How Universal's Express Pass Changed Line-Skipping Forever

Universal's Islands of Adventure opened on May 28, 1999. Two months later, Walt Disney World quietly began testing something that would define theme park touring for the next quarter-century: a free system that let guests reserve a return time for a ride instead of standing in its line.

The same summer, two competing ideas

Disney's system, FastPass, first appeared at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom in the summer of 1999. An Orlando Sentinel report from July 9, 1999 announced the system would begin "within the next week" at three Animal Kingdom attractions — Kilimanjaro Safaris, Countdown to Extinction, and Kali River Rapids — before spreading to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Splash Mountain shortly after. It was a genuinely humble system: paper tickets printed at a kiosk near the ride, good for a return window later in the day, at no extra charge.

Universal built its own version around the same period, tied to the launch of Islands of Adventure. It worked on a similar idea — a reservation that let a guest come back later and use a shorter line — but Universal's version diverged from Disney's in one important way over time: it eventually became something you could pay for, rather than something included with admission.

From a hotel perk to a paid product

Universal's Express system started as a benefit tied to staying on Universal property, then expanded into a paid option available to any ticketed guest, on top of admission. That basic split has never gone away. Today, guests staying at select Universal resort hotels — Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel Orlando, and Loews Royal Pacific Resort among them — still receive Express Pass Unlimited as a complimentary room-key benefit, while everyone else buys it as an add-on.

That distinction is the real turning point in this history. Disney's FastPass stayed free and included with admission for another two decades. Universal's Express, by contrast, became a straightforward test of whether guests would pay extra, on top of a ticket they already bought, to skip a line. They did — and that answer reshaped the entire industry's thinking about queues.

Disney eventually followed

Disney held out on a paid line-skip product far longer than Universal did, but it got there eventually. On October 19, 2021, Disney retired the free FastPass+ system at Walt Disney World and launched Genie+ and individual Lightning Lane in its place — a paid model that, structurally, looked a great deal like the Express Pass approach Universal had already run for years. On July 24, 2024, Disney renamed Genie+ to Lightning Lane Multi Pass and individual Lightning Lane to Lightning Lane Single Pass, the naming convention still in use today.

In other words: the free-to-paid transition that started at Universal in the early 2000s eventually became the industry standard, not the exception. Six Flags, Cedar Fair properties, and most other major chains now sell some version of a paid skip-the-line pass. Universal did not just build a competing product to FastPass — it built the pricing model the rest of the industry would eventually copy.

Where Express Pass stands in 2026

The system keeps evolving. At Epic Universe, which uses a distinct model from Universal's older two parks, Express Pass Now became available in summer 2026 as a one-time, per-attraction line-skip priced at $20–$25 per ride. There is no Unlimited Express option at Epic Universe in 2026 — every use there is once per ride, per day, a step back toward the "single reservation" logic of the earliest Express systems, even as the price tag reflects a very different market.

The system is also still being adjusted attraction by attraction. As of July 1, 2026, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Islands of Adventure is no longer included in Express Pass at all — a reminder that which rides qualify for line-skip access has always been a moving target, not a fixed list. And Universal's Passholder Appreciation Days, running August 15 through September 30, 2026, include 30% off select Express Passes at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, which is expected to bring elevated crowds during that six-week window.

The throughline

Twenty-seven years after two parks opened within months of each other and each tried a different answer to the same problem — long lines — the paid version won. Universal ran that experiment first, on a hotel-guest perk that quietly became a checkout item, and the rest of the industry, Disney included, eventually followed the same path.

Sources

• Universal Islands of Adventure — Wikipedia
• The original FastPass in 1999 — Park Hopping
• Disney's FastPass vs. Universal's Express Pass: What's the Difference — Disney Addicts
• BREAKING: Paid FastPass replacement announced with Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane — WDW News Today
• What is the new Disney Lightning Lane Multi Pass? — TravelAge West
• AllEars — Epic Universe's new Express Pass can be confusing
• Inside the Magic — Universal Orlando Epic Universe passes update

For more on how Express Pass works today, see Epic Universe Express Pass Now, explained and Universal's single rider lines. For the Disney side of the paid line-skip story, see is Genie+ worth it and Genie+ vs. touring plans. We also cover the broader arc of queue management in the history of theme park wait times.

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