Gardaland Express: price, features and queue-jumping shortcuts
The amusement park season is getting into full swing and the queues are starting to get longer. For those with only one day [...]
The amusement park season is getting into full swing, and the lines are starting to get longer. For those with only one day planned at Gardaland, it is almost mandatory to bet on a day of uncertain weather, thus cooler, and hope it will be less chaotic.
In this article:
The only alternative is to buy the queue jumper, or Gardaland Express, a pass that allows you to take advantage of the fast route and queue much less than the standard queues.
Where to buy the ticket
The ticket price is around 45 euros per person, 40 for kids. In hotels in the area you can buy it, even if you are not staying, for €39. Online there are various offers that manage to drop the price even below 35€.
Did you get your flight cancelled, miss your connection, land late?
You could get up to 600€ compensation per person
I personally bought tickets on Tiqets.co.uk taking advantage of a double promotion that allowed me to save an additional 10% on the final expense and helped me trigger The promo that gave away 5,000 MR points.
This is a classic example of how, simply by using an American Express credit card to pay, I was able to accumulate 20k bonus points and get extra savings on a purchase I should have made anyway.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to use points for sleeping inside the park, such as at Disneyland, thus amortizing a large portion of the expense. However, there are a couple of solutions nearby in both Hilton and Marriott.
Gardaland Express cannot be bought online, or before the visit. It is sold only at ticket counters 1/2 of the outdoor ticket booths or at indoor kiosks, as long as they are not sold out.
The types of Gardalan Express
There are four types of tickets that can be purchased, an expense in addition to the entrance fee. If you have a season pass, however, there are three packages available to add to your season pass.
Two types are pay-as-you-go, meaning they allow holders to skip the line once. Two other passes give unlimited access to a list of attractions.
The Best Five
It is the cheapest pass, allows you to choose from 5 rides and skip the queue once. The choice of rides is at the discretion of the holder and is made in the park, not when purchasing the pass.
The attractions that can be chosen are: VOLAPLANE, ORTHOBRUCUS TOUR, ESCAPE FROM ATLANTIS, JUNGLE RAPIDS, MAMMOTH. CINEMA 4-D EXPERIENCE, THE PRIVATEERS, BLUE TORNADO, MAGIC HOUSE, OBLIVION, SPACE VERTIGO, SHAMAN
Fabulous fourteen
This pass is probably the most popular and allows you to skip the queue once at fourteen attractions.
In this case, the attraction list is locked and you can use it once for each of the following attractions: VOLAPLANE, ORTHOBRUCO TOUR, ESCAPE FROM ATLANTIS, JUNGLE RAPIDS, MAMMOTH, CINEMA 4-D EXPERIENCE, THE PRIVATEERS, KUNG FU PANDA MASTER, BLUE TORNADO, MAGIC HOUSE, RAPTOR, OBLIVION, SPACE VERTIGO, SHAMAN
Unlimited five
It is the "all you can eat" version that allows you to choose from 5 attractions on the list as many times as you want. The cost is similar to faboulous fourteen, although in my opinion they are not comparable as a product.
The attractions where it can be used are: VOLAPLANE, ORTHOBRUCO TOUR, ESCAPE FROM ATLANTIS, JUNGLE RAPIDS, MAMMOTH, CINEMA 4-D EXPERIENCE, THE CORSAIRS, KUNG FU PANDA MASTER, BLUE TORNADO, MAGIC HOUSE, RAPTOR, OBLIVION, SPACE VERTIGO, SHAMAN
Sixteen Infinity
This is the total pass, the one that is obviously the most expensive and allows unlimited queue jumping at the park's 16 most popular attractions on the Garda shore. This is also the only pass that includes, at no extra charge, fast-track entry to Jumanji, the new attraction.
Here is the complete list: VOLAPLANO, ORTOBRUCO TOUR, ESCAPE FROM ATLANTIDE, JUNGLE RAPIDS, MAMMUT, CINEMA 4-D EXPERIENCE, JUMANJI-THE ADVENTURE, THE CORSARIANS, COLORADO BOAT, KUNG FU PANDA MASTER, BLUE TORNADO, MAGIC HOUSE, RAPTOR, OBLIVION, SPACE VERTIGO, SHAMAN
The cost of Gardaland Express
It is good to remember that these passes are not infinite, so it is likely that on busy days they will sell out very quickly. On the day of our visit the costs were as follows:
- The best five 25€
- Faboulous Fourteen 50€
- Unlimited five 55€
- Sixteen Infinity 85€
To the first three packages, Jumanji-The Adventure can also be added to the list of rides at a cost of €5.
Important: in the case of the pass that gives access to only 5 rides, it does not become 6, simply in the choice of attractions the new 2022 is also included.
It is also possible to buy individual queue-jumpers directly at the attractions at a cost ranging from 6 to 8 euros each.
How to use the Gardaland Express
The skipcode has gone digital and is linked to the Qoda app. It is then necessary to download the app, activate the ticket, scan the QR of the Gardaland Express ticket and then associate it with an admission ticket.
Things to know are on the App:
- It is possible to have multiple visitors on the same app, each with their own associated Gardaland Express
- Not all users have to do the same rides
- It is possible to pass a ticket (or more) from one cell phone to another, thus avoiding losing tickets if you run out of battery power
- It is possible to change your mind before the first use. If you want to upgrade to a higher pass, you will be able to do so at one of the dedicated booths and pay the difference
Once you set up the app, you will have to use Qoda to reserve your place in line; consulting the information provided by the system will let you know how many people are currently in line for that particular attraction. The system also provides the waiting time for the normal queue, which is very useful for choosing how to move around the park even without a skip ticket.
Using it is simple, you reserve your spot by selecting all the tickets that want to do that particular attraction, get in the virtual queue, and are given an estimate of the waiting time until you receive a notification with an attached QR indicating that you can access the attraction.
NB It is always possible to get out of the virtual queue if you change your mind, but if you do not have an unlimited pass you will have wasted one of the 5 available accesses.
Does it make sense to buy tail lifts?
It may not be an ethical practice, since not everyone can afford this additional expense. That said, to me it is a cost that for those who only have one day to enjoy the park is almost mandatory if you want to do all the attractions, or at least the main ones.
Of course, in summer the park is open from 10 am to 11 pm so there is much more time than 10/18 in the off-season, but little change since it is more popular. Then it also depends a lot on who you visit the park with, the attractions are limited in height (minimum and maximum), if you enter with children who cannot do all the rides then you can go for the basic package, although you have to be careful since Kung Fu Panda Master is not available in the Best Five.
