Express pass needed mid to late August

[borgthe]

Wondering if I should book an express pass hotel for one night or will it be a waste of money.

 

[TommyJK]

The way crowds have been and reports visitors have been sharing it seems like it won't be worth it. Weekends seem to be busier though. Would you be planning for the one night on a weekend or during the week?

 

[macraven]

One night stay at a premier hotel gives you 2 days of EP usage.
Check in and next day you check out.

 

[GreyStr0ke]

I only used it for Kong and Hogwarts Express this past week. Neither of which helped very much, but that's a different story. lol

 

[Dockside Bayer]

I know you are asking about this year (and that this year is unique in terms of crowds) but I have the same question for next year. I'm wondering what other people have experienced at this time of year other years.

 

[nkereina]

In the current environment, EP will be beneficial in instances where you can't obtain a VQ for a ride. Because there are no standby queues, VQ or EP are your only options to ride some of the more popular rides. To my knowledge, there has only been one time so far when VQs were hard to come by and that was during the busy AP weekend. Right now, crowds are low and EP isn't necessary, but FL is also hitting its peak with cases so there may be more people staying home. Those of us here in the tri-state area also cannot travel to FL right now without having to quarantine upon arrival (and upon returning home in NY), so virtually no one from this area is traveling to FL right now. I would continue to monitor how crowds are between now and when you go, and if they start getting busier, then EP may come in handy even if only to guarantee you'll be able to ride without having to worry about a VQ time. (Note: Hagrid's is VQ only, no EP).

 

[andieb0602]

We were there Sunday through yesterday afternoon. We got into the parks around 3 pm Sunday and it was definitely busier then vs. during the week. I didn't check the wait times often because we had EPs but the wait for HE Sunday afternoon was 45 minutes but we were able to get on in 10 thanks to the EPs. I *think* the only rides I saw go to VQ were Fallon and F&F. Wait times for indoor rides would predictably go up during the inevitable afternoon thunderstorm to around 45 minutes. I don't think EPs are necessary right now during the week but they were nice to have because it made our time in the park stress-free because we didn't need to have a touring plan and they made almost every ride a walk on. On the weekend I would consider it.

 

[Leigh L]

We were there Sunday through yesterday afternoon. We got into the parks around 3 pm Sunday and it was definitely busier then vs. during the week. I didn't check the wait times often because we had EPs but the wait for HE Sunday afternoon was 45 minutes but we were able to get on in 10 thanks to the EPs. I *think* the only rides I saw go to VQ were Fallon and F&F. Wait times for indoor rides would predictably go up during the inevitable afternoon thunderstorm to around 45 minutes. I don't think EPs are necessary right now during the week but they were nice to have because it made our time in the park stress-free because we didn't need to have a touring plan and they made almost every ride a walk on. On the weekend I would consider it.

Thanks! We had the same question as OP. This helps a lot since we will be there on a weekend (at least a Sunday and possibly a Saturday).
We are still hoping to make our August trip and planned a few days at UO. We have a reservation at RP and was thinking of changing to another resort if the wait times were low, but I think I'll keep it for the EP. (We did this during the holidays last year for 1 night and it was great.)

 

[puffkin]

Here now and we are glad we have the Express pass. While lines aren’t terrible, it has come in handy quite a few times. We have seen 20-30 min waits on quite a few things and we have just walked on. There have been some rides with significantly longer lines.