RUMOR: ALL Harry Potter to receive Express Pass access...

patrickpiteo

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RUMOR: ALL Harry Potter to receive Express Pass access
1 min ago
Orlando Informer
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Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal's Islands of Adventure

For the past several years, the most conspicuous absence on a list of those attractions that don’t feature Express access was, but of course, the headliner rides of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

This is all set to change in the very near future, however, sources familiar with the matter tell us.

In something of a surprise move, Universal is preparing to lift its Express Pass ban on the three major Potter rides: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (the flagship attraction of Hogsmeade), Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts(Diagon Alley’s E-ticket), and the interstitial Hogwarts Express. These not only mean that all wizarding attractions will now be Express accessible, it also means that the biggest omissions at both of the Universal Orlando theme parks will now be part of the Express Pass program – making the front-of-line passes all the more valuable to those who purchase them. (We say it’s a “surprise” move, but, really, this development has been a long time coming; Gringotts was designed from day one to support Express, and Universal Studios Hollywood’s Forbidden Journey does so already.)

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Harry can almost reach the Express Pass…
It’s worth noting that the Express Pass lines at all three attractions may be considerably longer than what we see at nearly every other ride at Universal Orlando (thanks to the length and complexity of the queues themselves), which could potentially affect the amount of time that riders will wait – particularly during the busier times of the year. Partially because of this, and partially because Universal has never before experimented with front-of-line functionality with Escape from Gringotts, it’s certainly possible – though unlikely, we have to admit – that the company will rescind its decision and have all three rides revert back to their non-Express status quo. July will be the crucial test here, when the Fourth of July holiday combines with the height of the summer travel season to create the busiest month of the year at the Orlando parks; should Forbidden Journey, Gringotts, and Hogwarts Express emerge with their new Express access unscathed, we can rest assured that they’ll remain this way permanently.

There’s one final complication to this change-up that must be considered: the effect this may potentially have on the popularity of Express Pass sales. It’s already common to see the tickets sell out during peak times, such as Christmas and, less often, July, and if guests’ Express dollars are going further than they ever have before, then we may see a drop in their availability across the board. This, in turn, may cause Universal to raise the price on the theme park perk even further in an effort to help manage the situation (and to reap as much economically from the decision as possible, naturally).

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Bill Weasley doesn’t want you to miss his pre-show
We’ll be monitoring the situation and will make any necessary edits to our crowd calendar and Express Pass insider’s guide. In the meantime, we’ve been hearing that the Wizarding World change is expected to happen as early as sometime this week, with Saturday, July 1 being the most oft-whispered date.

Oh, one final note – this is a rumor for the time being, so you may want to wait on purchasing your Express Pass because of this until everything is officially announced.



Want even more insight into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter? You can find everything you’d ever want to know – plus a little bit more – in our insider’s guide.

And be sure to follow Orlando Informer on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all the latest Harry Potter updates.
 
Express pass most likely will be a alternative line, and for first time visitors, using the express line means they will missed a big part of the attraction itself, the queue at both Gringotts and Forbidden Journeys are amazing, I wonder how at HE it will work, meaning the same visitors might not get to walk through the 9 3/4 barrier!
Obviously for all repeat visitor express pass accepted at HP it's welcomed and it definitely will add value to the pass
 


I'm glad I got to experience these rides without the EP access and with low wait times. As it's said in every Star Wars film "I've got a bad feeling about this..." :P
 


I don't like that it is rumored to be done with so little notice. Staying at CBBR in August and won't be happy if this happens before then.

Why won't you be happy? For people who are onsite in CB and SF, it should make the early entry less crowded because, as evidenced by a previous poster, many guests who have the express pass will be sleeping in .
 
I'm torn on how I feel about this. We're staying at RPR next spring, so the express line won't be a problem for us. However, as first time visitors to the park I will not want to miss the queue lines for any of these rides since I heard they are amazing. I also want to get a video of DH going through platform 9 and 3/4 so if it doesn't go through that then that will be a nope from us. At least the first time we go through.
 
I'm torn on how I feel about this. We're staying at RPR next spring, so the express line won't be a problem for us. However, as first time visitors to the park I will not want to miss the queue lines for any of these rides since I heard they are amazing. I also want to get a video of DH going through platform 9 and 3/4 so if it doesn't go through that then that will be a nope from us. At least the first time we go through.

Since you're staying on site use the Early Park Admission. As a previous poster stated with EP being brought to the WWOHP then early admission will be even less busy.
 
somehow in reading this yesterday I missed the fact that they were adding it to HE. I'm probably more excited about that than Gringotts or FJ. We use HE a lot to hop back and forth. Even though the wait is usually posted at 10-15mins, it's a pretty decent walk through the queue to get to the loading platform. The thought of shortcutting the queue is awesome. Although I guess you might also skip past all that nice cool AC.....
 
We will be at HRH July 29th, and my first thought was OMG we can sleep in for a change! LOL glad we all think alike! I hope this is true, and I agree CBBR and SF should be happy about this - early entry will definitely be less crowded
- although my son was like I am still getting up early! I said you can go right ahead . haha (He is 17 and perfectly capable of going on his own!)
 
Guess I need to pay close attention to this since we're heading there on July 2nd. I've been holding out on purchasing my EPs until we get down there, but now I might have to bite the bullet and do it ahead of time.
 
Our first park day is July 1st (and we aren't doing early entry that day anyway since we get in Friday night), so this will be nice a treat if it's true.
 

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