[PhilliesFan]

We spent the first week of November at the Hard Rock Hotel. The hotel was wonderful, equivalent to a Disney deluxe resort, and the pool was fabulous. The hotel was within easy walking distance to both Universal theme parks and City Walk. We ate breakfast and dinner at The Kitchen, and dinner at the Palm, and both were very good. We went to City Walk on several nights, and the food was good, and the entertainment was excellent. I highly recommend Pat O'Briens and Margaritaville. I was a little skeptical about staying at a Universal hotel as a opposed to a Disney resort, but our party was extremely satisfied. My favorite thing was the Express Pass you get when you stay a a Universal Resort; you cannot beat bypassing the regular ride lines.

[mickaholic4077]

Tell me something:does Expresspass exist ONLY for Universal guests?

[Metalfan]

Originally Posted by mickaholic4077

Tell me something:does Expresspass exist ONLY for Universal guests?

From everything I've heard, yes it's ONLY for Universal resort guests because it's like your room key or something.

[mickaholic4077]

Why am I not surprised that Universal's system isn't as good as Disney's?

[tiggerlover1971]

you can also buy the express pass with an Ap Alma ( I didnt need to when I went in september because it wasnt really crowded ) but it cost like twenty dollars extra and if its anything like the Halloween horrow nights one is not worth the money because that one you could use only once each haunted house and attraction

[PhilliesFan]

You automatically get the express pass when you stay at an on-site hotel at Universal Studios. Universal Studios also has some kiosks at various locations, similar to Disney's fast pass, where you can get an express pass for an attraction, and then return to the attraction at a certain time. I did hear, but I did not confirm, that Universal does sell a limited number of express pass tickets at the gate. From what I heard, you purchase your ticket, and then there is an additional fee for the express pass, but this was just a rumor that I heard.

[mitchhorowitz]

You can BUY an express pass as an outside guest. I think its about 25-30 bucks each. They only sell a certain number a day, so get there early. The other thing it does is let you "fast pass" each ride ONE time. They have a scanner. If you stay on site you can "fast pass" as much as you want, each ride.

[Soundgod]

Ok, here's how it works. Originally, Universal had just the Portofino and that key was the only fast pass. When the Hard Rock opened in 2001, Universal had started their express pass system as well. The room key is an unlimited express pass. There are express pass kiosks at various attractions, but they do "sell" out some days. There is also an express pass that you can purchase, but I have no idea how many times you can use it on say, Hulk or Spiderman.
This is how I do it though. Get Universal annual pass, which gives discounts on the Loews hotels, park and City Walk merchandise, and food at most park and City Walk restaraunts, excepting Emeril's. Stay at Hard Rock, Royal Pacific, or Portofino and get express pass room key. Do Universal and any non-Disney activities. Check out and move to Disney for the rest of your vacation. Always stay on site, when possible, because it puts you at the parks gates faster. And the Universal hotels are less expensive than the Disney deluxe resorts too.

[mitchhorowitz]

Thats what we are doing next summer. Staying at BC for 6 days and moving over to the hard rock for 4. It seems like the best way for us to take advantage and beat as much of the lines as possible!

[PhilliesFan]

I agree. We didn't go to WDW this trip, but we are planning a trip for 2005 and we will stay at the Polynesian again. You cannot beat the Disney transportation system. But when I go to Universal Studios again, I will definitely stay at one of their on-site hotels because of express pass. We walked over to the Portofino Hotel, and it is simply beautiful. We also walked over to the Royal Pacific Hotel, and I didn't really care for it. The pool area was too small, and there were a lot of conventioneers at this hotel. The Hard Rock has location, location, location. Easy walking distance to both Universal Studios parks and City Walk.

[TINA]

Just got back this week. I called and was able to purchase the expres plus pass and have it mailed to me befor the trip. Here's how it works, you can use it one hour after the park opens. Its good for each ride once(most of the time they don't even mark the ticket). When we were there they did mark an H on the back for the Hulk ride.At Universal the new Sherk ride is excluded. You can still use you're regular ticket to fast pass the rides with the same system as Disney. If you buy the tickets through the mail they need to know the date(the tickets are dated for one day) I found this gave me a piece of mind so we didn't have long waits. If you want to buy these at the park they don't sell them till one hour after opening, and they only sell so many. I was told they run between $15 and $45 depending on the season. Hope this helps. Tina