Thanks for the reports. I'll be down in 12 more days and am going to look now for Express availability. Looks like a lot of hiccups and minor things. I've probably been reading too many boards and reports on the park. It's got me a bit down. I hope your second day there is much better. Thanks again so much for the in-trip report!
The first day was actually still good, despite some issues. Our second day, Sunday, was good too, but amazingly even busier than the first day.
I'm anxious to hear tomorrow if things have changed (hopefully improved) since you were at VB on Friday.
What are waits like with Express Pass?
Are some of the rides still shutting down regularly or if they're getting more reliable now?
Was the process getting your EPs & loungers a little faster than last time?
It's hard to say what the waits are with EP. I wasn't very good about timing it. Plus, it seemed to be all over the map, at least earlier in the day and on Friday. The most we probably waited was 15 or 20 minutes. But sometimes we almost walked on
Rides were still shutting down. Krakatua seemed to be running better on Sunday, but it still went down multiple times.
We went to a concierge hut back in Rainforest Village, and it had a shorter line. Getting the EP and towels was faster. However, it was taking forever to get the loungers. We were there before park opening, but the ticket reader at our line wasn't scanning right. So that was slow. We ended up finally getting a lounger about 45 minutes after park opening for early entry
The woman said that they had to get on the radio to get the lounger number, but there was so much traffic that she couldn't get through. She finally just said "I am going to let you pick your own lounger and here are some extra towels for free"
We picked the same lounger, #45, because it had shade most of the day. If my husband had been with us, I would have just sent him and my son to go ride while I waited. I told my son he could go and meet me back at the hut at a certain time, but I think he really wanted to be with me. He's only 11, so not totally independent yet.