Agreed, on our family NYC / Florida trip, we decided to visit the Orlando Universal Studios park and stayed at a connected hotel for several hundred bucks, but then we got early access, which helped avoid the queues at the start, and at the very end, the park was emptying, and we took the best rides again. No skipping the queues in a paid way, just decent planning. Tickets were USD 180 I think, times 4, so it did cost an arm and a leg. However, we all found it worthwhile (the Bourne show was the best show, rides weren't unanimous), and we all decided on our California trip that we weren't going to visit any theme park.