Are you ready for some fun and adventure at your favorite amusement park? While the rides and attractions are a blast, waiting in long lines can put a damper on your experience. Luckily, the travel agents at Magical Dream Vacations have a solution to avoid the lines and ensure your amusement park trip is as thrilling and enjoyable as possible.
How to Avoid Long Amusement Park Lines with Front-of-The-Line Access
No matter how much careful planning goes into your trip, the long lines at amusement and theme parks are unavoidable. Some rides may have wait times for up to as much as two hours and can make it difficult to experience as many attractions as you would like to during a short space of time. When traveling with small children, it can be especially challenging to wait in line for these extended periods of time.
Thankfully, amusement and theme parks across the United States have found a way to allow vacationers to make the most of their time and money by offering front-of-the-line access passes.
Universal Studios’ version of the express pass is aptly named the Express Pass and the Express Unlimited Pass. Meanwhile, Walt Disney World’s front-of-the-line passes are known as the Lightning Lane Entry Through Disney Genie+ Service, and Individual Lightning Lanes.
These exclusive passes mean that you can spend less time waiting in line and more time enjoying the park’s offerings. With these passes, you can maximize your fun while minimizing your wait time.
In this article, we’ll highlight exactly what these specific passes are all about, where they can be purchased, and how to use them at these parks.
Universal Studios
You can skip the regular lines and access shorter, faster-moving lines at most of the popular rides and attractions at Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure by adding Universal Express access to your admission.
Universal Studios offers the Express Pass and the Express Unlimited Pass. Both of these passes are available as an add-on to your theme park ticket and will provide you with access to the express line at participating rides of your choice.
The difference between these two passes is that the Express Pass offers one-time priority access per participating ride, while with the Unlimited Express Pass, you and your family can enjoy unlimited access to the express line and enjoy the attractions an unlimited number of times per attraction.
Universal Express Access is a great way to maximize your time and experience at the Universal Studios theme parks, especially during peak seasons when wait times can be exceptionally long.
How to Purchase an Express Pass
Universal express passes are available to vacationers with limited availability and would require you to plan your trip in advance to ensure you secure your pass. You can purchase Universal Express Access in advance or on the same day of your trip, and there are three ways to do so.
First, you could purchase an add-on to your park ticket online. The Express Access add-on would be added to your ticket, however, this option is subject to availability and can sell out quickly, so our advice would be to purchase it in advance.
Additionally, you can try to purchase an Express or Express Unlimited Pass at the park on the day of your visit, at the entrance of either theme park. These passes are also subject to availability and can sometimes be more expensive than the add-on option.
The final option is to stay at a Universal Studios Premier Category hotel. A stay at one of these resorts includes a complimentary Universal Express Unlimited Pass for all guests staying in the room.
How to Use an Express Access Pass
Since the Express Pass is limited to one use per attraction, to use the express pass you must present your pass at the entrance of each participating ride or attraction during the designated time window listed on your pass.
The Unlimited Express Pass, on the other hand, is valid for the entire day and would allow you to you simply present your pass at the entrance of any participating ride or attraction at any time during the day it is valid and return as many times as you would like.
Walt Disney World
You can skip the regular lines for select rides and attractions at Walt Disney World Resort by adding one of their Lightning Lane passes to your park ticket. Walt Disney World offers two packages known as Lightning Lane Entry Through Disney Genie+ Service and Individual Lightning Lane.
When visiting Walt Disney World, you are able to purchase whichever plan best suits your need, either the Genie+ plan, Individual Lightning Lane, or both. Be sure to consider what your vacation plans are and carefully decide on what express pass would be the best choice for you.
Using Walt Disney World’s Lightning Lane is like joining a virtual line for one attraction while getting to enjoy other rides at the park. These passes would allow you to remotely secure a reservation for your favorite ride at your chosen time while exploring the rest of the park, then use the lightning lane entrance to avoid the long line.
Both the Lightning Lane Entry Through Disney Genie+ Service and the Individual Lightning Lane can be purchased through the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit and would allow you to bypass the regular line when the time you reserved for a specific attraction arrives.
Genie+
The Lightning Lane Entry Through Disney Genie+ Service will provide you with lightning lane access to Walt Disney World attractions that aren’t available for Individual Lightning Lane passes. It’s available on a first-come, first-served basis and can be used once per attraction per day. To book another Genie+ Lightning Lane service you would have to redeem any previously booked passes or wait two hours in-between reservations to book again.
Individual Lightning Lane
If you purchase the Individual Lightning Lane pass, you can book a time to ride specific attractions that aren’t offered through the Disney Genie+ service. This pass can only be used for one reservation at a time for up to two different attractions per day and can be purchased with or without the Genie+ service.
If you are a guest of the Disney Resort Hotel or another select hotel, you can purchase their Individual Lightning Lane pass from 7:00 am on the day of your arrival while regular visitors to the park can purchase a pass once the park opens.
Final Thoughts
At Magical Dream Vacations, we believe that every vacation should be a magical experience, and that’s why our travel agents are dedicated to making your trip to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios as stress-free as possible.
Our agents are prepared to walk you through the process of choosing the best pass for your specific vacation needs, advise you on the best time to purchase your passes, and assist you in booking your front-of-the-line pass while making vacation plans. With our express pass knowledge and expertise, we’ll make sure you get the most out of your vacation and create memories to last a lifetime