Universal Express pass

I was just looking at this info this morning because we're going to get AP again to Universal so that we can see the new HP addition.
I checked the Universal website to purchase just the EP. It has a calendar of dates and prices. Enter the dates you need and it will tell you the price for those dates. The prices for Both parks range from 69.99-99.99/per day most of the days, now until Sept.
From Sept-Mid Nov. most of the days cost 55.99-69.99. Then from Mid Nov.-Dec they are anywhere from 89.99-119-99.
**These prices are for the express pass for ONE day, ONE time per attraction/per person prices.
Some attractions are excluded, such as HP and the Forbidden Journey, Ollivanders and most of the new Diagon Alley is predicted to be excluded as well.
~You can buy the Unlimited EP in the parks. That's actually the only way you can buy UnL. EP unless you buy them as a bundled package with park tickets(the second link I added) I don't know how much they are per day because it changes everyday depending on peak time. They are more expensive than the One day prices listed above.

The first link is to purchase the One day Express pass ONLY. The second link is park tickets+Unlimited EP prices.

https://tickets.universalorlando.com/Ticket-Store/PurchaseTickets.aspx?ExpressPlus

https://tickets.universalorlando.com/Ticket-Store/PurchaseTickets.aspx?ParkTickets

In 2011 we were in Florida for our wedding. We visited Universal and bought our tickets on the gate. We made the decision to buy annual passes at that time because they were less than the price of a 3 day pass in 2011. We paid on Amex. This would have given us access to the Amex lounge in Universal and we had a trip booked for 2012 which would have made the annual pass worth it. My husband made the decision to buy two fast passes (there were 4 of us, but I don't do really big rides and my sister in law was pregnant). I think I recall that they were $89 each! So we basically haemorrhaged money at the Universal ticket booths - but it was our wedding trip!
I don't know if things have changed but we could pass the fast passes between the 4 of us which was great. It was definately worth it as we literally walked on every ride within a couple of minutes - it was July and most of the rides were an average of 45 minute wait.
We are planning to go to Universal in July this year but we are not pre-buying our tickets in case we decide not to leave the Disney bubble. If we do go to Universal, we will get 2 express passes between 4 of us and buy everything on the gate.

* We had got to Universal early so we had enough by about 6pm, so we waited by the gate and gave a nice looking couple our fast passes to use that evening - spread the magic!

The best way to do it in my personal opinion is to stay on site. We're staying at the Loew's Royal Pacific and there are going to be 5 of us in the room. The room is going to cost us $359 a night, which seems like a lot till you break it down. When you stay at one of their top 3 resorts, each of you get an automatic unlimited fast pass. This still falls under the same ride restrictions such as no HP and the Forbidden Journey or Olivander's etc, as the other passes you would buy if you were buying them early or in park, but they are unlimited vs. the ones that are ride once. They are estimated to be $85 apiece. $85 x 5 = $425. Did I say above that the room was $359? YAY! So I get a room, plus unlimited fast passes for $66 LESS than if I bought them alone, plus I get the unlimited option. Also I don't have to worry about the park selling out of them before we get there since they do limit the number issued every day. Win Win Win!!!
Of course this does not include your regular ticket, parking at the hotel if needed or taxes where aplicable, but it is still a great deal and the Royal Pacific is the lowest of the 3, but I've stayed there before and it is a gorgeous hotel with beautiful rooms. Of course we have 5 at max occupancy so if you had less people, things would adjust a bit more in their favor, but the less people in a room, the less the cost of the room. If there are only 2 of you, the room rates (for the dates I put in) were $284 a night. At 2 x $85 it would be $170 worth of fast passes which would mean your room would cost an estimated $114, but $114 for a hotel room at the resort is still a pretty good deal. Hope this helps!