Regarding the express option on Frequent Fear I believe Universal is constantly balancing the desire to squeeze as much out of the event today versus a sustainable business model in the future.
The lines in recent years clearly became untenable for them and I can’t imagine a better way to ensure new fans don’t come back then what happened during portions of the 2024 event.
Do you squeeze an extra few million dollars out of a dying fanbase at the expense of tomorrow? (I’m part of that aging group so no offence here folks).
One thing I know for sure is they have data on customers who went with FF passes and then those *same* customers who didn’t get passes the past couple of years. I wouldn’t be surprised if most people took the “L”, put down an extra $1000-$2000 on express, and begrudgingly missed a few nights without. I’m just very skeptical it moved the needle in any meaningful way on profitability or attendance.
I would love to see them drop enough passes to keep everyone in here happy, but I don’t think we’re going back to those days anytime in the foreseeable future.