Kodac & Universal express ride pass

[FLSharon]

Incase this helps anyone....I just found these in Walmart last night. Needed a couple waterproof cameras to take on a trip north and lo and behold there they were...wasn't even looking for them. So this fall we'll do that Uni trip i've been thinking about. :lol: Sharon

[Lady]

Sharon

If you buy these cameras you get an express pass to use at Universal? Is it good for one ride or the entire day? How long are the tickets good for?

Thanks for the tip : )

[FLSharon]

OK, It says :

** Three Gate A Priority Passes with the purchase of a Full priced admission ticket.

** Each Gate a priority pass is good at any attraction in the park for the entire party (up to 6 people) on the same day as qualified ticket purchase.

Good until 2/28/04

Whew..I hate reading this small print.lol...

I don't know what kind of discounts are available at Uni.. i'm very uni-impaired since i'm a disneyholic. Since I needed the camera anyway, nothing is lost if its not a good deal. But I'm gonna be real disappointed if it isn't ...lol... :(

[HappyCamper]

darnitdarnitdarnit!!! phooey!!

I looked and looked and looked before my last trip and couldn't find them anywhere here!!!

darnitdarnitdarnit!!! phooey!!

They are incredible to use at Universal. Head of the line everytime and it would have saved me from having to buy them.

darnitdarnitdarnit!!! phooey!!

Debby

[FLSharon]

Never fails, does it Deb? I remember reading about them in your TR...that's what made me think of them. So thank you. It's only good for 3 attractions, but I have two cards, one for DH and one for me I. So that should get us into 6 thingies. they have a llimit of one uni card per person. So that should work for us or not? anyhow ... since we are so spoiled with not waiting at disney , this will help... Sharon

[Moley]

The nice things about these passes is that they allow up to 6 in your party to use one. So if you get two cameras, you have two Express passes to use at two different rides for head of the line privileges.

This does not lessen your use of the Universal Express pass in the park. You can still snag your regular allotment of those and use the camera pass as a bonus.

And Shell, to answer your question, it is good for the three rides only and for those rides which use Universal Express pass. Some don't. After it is used for those three, it can't be used again.

[HappyCamper]

Hey, Moley, since you seem to be in the know, I have another question for you, (and it may help Sharon, too).

We saw express pass distribution centers throughout the park. Are these for use like Fast Pass at Disney?

Could you explain how they work?

Debby, who is still happy

[Moley]

HC, they are exactly like Fast Pass. You do have multiple ticket options at Uni whereas at Disney it is basically one at a time.

At Uni, if you are purchasing a one day, one park ticket and you are not staying at a Uni resort, you can get one Universal Access pass at a time. It works on the time limit restrictions like Disney does, usually an hour between the times you can get another.

If you have purchased a multi day ticket which includes annual passes, you may have three at a time. This is nice for when you don't want to have to run back and forth to Access machines. You can get all three at once since most machines are placed close to one another for their park regions.

If you are staying at a Uni resort, you get to visit every ride at least once per day and have preferred access lines.

The front of the line for hotel and the Universal Access lines are the same. You cannot tell who holds a resort key or who holds a pass they just got in the machine. That lessens the guilt factor a tad for those who are staying at the hotel and are just lovin' the dickens out of getting to go in ahead of everyone else. :mrgreen:

The function of the machines is similar in both Disney and Uni. You put your ticket in the machine and get a Universal Access pass which has the time you are allowed in the ride of your choice. Resort key holders only need their keys. They do not have to use the machines.

The various regions of the parks have clusters of machines together. This is a major convenience in choosing your rides and saving some walking.

[HappyCamper]

Thanks, Moley. We saw the machines and wondered about them.

Next time ... I'll be better prepared!! lol

Debby

[NavyDotz]

Are there any rules with the EXPRESS ride access pass?
Yes, there are some rules with the EXPRESS ride access pass. The pass can only be used one time and it requires a full-price admission ticket purchase. The entitlements are subject to availability, subject to change without notice and are valid from 4/15/03 - 2/28/04. The entitlements cannot be combined with any other offer, they cannot be used in conjunction with any annual pass and they are not valid for separately ticketed events. The entitlements are valid for one (1) person per card at Universal Orlando® Resort and valid for six (6) people per card (but not valid for per capita sightseeing tours) at Universal Studios Hollywood.

from Kodak.com -> promotions -> Uni -> faq's

:evil: i dont think it's fair that for Orlando every person has to have a card!!!

[ddoll]

We just got back from WDW and USF. We had four cameras for our party of six people.

You bring the hard plastic 3D card that is inside the camera with you to Guest Relations when you get to the park. They give you a little booklet of passes. There are 10 passes: one for each of the five top rides in each park. The new rides (Jimmy Neutron and Shrek) are NOT included in the booklet, BTW.

The passes in the free booklet work just the same as the ones you get from the Express Pass machines, except they don't have a time printed on them.

Universal also has stands set up in the morning in the parks selling booklets of Express passes for $20. The books are specific to each park. Each booklet has ten passes for rides in one of the parks. Again, they work just like the passes above.

One word of caution to those going to USF soon: the Express passes for Shrek run out within an hour of the park opening. It's that popular! If you want to see Shrek, head straight to the Express pass machines as soon as you enter the park. (they are located across the street from Shrek, alongside the machines for JimmyN) If you're lucky, you'll get one with a return-time earlier than that evening. Also, note that the passes for Shrek have only a 15 minute return-time window, instead of the usual hour.

The good news is, almost everyone will be held up in the lines for those two new rides near the entrance, so the rest of the park is a walk-on for the first hour or two!

[Tagrel]

Welcome back ddoll!

Wow, thanks for the heads up on Shrek and Jimmy! :D I think I just rearrainged my Universal day plans!

Love to hear all about your trip! Do you plan to write up a trip report? Please? Pretty Please? :flowers:

Oh, and did you run into anyone wearing those 'Disney' shirts you showed me? ;)

[HappyCamper]

Hey, ddoll! Welcome back, kiddo. It's good to see you around here again. :hug:

Our experience with the EP at Universal was a little different. We bought the Express Pass book at the ticket window of Universal when we arrived. (I never could find the Kodak cameras anywhere here!)

Our books were $15 each; we bought 4. And, here's another strange thing: Jimmy Neutron and Shrek were in our books!! They were the first two passes we used from the books.

Do you think that it had something to do with where the book is purchased? Weird ...

I really think those little books are awesome.

I'm glad you're back and I hope you're going to give us a little TR. (hint, hint)

Hugs,
Debby

[ddoll]

That's good to hear about the purchased passes, Debbie. I didn't buy any myself, just had heard about them from others who had been there.

What I meant to say was that the free booklets didn't include passes for Shrek or JimmyN. But now that I know that the purchased ones included those too, that would help to explain better the severe shortage of free passes to the new rides. With USF hotel guests, free Kodak passes and purchased passes, no wonder the free ones are gone in an hour!!

I'll be working on a TR soon. Have to get thru this weekend first: lots of social engagements hanging over my head.

As for the Disney T-shirt Dave, the only one wearing one was me. But now that I'm 45, I had to have my shirt be Goofy's ears instead....if you catch my drift. :?

[LimeGreenCheri]

As for the Disney T-shirt Dave, the only one wearing one was me. But now that I'm 45, I had to have my shirt be Goofy's ears instead....if you catch my drift.

OMG! :rofl: I've seen those "new Disney shirts" ! and I'm with you, mine would have to be Goofy's ears too. LOL :rofl: