Queues for rides, shows, and character meets can be long. VERY long. And if you’re standing in the heat, you have bored small children, and you are limited on time, they are very frustrating.
Up until COVID, WDW had a free service called Fast Pass, which essentially let you choose a smaller number of rides to ‘queue jump’ for free (it was more complicated than that, but that doesn’t matter as it’s a thing of the past). Since the parks reopened, the systems in place (as discussed in a previous article) are now paid services.
People were (and still are) pretty angry about this. But as Disney die-hards pointed out, Universal Orlando has always charged for this service.
So what exactly are Universal Express Passes? Basically, they allow visitors to skip the regular standby line. Let’s be clear – you are not guaranteed a walk-on. The queue will be significantly shorter but may still be a few minutes at peak times. They are available for use in all three parks, but not Volcano Bay, which has a different system, which is a topic for another day.
On rides, the Express Pass line is separate from the standby queue. For shows, you would be allowed into the venue before other visitors, meaning you will be first to be seated and can get the best seats. You will need to be in the Express queue 10 – 15 minutes before the audience can gain entry. If everyone else has already gone in, but you still want to see that showing, you will not get to choose your seat.
You need to be aware that you cannot use your Express Pass at every attraction. This is usually the case with rides of experiences that are very new, or have a very small capacity (like Ollivanders Wand Shop). If you are considering Express Passes to skip the huge queues for the big-hitters, then it’s best to check what isn’t included.
Express Passes do not come cheap, and they are purchased on top of your park entry tickets. The only exception is if you stay at select Universal Orlando hotels (Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, and Loews Royal Pacific Resort). These are the signature hotels, and Express Passes are given to all guests for the entire duration of their stay. These are beautiful hotels, and this is an incredible perk, as Express Passes are not cheap. But then, neither are these hotels. However, it is often considered by many people worth leaving their hotel or villa to stay at one of these hotels for one night during their holiday so they are in proximity to the parks, do not have to pay for parking, and get two days’ worth of Express Passes. At peak times, for a family of 4 (who could go in one room), this would save several hundred dollars over paying for the Express Passes alone. Note that at the time of writing, the hotel Express Passes do not include any attractions at the new Epic Universe park.
There are two types of Express Pass. The first is the basic one, which allows you to skip the regular line once a day at each participating attraction. You can go on those attractions again that day, but you will have to queue in the standby line.
Universal Express Unlimited allows you to skip the line at all participating attractions as many times as you like. At the time of writing, unlimited is not available for Epic Universe. They are available for all paying guests aged 3+. You CANNOT share a pass with another guest, and they are non-refundable. You can get one-park, two-park, or three-park passes. A one-park pass allows you to choose the park you prefer at the time of purchase. The two-park one covers Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. Passes are also date-specific. You may be able to change the date by calling the resort, but there may be a charge. Universal Express Passes are the ones issued at the signature hotels listed above.
So now to the painful part: the price.
This obviously varies according to the number of parks you want for the day and the time of year. To purchase from the U.K., visit https://ukstore.universalorlando.com/express-pass. They start from around £100 for one park for one day, up to over £200. Yes – this is an incredibly costly business. And there are no child discounts. During peak times, they may also sell out, so you need to plan ahead. Prices may also change from day to day, so if you have a budget and the price comes up within that budget, book them!
If you are going at less busy times of the year, you may find they are much less important as a consideration. Queues will be much shorter anyway, and single rider lines (which are always faster) could get you through very quickly indeed. You will also miss the queue details for a lot of rides, as the Express Pass lane gets you to the ride quicker by bypassing the storyline elements of the queue. You may want to research which of these you don’t want to miss before you go. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you will also miss the photo opportunity you would get when queuing for The Escape from Gringotts.
So is the cost worth it? Ultimately, that’s for you and your party to decide. The biggest factor is clearly budget. If money were no object, I suspect everyone would purchase them! If you can budget for some days but not every day of your stay, it might be worth looking at crowd calendars to see what would be the most advantageous day of the week to have them. One-day ones are cheaper than hopper ones, and you will probably get more use from a one-day pass if you can spend a whole day in that park (do note you cannot use them during early park access). They can save you a considerable amount of time, which, when it is hot, your kids are bored, and you have a lot you want to do, is almost priceless.
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