We Paid $830 for Express Pass at Universal’s Epic Universe- Was It Worth It?

Epic Universe has been extremely popular since it opened in May of this year and many guests were thrilled to see that Express Pass is an option at this Universal Orlando theme park.

However, not all the rides are included in Express Pass and the cost per person has been astronomical compared to pricing at the other Universal parks. We recently paid $830 for a family of three for one day of access to Express Pass at Epic Universe. Was it worth it?

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Average Cost of Express Pass for Epic Universe

The average cost of Express Pass at Universal Orlando varies depending on which theme park you are visiting. Since Epic Universe is the newest theme park, it has had the highest price for Express Pass compared to the other theme parks.

While Universal Orlando's website states that Express Pass for Epic Universe starts at $159.99 per person, the average price since it opened has hovered around $270 per person, with the price rising to $300 per person if you wait until the last minute to purchase. Compared to Islands of Adventure, this is about $50 more per person. For Universal Studios Florida, the price is actually about the same.

The catch here is that premium Universal Orlando hotels do not include Express Pass for Epic Universe in their hotel stays. Currently, you get Express Pass included with your hotel stay if you stay at one of these three hotels: Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, and Loews Royal Pacific Resort. But for now, that is only for use at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. This is where most of the complaints about the high cost of Express Pass for Epic Universe come in.

Additionally, only once per ride Express Pass is available at Epic Universe. There is no option to purchase Unlimited Express Pass which allows you to ride attractions using Express Pass more than once.

So far, these are the two biggest differences to the Express Pass offering at Epic Universe.

What Rides Are Included in Express Pass at Epic Universe?

A lot of the major rides at Epic Universe are included in Express Pass. Below are all the available rides plus two shows:

• Constellation Carousel
• Curse of the Werewolf
• Fyre Drill
• Hiccup’s Wing Gliders
• Le Cirque Arcanus
• Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge
• Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment
• Stardust Racers
• The Untrainable Dragon
• Yoshi’s Adventure

There are three rides that are not included in Express Pass at Epic Universe and unfortunately, two of these rides are the main e-ticket attractions in the park. Express Pass is not included for:

• Dragon Racer's Rally
• Mine-Cart Madness
• Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry

The biggest bummer here is that Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry is not included. This is the most popular ride in the park and since opening, has consistently had 2-3 hour wait times. I talk more about the best strategies to ride it in my review, so you can experience it with the lowest wait time.

Is the High Price of Express Pass Worth It?

As with any costly theme park experience, this question is pretty subjective. It's no secret that Express Pass is extremely costly, especially at Epic Universe. If money is no object, then the answer is always yes.

We paid $830 total for three people during a June trip to Epic Universe for one day of Express Pass. The rides that it helped the most with high wait times were:

• Fyre Drill
• Hiccup’s Wing Gliders
• Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge
• Stardust Racers

All the other attractions often had wait times that were doable without Express Pass at certain times of the day, but especially in the late afternoon and evening. For the rides listed above, the wait times often exceeded an hour and even up to two hours at times for Hiccup's Wing Gliders and Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge. Being able to walk right on these four rides with no wait made the cost worth it for us because the alternative would have been waiting at least an hour for each ride, which would have eaten up at least four hours of our day.

Express Pass will allow you to walk on to nearly all the attractions at Universal Orlando and you often never wait longer than 15 minutes, but at times it can be up to 30 minutes for a popular ride. The longest wait we had in an Express Line was for Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. Due to the high demand for this ride, we waited about 30 minutes in the Express Pass line.

We also experienced long waits in the Express Pass line for Stardust Racers since the merge point of Express Pass with the standby queue is very early in the line, resulting in a longer wait time.

Do You Need Express Pass at Epic Universe?

If you only want to prioritize a few of the heavy-hitter attractions and are okay with not riding everything… then you do not need Express Pass to have a great time at Epic Universe. There are attractions that often have lower wait times later in the day or first thing in the morning that you can get on without Express Pass. Those include:

• Constellation Carousel
• Curse of the Werewolf
• Le Cirque Arcanus
• Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment
• The Untrainable Dragon
• Yoshi’s Adventure

Le Cirque Aracanus and The Untrainable Dragon are both shows in theaters that offer plenty of seating. You do not need Express Pass to get a spot for these shows.

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The rides in Dark Universe consistently have low waits in the mornings (as everyone else runs to Super Nintendo World) and in the evening. We consistently saw Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment listed at under 20 minutes throughout the day which was surprising considering it is one of the best rides in the park.

And of course, the two biggest heavy hitters are NOT included with Express Pass so the fact you can't use it on every ride is a big drawback.

Why I Always Splurge for Express Pass

I knew we would splurge on Express Pass for this trip because it was important to my family to experience all of the rides in the park. We also love the convenience and ease of using Express Pass. It made our day easy and relaxing which is an important factor in my decision.

Express Pass is incredibly easy to use at Universal Orlando. You do not need to book return times or plan your rides into your day. You simply scan your Express Pass when you want to ride and go right in the line. It's so easy which is a huge plus when we compare it to more complicated systems like Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World.

But if you don't want to spend the money on Express Pass, I do think you can manage to get on most of the best rides without it!

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