Universal Testing $25 Express Pass Pay-Per-Ride For Single Ride Access

Universal Orlando recently started testing a new pay-per-ride Express Pass option this week, as fall break season brought the highest crowds the Orlando theme parks have seen since spring break.

Let's get into the specifics of this new offering, which rides are currently available to pay per attraction to beat the lines, and my thoughts on whether we will see this offering extend to more popular options. We recently covered another shift in Express Pass at Universal Orlando.

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Universal Orlando Tests Pay-Per-Ride Option

For the first time, we saw Universal Orlando offering single attraction skip-the-line access for two attractions in their theme parks on October 16, 2025. Guests in the theme parks were able to scan QR codes that advertised this access with signs throughout the area.

You could also access this unique Express Pass option under the “Special Offers” section of the Universal Orlando app.

Two attractions were available for Universal Express Single Attraction Access: Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Florida and Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Islands of Adventure.

The price per person for each was $24.99 before tax. The availability of these offerings is not guaranteed and may not be offered consistently. Their appearance in the parks was fairly random, but it also coincided with high crowd levels, as fall break is in full swing in Orlando.

We recently reported on the high crowd surges in Walt Disney World and Disneyland this past weekend, and this impact continues into this week. On our Universal Orlando Crowd Calendar, we have the past holiday weekend until October 19th rated as Above Normal crowd levels.

Is Universal Express Single Attraction Access Worth It?

Express Pass is Universal Orlando‘s version of a paid skip-the-line service and is priced for all rides included in the service for each park and not per ride. The starting price for Express Pass starts at $119 and can go as high as $359 per person, depending on the day and theme park.

Over at Walt Disney World, their line-skipping services include Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Premier Pass. Lightning Lane Multi Pass requires guests to book reservations to access the shorter line, while Premier Pass works just like Universal's Express and guests can access the shorter line once per every attraction for the park they purchase the pass for. The price for Premier Pass ranges from $119 on the cheapest day to $449 on the most expensive day, with prices varying per park. The price for Lightning Lane Multi Pass ranges from $15 per person on the cheapest day to $45 per person on the most expensive day, with prices varying per park.

Disney World also offers a separate skip-the-line service, Lightning Lane Single Pass, so guests can choose to purchase this option for a select few individual rides. Until now, Universal Orlando has not had a comparable option to Lightning Lane Single Pass.

Now Universal Orlando is taking a page out of Disney's book by offering an à la carte price for select attractions so you can pay-per-ride instead. This seems like a pretty steep price for two attractions that are often easy to get on with lower waits if you either ride in the morning or late in the evening.

For comparison, here are the Lightning Lane Single Pass prices from Walt Disney World on the same day of October 16:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: $14
• TRON Lightcycle / Run: $22
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind: $19
• Rise of the Resistance: $25
• Avatar Flight of Passage: $18

The closest in price was Rise of the Resistance, followed by TRON Lightcycle / Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Arguably, all three of these rides are far more impressive in their technology and experience than Revenge of the Mummy and Skull Island: Reign of Kong.

Disney World takes the approach of offering Lightning Lane Single Pass for its newest and most popular attractions. So why wouldn't Universal Orlando take this similar approach?

Imagine Universal Express Single Attraction Access for Jurassic World VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Universal Orlando would have me swiping my card in an instant for access to these two popular attractions. Both are included in regular Express Pass, but what if you could get access to each at a lower price than Express Pass for the whole park? What a score. These attractions are also included in Early Park Admission, but that is limited to hotel guests and annual passholders, so not everyone gets the chance to enjoy that perk.

If we saw Universal Express Single Attraction Access added to those two popular rides, I imagine we could see a steep price of anywhere from $50 to $100 per person. And would people pay it? Absolutely, especially for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, which consistently has the longest lines of any ride in Universal's Islands of Adventure. Universal Express Single Attraction Access is meant to be targeted at guests looking to purchase in the moment due to frustration or desperation because of high crowds, and I could see this working beautifully for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

And honestly, relying on Early Park Admission is not always seamless to get on these popular rides. Sometimes Hagrid's is not running on time, and since EVERYONE goes to Hagrid's, the line builds very quickly. If I walked into Islands of Adventure, after waking up early and waiting in a long park entrance line to see the sign above, then I would absolutely be tempted into paying exorbitant prices for Universal Express Single Attraction Access to guarantee my family got to experience Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

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But that's likely the exact reason why Universal Orlando didn't start testing this out for the two most popular rides in those two theme parks. The demand might outpace the capacity, and then the Express Pass line would be bogged down, which also threatens the value of the free Express Pass for on-site premier hotel guests. We will have to wait and see if Universal Orlando gets more adventurous in the attraction selection for this new Express Pass option.

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