Current Events > Has anyone here been to Universal Studios Orlando at Christmas?

(+) Yeah! (+)

GF and I are going on vacation there next week, and we're doing one day both parks at Universal on Christmas Eve. I'm debating on getting the Express Pass to make the line waiting easier, but they're also $80 each. If anyone has any experience, do you think we'd be able to get on most rides without the Express Pass?

Express pass is a must especially on Christmas.
I went back in august of 2018 and that was packed.

ShineboxPhil posted...

Express pass is a must especially on Christmas.
I went back in august of 2018 and that was packed.

Damn, not super unexpected but I was hoping not to shell out that extra. I also just checked again and the $80 was for one park, $100 for both.

GF and I went in October. We did two parks over two days and didnt get express pass. I dont think we really needed it. We did all the stuff we wanted to do and hit most of the rides, including all of the big ones.

If you are doing both parks on one day, you need to look up what rides/attractions you want to make sure you hit. Some have huge lines no matter what time of day (talking 2+ hours) and we saw plenty of long express pass lines too. I dont think one day is enough to do everything in both parks on a packed day, but maybe express pass makes the difference.

Yeah, it was so much better than Disney World.
Kind of stinks you have to go to Florida, but I was able to find enjoyment nonetheless.

The_Yahtz09 posted...

GF and I went in October. We did two parks over two days and didnt get express pass. I dont think we really needed it. We did all the stuff we wanted to do and hit most of the rides, including all of the big ones.

If you are doing both parks on one day, you need to look up what rides/attractions you want to make sure you hit. Some have huge lines no matter what time of day (talking 2+ hours) and we saw plenty of long express pass lines too. I dont think one day is enough to do everything in both parks on a packed day, but maybe express pass makes the difference.

Yeah, I've been looking at the rides a bit. We'll definitely want to do the Harry Potter ones and the Jurassic Park ones, and those will all probably be really busy. I like The Simpsons Ride, but I've done it a couple times and the line was always super long, so I might skip it if we don't have time.

Lol, it ain't gonna be $80. They trick you by making you think it's reasonable but when you put it in your cart it'll be like $300.

I spent $1000 for 2 tix and 2 express passes for one day this summer. Insane, but still worth it to ride every ride. Otherwise you'll be in line for hours.

lilORANG posted...

Lol, it ain't gonna be $80. They trick you by making you think it's reasonable but when you put it in your cart it'll be like $300.

I spent $1000 for 2 tix and 2 express passes for one day this summer. Insane, but still worth it to ride every ride. Otherwise you'll be in line for hours.

Lol, yeah, I realized that when I looked deeper into it. I can deal with long lines, it's mostly just fear of missing out. I'll have to just make a priority list to make sure we hit the rides we really want to.

Funcoot posted...

GF and I are going on vacation there next week, and we're doing one day both parks at Universal on Christmas Eve. I'm debating on getting the Express Pass to make the line waiting easier, but they're also $80 each. If anyone has any experience, do you think we'd be able to get on most rides without the Express Pass?

The parks are going to hit capacity that day.

The most popular rides will have waits between 2 and 4 hours most likely. You arent going to be able to ride much. Bring your own food or you will waste tons of time getting food. Get to the park 45 minutes before opening. If you are not staying at their hotels, you will also get in to lines already existing line because hotel guests get in early.

Cuticrusader09 posted...

The parks are going to hit capacity that day.

The most popular rides will have waits between 2 and 4 hours most likely. You arent going to be able to ride much. Bring your own food or you will waste tons of time getting food. Get to the park 45 minutes before opening. If you are not staying at their hotels, you will also get in to lines already existing line because hotel guests get in early.

Do you think it'll be like that the whole week? We could switch our tickets to Tuesday the 20th, but that's when we fly in. Flight doesn't land until 8:30, so with travel time we may not get to the park until 10-11, and the park closes at 8 (9 for Islands of Adventure), as opposed to 10 on Christmas Eve. I figure since we'd be able to arrive before opening on Christmas Eve, and stay later, we're probably better off sticking to that day.

Going to any theme park between Christmas and New Years is going to be packed to the gills. If you must do anything then definitely do Velocicoaster and Hagrid's first because those are going to fill up the fastest. If you can get those done early then you can visit the other parts of the park and possibly see more.

NinjaWarrior455 posted...

Going to any theme park between Christmas and New Years is going to be packed to the gills. If you must do anything then definitely do Velocicoaster and Hagrid's first because those are going to fill up the fastest. If you can get those done early then you can visit the other parts of the park and possibly see more.

That's what I was thinking, just looking at wait times right now Hagrid's is the longest, then Velocicoaster and Escape from Gringotts. Nothing else is too bad, but obviously it'll be much worse next week.

I personally think Escape from Gringotts isn't worth the wait unless you're a real big Potterhead. It's your typical dark ride and doesn't have anything particularly thrilling.

Agreed that the Gringotts ride isn't a must-see. I got right in bc Express pass but if I waited around for an hour or longer I'd be really disappointed.

Hagrid and Velocicoaster are both fantastic tho.

How's the Fast and Furious ride? It's new since last time we visited, and while I enjoy the movies (the ones I've seen so far), I'm not like a super fan or anything.

Funcoot posted...

Do you think it'll be like that the whole week? We could switch our tickets to Tuesday the 20th, but that's when we fly in. Flight doesn't land until 8:30, so with travel time we may not get to the park until 10-11, and the park closes at 8 (9 for Islands of Adventure), as opposed to 10 on Christmas Eve. I figure since we'd be able to arrive before opening on Christmas Eve, and stay later, we're probably better off sticking to that day.

if you cant get there at park opening, dont bother changing the day. Just be prepared for not getting on many rides. Standby waiting is pretty much second class citizens because they let express pass people pretty much cut the line.

Arriving before opening on Christmas Eve helps a little, but since Universal hotel guests get to enter the parks an hour before general visitors you will be entering to the popular rides probably already having long lines.

Funcoot posted...

How's the Fast and Furious ride? It's new since last time we visited, and while I enjoy the movies (the ones I've seen so far), I'm not like a super fan or anything.

If you wait for than 15 minutes then it's not worth it. The "ride" is basically just a movie projected on two walls around you while the vehicle makes some jerking motions.

No. You won't.

You won't even be able to see most things in 1 of the parks let alone both of them in 1 day.

I live in Orlando and my sister works for Disney. So I spend a lot of time at the parks. If anyone in your family has any sort of disability, you can usually get a disability pass that will let you into the express lanes. You'll just need to set a time ahead of time for each ride I think.

Funcoot posted...

GF and I are going on vacation there next week, and we're doing one day both parks at Universal on Christmas Eve. I'm debating on getting the Express Pass to make the line waiting easier, but they're also $80 each. If anyone has any experience, do you think we'd be able to get on most rides without the Express Pass?

If you're on vacation and you stay at one of the 3 hotels they give you a free Express pass for the duration of your stay. So if you check in the 27th and check out the 28th you'd each get complimentary express passes for those 2 days.

NinjaWarrior455 posted...

If you wait for than 15 minutes then it's not worth it. The "ride" is basically just a movie projected on two walls around you while the vehicle makes some jerking motions.

Agreed. Its an awful ride. I got to walk right in and still felt like it was a waste of time, and I enjoy all the movies. It would definitely be a skip for me.

Agree with Gringotts not being worth the wait. Its fine, but nothing special. Velociraptor and Hagrid are. The Hulk ride is another standout for me.

Apodyopsist posted...

If you're on vacation and you stay at one of the 3 hotels they give you a free Express pass for the duration of your stay. So if you check in the 27th and check out the 28th you'd each get complimentary express passes for those 2 days.

We're doing Disney as well, and that's the more major part of our stay (5 days in the parks), so we already have a Disney hotel booked. Probably could have given the trip a little more thought given the holidays, but at least we'll be better prepared next time.

The_Yahtz09 posted...

Agreed. Its an awful ride. I got to walk right in and still felt like it was a waste of time, and I enjoy all the movies. It would definitely be a skip for me.

Agree with Gringotts not being worth the wait. Its fine, but nothing special. Velociraptor and Hagrid are. The Hulk ride is another standout for me.

I'm debating on the Hulk coaster. It was closed last time we went, but it also might be too intense for me. Even Velocicoaster might be pushing that aspect, but I'm more interested in that one.

And thanks for all the helpful answers, everyone. I'll try to hit all the rides I want to, but if I can't hit them all, oh well. We'll probably go to Universal Hollywood in Spring anyway for Nintendo World.