down the express lines? I would think they would shut down the standby line until express has cleared, that is what they do at WDW with FPP, so I just assumed it would be the same at Universal.

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Thanks for the heads up!
We will be staying both days from open to close, so even if an express line is momentarily closed or too long we can still come back later without much issues. Do Team Members advise you of how long is the express line?

If you ask the team members will take their best guess. Judging wait times for express is hard though because the lines are so short most of the year it’s hard to get a baseline. Also the grouper adjusts the ratio of express to regular.

For closing express it’s basically when they run out of space in the queue. They don’t want to clog the street with guests. The closure is usually 10 mins tops. And it’s not that frequent during the holiday season (only time I’ve seen it have to be done).

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we were there in 2017 from 12/24-12/27 at Gringotts and the castle ride along with spiderman the longest but around 30 max. we did utilize early entry. Hint do not do castle ride in early because people without express go there first. Do this ride around 9 assuming the parks open at 7. We are rope drop families so left the room around 6:15. We cast spells first and then did the rides. we did switch parks during the day. We honestly wouldn’t do rides over a 30 minute wait. Have fun its great at Christmas

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Thank you! :smiley:
I hope it will be the same, i don’t mind waiting 30 minutes for the bigger attractions, with all the people around it is ok if the other attractions are almost a walk on with the express.
Now if only i can find how to ride hagrid with minimal waits :laughing:

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