For my next trip after this years I'm thinking of doing Universal as well- Nothing too crazy yet. BUT I am thinking of booking Shades of Green at Disney AND a room at the cheapest 'premier' hotel at Universal to get the express pass. what I am wondering is-do you have to physically check-in at the hotel to activate your express? Can I just 'check in' at like 6am and then go to the parks and return to my Disney hotel? The premier room price would be less than the express pass for me and my daughter for 2 days so it would be cheaper than just buying the express pass. Anyone tried anything this crazy/dumb before?
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We haven't done this yet, but we plan to for a video later this year. Let us know what you find out, but it wouldn't surprise me if you have to physically go somewhere to get your Express Pass activated. Universal's app is not nearly as sophisticated as Disney's. For example, in order to get my Annual Pass discount on a Mobile Food Order, I have to use my camera to physically scan my annual pass card. That tells me that their systems are not all linked up and physical media will be required. Good luck!
I don’t see why you would have to check in physically since check-in usually isn’t until 4pm and the Express Pass should be working at park opening. Of course, if you’re paying for the room, I would still check in and use it as a home base during your Universal day. You certainly don’t have to spend the night if you didn’t want to. I’m not sure if Universal hotels have online check in but it’s worth “checking out” (sorry, I’m prone to bad puns). Still, I’d shoot Universal an email just to see what their check in policy is in regards to the Universal Express deal. It’s crazy that it’s cheaper to get a hotel room than it is to pay for the Express Pass outright!