Is Universal's Express Pass Really Worth It? \ Universal Studios Orlando Labor Day Weekend

On Sunday, September 1st, we went to Universal Studios Orlando & Island of Adventure. We stayed at the Loew's Portofino Bay Resort which is one of three resorts that includes the Unlimited Express Pass for free as part of your hotel stay. Was it worth it? Well let's see.

We started off our day at Universal Studios and Rider wanted to ride Minions. It was a 35 minute wait WITH Express Pass. We then headed to Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Roller Coaster for Rider's first ever ride. This was about a 25 minute wait. However, I did purchase 3-Day My Universal Photos Package thinking the videos would be included. They are not. However, I did receive a discount from $37 to $21 for the video. However, about HALF of the video is black because the camera didn't work. They don't show you these parts of the video when you are previewing the photos. Also, when I purchased the video, I also wanted the photos and told the team member this. They didn't add them and I didn't notice until I got home and there was no way to add them after that, so they were lost. Big Fail on the part of Universal.

However, Rider did enjoy the ride and with the rumor of it possibly closing soon, we are glad he got the ride it. We then headed to The Mummy which was great and about a 15 minute wait in Express Pass. Not too bad. But keep in mind, if you have a backpack, it will cost you an extra $3 every time you ride an attraction because you must put it in a locker. This adds up.

After that we headed to Diagon Alley and got in line for Escape from Gringotts. The Express Pass line was backed up to the Bank area. We were in line for about 5 minutes when the line stopped moving. We waited about 20 minutes without moving and then decided to leave even though they had not announced that the attraction was closed. As we exited the line, the FINALLY announced the ride was closing. So about 30 minutes and another $3 wasted and we didn't get to ride the attraction.

We decided to leave at this point to Islands of Adventure. This park was closing early for Halloween Horror Nights and we learned from the year prior that as closing time approached, it became nearly impossible to get on the train. We waited about 30 minutes in the Express Pass line before boarding the train and then headed to Islands of Adventure.

We ordered lunch at Burger Digs as we were all starving. Our plan was to ride Velasicoaster right after, as it is next to the ride. Lunch was ok, however, Ray and I both got salads and there were no forks to be found. It took us about 5 minutes and only after finding a manager to get forks to eat our lunch.

As we were getting in line for Velasicoaster, they announced the ride was down for technical difficulties. At least this time we only wasted $3, but didn't waste any time in line. So we headed to the Jurassic Park Water Ride which was a 12 minute wait in the Express Pass line which was great (and no locker required).

As we were leaving, we noticed it was starting to drizzle, so we hauled butt it Hogsmeade to ride Forbidden Journey. We made it to the lockers before a torrential downpour ensued. We then ran quickly to the attraction and managed to get in line. The ride was running at half capacity but we didn't mind because of the rain.

After the ride, the rain continued. Looking at the radar, it would continue for at least another 90 minutes, so we bought some overpriced Universal ponchos and headed out of the park. Due to the storm, we had to walk back to our resort which is just less than a mile. Everything was flooded, but we did finally make it back.

We planned to go back to the park, but after we rested a bit, changed our clothes and headed down to the boat dock, it had started raining again (no lightning this time). A quick check of the app showed that all major attractions at IOA were down, so we decided just to call it a night and eat dinner at Sal's Market at the resort.

We had a great time and made some great memories, but for those who wish Disney adapts something like Universal Express Pass, I completely disagree. It is oversold and is not express at all. If we had paid for it, I would have asked for a refund.