Universal Orlando Two Park Premier Annual Pass Review
Welcome to OI's complete guide to annual passes at Universal Orlando. Though non anywhere well-nigh as convoluted as purchasing twelvemonth-circular tickets for Walt Disney World Resort, Universal's annual offerings have gotten steadily more complicated over the by several years, as Universal Orlando Resort has added more and more to its lineup of attractions – nearly peculiarly the Volcano Bay water theme park, which single-handedly doubled the number of almanac laissez passer options that were out in that location.
Let'due south just walk through this process bit by bit and accept everything one pace at a time, yes? By the end of our discussion, you'll exist fully equipped to make the best conclusion between all eight AP permutations for you, your family, and your vacation upkeep.
Skip to: Tiers | Blockout dates | Perks | Cost | FlexPay | When to buy
What are the dissimilar annual pass tiers?
Before nosotros can get into which option might be the best for you lot, we'll kickoff need to go over what all those options are in the first place.
To brainstorm with, Universal offers four bones tiers or categories for its annual passes. The Seasonal Pass allows y'all access to the resort simply during certain times, or seasons, of the year – basically, yous won't be eligible to get during spring, some of summer, or Christmas break (don't worry – nosotros'll listing all the blockout dates in just a moment). The Power Pass cuts those blackout dates in half. The Preferred Pass has no blockouts for the theme parks, though it withal does for the h2o park, while the Premier Pass has admittedly none at all across the board.
Beyond reducing the number of blackouts the college up the annual-laissez passer ladder you go, Universal too throws in more and more perks into the mix, likewise, starting in the grade of discounts at gift shops, restaurants, and hotels and ending with free tickets to Halloween Horror Nights (once again, nosotros'll explore all these benefits a little more in-depth in just a bit).
Finally, it should be noted that all four AP echelons are offered in ii different varieties: two-park and three-park. The former grants you lot entry only to the two theme parks (Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Run a risk), while the latter makes you eligible for the Volcano Bay water theme park, as well. On the whole, the toll deviation between the two options is somewhere around $100 – save for the Premier Pass, that is, which costs a bit more to upgrade.
(Notation: before we go any farther, we should probably make mention of a slight departure in terminology between what we're using hither and what Universal uses in all of its marketing materials; namely, information technology doesn't consider the Seasonal Laissez passer a type of annual laissez passer but, rather, a – um – seasonal pass. This is why you lot'll see the company, for instance, refer to "seasonal and annual passes" on its website. For our money, however, that'south splitting hairs – they're all passes that offering [mostly] year-round access to the parks, and considering the huge differences in benefit levels already, the gap between the Seasonal Pass and the "annual" passes isn't that much different.)
Tell me more than almost the blockout dates
The first – and probably most important – factor to deciding which annual pass to pick upwards is, of class, the blockout dates; ownership an AP is worthless, after all, if information technology won't exist expert for the days that you're going to Universal Orlando.
The blockouts for the two theme parks are unlike from pass to pass, while the ones for the water park are far more than consistent beyond the board.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA AND ISLANDS OF Risk BLACKOUTS – 2021
Seasonal Pass
- Mar. 12 – 19, 2022
- April 9 – 16, 2022
- July i – 31, 2022
- December. 17 – 31, 2022
Power Laissez passer
- Jan. one – 3, 2022
- Mar. 12 – 19, 2022 (Access after 5pm to Universal Studios Florida for Mardi Gras concerts)
- April nine – sixteen, 2022 (Access later on 5pm to Universal Studios Florida for Mardi Gras concerts)
- December. 17 – 31, 2022
Preferred and Premier Passes
- None
VOLCANO BAY BLACKOUTS
Seasonal Laissez passer
- March 12 – March 19, 2022
- April 9 – Apr 16, 2022
- June 11 – August xiv, 2022
Power Pass
- June 11 – August 14, 2022
Blockouts apply before iv p.thousand.
Preferred Pass
- July 1 – Baronial xiv, 2022
Blockouts use before 4 p.m.
Premier Pass
- None
What nearly those additional perks?
The second consideration when perusing all the different annual-pass levels is what else Universal volition be giving yous; these discounts and freebies will make a far bigger divergence to what the bottom line is than you may at starting time realize, especially if you're going to exist visiting more than once a year. Which is to say: your annual pass could stop up paying for itself in all these attached savings.
As such, we suggest that yous accept a adept, long look at them and keep them in mind when you finally brand the plunge into AP land.
DISCOUNTS
Seasonal and Power Pass
Y'all won't find any savings inside the iii parks, just you lot can get a few special offers inside CityWalk (such as on Universal Cinemark tickets) and the Universal hotels (including up to 30% off the rack rates and upwardly to 15% off on select eateries and cabana rentals).
Preferred Pass
In addition to keeping all the CityWalk and hotel benefits from the 2 lower-level APs, the Preferred Laissez passer ups the discounted rate at certain locations and, on top of that, adds even more than venues into the mix (for example, nutrient at Hard Stone Cafe and concert tickets at the next-door Difficult Rock Live).
Just the real distinction here is a disbelieve inside the parks, both theme and water. You can expect x% off on all Universal-endemic stores and restaurants, as well as on My Universal Photos, though nosotros should hasten to add together that the discount won't work at nutrient-and-beverage carts or for any alcoholic drinks.
Finally, at that place are a number of places inside the parks that will also reap you a discounted toll, such as stone climbing, airbrushing, or psychic readings.
Premier Pass
It's much easier to draw the difference in discounts between the Preferred and Premier Passes: have pretty much every unmarried location that offers a disbelieve at the parks and at CityWalk and increase it from 10% to 15%, though there are certain exceptions. (Premier Passholders tend to get a bigger clamper of change off at the hotel restaurants, as well.)
(For a complete listing of all the electric current discounts across all of the theme parks, CityWalk venues, and hotels, please encounter Universal'south master folio.)
PARKING
Unsurprisingly, the Seasonal Laissez passer won't net you any savings here, but the Power Pass will grant you 50% off regular daytime self-parking after your beginning visit.
The real perks commencement to boot in at the Preferred level: after your outset visit, you'll be granted free self-parking and discounted rates for normal and Red Rug valet parking. Premier does it one footstep meliorate by offer free Prime number self-parking and normal valet parking, with an even bigger discount for Red Carpeting valet parking.
Early on PARK Access
If you lot stop going with the top two AP levels, you'll exist offered free Early Park Admission to either Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Take chances without having to stay at a Universal hotel – merely delight be enlightened that Preferred Passholders have some restrictions here that their Premier counterparts don't (such as, for example, simply getting early access to 1 theme park instead of both during the busier times of the year).
We should as well note that no almanac pass will grant you lot EPA to Volcano Bay, no thing whether you take the three-park version or not; the only way to secure early entry to the water park is by staying on property at one of the resorts.
PURCHASING NORMAL THEME-PARK TICKETS
One across-the-board perk for beingness an annual passholder is that you lot tin purchase normal multi-day tickets to the two theme parks at a discounted rate for friends and family unit: the Seasonal Pass charge per unit is x% off, while everything else is 15%.
Of course, there's some fine print to this bargain. For starters, yous'll need to buy this access at the front gate – over the phone or on the website won't cutting information technology. Additionally, Express Passes aren't part of the offer (non even if you lot effort the arranged theme park/Express tickets that Universal likes to highlight in its marketing), and neither is the 3-park Explorer laissez passer.
Finally, there's Volcano Bay, which both is and isn't part of this deal. If you lot're looking to nab just a standard one-day ticket to the water park, you can't go a discount with your annual laissez passer; a iii-park multi-day ticket, however, is withal eligible for the above rates. (Confused as to what the deviation is between these ii admission options? Don't worry – we'll spell everything out for you step by step over in our consummate guide to Volcano Bay's tickets.)
PURCHASING Annual EVENT TICKETS
For those events that require a carve up ticket – Halloween Horror Nights, Stone the Universe, and EVE at CityWalk – every AP echelon will nab yous a discount off the standard cost (though you'll need to check with Universal directly to see what information technology is for the dates that you plan on attending). Fifty-fifty better, Premier holders get ane free HHN ticket each and every yr.
(And since we're talking about annual events, let's but accept a moment to indicate out that the Seasonal Pass's coma dates interfere with a few of the ones that don't require a special ticket – chiefly, Grinchmas and the Mardi Gras concerts that always prove to be and so popular.)
Gratuitous Limited PASSES
For Premier Passes merely.
Merely in case all the discounts, parking perks, Early Park Access, and bargain rates for general-admission/annual-upshot tickets weren't enough to sway you to go the Premier route, Universal has one concluding ace up its sleeve: costless Express Passes subsequently iv:00 pm at both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. (Just note that this is for bones Limited and not Unlimited, which means yous can only use your complimentary EP once per participating attraction per day, and information technology'south not valid at Volcano Bay. But, nevertheless – it'south free!)
UOAP LOUNGE
Originally intended to exist a express matter, Universal has kept extending the life of its Universal Orlando Annual Passholders' Lounge Presented by Coca-Cola; currently, it'south expected to shut sometime in 2021. Located in the Hollywood backlot, near Schwab's Pharmacy, and typically open from 11:00 am to four:00 pm daily, APs can relax, recharge their phones, and purchase Coke products, including Chill Coke Coolers, which crystallize beverages "for even libation, crisper, ice-common cold refreshment."
TIMED OFFERS
Still non enough AP benefits for you lot? Fine – there's just ane more detail to go over. We promise to make it quick.
Universal has a small-just-steady trickle of timed offers strictly for its annual passholders (yes, all four categories of them). These, of course, are constantly changing, just you can expect to see such items as special, discounted rates for Wizarding World of Harry Potter vacation packages.
(For a complete listing of all current offers, please visit Universal's site.)
How much does all this toll?
Plenty with all the explanations and fine impress, right? Let's only get downwards to brass tacks – how much will an almanac pass cost you?
Here are the current prices for 2021:
OUT-OF-STATE ANNUAL PASSES
| Two-park pick | Increase from 2020 | Three-park option | Increase from 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonal Pass | $349.99 | 14.75% | $449.99 | 11.38% |
| Power Laissez passer | $399.99 | 12.67% | $509.99 | 9.91% |
| Preferred Pass | $449.99 | 13.92% | $559.99 | eleven.11% |
| Premier Pass | $624.99 | 11.six% | $814.99 | 11.03% |
FLORIDA RESIDENT Annual PASSES
| Ii-park choice | Increase from 2020 | Three-park option | Increase from 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonal Pass | $299.99 | xi.11% | $399.99 | 8.4% |
| Power Laissez passer | $349.99 | 9.37% | $459.99 | seven.22% |
| Preferred Laissez passer | $399.99 | 11.eleven% | $509.99 | eight.74% |
| Premier Pass | $559.99 | nine.eighty% | $749.99 | ix.64% |
All about FlexPay
For the three college-level annual passes, you have the choice to buy your admission via a monthly installment plan called FlexPay. The idea goes a little something like this, using the $814.99 iii-park Premier Laissez passer equally an instance: you put one-half of the toll down for the first calendar month (which would exist, including tax, $433.99), and so you lot pay off the remaining one-half across the remaining 11 months ($39.46 per month). No, at that place's no interest charged for you lot doing this.
It sounds like a no-brainer – why pay more than, all at one time, when you lot don't have to? – but there's actually a lot of fine print involved with the whole process, and information technology kicks in once y'all've finished paying off the first 12 months of your AP. Once you enter month xiii, you move from a year-long window of admission to a monthly window. If you pay the rate for that month, you have a valid ticket; if you lot don't, you don't.
Information technology sounds rather like shooting fish in a barrel, simply there are a surprising number of complications involved. Let'due south say y'all're an out-of-stater, you lot purchased your annual pass in Jan (before the rates were raised for the coming yr), and y'all didn't actually visit Universal Orlando until May. Commonly, your 1-year cake of admission would kick off in May 2022 and last until May 2022, only because you've opted to pay using FlexPay, once February 2022 comes around you move from a yearly basis to a monthly one – you now need to proceed making those monthly payments in gild to keep your AP valid and active. In other words, instead of getting a full year of entry to Universal, you simply concluded upwards getting eight months' worth before having to pay again.
Aye, at that place is a solution to this scenario: make sure to abolish the automated renewal option that FlexPay defaults to earlier January 2022 comes to a close. However, for most people, who are busy with work and family during their non-vacationing periods, it's piece of cake to allow the date slip, and and then they'll end up paying quite a bit more for their AP than they at first thought they were going to.
At that place are several other similar situations out there that we've heard of over the years from readers and listeners, and all of these make u.s. bound to one unproblematic decision: if at all possible, nosotros advise you to pay for your annual pass all at once and to not utilise FlexPay. You may thank yourself for the decision later on.
When should I purchase an annual pass?
Call up that merely locals should be the ones to purchase an annual pass? Think again. Given all the benefits and perks that some of the diverse tiers offer, purchasing an AP over a standard ticket might brand better financial sense for you – fifty-fifty if you're only going to head down to Florida one time for the year.
Currently, Universal will only permit you to buy a five-twenty-four hours ticket to its 3 parks on its website or over the telephone. If yous'd like to stroll around the theme and h2o parks for whatever longer – like, say, spending two days at each – y'all'll be forced to buy an AP already. (Yes, there is another option in the form of an Explorer ticket that is good for all iii parks for up to 14 days, but it'south only offered under special circumstances, such as to holiday-package holders or overseas guests.)
But permit's say you're just staying for five days. Fifty-fifty here, becoming a passholder might be a better deal – hither'south how, in two basic considerations.
First is toll. Allow'southward say you're going in September – a v-day, 2-park ticket (significant yous tin can only visit the two theme parks) is $239.99 for the i-park option (merely visiting one location of your choice a solar day) and $294.99 for park-to-park access (you can hop between both destinations until your little heart'south content). A two-park Seasonal Pass is $284.99 – $45 more than than the 1-park option and $10 less than the park-to-park diversity. But let's say that the Seasonal Pass, existence seasonal, isn't good for the dates that you want to visit Universal Orlando, and you'll need to get the Power Pass route instead; at $344.99, you'll be paying $105 more than the one-park ticket and $l more than its park-to-park counterpart. When dealing with theme-park vacations, that isn't that bad of a toll difference.
And then at that place are all the perks that nosotros just spent all that time going over. When we factor in the hotel and self-parking discounts with the Power Laissez passer, yous may find that you'll exist saving well more $105 – making an AP the cheaper way to get, incredibly plenty.
Orlando Informer Tip: in order to maximize the corporeality of discounts you can accrue and, therefore, the money you can salve, have but one person in your family or vacation party purchase a Premier Pass while everyone else nabs a lower-level i; since restaurants and stores only check the AP of one individual, the bigger discount can be practical to everyone.
Do you accept a question about the data on this folio, would like to provide feedback, or did you spot an inaccuracy? Delight let us know by posting in our Orlando Informer Community on Facebook.
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Source: https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/orlando-annual-passes-guide/
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