8 Essential Facts About Los Angeles City Pass Prices

Go City Los Angeles: Three Products, One Common Confusion

Go City runs three distinct products in LA, and mixing them up is the most expensive mistake you can make.

The All-Inclusive Pass is time-based: buy a 1-, 2-, or 3-day pass and visit as many of the 40+ included attractions as you can fit into consecutive days. This is the only structure where Universal Studios Hollywood is available — and only on the 2-day ($259) or 3-day ($299) tier. The 1-day pass at $99 explicitly excludes Universal.

The Explorer Pass is count-based: choose 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 attractions from the same pool, valid for 60 days. Universal Studios is an available choice here too. At $129 for a 4-choice Explorer vs $259 for a 2-day All-Inclusive, the Explorer wins hands down if you only want 3–4 specific sights spread across your trip.

The Essentials Pass is a newer, smaller curated bundle at a lower price point — worth checking if Go City has launched it for LA by the time you read this, though it wasn’t widely available as of June 2026.

Activation tip: your pass clock starts the moment you scan it at the first attraction, not when you purchase. Buy before you travel; activate the morning of your first big day. Many venues (especially Warner Bros. Studio Tour) require advance time-slot reservations even with the pass — book those as soon as you activate. See our full Los Angeles city pass guide for the booking sequence.

The Worth-It Math: 2026 à-la-Carte vs Pass Prices

We ran the numbers on three realistic LA itineraries in June 2026. Here’s what they actually cost without a pass, versus the cheapest pass that covers them.

Scenario A: Theme-Park-First (2-day trip)

Universal Studios Hollywood general admission: $119–$154 (online advance rate; gate price higher). Warner Bros. Studio Tour: $78. Madame Tussauds Hollywood: $37. Big Bus LA hop-on hop-off (1 day): $49.

À-la-carte total: ~$283–$318. Go City 2-day All-Inclusive: $259. You save $24–$59, and you can squeeze in additional attractions at no extra cost. Verdict: pass wins clearly.

Scenario B: Culture & Views (3-day trip, no Universal)

Aquarium of the Pacific: $32. Knott’s Berry Farm: $75 (online). La Brea Tar Pits: $25. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA): $25. Warner Bros. Studio Tour: $78. Madame Tussauds Hollywood: $37.

À-la-carte total: ~$272. Go City 3-day All-Inclusive: $299. You’d pay $27 more for the pass than buying tickets individually — before factoring in any free days or partial itineraries. Verdict: skip the pass unless you’re adding Universal or a big-ticket venue to this list.

Scenario C: Selective Traveler (2 key sights, flexible timing)

Warner Bros. Studio Tour: $78. Aquarium of the Pacific: $32.

À-la-carte total: $110. Go City Explorer 2-choice: $79. You save $31 and retain 60-day validity. Verdict: Explorer Pass wins by a comfortable margin.

The break-even rule for the All-Inclusive: you need to use attractions with a combined face value of at least the pass price to come out ahead. At $299 for 3 days, that’s roughly $100/day in attraction value — achievable if you’re doing Universal + 2 other paid venues daily, but not if you’re mixing in free sights.

Southern California CityPASS: The Theme-Park Bundle

The Southern California CityPASS works differently from Go City: it’s a fixed bundle you customize at checkout from a menu of major parks. Adult pricing starts at $109 and scales with your choices. Child (3–9) pricing starts at $96. You have a 9-day window from first use — generous enough for a week-long trip.

The key inclusions as of 2026: you typically choose Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure, Legoland California, or SeaWorld San Diego. The exact menu and mandatory vs optional slots vary — check the current CityPASS builder before assuming any specific park is included.

Where CityPASS wins: if your trip centers on 2–3 big theme parks and you have kids, the bundle pricing beats buying individual gate tickets by a meaningful margin — often $40–$80 per adult. Where it loses: if you want non-park sights (museums, studio tours, observation decks), Go City’s network is wider and more flexible.

See the full inclusions breakdown in our what’s included in the Los Angeles pass guide.

Buy It If / Skip It If

Buy the Go City All-Inclusive (2-day, $259) if:

• Universal Studios Hollywood is on your list and you’ll hit at least one other paid attraction the same trip.
• You’re a first-timer who wants to cover a lot of ground without worrying about per-admission costs.
• You’ll average 3+ paid attractions per day — that’s when the time-based model pays off.

Buy the Go City Explorer Pass if:

• You want 2–5 specific sights at your own pace over 60 days.
• Your itinerary mixes paid attractions with free ones — you’re not trying to max out every day.
• You’re traveling with kids who may not be up for a full packed day.

Buy Southern California CityPASS if:

• Your trip is primarily a theme-park run (Disneyland, Universal, SeaWorld, Legoland) and you want one upfront cost.
• You’re traveling with children — the child pricing is competitive.

Skip all passes if:

• Your itinerary leans heavily on free or low-cost sights: Getty Center, Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Walk of Fame, The Broad (free with reservation), Santa Monica Pier.
• You’re visiting for 1 day with just one paid anchor (buy that ticket directly — it will be cheaper).
• You’re a California resident — check for resident-discount pricing on individual tickets before comparing pass prices.

The Universal Studios Rule Everyone Gets Wrong

This trips up a meaningful number of Go City buyers every year: Universal Studios Hollywood is only included on the 2-day or longer All-Inclusive pass. The 1-day pass ($99) does not include it, regardless of what you may have read elsewhere.

Walk-up gate prices for Universal in 2026 range from $119 to $154 depending on the date and how far in advance you book. Buying the 2-day All-Inclusive at $259 covers Universal plus gives you a full second day for other venues — so if Universal is your headline and you’ll do anything else at all, the 2-day pass is the right call.

The Explorer Pass is the other route: Universal Studios is one of the available choices, and a 2-choice Explorer at $79 covers it plus one more attraction. If Universal + Warner Bros. is your whole plan, that $79 Explorer beats the $259 All-Inclusive by $180.

For the full worth-it breakdown, see our Is the Los Angeles City Pass Worth It guide.