Touring Plans HQ frequently receives questions about Walt Disney World’s Lighting Lane and Universal Orlando’s Express Pass line skipping options. Both offer shorter queue waits with different tradeoffs. In this article, we will cover Lighting Lane and Express Pass, their benefits, downsides, and help you determine if they are worth a purchase.
[Last updated July 3, 2024]

What is Lighting Lane?

Lighting Lane is a paid service offered through the Walt Disney World app. Lightning Lane is a rebranding of the old FastPass queue: guests with a Lightning Lane reservation skip the standby line and use a special line to access the attraction. Unlike FastPass, Lightning Lane costs money, more on that later. There are two types of Lightning Lane – Lightning Lane Multi Pass is the new name for the old Genie+ Lightning Lane service. Lightning Lane Single Pass is the new name for Individual Lightning Lane and is a separately purchased reservation for high-demand attractions like TRON at the Magic Kingdom. NEW for July 2024 is the ability to pre-purchase and pre-reserve Lighting Lane Multi Pass selections up to 7 days before your trip. For more information on Lightning Lane passes and recent changes read our article Goodbye Genie+, Hello Lightning Lane Multi Pass by Jennifer.

What is Universal’s Express Pass?

Universal’s Express Pass (Express for short) is a paid upcharge queue that promises to reduce wait times by half. Guests who purchase Express are granted admission to a special Express Line queue anytime to access the attraction more quickly. The standard Express Pass grants access once per attraction, but an unlimited option is available, as is a two-park option.

Pricing

Lightning Lane Multi Pass starts at $18 per person plus tax at Walt Disney World theme parks and goes to $29 for a multi-park option. Lightning Lane Single Pass costs between $11 to $25 per person plus tax based on the attraction, but can only be bought once per attraction per day. A family of four can purchase Multi Pass and one Single Pass per day at a maximum cost of $220 plus tax.

Express Pass starts at $89.99 per person plus tax, emphasizing “starts”. Most days Express Pass costs over $110 per person plus tax, with pricing during Christmas week for a two-park Unlimited Express Pass reaching $279.99 per person plus tax. Express Pass is only valid for one use at each attraction and one park per day, but upgrades for unlimited use (starts at $119.99) and multiple parks (starts at $104.99) are available. A family of four buying a standard Express Pass should expect to pay at least $400 plus tax PER DAY, up to and over $1200 during peak times. Grab a bag if you are hyperventilating, staying at select Universal Orlando hotels includes an Unlimited 2-Park Express Pass for each guest for each day of your stay, including check-in and check-out dates.

Using with Touring Plans

Lighting Lane is a ride reservation system where you must plan a few steps ahead. There are multiple strategies for deploying Lightning Lane throughout the day, such as Stacking, Small Ball, Right Red 88, and more which we cover in our Hello Lightning Lane Multi Pass article.

Express Pass is an as-you-go line-skipping option where no reservations or cell phone use is required. Simply show up to the queue, scan your pass, and be admitted to the Express queue. Your wait in line might be longer than LL attractions (Universal only promises to reduce waits by half of stand by posted wait times), but that is a trade-off of this system. Using our Touring Plans with an Express Pass is like cutting through butter with a hot knife.

Pros & Cons

So far we have avoided directly comparing the two products because they aim for two different goals. Lighting Lane wants you to plan out your day through attraction reservations, while you might be in line for only 10 minutes you might need to find other things to do for two or more hours while you wait to get into that short line. Guests trade flexibility for super short lines.

Express Pass on the other hand only promises to cut your wait by half. In our testing Express lines are usually 20 minutes or shorter, but some attractions during busy times might see Express waits reach over 45 minutes such as Reign of Kong. Unlike Lightning Lane, Express does not require using a smartphone app – just scan a ticket for access. Guests trade away super short lines for the flexibility of riding attractions at any time.

Lightning Lane must be purchased for each person each day going to the parks. Express Pass can be purchased the day of or in advance of your visit. Express Pass is also included with your stay at select Universal hotels. A family of four at Caribbean Beach for $300 per night might still pay $60 a day for Genie+, and upgrading to a Deluxe at $500 per day still does not include Lightning Lane access. That same family of four could stay two nights at Royal Pacific at $500 per night and receive three days of Unlimited Two-Park Express for free.

Every major attraction at Walt Disney World is accessible by Lighting Lane or Individual Lighting Lane Reservations. At the time of this writing, Hagrid’s Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure is the only attraction without Universal Express offered. Universal does not offer individual purchases of Express access for attractions either, so you must pay for the full Express offering to access only one attraction.

Touring Plans Says…

Lighting Lane might appear to be cheaper at $19-30 per person versus Universal’s $90 at the lowest. We find more guests purchase Lighting Lane for their visits, making it an essential part of a Disney World visit. Express is more expensive per person when purchased separately so we advise staying at a Universal Premier Resort for a free Unlimited Two-Park Express Pass for every day of your stay. Read up on our Touring Plans Blog posts on Lighting Lane and Express Pass to determine if any of these options are good for you.

Quick Glance

At the time of writing Hagrid’s Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure is not participating in Universal Express Pass.

Have you used Lightning Lane or Express Pass? Which is your favorite? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Originally published September 12, 2022