Dallas is not a city you should rush. It has a lot going on beneath the surface and the attractions that tend to stick with visitors are not the ones you stumble into by accident. They are the ones you plan for. That is exactly where the Dallas CityPASS earns its keep. If you are spending a few days in the city and you intend to actually explore its museums, observatories, and natural spaces, this pass cuts the cost of doing that in a meaningful way.
This guide covers everything you need to know about using the Dallas CityPASS in 2026. Which four attractions it now includes, what the current pricing looks like, how the booking process actually works, and whether the math makes sense for your specific trip. It also goes into each attraction in enough detail that you can decide before you buy which combination is right for you.
What Is the Dallas CityPASS
The Dallas CityPASS is a bundled sightseeing pass that gives you admission to four of the city's top attractions at a significant discount versus buying each ticket separately at the door. The pass has existed in various forms for years and the program itself has been running across cities in North America since 1997. Over 30 million travelers have used a CityPASS product across different destinations.
The Dallas version has evolved from what it was a few years ago. It used to include the Sixth Floor Museum and the Dallas Arboretum as standard components. The current 2026 version has shifted its lineup, and the two anchor attractions that come with every pass are now the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and the Reunion Tower GeO-Deck. From there you pick two more from a shortlist that includes the Dallas Zoo, the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, and AT&T Stadium Tours.
That flexibility is one of the things that makes the pass genuinely useful. A family with kids will naturally lean toward the Zoo and the Perot Museum. A history-focused traveler will likely combine the Bush Library with the Holocaust Museum. Someone visiting around a Cowboys game might go straight to AT&T Stadium. The pass does not force one route on everyone.
How the Pass Works in 2026
The process has become entirely digital. You purchase the pass online through citypass.com, which then sends your mobile tickets to your email almost instantly. No waiting for a physical booklet to arrive in the post. You can store the tickets in the My CityPASS app on your phone or simply pull up the email and have it scanned at each venue.
When you arrive at your first attraction, you present the ticket and it gets scanned. That scan activates the 9-day window. From that point you have 9 consecutive days to use the remaining three tickets, in whatever order suits your schedule. The app also shows you which venues require advance time-slot reservations and lets you book those directly. This is worth doing early because some attractions, particularly the Reunion Tower, can fill up quickly during weekends and school holidays.
- Each included attraction can only be visited once per pass.
- The pass activates on first use and runs for 9 consecutive days including that first day.
- An unactivated pass expires one year from the date of purchase.
- Children aged 2 and under are admitted free at most included attractions.
- Zoo Lights at the Dallas Zoo is not covered by the pass even during the season it runs.
- AT&T Stadium Tours are subject to availability and may require separate advance booking through the app.
- For the AT&T Stadium option you can alternatively choose a guided tour of The Star in Frisco, the Cowboys headquarters and practice facility, depending on availability.
One thing worth noting is that the pass does not guarantee entry if a venue reaches capacity on a particular day. This mostly comes up at smaller museum spaces during peak periods. Booking your time slot as soon as you know your travel dates eliminates that risk entirely.
Pricing and Savings Breakdown
The current pricing for the Dallas CityPASS in 2026 is $57 for adults and $39 for children aged 3 to 12. To understand whether that is good value you need to look at what those same admissions would cost individually.
| Attraction | Adult (separate) | Child (separate) |
|---|---|---|
| Perot Museum of Nature and Science | $33.00 | $23.00 |
| Reunion Tower GeO-Deck | approx. $21.00 | approx. $10.00 |
| Dallas Zoo | approx. $22.00 | approx. $17.00 |
| George W. Bush Presidential Library | $26.00 | $20.00 |
| Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum | $16.00 | $12.00 |
| AT&T Stadium VIP Tour | $46.50 to $52.00 | $41.00 to $47.00 |
| CityPASS price (all 4 visits) | $57.00 | $39.00 |
| Potential saving | Up to 56% | Up to 56% |
If you choose the Perot Museum, Reunion Tower, Dallas Zoo, and the George W. Bush Library, the standard combined adult admission would be roughly $102. With the pass you pay $57. That is a saving of around $45 per adult. For a family of two adults and two children the numbers add up fast.
Even if you only visit three of the four attractions the pass generally still covers its own cost. The only scenario where it starts to look like poor value is if you visit just one or two attractions and the rest of your time is spent eating and shopping rather than sightseeing. That is something to think honestly about before buying, especially on a very short trip.
The Four Attractions Covered by the Dallas CityPASS
Here is a detailed breakdown of each attraction available on the 2026 pass so you can make an informed decision about which combination suits your group.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science
This is the one attraction on the pass that genuinely works for almost every type of visitor. The Perot Museum is housed in a striking concrete and glass building designed by architect Thom Mayne, and the architecture alone makes it worth approaching slowly from the street before going in. Inside there are eleven permanent exhibition halls spread across five floors covering everything from dinosaur fossils to human genetics to Texas geology.
The hall that tends to hold people longest is the Engineering and Innovation Hall, where you can interact with robotics displays and work through design challenges. The Sports Hall uses motion capture technology to analyze how elite athletes move. For children the Discovery Hall on the ground floor is essentially a full science playground. The CityPASS also includes one film screening in The Hoglund Foundation Theater, which runs rotating nature and science documentaries. Choose the film based on what is showing during your visit as the quality varies.
Practically speaking, weekday mornings are the calmest time to visit. Weekend afternoons see school groups and families filling the interactive halls, which can make some of the popular exhibits harder to access at your own pace. Allow at least two to three hours here to do it properly.
Reunion Tower GeO-Deck
Reunion Tower has been the defining shape on the Dallas skyline since it opened in 1978. The ball at the top houses the GeO-Deck observation level at 470 feet, which gives you both indoor and outdoor viewing platforms. On a clear day the 360-degree view takes in the full downtown grid, the Trinity River corridor, AT&T Stadium out toward Arlington, and on good visibility days the land stretches to the horizon in every direction.
The outdoor deck has powerful telescopes mounted along the railing that let you zoom into specific parts of the city. The CityPASS admission also includes a souvenir digital photo taken as you arrive, which is one of those things you might roll your eyes at but tend to actually want once you have it.
The area around the tower is historically significant. Dealey Plaza, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, is a short walk away. The Union Station building adjacent to the tower is one of the architectural anchors of the area. Visiting Reunion Tower at sunset is worth planning around, as the light across the Dallas skyline at dusk is particularly striking. Book your time slot in advance if you are visiting on a Friday or Saturday evening.
Dallas Zoo
The Dallas Zoo is the oldest and largest zoo in Texas. It covers 106 acres in the Marsalis Park area of southern Dallas and is home to more than 2,000 individual animals representing over 400 species. The layout divides broadly into themed habitats rather than simple animal categories, which makes the experience feel more considered than a traditional zoo.
The Giants of the Savanna habitat is one of the largest African savanna exhibits in North America and is where you will find the giraffe feeding station. Feeding a giraffe by hand, watching it curl that long dark tongue around a leaf you are holding, is the kind of sensory memory that does not leave you quickly. The Wilds of Africa trail takes visitors through naturalistic enclosures for gorillas, okapis, and forest buffalos. The Lacerte Family Children's Zoo has a dedicated area for younger visitors with hands-on animal encounters.
The zoo runs keeper chats throughout the day at various habitats. These are brief but genuinely informative talks by the keepers who work directly with specific animals. Check the daily schedule at the entrance gate when you arrive. If you are visiting with children who have a specific favourite animal, find out when the keeper chat for that species runs and plan around it. A full visit takes between three and four hours, and more if you have young children who need breaks.
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Located on the Southern Methodist University campus in University Park, the George W. Bush Presidential Center contains both the library and the museum, along with the Bush Institute. The museum section is what CityPASS covers and it does not require any political alignment to appreciate. Presidential libraries in the United States function as primary source archives and the museum portions are designed to present events through artifacts, documents, and multimedia.
The permanent exhibits cover the major events of the Bush presidency from 2001 to 2009 including September 11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2008 financial crisis. The decision points exhibit asks visitors to step into specific scenarios and grapple with the information that was available at the time each decision was made. It is the kind of interactive format that prompts genuine reflection regardless of your prior views.
On Fridays through Mondays a presentation runs in the Situation Room space, which recreates the setting where critical national security decisions were made. The audio tour via mobile device that is included with your CityPASS provides additional context as you move through the galleries. Budget two to two and a half hours here. The campus itself, with the SMU grounds around the center, is pleasant to walk through before or after your visit.
Two More Optional Picks Worth Considering
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
This is one of the most quietly powerful museums in the state of Texas. Opened in its current purpose-built facility in 2019, it covers the history of the Holocaust alongside broader themes of human rights, genocide, and civic responsibility. The permanent galleries follow a chronological structure from the rise of the Nazi party through the liberation of the camps and the aftermath for survivors.
The Dimensions in Testimony Theater uses holographic testimony technology to present conversations with Holocaust survivors. The Voices of Courage film runs as part of the standard admission. The current special exhibition space rotates through human rights themes that connect the history of the Holocaust to ongoing contemporary issues. This is not a quick visit and it is not a light one. It warrants at least two hours and honest emotional energy. It is appropriate for older children and teenagers and deeply valuable for adult visitors.
AT&T Stadium VIP Tour
AT&T Stadium in Arlington is one of the most architecturally ambitious sports venues ever built. The VIP Guided Tour takes small groups through areas of the stadium that are not accessible during game days, including the Cowboys locker room, the field level, the press box, private suites, and the art collection that hangs throughout the building. The stadium houses one of the largest video screens ever installed in an indoor venue and the tour gives you time to appreciate the scale of it from the field.
As an alternative, you can opt for the guided tour of The Star in Frisco instead, which is the Cowboys headquarters and practice facility. The Star tour takes you through the training rooms, film rooms, and adjacent areas that the active roster uses during the season. Both options are subject to availability and require advance booking through the My CityPASS app. If the Cowboys are in season and practices are running, The Star tour can feel more immediate and current than the stadium tour.
AT&T Stadium is in Arlington, which is about 20 miles west of downtown Dallas. Factor in travel time if you plan to include this in a same-day itinerary with downtown attractions. Driving is the most practical option as public transit between Dallas and Arlington is limited.
Tips for Getting the Most from Your Dallas CityPASS
Start with your furthest attraction
If you are including the Dallas Zoo or AT&T Stadium in your itinerary, do those on separate days from the downtown museums. The Perot Museum, Reunion Tower, the Holocaust Museum, and the Bush Library are all within reasonable distance of each other relative to central Dallas. Grouping them geographically saves significant transit time over the course of your trip.
Book time slots immediately after purchase
Log in to the My CityPASS app the moment you buy your pass and reserve your entry slots for each venue. This is especially important for the Reunion Tower on weekends and for the AT&T Stadium Tour on any day. Waiting until you arrive in Dallas and trying to find availability the night before often means you end up with awkward time slots that disrupt the flow of your day.
Check what is open before you visit
Each attraction sets its own hours and some have maintenance closures, private event days, or seasonal adjustments. The Situation Room presentation at the Bush Library runs only Friday through Monday. The outdoor GeO-Deck at Reunion Tower occasionally closes during severe weather. A quick check of the attraction website or the My CityPASS app the day before avoids disappointment.
The pass is still worth it if you visit only three attractions
If your trip is tight and you can realistically only get to three of the four included venues, run the numbers before deciding the pass is not worth it. In most combinations, visiting three attractions with the pass still saves you money compared to buying three individual tickets at the door. The math favours the pass in almost every scenario once you are visiting two or more attractions.
Plan the Perot Museum for a weekday morning
The interactive exhibits at the Perot Museum are best experienced when the halls are not crowded. Weekday mornings before 11 am, particularly Tuesday through Thursday, give you the most space and the least competition for the hands-on exhibits. If you are visiting with children this makes a noticeable difference to how much of the museum you actually get to engage with properly.
If you are trying to keep costs down across your entire Dallas trip, the CityPASS handles your major attractions efficiently. For ideas on managing the broader costs of a Texas trip, our guide on how to save money on a weekend trip covers accommodation, transport, and eating without cutting into the experience.
Is the Dallas CityPASS Worth It in 2026
The honest answer is yes, for most visitors. The pass is worth buying if you are spending at least two full days in Dallas with a genuine intention to visit major attractions. It is not worth buying if you are in the city for a single afternoon or if your primary interest is in restaurants and shopping rather than museums and landmarks.
The value proposition is strongest for families. The child pricing at $39 versus the adult pricing at $57 means that a two-adult two-child family visiting all four attractions saves somewhere between $80 and $120 compared to buying tickets individually. That is a meaningful number.
For solo travellers and couples the savings are more modest in absolute dollar terms but the convenience aspect adds real value. Having one clean purchase that covers all your admissions, with the option to skip standard ticket queues and go straight to the will-call lane, makes the logistics of a multi-attraction day noticeably smoother. When you are navigating an unfamiliar city and trying to manage timing across multiple venues, anything that reduces friction is worth something.
One thing the pass does not do is replace good planning. It gives you access but the experience you have at each venue depends on how you approach it. Reading briefly about each attraction before you visit, checking the timing of keeper chats at the zoo or the Situation Room presentation at the Bush Library, and booking your time slots in advance are all things that make the difference between a good visit and an excellent one. The pass is a tool. What you build with it depends on how you use it.
If you are building a longer Texas itinerary around your Dallas time, you might also want to look at our Mountain West road trip guide for ideas on combining your trip with the wider American Southwest, or the best places to visit in New Mexico if you are thinking about extending the journey west after Texas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dallas is one of those cities that gets better the more deliberately you move through it. The CityPASS removes the financial friction from visiting its best museums and landmarks and gives you a structure to build your days around. Buy it if the attractions align with what you actually want to see. If they do, it will be one of the more practical purchases you make before the trip.
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