3 Universal Orlando Hotels with Free Express Pass

3

Want to skip the regular lines at Universal without paying for Express on top of your tickets? Book one of three hotels. Your room key works as an Express Unlimited pass at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, from the moment it’s issued until the parks close on your check-out day. Epic Universe isn’t covered. Here’s where I’d book, depending on what you want back at the hotel.

Universal Orlando Hotels with Express Pass

Which Universal Hotels Include Express Pass?

Three of Universal Orlando’s hotels include it, and two others in the same top Signature Collection tier leave it out.

• The three that do: Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando, Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando and Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando are the only Universal hotels where Express Unlimited comes with the room. Universal’s and Loews’ own hotel pages limit the benefit to these three.
• Helios Grand? Universal Helios Grand Hotel sits in the Signature Collection too, and it leaves Express out. Its guests get a dedicated entrance to Epic Universe instead, and that entrance matters only on your Epic Universe days.
• Skip Sapphire Falls for this: Loews Sapphire Falls Resort is also a Signature Collection hotel with a water taxi to CityWalk. Express isn’t part of the stay, so book it for the room and buy Express separately for your busiest day.
• Every other Universal hotel: None of the rest include it: Universal Aventura Hotel, Universal Stella Nova Resort, Universal Terra Luna Resort, Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Universal Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites and Universal Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites. Their guests buy Express like any other visitor.

Is an Express Hotel Cheaper Than Buying Express?

Universal sells Express Unlimited per person, per day, and the price climbs with the crowds.

• Count heads first: Express comes with the room for every guest staying in it, so a family of four gets four passes for one room rate. A couple gets two, so the room premium has less to cover.
• Busy dates tip it: For a family of four on the busiest park days, compare the room premium at one of these hotels with four separate Express passes before you settle on a cheaper hotel. On quiet weekdays, run the same sum, because Express costs less on those dates.
• The tier you’re paying for: Universal puts its Signature Collection at the top of its price scale, above the Prime Value and Value hotels. All three Express hotels sit in that top tier, so expect rates well above a Value hotel on the same night.

One Night, Two Days of Express

Hotel Express runs from the moment your key is issued until the parks close on check-out day. A single night covers the rest of your arrival day and all of the next.

• Pick the right night: Book the Express hotel for the night between your two busiest park days, and check in as early as the hotel allows, since Express starts once your key is issued. It then covers the rest of check-in day and all of check-out day.
• Store your bags: All three hotels hold luggage, so check-out morning doesn’t cost you park time. Collect your bags on the way out after the parks close.
• Switch hotels for the rest: Spend the other nights somewhere cheaper, such as Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, and buy Express only for a day that looks busy. Guests at every Universal hotel still get Early Park Admission.

When Express Saves the Most Time

Express pays off when the standby lines are longest. Orlando’s hotel tax receipts and the crowd calendars point to the same weeks.

• Spring break: March is one of Orange County’s two or three biggest months for hotel tax. Book an Express hotel for March as soon as you have dates.
• Holiday weeks: Thanksgiving week and the stretch from Christmas to New Year’s rank among the busiest at Universal. Presidents’ Day week in February is another one to plan around.
• Summer crowds: From May to mid-August the crowds run heavy and the afternoons are hot, and Express cuts the time you spend standing in line. Hotel tax collections climb through those months too.
• Quiet September: Weekdays in September are the least crowded at Universal. On those dates, price a cheaper hotel before paying for an Express one.

Getting to Epic Universe and Volcano Bay

Epic Universe and Volcano Bay sit away from CityWalk, and hotel Express doesn’t work at either.

• Take the bus: Free shuttle buses run from all three hotels to Epic Universe and Volcano Bay. The water taxis go only to CityWalk.
• Epic’s own hotel entrance: Only Universal Helios Grand Hotel has its own entrance into Epic Universe. From the three Express hotels, the bus is the way in.
• Paying for Epic Express: Express at Epic Universe is sold separately from park tickets. No hotel stay includes it, the three Express hotels included.
• Volcano Bay lines: Arrive for Early Park Admission, which Universal hotel guests get at Volcano Bay. Do the big slides first, before the lines build.

Family Suites at the Express Hotels

Each of the three sells a themed suite with a separate room for children.

• Jurassic World at Royal Pacific: Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando has Jurassic World Kids’ Suites, where the children’s beds sit inside gyrospheres from the film. The kids’ room opens only into the adults’ room.
• Minions at Portofino Bay: Gru’s Laboratory is the theme of the Despicable Me Kids’ Suites at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando, with two twin beds and Minion bedding. Parents get a separate king bedroom in the same suite.
• A stage at Hard Rock: The Future Rock Star Suite at Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando joins a king bedroom to a kids’ room with two twin beds and its own lit stage. It sleeps five.

FAQs

1. How do you use the hotel Express Pass?

Show your room key at the Express entrance of each participating ride at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, and the attendant lets you into the shorter line. If you used mobile check-in, the pass sits in the wallet of the Universal Orlando app instead. You still need a park ticket for each day. Each person shows their own key, so keep one per guest on you all day.

2. Does everyone in the room get Express?

Every guest staying in the room gets it, for every day of the stay. Put each person, children included, on the reservation, so the hotel issues a key for each of them. The benefit can’t be transferred, so friends staying at another hotel can’t borrow a key for the day. A family of five in a kids’ suite gets five passes.

3. Can you use hotel Express at Halloween Horror Nights?

No, the room key doesn’t cover Halloween Horror Nights or any other separately ticketed event. Express for the event is an add-on you buy with the event ticket. Your hotel Express still works the same day during normal park hours, so ride the daytime headliners first and use the evening for the houses.

4. What is the difference between Express and Express Unlimited?

Standard Express lets you use the Express line once per participating ride each day. Express Unlimited, the version the three hotels include, lets you ride as many times as you like. Visitors staying elsewhere can buy either one, priced per person and per day. On a hotel Express day, a second or third go on a favorite costs you nothing but the short wait.

5. Do all rides at Universal take Express?

Most headline rides at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure take it, and a few don’t. Pteranodon Flyers, the children’s coaster in Islands of Adventure, has no Express line. Universal changes the list from time to time, so open the participating rides list in the Universal Orlando app before you plan the day.

6. Can you buy Express if you stay somewhere else?

Yes, anyone with a park ticket can buy Express for Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, priced per person and per day. Busy dates sell out, and the price rises with the crowds. Buy it when you buy your tickets if your dates fall in spring break or a holiday week, and compare it with an Express hotel first.

7. Does hotel Express work on the Hogwarts Express?

Only with a Park-to-Park ticket. The Hogwarts Express takes hotel Express, but the train runs between Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, and Universal requires Park-to-Park admission to board it. A one-park ticket won’t get you on, room key or not, so check your ticket type before the day you plan to ride.