Thinking about buying Universal Orlando Express Passes but not sure if you can justify the additional cost? We know a trip to Florida doesn’t come cheap, but there are some things that are just worth the extra pennies.
With a Universal Orlando Express Pass, you can skip past the regular line and use the Express Pass line, which usually has a shorter wait time. If you’re short on time or you want to experience more attractions during your day, then it’s definitely worth considering buying one.
Read on to find out why Universal Orlando Express Passes are worth the cost from members of the AttractionTickets.com team who have used them before.
How does the Universal Orlando Express Pass work?
The Universal Orlando Express Pass is a way to fast-track your way to the attractions. With the pass, you can go past the regular line and join an Express Pass queue, which can save you up to 30 minutes of waiting.
You can buy Universal Orlando Express Passes in addition to your theme park admission tickets.
There are two types of Universal Orlando Express Pass:
Express Pass | Use once on each participating attraction |
Express Unlimited Pass | Use as many times as you like on each participating attraction |
The passes are available for either one park per day or all the theme parks. You can buy a pass from AttractionTickets.com which covers 1 to 5 days, depending on how long you’re planning to spend at the theme parks.
The Universal Orlando Express Pass is a paper ticket. When you arrive at an attraction, present your pass to the staff member there, and they will direct you to the entrance of the Express queue. When you get closer to the attraction, a staff member will scan your pass.
Some Express queues are separate, whereas some merge with the standby queue later on.
Everyone in your party will need their own Express Pass to be able to join the Express queue. The passes are non-transferable.
Top tip: Store your Express Pass in your pocket or get a souvenir lanyard with a pouch to keep it in. You’ll have to get it out quite often at various points throughout the day, so you’ll want it to be handy. Afterwards, the lanyard is a cool souvenir to take home.
Universal Orlando Express Pass for Universal Volcano Bay
If water parks are more your vibe, then you can also get an Express Pass to use at Universal Volcano Bay. You can choose one that includes selected attractions or one that includes all of the attractions at the park.
Are Universal Orlando Express Passes worth the cost?
Here are the reasons why we at AttractionTickets.com think Universal Orlando Express Passes are worth the cost and the benefits of getting one.
Summary – 7 reasons why Universal Orlando Express Passes are worth the cost
- You can fit more into your day
- It works on some of the most popular rides
- It’s great for families with kids
- You can make more priceless memories
- It keeps your schedule flexible
- You may get to ride your favourite attractions more than once
- You might get to visit more than one park in a day
1. You can fit more into your day
The best reason to get a Universal Orlando Express Pass is to save you time during your day in the theme parks. If you’re only spending a day or two at Universal Orlando Resort, then getting a pass means that you’ll be able to tick off more attractions than without one.
It’s especially useful if you’re visiting Universal Orlando Resort at busier times like Christmas or Easter when the lines are likely to be longer.
Danielle, who works in the sales team at AttractionTickets.com, has been to Orlando 10 times and says, “We decided not to go for Express Passes when we visited the theme parks around the 4th of July weekend, and unfortunately, we didn’t manage to tick off everything we wanted to do. Although it didn’t ruin our day, I would definitely think about getting the Express Passes next time.”
2. The Universal Orlando Express Pass works on some of the most popular rides
The most popular attractions at theme parks are the ones that usually have the longest wait times. Luckily, the Universal Orlando Express Pass is accepted on some of the most popular rides and attractions in the three Universal Orlando Resort theme parks. And, in fact, you can use it on most of the rides – not just a select few.
Here are the rides where you can use the Universal Orlando Express Pass:
Universal Studios Florida | Universal Islands of Adventure | Universal Epic Universe |
Animal Actors on Location! | Caro-Seuss-el™️ | Constellation Carousel |
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem | Doctor Doom’s Fearfall® | Curse of the Werewolf |
DreamWorks Imagination Celebration | Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls® | Fyre Drill |
E.T. Adventure | Flight of the Hippogriff® | Hiccup’s Wing Gliders |
Fast & Furious – Supercharged | Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™️ | Le Cirque Arcanus™️ |
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts™️ | Hogwarts™️ Express | Mario Kart™️: Bowser’s Challenge |
Hogwarts™️ Express | Jurassic Park River Adventure | Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment |
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit | Jurassic World VelociCoaster | Stardust Racers |
Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast | One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish™️ | The Untrainable Dragon |
Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl | Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges® | Yoshi’s Adventure |
MEN IN BLACK™️ Alien Attack™️ | Skull Island: Reign of Kong | |
Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon | Storm Force Accelatron® | |
Revenge of the Mummy | The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man® | |
The Bourne Stuntacular | The Cat In The Hat™️ | |
The Simpsons Ride™️ | The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!™️ | |
Transformers™️: The Ride-3D | The Incredible Hulk Coaster® | |
Trolls Trollercoaster | ||
Universal Horror Make-Up Show |
Eleanor in our marketing team has been to Universal Orlando Resort 12 times and says, “My absolute favourite ride is The Incredible Hulk Coaster®. With an Express Pass, I can ride it again and again…well, until I start to feel a little dizzy, that is!”
3. It’s great for families with kids
Visiting Orlando with children is amazing. Seeing their faces light up when they meet the characters, hearing their shrieks on the attractions, and getting to experience new things with them for the first time.
Waiting in line in the Floridian heat with kids is not so amazing. If you’re travelling with impatient children or teens, then getting a Universal Orlando Express Pass can help to avoid tantrums, meltdowns, boredom, and arguments.
Waiting in the Express Pass line is usually much shorter, so you have more chance of keeping kids engaged and happy. This also frees up more time for family experiences together – have a longer lunch, watch a show together, or just go and visit more attractions.
Chris from the AttractionTickets.com team has been to Orlando 8 times and has used the Orlando Express Unlimited Pass before. “My three kids are full of beans, so getting them to wait patiently to go on an attraction is a tricky task! Within seconds they’re winding each other up and arguing. The Express Unlimited Pass means we don’t have to fall out!”
4. You can make more priceless memories
The memories that you’ll make on your Orlando holiday are priceless. You’ll be reminiscing for years to come, and we’re willing to bet that not many of these memories will be of waiting in line. With the time you save, you can get on to making more!
5. It keeps your schedule flexible
With less waiting, you can explore the theme parks at your own pace. It means you don’t need to worry about checking the wait times for each attraction and letting this dictate where you go in the parks.
It’s perfect for people who don’t like to plan a specific route or strategy for their theme park visit and prefer to just go with the flow. It takes a bit of the pressure of fitting everything in off your shoulders.
6. You may get to ride your favourite attractions more than once
Are there certain attractions that you just can’t get enough of? With the extra time you’ve saved, you can go on these rides again and again…and maybe even again! You don’t need to feel that you’re sacrificing other attractions to go on your faves.
7. You might get to visit more than one park in a day
It’s always difficult to visit more than one of the Universal Orlando Resort theme parks in one day – there’s just so much to see and do in each! With your extra time, you might be able to park hop – just remember to make sure you’ve got unlimited park access with your admission tickets.
Amy from the AttractionTickets.com team has visited Universal Orlando Resort 7 times and only had one day there on their last trip, “Getting the Universal Orlando Express Passes meant that we could do a few attractions in each of the three theme parks – of course, we couldn’t do everything, but it really helped us make the most of our time there.”
How to get free Universal Orlando Express Unlimited Passes
We’ve got a top tip for you – and it’s a really good one! If you stay at selected Universal Orlando Resort hotels, you can get free Universal Orlando Express Unlimited Passes for everyone in your room for every day of your stay, including your check-in and check-out days.
This means that you can get two days’ worth of Universal Orlando Express Unlimited Passes with just a one-night stay – it’s a no-brainer! The participating hotels are all Signature Hotels, which means they are a little more bougie.
If you’re looking for the most cost-effective way to stay, you could book just one night at one of these hotels and then move on to somewhere more affordable for the rest of your time in Orlando.
Participating hotels:
Now you know whether the Universal Orlando Express Pass is worth it for you and your holiday, it’s time to get planning the trip of a lifetime. Check out our Universal Orlando Resort tickets to get started.
