Universal’s Express Pass v. Lightning Lanes & Genie+ at Disney World
Express Pass at Universal Studios Florida & Islands of Adventure offers the ability to skip standby lines for lower wait times, but with different tradeoffs than Genie+ at Walt Disney World. This article covers Lighting Lane v. Express Pass: benefits & downsides, pros & cons, so you can determine if either or both “paid FastPass” services are worth buying. (Updated February 21, 2023.)
Let’s start with the basics. Genie+ is a service at Walt Disney World that you can purchase in the My Disney Experience app that will give you priority access via the Lightning Lane at a variety of attractions, like Space Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, Slinky Dog Dash, Frozen Ever After, Tower of Terror, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and about 3-dozen other rides. In total, Genie+ offers line-skipping access to over 40 attractions.
Genie+ is essentially a digital version of paper FastPass, which was used prior to FastPass+ at Walt Disney World. Except instead of walking around the park to obtain paper slips with day-of return times, you do that via your phone. Using Genie Plus, you can book next-available return times to the physical Lightning Lane entrances at select attractions. There’s a lot more to it than that, as covered in our breakdown of the basics of Disney Genie.
Universal’s Express Pass is a line-skipping option at popular rides in Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure that promises to cut wait times in half. You present the pass at participating attractions and enter a separate ‘fast lane’ (sound familiar?) with a shorter wait time at each attraction.
Logistically, redeeming Express Pass is quite similar to entering the physical Lightning Lanes (or prior FastPass queues) at Walt Disney World. It’s what you do before entering each physical queue that varies considerably between the Universal Orlando and WDW options.
Before we get down to brass tacks of the comparison, here are the eligible Express Pass attractions in each park at Universal Orlando Resort:
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA
- The Bourne Stuntacular
- Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
- E.T. Adventure
- Fast & Furious – Supercharged
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
- Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
- Hogwarts Express
- Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl
- Men in Black Alien Attack
- Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon
- Revenge of the Mummy
- The Simpsons Ride
- Transformers: The Ride-3D
- Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster
ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE
- Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
- Caro-Seuss-el
- The Cat in the Hat
- Doctor Doom’s Fearfall
- Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
- Flight of the Hippogriff
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!
- Hogwarts Express (Park-to-Park admission ticket required)
- The Incredible Hulk Coaster
- Jurassic Park River Adventure
- Jurassic World VelociCoaster
- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
- Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges
- Poseidon’s Fury
- Skull Island: Reign of Kong
- Storm Force Accelatron
These are the high profile attractions with the longest wait times on average in each park, with one significant exception: Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure in Wizarding World of Harry Potter is not eligible for Express Pass.
Previously, Jurassic World VelociCoaster also did not offer Express Pass, but it has joined the lineup as of late February 2023.
Express Pass is available as a ticket add-on or with select hotel stays. You can purchase two varieties of Express Pass, regular or unlimited. The regular version allows you to skip the line once per eligible attraction in either park. Universal Express Unlimited offers line-skipping privileges, as the name suggests, an unlimited number of times per attraction.
Unlimited Express Pass is available at the Premier Hotels, which are Universal’s highest-tier resorts. Guests who stay at Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel, and Portofino Bay all receive Unlimited Express Pass included with their stay at no additional charge (including check-in and checkout days).
We hesitate to call Unlimited Express Pass that comes with hotel stays “free” since it’s arguably priced into the nightly rate. However, we’ve had some stays that literally cost less than Express Pass would’ve when paying out of pocket, so perhaps free is apt!
As a general matter, all three of these hotels are nice and on par with Walt Disney World’s Deluxe Resorts. They also generally cost less than they’re Disney counterparts. If your budget allows for it, we’d highly recommend one of Universal’s Premier Hotels if you want the Unlimited Express Pass perk or a good location near the parks or a cool luxury-caliber themed resort. If you’d be staying at a nice hotel anyway, this trio is definitely worthy of your consideration. See our reviews for photos, video, and comprehensive thoughts:
- Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Review
- Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando Review
- Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando Review
When included as part of a Premier Hotel stay at Universal Orlando, Unlimited Express Pass absolutely trounces Genie+ at Walt Disney World. There is no comparison. It wins hands down in every category, including cost.
If you aren’t doing a hotel stay, you’ll have to pay for regular Express Pass or Unlimited Express Pass out-of-pocket. This changes the calculus considerably, as the out-of-pocket cost of regular Express Pass starts at $89.99 per person plus tax. However, that is very much the low-season starting rate. Most dates cost more, especially weekends, holidays, and school breaks.
Currently, peak season dates for regular Express Pass top out at $349.99, with the average being around $129.99. Summer is even higher, with most dates costing $189.99 to $209.99.
Then there’s Unlimited Universal Express Pass. This ranges from $99.99 to $379.99, which is an increase of $100 (!!!) as compared to last year on the high end. With that said, $149.99 appears to be the average and summer dates mostly start above $200 and approach $250 many dates.
In short, a family of 4 can expect to pay anywhere from around $400 for the basic one-time use Express Pass to over $1,000 during peak season for Unlimited Express Pass. To put that into perspective, we’ve routinely booked stays at Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific, or Hard Rock Hotel for under $300 per night. (Granted, most of our stays are in the off-season and with Annual Passholder discounts, but still. You can routinely book one of the 3 for $400 or less!)
Turning back to the Genie+ service at Walt Disney World, which now uses date-based pricing as opposed to its previous flat-rate fee. While this new variable-pricing scheme is still in its infancy, Genie+ prices have ranged from $15 to $29 plus tax as of February 2023.
In addition to prices maxing out, it’s also worth noting that Genie+ Sold Out for the First Time Ever during Presidents’ Day weekend. This will likely lead to more price increases in the future, or other “tweaks” to the system that are effectively price increases. Our expectation is that changes track with the ticketing system, meaning a surcharge for Park Hopping or park-specific pricing for Genie+ (or both!) is likely on the table. If there’s one constant about Walt Disney World, it’s price increases!
While the out-of-pocket cost of Genie+ is significantly cheaper, it’s worth noting that the gap potentially closes when adjusted on a per attraction basis. While I’ve done over a dozen attractions in a single day with each, I’ve done that number effortlessly with Express Pass. If you aren’t savvy and don’t put effort into leveraging Genie Plus, that number might be 2-3 Lightning Lanes (which is the official number that Disney gives).
Unlike Unlimited Express Pass, there is no included option for on-site guests of all or select Walt Disney World resorts. Anyone who wants it must pay for the Genie+ service. Additionally, it doesn’t cover all headliner attractions; Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and Avatar Flight of Passage are not included in Genie Plus, but line-skipping for those can be purchased on an a la carte basis via Individual Lightning Lanes.
Next, there’s the issue of time-savings between the two line-skipping services. This is also difficult to compare in an honest and straightforward manner. If we’re just looking at how long it takes from the time you enter the average ‘fast lane’ at each attraction at the respective resorts, it’s a close call.
I’m inclined to say that Lightning Lanes are slightly faster on average, but I also have to admit that I have far more experience with Disney’s system than I do Express Pass. I do have enough experience with both to know that they can be highly variable. If you use one on a busy day or when there’s a lot of ride downtime, these ‘fast lanes’ can back up. If you visit during the off-season when occupancy or attendance is lighter, both can be veritable ‘walk-on’ passes. So it’s hard to say, and I haven’t timed this comprehensively. But it doesn’t matter–all of this is beside the point.
Comparing only wait times upon returning to the lines would be disingenuous. When using Express Pass, I can do all attractions in any order I desire, building my itinerary around what I want to do, my existing plans, and order of convenience. Since I’m always using Unlimited Express Pass (via hotel stays), I can repeat the thrill rides I enjoy most, or just loop E.T. Adventure all dang day, as Spielberg intended. (Hours upon hours of E.T. Adventure…talk about the ultimate director’s cut!)
Moreover, I can do the parks without ever stopping to screw with the Universal Orlando app. That’s a ton of time I’m not wasting, and it’s not easy to quantify all of that. In short, even with the possibility (but not certainty) that wait times are longer upon return with Express Pass (they’re definitely less predictable due to the lack of scheduling), my view is that Universal’s system saves considerably more time overall.
To that point and as intimated above, Genie+ is a system within the My Disney Experience app that requires making ride reservations throughout the day. You can make one ride reservation at a time–with the ability to make a subsequent reservation immediately upon tapping into a Lightning Lane at an attraction or pursuant to the 120 minute rule.
This might sound simple enough, but it’s complicated in practice. You need to balance attraction popularity with your previously-made plans with your desire or ability to backtrack to walk a lot, and more. You also need to navigate a My Disney Experience app that is glitchy, unintuitive, and feels like it’s still being beta tested about a decade after it was released.
By contrast, there is no tech component to Express Pass. While it’s significantly more expensive out-of-pocket, it’s also totally frictionless.
You simply go up to the attraction, scan your pass, and use your Express Pass entitlement. There’s nothing to reserve or hassle with in an app. It’s a totally “dumb” system–and I mean that in the best way possible. Express Pass involves zero technology and screen time. It’s completely hassle-free.
For first-timers, this might come as a surprise given that we’ve dedicated substantially more text explaining the basics of Express Pass than we have the Genie+ service at Walt Disney World. That’s because this is a Disney blog, and one that has dedicated (literally) dozens of blog posts in the last year-plus to addressing confusion, complaints, and questions about all things Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
By contrast, this is our first post dedicated to Express Pass. That isn’t due to a lack of Universal coverage or interest. To the contrary, we’ve used Express Pass many times (albeit never paying for it out of pocket). However, we’ve always just mentioned it in passing in other posts and planning guides for one reason. It is simple.
Frankly, there has been no need to over-explain Express Pass because it’s intuitive and works exactly how you’d expect. When it comes to itineraries, we’ve repeatedly conceded that they aren’t really necessary with Express Pass (especially when coupled with Early Park Admission for on-site hotels).
In short, if it seems like the explanations are disproportionate for the respective line-skipping services at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, that’s because the starting points differ. This is built atop voluminous resources about Genie+, whereas it’s foundational info about Express Pass plus the comparison.
The bottom line is that Universal’s Express Pass is easier and more efficient than Genie+ at Walt Disney World. Frankly, we think Express Pass is substantially better than Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
This is especially true if you remove price from the equation by getting Express Pass for ‘free’ by virtue of an on-site Premier Hotel stay. Then it’s truly no contest. Univeral’s top tier hotels are typically cheaper than Walt Disney World’s and they include the valuable line-skipping service, which is not given out to Deluxe Resort guests at Walt Disney World.
To that last point, let’s switch gears and offer some pointless (but possibly fun or interesting?) commentary. Previously, we’ve mentioned that Walt Disney World could not replicate everything people love about Express Pass since the inputs differ between Universal and Disney. Assuming, arguendo, that Walt Disney World did switch to a ‘dumb’ line-skipping service like Express Pass, it is guaranteed that changes would be made out of necessity or economics.
In short, we say to Walt Disney World fans: be careful what you wish for.
Some Walt Disney World fans say that they’d happily pay $80 to $120 for line-skipping like Express Pass. However, there is no guarantee that Disney’s equivalent would be priced at this level. As should be clear by now from the endless parade of price increases, Walt Disney World has pricing power. Its demographics are also different.
While fans frequently blame one another for tolerating paying more and getting less at Walt Disney World, this is much more likely attributable to first-timers and those taking rite-of-passage trips. These free-spending guests pull out all of the stops for fear of missing out, and almost certainly visit Walt Disney World at disproportionate levels as compared to Universal. I would be willing to bet that per guest spending is considerably higher at Disney than Universal.
In short, neither of these businesses set their price points as a courtesy to guests. They both charge what the market will bear. With that in mind, Universal’s pricing for Express Pass is what you see for various dates. That does not mean Walt Disney World’s pricing would be identical. (Side note: enjoy this while it lasts, Universal diehards–your on-site hotels likely won’t be this cheap for much longer!)
Then there are the calls for Walt Disney World to include unlimited Lightning Lane access with on-site stays. Again, the circumstances differ dramatically. In total, there are just under 7,000 hotel rooms at Universal Orlando Resort.
By contrast, there are approximately 40,000 rooms at Walt Disney World, which includes all of the Disney-owned and operated properties plus the Disney Springs Resort Area, Bonnet Creek, Swan & Dolphin, Shades of Green. These third party hotels are included because they’re technically on-site and, more importantly, have contractual deals with Disney to offer certain guest perks and amenities.
However, for the sake of the included Unlimited Express Pass or theoretical included Lightning Lane, we can narrow that down to just the Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World or Premier Hotels at Universal Orlando. In that case, Universal Orlando has under 2,500 eligible rooms. To put that into perspective, that’s fewer rooms than Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts alone.
In total, Walt Disney World has approximately 13,000 rooms that are typically eligible for Deluxe Resort-caliber perks. However, Walt Disney World also has 4 theme parks as compared to Universal Orlando’s two parks, so we should probably cut that number in half for a more accurate comparison. In which case, we end up with 6,500 v. 2,500. (I’m going to purposefully exclude Volcano Bay as I doubt it adds meaningfully to capacity or crowd-absorption and would just muddy the comparison.)
That’s still not apples to apples because we’re not comparing the theoretical or actual capacity. Unfortunately, this is not something I’m capable of doing. Simply counting eligible attractions isn’t enough here–you have to know the capacity of each, the degree to which they’re utilizing line-skipping, and more.
There’s too much that’s simply unknowable or would require guessing. For example, I know the theoretical hourly ride capacity of Jungle Cruise, but I don’t know its average Lightning Lane to standby ratio, nor do I know its actual operational hourly ride capacity right now. (I’ve heard it’s not good!) I also don’t know what percentage of guests are actually using “filler” Lightning Lanes like those for Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage.
Finally, I don’t know the nuances of Universal Orlando’s hotel business as compared to Walt Disney World. What’s the occupancy rate of the top tier hotels at each? What about the average number of guests per occupied room? My guess is that Disney has higher numbers on both fronts but I have no clue to what degree. (Disney Vacation Club skews the former while family demographics skew the latter.)
Beyond these “known unknowns,” there are probably variables I don’t even know…that I don’t know. I can’t tell you what those are, since I don’t know what they are. [Insert drunk face emoji]
All of this is to say that it’s probable that Walt Disney World couldn’t simply “lift” the idea of Express Pass from Universal Orlando. The variables are different and the unintended consequences would likely cause the system to break in new and different ways. (And Genie+ has already broken plenty in the last year!)
Perhaps you don’t find the comparison and breakdown above to be persuasive. Maybe you’re convinced that Walt Disney World could do free Express Pass for Deluxe Resort guests with a few tweaks. In that case, consider this: Genie+ is essentially Walt Disney World’s attempt to port the beloved MaxPass from Disneyland with minor tweaks.
Suffice to say, a lot broke in the process. Not only that, but there were myriad unintended consequences and results that were not forecast by Walt Disney World’s internal teams working on Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. (It’s almost unbelievable in light of how Disney has attempted to throttle demand since launch, but the original plan called for a Genie+ Annual Pass add-on to debut only a few months after launch.)
I’m not pretending to know how all of this would shake out, and I’m cognizant of the fact that some of these variables are at odds with one another. The salient point of all this rambling, I guess, is that there is no “simple” solution in which Disney can or will copy and paste Express Pass to Walt Disney World.
All of this theoretical analysis is entirely academic, anyway. It presupposes that Walt Disney World has an appetite to include Lightning Lane access in Deluxe Resort stays and, let me assure you, that is absolutely not the case. You probably didn’t need any such assurances, as it’s patently obvious from the way Walt Disney World has been cutting on-site perks rather than adding them.
I don’t know why Universal first opted to offer Unlimited Express Pass to its Premier Hotels. (My shot-in-the-dark guess is a deal with Loews to get that hotelier on board.) Regardless, the only reason to start offering ‘free’ line-skipping now would be to entice people to stay on-site and increase hotel occupancy rates.
Walt Disney World does not have this problem. Even several years ago when occupancy numbers weren’t as strong, Disney didn’t offer an unlimited “golden” FastPass. Instead, they tried to entice people to book Club Level stays by selling additional FastPass+ reservations.
Ultimately, I could see Walt Disney World offering “free” Genie+ down the road to guests of certain resorts if there’s an economic downturn and bookings slump, but as the service currently exists and not an unlimited version of it. Even then, it would probably be a replacement for Free Dining or some superior past promotion. I could also see Disney continuing to tweak Genie+ to make the system more intuitive while trying to minimize (but not totally obviate) complaints about screen time.
However, I cannot see Walt Disney World switching to a ‘dumb’ (again, in a good way) system like Express Pass. Despite being absolutely abysmal at it, Disney fancies itself as a tech company. It has too much of an obsession with crowd management, logistics, and guest data–even though it doesn’t know how to fully leverage this info. (Similarly, our dog loves to chew on the remote but doesn’t know how to use the TV.)
Anything is possible at Walt Disney World in the long-term, especially if guest satisfaction–and more importantly, behavior and visitation trends–takes enough of a hit and management is forced to do something. But for now, these are the line-skipping systems in place at Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World, and we’d expect them to remain substantially the same for the next few years.
If you have questions about the basics of using–or not using–the paid FastPass service, see our Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for all of the foundational need-to-know info. This whole system is confusing and convoluted, so you might have a question or two-dozen. That answers all of the most common ones we’ve been receiving from readers.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you prefer Universal’s Express Pass or Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World? Wish WDW included Lightning Lane access with Deluxe Resort stays? Do you prefer paying for these line-skipping services or simply sticking to standby? Other thoughts to share? Do you agree or disagree with my comparison? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Did a trip to Disneyworld and universal recently. Did minimal prep and as first timers were woefully unprepared for the complexity of disneyworld. Felt constantly unprepared and unaware and waiting in lines. Then stayed at royal pacific with the unlimited express pass and paid less than WL. The experience at the two resorts was night and day. Disney was a hot confusing mess constantly in line, or crowds, and universal was so pleasant to just show up to the park and tour as convenient, rather than running back and forth to whatever had a shorter line or had a LL at disneyworld. We just traveled in a loop at universal and redid rides on a whim. We spent more time in the pool or on rides at universal and everyone was happier, and walking or taking a boat to and from universal was great. Wife and kids have no desire to go back to disneyworld. Reviewing this site to try and plan trip to Disneyland but wondering why we just don’t go back to universal.
This might not be the right place to ask this, but I will since you mentioned it in the article. Why are attractions like beauty and the beast live and philarmagic even on genie+? Why would anyone waste one of their lightening lanes on a constantly playing show where you pretty much never have a wait of more than 15 minutes? I’ve been wondering this for a long time! Is it to make it look like more attractions are on genie+ at first glance? Is anyone actually using genie+ for this???
Same reason as under Fastpass: to create more Lightning Lane capacity. I used an LL for Beauty & the Beast once. It was our 4th or 5th pick of the day and there wasn’t much else to choose from. It gave us first choice of seats and we could sit wherever we wanted, which could matter to some people.
I think your analysis here is seriously flawed. There are 3 types of people that go to Disney/Universal. Those that stay at Disney, those that stay at Universal, and those that stay somewhere else. Staying off site is significantly cheaper than staying at either of the 2 resorts often with bigger and better living spaces. There is no way I can justify spending an extra $1500 a trip for universals express pass. That in order to get value out of it I would have to book a hotel that is worse than where I am staying and move my family in my mind makes it a much worse option than Disney.
Ummm a family of four at a Loews hotel whatever the difference is it’s nothing compared to express pass X 4 for 3-4 days! That is WAY more expensive.
I know plenty of people that stay at both Universal and Disney or at least on-site at Universal and move to an off-site hotel near Disney. If you are going to do both Disney and Universal on your trip, the annoyance of switching hotels is far less than the annoyance of getting back and forth from Disney to Universal or vice versa, especially if you plan on more than one day at Universal. Combine that with the free Express Pass Unlimited at the premier Universal hotels (which are nicer and almost always cheaper than the Disney Deluxes and often on par with Moderates, before you even factor in the free Express Pass) and staying at Universal for the nights you plan on going to the Universal parks and switching to a on/off-site resort close to Disney makes a lot of sense.
Also, staying at a Universal resort with free Express Pass can actually save you money in the sense that you can often do a shorter stay at Universal by a day or two with the Express Pass. Now that Velocicoaster is on Express Pass, its certainly possible to do both Universal Parks in one day and even have some re-rides with Express Pass.
We went to Universal and bought the Express Pass and my grandkids. were able to ride all the rides in Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in “One Day.” While with Genie+ at best you might be able to ride 3 or 4 rides in one park. And you would have to be at the parks much earlier and stay later. Express Pass is much more efficient than Genie+. Yes, the cost is greater, but so is the benefit.
There are lots of videos on YouTube of people getting far more than 3-4 Genie plus rides in a day.
@Jojo Yeah, and they’re on their phones constantly, working their a**es off for every one of them.
If you set an alarm every 2 hours you can still get more than 3-4 rides per day following Tom’s strategies. That’s not “constantly” on the phone.
When I go to Universal, I put my phone in my backpack… And leave it there.
At Disney, you are constantly on your phone despite what you say. Genie+ isn’t the only thing that requires a phone at Disney, everything you do requires a phone. At Disney, you can’t even go pee without using some kind of app.
The topic was Genie plus, not peeing.
We’ve got a split stay coming up the last week in April: Cabana Bay (2 nts), Port Orleans Riverside (3 nts), and Portofino Bay (2 nts). Portofino was originally $600/nt (incl. tax) for 3 nights, but when we changed the dates to just 2 nights (Wednesday & Thursday), the room rate fell to only $390 a night, tax included. If you have an annual pass at Universal, you can still get amazing deals if your travel dates are flexible. Even though we dropped a night from our Portofino stay, we’ll still be able to use the Express Pass all day on checkout day, which effectively gives us three days of EP use. We know that the Disney part of our vacation will be hectic, but it’ll be easier to deal with the frustrations of using Genie+ knowing that we’ll have a stress-free time at Universal.
There is NO comparison between universal fast pass and genie. We made the mistake of doing a split stay at universal and Disney by going to universal first. We walked on every ride we wanted with little or no wait time, waving at the folks in line. Then we went to Disney and had to stand in line for an hour or more. My wife asked why we bothered with Disney anymore. That’s getting harder and harder to answer.
I was JUST saying to my husband I’m really glad we’re doing Disney first on our trip, because the kids are not going to like standing in lines once they experience Express Pass.
I appreciate your thoughtful analysis and commentary. However, I think you should update some of the pricing information provided about Universal hotels. It is no longer the case that “You can routinely book one of the 3 for $400 or less!” I have been searching a wide range of dates throughout 2023 and generally find the EP priced above $500 a night, and very often in the $600-900 range for a basic room. Given that many family travelers will be unable to book trips at off-peak times, I think a more realistic cost assessment is required to aid in planning.
I’ve done Universal Express Pass a few times including holidays, but not since pre-Covid.
On average, the wait upon arrival is pretty similar to Genie+ and FP+. You go straight to a “merge” and skip longer parts of the queue.
Thus, the only time I ever waited more than 15 minutes with ExpressPass was when the ride itself was having major technical issues. Apart from ride downtime, EP basically gets you inserted towards the end of the queue at most attractions.
If Disney ever offered a similar system, it couldn’t be included as a regular deluxe resort perk — WDW simply has too many deluxe rooms. Note that Universal doesn’t include it with any of their newer hotels — it’s a contracted perk with the older “original” hotels.
If it was included “free” at WDW, I could see it included only in Club-level bookings (and the prices of those rooms would go up even higher).
For those that get ExpressPass, it is a far superior system than Genie+. But to anyone that would be priced out of it, which is most guests…….
The wait time in Express Pass lines and Lightning Lane is not the same. In March ’22 I waited 20-30 mins in Express Pass lines. During Xmas week ’22 I waited 10-15 mins in Lightning Lane.
Don’t know what to tell you Jojo — My experience is the opposite. In President’s Week at WDW, I waited 10-20 minutes in Genie+ lines, in President’s Week at Universal, I waited 5-10 minutes in Universal Express Pass lines.
In President’s Week at WDW, I got 2-4 G+ passes per day, at Universal, I rode 8-10+ attractions per day with express. Except once with a broken ride, I have never ever waited 20+ minutes for a Universal attraction when using Express pass.
One thing I don’t think was mentioned- is that express pass is covered after 4 for annual passholders at Universal, where clearly Magical Express is not. That… is an amazing perk for annual passholders.
Thanks for calling out that Velocicoaster is now included in Universal Express Pass!
for more frequent users that may be I have used for an universal annual pass, the premier pass is great because you already have express pass included albeit fter 4 PM but it is a unique and nice option to have built-in.
Regardless of free passes with hotels; I would rather pay a lot more ($150 per person per day) for a one time use express pass, rather than $50 per day for 1 ILL and Genie+. The standby lines are better since so many people don’t have the express pass. Being able to ride when I want is the biggest benefit. Universal also caps the number of express passes sold. I don’t think Disney does, they just say you might only get 2-3 rides if you start early in the morning.
I agree. Having to pay for Genie+ or ILL and then have to try to make an appointment to ride is no fun. I’d pay a lot more to just walk up to an attraction when I feel like it and ride it. We’re only visiting for a few days a year. Our vacation time is more valuable than $100-$150 a day per person.
I really wish Genie plus was replaced with the express pass. It is included with hotel stays and some annual passes and does not have a stressful return time system. Come on Disney!
I had good luck with genie plus but only because I did hours of research which is ridiculous. There were tons of glitches and issues, I think I accepted them becsuse I expected them but it shouldn’t be the case. Our last day was a nightmare though. After entering and leaving Epcot to hop to typhoon lagoon then MK, it stopped letting me make genie plus selections. I spent 2 hours on the phone, chat and with a cast member trying to sort it out. They never could fix it. I ended up getting a bunch of general genie plus loaded so when I got there it worked out but it ruined half my day. We have a Portifino Bay stay coming up and I’m excited to try the unlimited express lane. Tom did you ever do the review on club level? It’s our first club level stay and it cost me 50 percent of what a standard poly room cost us the same week( doing a split stay).
“Tom did you ever do the review on club level?”
No, I totally forgot to do it.
I absolutely loved Club Level at Portofino, too. It cost us even less than that, staying during the off-season on an AP rate. The lounge itself was only okay, but the food was great (comfort cuisine) and the portions were sufficiently hearty to make a full dinner out of it. Breakfast was underwhelming, though.
Perhaps I should circle back and actually do a full review…
The Mummy is no longer included in Express pass. possibly because it is in technical rehearsal. Even so, Universals Express Pass system is far superior to anything Disney over prices and under delivers. Which is why we primarily visit UOR 2-3 times per year and Disney once every couple of years, on a much smaller scale. Disney you can keep your over complicated nickle and diming Genie+. We’re going to relax and enjoy Universal!
I am a big fan of Universal and it’s Express Pass system. I have completely stopped going to Disney because of all the scheduling and planning required. Disney has created the most magical hunger games on earth. People like me who want a relaxing vacation without a lot of complex scheduling, will get nothing but frustration and disappointment from a Disney trip.
You actually touched on what I think is Disney’s biggest problem. Hotel Rooms! Disney has too much hotel capacity relative to the capacity of the parks. For years, Disney has built hotels and DVC properties all over the place, but has done virtually nothing to expand the capacity of its parks.
Disney needs more gates, I would say at least 2 more parks to meet demand. Universal is wisely building another park to get ahead of demand and add enough capacity to steal even more market share from Disney. Universal has been on a hotel building spree the last few years, but they are also adding capacity. Much smarter.
We just did 2 days at Disney, 2 days at Universal in November. I had never been to Universal before, been to Disney many times. I HATED my experience with Genie+. I LOVED using Universal’s fast pass. Disney told me I didn’t have park reservations for 4 out of the 6 of us, and that I was just out of luck for our day at Magic Kingdom. What a nightmare and thank goodness for my travel agent. You should not have to spend days on Facebook groups and Youtube to figure out how to use something. I won’t ever take the grandchildren back to Disney but I will go back to Universal.
Genie plus has nothing to do with park reservations. Sorry you didn’t know.
I’ve never had a reason to use Universal’s Express pass but from other’s I’ve talked to they all have great things to say about it and say its worth it. Biggest thing I’d say is look at the week your going and see if there’s any events, etc. that’ll boost crowds to see if you need it or not. I just returned this week from Universal and it was absolutely delightful with the start of the holidays, great weather, and low crowds. The longest wait I had was 15 mins for E.T. (I would’ve waited an hour)! Hagrid’s was obviously longer but just take advantage of early hours and/or evening times and you should have no problem hitting all the headliners. This had to be one of the best weeks (crowd wise) to visit and I’m definitely planning a return trip for next year the same time. I do wish Disney included Genie+ with the Deluxe resorts as it seems to almost be needed most of the time now and wouldn’t mind seeing them go to a similar route as Universal with a much higher cost.
I’m currently planning a spring break trip and the cost of Universal with express is staggering for my family of 5. It’s a peak time so for sure not the best time of year but it’s when we can go. But if we do a split stay it adds to our overall price bc we’re staying at a moderate Disney resort and if we spend a day at Universal the tickets are 2k for one day! So from a price point I’ll take the work of the Disney program.
I completely agree with this. universal is absolutely increasing its hotel prices. we are priced out of universal for our spring break 2023 and are sticking with Disney, where we have a range of more affordable options.
@Katie, consider a split stay in one of the qualifying Universal Hotels. The “free” Express passes pay for themselves for a family of five. And a one-night stay at a qualifying Universal hotel qualifies you for two days of Express passes (both check-in and check-out days). It’s a hassle to check in and check out, but those free Express passes make it worth it IMHO.
I booked Portifino Bay club level for 405 a night for April vacation 2023. We have 5 of us so all of us get free unlimited express passes. If you book a hotel room it will probably cost you Less money depending how big the group is.
Yes with the hotel it is just a bit less than the express pass without a hotel but the split stay is a good bit more than my moderate hotel at Disney. I’m sure it’s an excellent perk and I also find the Disney set up cumbersome but in pricing out this trip there does seem to be more moderate options with Disney vs Universal, at least during a busy season. Might not be true in off season if the premium hotel rates are cheaper.
Express Unlimited at Universal is near perfect. That’s the model Disney should replicate. Pay through the nose for true line-skipping perks.