Crowd levels for original parks post Epic? Will Express be needed?

[ConV314]

Hey everyone,

I'm currently planning a trip to Orlando in early June with my friend. We are planning on being at Universal for two days, with one day being Epic (yay!!) and one day being UO/IOA. We got an express pass for Epic, which we are very glad we did, since we know crowds will be crazy. However, we were wondering if we would also need them for the OG parks? Will crowds be significantly lower at the OG parks since everyone is at Epic, or higher because of those multi-day packages? I know there's no way of knowing 100%, but just wanted to know everyones thoughts!

We would just buy the express pass now, but it's 250 and we already spent a bunch on tickets and the express pass for epic. (And yes, I do know there was a multi day express with epic, but buying the pass was a little chaotic since we were both at work haha ) Also, I don't want to buy the express pass for the OG parks, then get there and realize that everyone is at Epic so there was no need lol. I think my current plan is wait until Epic opens and buy an express pass based on the crowd levels then. It's my friends first time at Universal, so I definitely want to make it a good day for her!

 

[TheUniC6]

Both IOA and USF will probably be down attendance wise with EU sucking out all the oxygen out of the air, but to me USF will probably suffer the most due to it's somewhat uninspiring attraction lineup and the lack of a big new draw for a while now.

 

[rhino4evr]

As long as you get to the park early , you should be fine. I will say you probably won’t be able to do everything in both IOA and UOR in one day without express, and even with it. So I’d pick your must rides at each park.


The last time I did both parks in one day I did the following
IOA -
- Hagrid / Velocioaster / Journey
Train
- Gringotts / Lunch at Springfield / Rockit / Mummy
train (or walk if there is a crazy wait)
Hulk / Spider-Man / Doom / Dudley Do right /
Hotel for clean up. (On property)
Dinner at Mythos or City walk
Velocicoaster night ride .
That’s with express … during a busy weekend. It also skips a lot of rides … mostly out of personal tastes.

Where are you staying ? I would check the rates of the “free express” hotels and compare them to the cost of actually buying express. A lot of times it’s much cheaper. Assuming you are planning on staying at a decent resort.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Parks should be manageable (especially USF).

I recommend rope-dropping (if you have EPA) Hagrid > Velocicoaster > Forbidden Journey > anything else you want to prioritize at IOA before heading to USF.

Outside of Gringotts, USF's attractions thankfully have an average wait of 30-45, rare to see anything significantly over 45 on an average day.

Unless you're dead set on doing everything, I don't think Express is necessary.

 

[ConV314]

Thank you guys for your feedback!! Today I found out that the day my friend and I are planning to go (June 6) the park is gonna close early for a private event I'm a little annoyed because I checked the park hours before this and I could have sworn that it said the park was closing at 9. We aren't able to switch our days around since we bought dated Epic express passes for the other day, so we are stuck going on the day they close early. Does anyone have any experience going on the days that the park closes early? Are there less crowds? I know that MK is empty on party days, so I'm hoping that the same thing happens here lol.

EDIT: Just did some digging online, and found out it's the Orlando Informer event. I guess it's my fault for not checking that, I feel pretty stupid lol. I don't think my friend and I have the money do do both the park during the day and the Orlando Informer event, but I would love if that was the case.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Thank you guys for your feedback!! Today I found out that the day my friend and I are planning to go (June 6) the park is gonna close early for a private event I'm a little annoyed because I checked the park hours before this and I could have sworn that it said the park was closing at 9. We aren't able to switch our days around since we bought dated Epic express passes for the other day, so we are stuck going on the day they close early. Does anyone have any experience going on the days that the park closes early? Are there less crowds? I know that MK is empty on party days, so I'm hoping that the same thing happens here lol.

EDIT: Just did some digging online, and found out it's the Orlando Informer event. I guess it's my fault for not checking that, I feel pretty stupid lol. I don't think my friend and I have the money do do both the park during the day and the Orlando Informer event, but I would love if that was the case.

Exhibit A why buyouts needs to be posted far more than 1-2 months in advance.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Thank you guys for your feedback!! Today I found out that the day my friend and I are planning to go (June 6) the park is gonna close early for a private event I'm a little annoyed because I checked the park hours before this and I could have sworn that it said the park was closing at 9. We aren't able to switch our days around since we bought dated Epic express passes for the other day, so we are stuck going on the day they close early. Does anyone have any experience going on the days that the park closes early? Are there less crowds? I know that MK is empty on party days, so I'm hoping that the same thing happens here lol.

EDIT: Just did some digging online, and found out it's the Orlando Informer event. I guess it's my fault for not checking that, I feel pretty stupid lol. I don't think my friend and I have the money do do both the park during the day and the Orlando Informer event, but I would love if that was the case.

Tickets are non-refundable, but they can change dates for you if you call, based on availability that is. You will just pay or get refunded the difference in price if there is one.

 

[JohnHammondsCane]

Tickets are non-refundable, but they can change dates for you if you call, based on availability that is. You will just pay or get refunded the difference in price if there is one.

I'll add that changing dates was very easy. The Universal Team Member I spoke with was fantastic. I'm thinking about changing again, as the weather looks rough for Monday