Onto asking fastpass questions for these parks!

[Minuet888]

Hi everyone!
I've asked in the Disney World thread but my trip includes these parks so I thought I would ask here too.
We are planning a HUGE trip in middle of May 2026. 5 days at Disney World, 5 days at Universal Orlando, and then a disney cruise!
It is our 25th anniversary and we are saving and splurging!
My son is autistic. He has the equivalent of a DAS pass for Universal Studios Hollywood where we live that is pretty much also good for Universal Studios Orlando resort parks.
However, sometimes waiting isn't an options and I am thinking of supplementing the wait time with purchasing a fastpass (??what is called in that park), and I was wondering if anyone had any information on what they are and how they work in the parks at Universal. How much! Do all rides have them? Do you have to book times? Do you just get a return time like DAS or do you go right in the fastpass line (I'm sorry I am blanking on the term they use)
Please and thank you in advance.
Please explain things simply as I am stupid when it comes to this stuff.

 

[hardcorestitch]

FastPass has been gone a waaaaaaaaaaaay long time ago. In the case of Disney, you're looking for Lightning Lane.

For the Universal portion, you're looking at Universal Express. Unlike Disney, Universal has this service in both attractions and shows. Attractions have a Lightning Lane-esque queue that reduces your standby time to near a walk-on, excluding Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure and Pteranodon Flyers (reopens March 16). Shows and performances let you go in about 15 minutes before the normal guests go in. If you want to go on the Hogwarts Express, be aware you MUST have a park-to-park ticket that includes both parks. The "base" ticket only lets you into 1 park only and you can't switch. Park-to-park lets you hop around IOA and the main park. Epic Universe is an unknown as far as how this will work since they won't be open until May 22.

Now, I'm not sure which hotel you're staying in, but if you're staying in Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, or Royal Pacific, you get Universal Express for FREE for your whole stay. There's also a long list of Universal hotels that don't have this feature but let you in earlier than park opening, so your wait times should be short if you come in early even without the Universal Express.

If you plan to go to Volcano Bay, there are further separate tiers of Universal Express. Basic has only a handful of attractions like Krakatau Aqua Coaster and Punga Racers. There is a higher tier called Plus that reduces your waits on ALL the Volcano Bay rides.

 

[Minuet888]

FastPass has been gone a waaaaaaaaaaaay long time ago. In the case of Disney, you're looking for Lightning Lane.

For the Universal portion, you're looking at Universal Express. Unlike Disney, Universal has this service in both attractions and shows. Attractions have a Lightning Lane-esque queue that reduces your standby time to near a walk-on, excluding Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure and Pteranodon Flyers (reopens March 16). Shows and performances let you go in about 15 minutes before the normal guests go in. If you want to go on the Hogwarts Express, be aware you MUST have a park-to-park ticket that includes both parks. The "base" ticket only lets you into 1 park only and you can't switch. Park-to-park lets you hop around IOA and the main park. Epic Universe is an unknown as far as how this will work since they won't be open until May 22.

Now, I'm not sure which hotel you're staying in, but if you're staying in Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, or Royal Pacific, you get Universal Express for FREE for your whole stay. There's also a long list of Universal hotels that don't have this feature but let you in earlier than park opening, so your wait times should be short if you come in early even without the Universal Express.

If you plan to go to Volcano Bay, there are further separate tiers of Universal Express. Basic has only a handful of attractions like Krakatau Aqua Coaster and Punga Racers. There is a higher tier called Plus that reduces your waits on ALL the Volcano Bay rides.

I know fastpass has been gone for a while I just blanked on the name Universal uses for it is all.
We will be staying at the Adventurra hotel. We are planning on May 2026 so we have time. We are planning on park to park tickets to all parks, but not sure how Epic is going to be working a year out yet.
Now we are planning on Volcano Bay but I thought everything there is on a tapu tapu system that I saw on youtube. There is a lightning express in addition to that?

 

[Jessem1133]

https://www.universalorlando.com/web-store/en/us/express-pass

 

[Rory607]

I have not used the DAS pass, so I can’t speak to how it works in addition to Express Pass. But if you do look into EP and think you want to use it as well, I would look at a premier hotel over Aventura. It could end up being less expensive to stay premier than buying a separate EP. Your trip sounds amazing! I hope you all have a fabulous time!

 

[hardcorestitch]

I know fastpass has been gone for a while I just blanked on the name Universal uses for it is all.
We will be staying at the Adventurra hotel. We are planning on May 2026 so we have time. We are planning on park to park tickets to all parks, but not sure how Epic is going to be working a year out yet.
Now we are planning on Volcano Bay but I thought everything there is on a tapu tapu system that I saw on youtube. There is a lightning express in addition to that?

It's still Universal Express, but there are sub-tiers, as I mentioned earlier. If you want access to ALL the attractions' Express lanes, you MUST have Plus!

 

[Kit Jackson]

If you think you might want ExpressPass (The Universal version of what Disney used to call FastPass), look into staying at Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, or Royal Pacific. Do the math and see if it is less expensive to stay at one of the hotels that includes it, or if it makes more sense to stay at one of the other hotels and pay for ExpressPass. You know your budget and what you are comfortable spending.
TLDR: More Expensive Hotel but ExpressPass is included vs. Less Expensive Hotel but have to pay for ExpressPass.

 

[Minuet888]

https://www.universalorlando.com/web-store/en/us/express-pass

.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

I would recommend getting Express Passes for you group for at least part of your stay. I would do the math and see if booking a premiere hotel that comes with EPs makes sense.
You can also keep your reservation at Adventura and book one night at one of the EP hotels. That will get you 2 full days of Express Passes, the day you check in and the day you check out. That is almost always cheaper for families than to buy the EP for one day. I've done it when staying at Sapphire Falls. I just walked over to Royal Pacific, where I booked my "throw away" room, and checked in. It was probably 7am. I got keys (they act as your express passes) for everyone (no need for everyone in your party to be there at check-in) and I got on a boat and met my family at Studios. I never entered the room. Easy.
I would book the throw away room on night 2 or 3 of your stay so you get 2 full days of use from your EPs. Since your trip isn't until next year, you can look at how much a single day EP is for this year to give yourself an idea of how much EPs will cost during your trip. They are very expensive, imo. Weekends will be more expensive than weekdays since the price is based on how crowded Uni thinks the parks will be.