The EPs at VB let you skip the line only ONCE. Does not seem worth the price. Your thoughts?
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If you get it early and cheap I think the cheaper EP is worth it, but not necessary if you arrive early and knock out Krakatau Aqua Coaster during Early Entry or the first hour the park is open.
If you are definitely going to do the 3 flush slides, having the more expensive EP is worth it. But that’s a personal preference.
In any case, if you purchase EP in advance, I wouldn’t bother setting it up until about an hour after park open (you have to go to Concierge to have it linked to your Tapu Tapu). Ride everything with a “Ride Now”, including the Aqua Coaster, first.
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We found that the hour early entry for Universal hotel guests was enough time for us to ride the heavy hitters multiple times.
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What time should we be in line at VB for early entry?!Staying at HRH ty
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I used @darkmite2 trick of walking from Hard Rock thru Citywalk & taking a Cabana Bay bus to use their Volcano Bay entrance. We left a little after 7 am & arrived about 7:30 ish to Volcano Bay. Waited in line for a bit, they let us into security around 7:45 and into the park right at 8 am.
We dropped our towels & used our Safego portable safe for cell phones/valuables at our chairs. Immediately walked to the rides we wanted.
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That’s how you do VB like a pro!
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I was taught by the best! 
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I will need to force my teens out of bed early then it seems. They sleep until 11!
When do the lines start building up to 4 hour waits for aquacoaster usually? If we get there at noon im guess ing we are in trouble.
I would buy EP for VB only if you could skip line more than once. Otherwise it’s a waste of money.
It was for us. We had also rented a cabana which took forever to secure even though we rope dropped from Cabana Bay. And then the very first slide (ohno) hubby lost his band and they refused to let him ride anything without it. Another 30 min down the drain replacing it. So what the EP did for us was gave us peace of mind from having to rush to stuff and we were able to do the park in a clockwise circle instead of bouncing back and forth based on wait times. So to each his own as for me that peace of mind of we’re gonna get to ride everything at least once with very little line without having to make a plan or worry when something wrong is worth it to me.
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Typically, within two hours after park opening you’ll see a sharp increase in the wait for Krakatau that will only keep going up.
I don’t buy Express Pass (UXP) for the other parks, but I have done it here. It was a lifesaver! The way the queue entry system, Tapu Tapu, works can really limit what can be done on busy days without UXP. Plus, there’s enough to do that doing everything once will fill a day!
I go to VB as much as I can. If you are considering buying the UXP it’s best to do it as soon as possible. The price goes up based on demand / expected attendance. Unfortunately, this means you might pick a rainy day if you buy too soon. It’s an awkward situation. When I bought it, I saved $100 per person buy getting it a month in advance for a specific date. I was really praying to keep the rain away! Thankfully, it worked out. VB was packed and we did everything with minimal / no waits
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Universal first timer, so please bear with my ignorance. If I get the UXP for my entire party (8 people), and only 4 of us are gonna ride Krakatau, can we swap bands and ride twice?
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Yep! They have no ID on them or anything
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Will they let us ride aquacoaster etc if we are in line 5 min before park closes?Assume its like Hagrids where best time to ride is at end?
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That seems like it would take forever lol…?
I meant to reply to the post re the shortcut thru cabana and city walk
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Just to confirm what @darkmite2, we did this last month for both Krakatau and one of the tube slides with no issue.
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It’s not faster but you can get there earlier before the buses start running to VB.
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Not from Hard Rock, it isn’t. I can’t imagine doing it from any of the other deluxes, though. We had a five minute walk to Citywalk & then going to the bus terminal. The Hard Rock bus to VB also goes to both Portofino & Hard Rock & then onto the resort entrance for Volcano Bay, so it takes a bit of time.
The bus also drops you off at the main entrance to VB for all the resorts. That entrance is much busier than the one from cabana bay.
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For our UOR trip next week I have opted to make as few solid plans/reservations as possible in order to go with the flow as needed for the weather etc. For the main parks this is lovely but I am slightly agonizing over our VB day(s?) plans. I am putting a comical amount of mental energy into visualizing our entry, stuff plop and early rides.
The CB alternate entry gives me a whole other set of scenarios to mull over so thanks but also yikes for that lol.
In the past, we have done cabanas/pre purchased express passes and lucked out on the weather but now I am trying giving a kamikaze run a go especially since I really don’t feel like it is worth the big spend for our small party this time around. I think that having a last minute express pass purchase as a back up plan if we get there and bungle the early entry/hit a packed day is important for my sanity more than anything. If it turns out to sell out that day then so be it.
Amusingly, as soon as I’d really convinced myself that it would be great to save so much on not doing any upcharges, I received a survey about a new extra $$$ tier of cabanas. The big highlights to me were a dedicated, private entrance and personal concierge access thus eliminating making the early rush to that hut and having at least one martyr for the family miss the early entry time. I can’t help but feel like they knew about my attempt at economizing and are coming at me hard next time!
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More VB questions pls help! Going with teens next month. We will have VB express passes but plan to arrive one day after 3pm to use them. My concern is this: I’ve read where some rides esp aquacoaster are FULL towards the time we are planning on going. If we have express passes though will they let us on even if it’s full? I hope that being full thing only applies to those trying to get into it with Tapu Tapu!
Pls help ty
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