How to Save Money at Universal Orlando with an Annual Pass

November 11, 2018
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Episode 40: How an Annual Pass Can Save You Money at Universal Orlando

One of the best ways to save money on your Universal Orlando vacation is to own an annual pass. An annual pass doesn’t cost much more than a regular multi-day park ticket, and your passholder discount at the on-site hotels can more than make up for the cost of the pass. Today I talk about how this discount can really help you make the most of your Universal Orlando vacation budget, and how an annual pass can be worth it even if you live far from Orlando.

Update: This post is old, but the concept still works just as well. Please read through for details. You can also find an updated example in this issue of my Go Informed Theme Park Tips Newsletter.

These are the show notes for Go Informed Podcast episode 40. Click the Play button to listen to the episode for lots more detail about this topic.

Table of contents for this post

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Universal Orlando Annual Pass Options

These are the different annual pass types at Universal Orlando as of November 2018. Note that the prices and the categories can change at any time.

Florida Resident or Non-Florida Resident

Yes, you can have a Universal Orlando annual pass even if you live far from Florida. If you aren’t a Florida resident you’ll pay more for your pass, but it is often worth it because of the hotel discounts. All of the pricing and savings I talk about in this post/episode are assuming non-Florida resident pricing.

Two-Park or Three-Park Passes

The two-park pass gives you admission to both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. The three-park pass gives you admission to both of those parks plus the Volcano Bay water park.

For most guests, I recommend getting the two-park pass. Pricing and savings here are assuming you have a two-park pass.

Universal Orlando Annual Pass Levels

There are four levels of annual passes at Universal Orlando. The differences, besides price, are the dates you can use the pass and other perks like free parking. You can check out all the details about non-Florida-resident passes on Universal’s website here.

The four pass levels are Seasonal, Power, Preferred, and Premier.

No matter which level pass you hold, you get the same hotel discount rate.

Make sure you buy the annual pass that covers the dates of your trip. Be sure to check out the blockout dates before you choose your pass.

How Much You Can Save at Universal Orlando Hotels With Your Annual Pass Discount

Here are a couple of examples of the savings you can achieve by using a Universal Orlando annual passholder discount. Note that these are sample rates based on the day I checked the Universal website, they are not guaranteed and you should always do your own homework to find out the rates for your specific dates.

These examples are assuming you stay for three nights in one of the Universal Orlando on-site hotels. If you want to hear me explain these spreadsheets, click the play button at the top of this page and skip to about 15:00 into the audio.

Example Hotel Savings on a low-crowd week

How to save money at Universal Orlando with an annual pass.

You can see here that for a three-night stay, your hotel savings can really add up. For some of these hotels it might even make sense to get an annual pass just for a one or two night stay.

Another thing to note in this spreadsheet is that by using the annual pass discount, the rate at the Royal Pacific ($179) is actually lower than the non-discounted rate at the Sapphire Falls ($192). The Royal Pacific is a Universal Express Pass hotel, but the Sapphire Falls does not include Express Passes for its guests. (Learn all about Express Pass here). So you can use your annual passholder discount to upgrade yourself to an Express Pass hotel! (I cover this at about 19:00 in the audio).

Example Hotel Savings on a peak-crowd week

Here’s an example if you spend three nights at Universal Orlando during Thanksgiving week. Because of blockout dates, you’ll have to buy a Power pass instead of the Seasonal annual pass.

Save money at Universal Orlando with an annual pass.

Note that I looked up these rates just a few weeks before Thanksgiving 2018. Which is why you don’t see availability for passholder discounts at the Express Pass hotels. If you check far enough in advance, you should almost always see a discount at these hotels.

Besides Hotel Discounts, an Annual Pass Will Save You Money on Future Universal Orlando Vacations

Are you planning to visit Universal Orlando again in the next couple of years? You should definitely consider buying an annual pass.

Free Months Added to Universal Orlando Passes Right Now

Universal Orlando is currently running a special offer for annual passholders. If you buy an annual pass before April 2019, you will get 15 months instead of 12 on a Seasonal or Power pass. And you get 18 months instead of 12 for a Preferred or Premier pass! So, if you expect to visit Orlando on more than one trip in the next 15-18 months, you should seriously consider buying an annual pass.

Here’s a quick example:

If you plan to visit Universal Orlando now, buying a 2-day 2-park ticket + visit again at this time next year, buying the same ticket (assuming the price doesn’t go up), your total ticket outlay will be $264.99 x 2 = $529.98. If you buy a Power Pass, with very few blockout dates, your cost is $354.99 – and it covers 15 months of admission. If you want 18 months of admission, you can buy a Preferred pass for $394.99 – still way less expensive than buying two separate 2-day park tickets!

Not sure you can outlay that much cash up front? If you choose the Power, Preferred, or Premier level passes, Universal will even let you pay monthly instead of all at once. They call it “FlexPay” and you can choose this option when you buy your pass.

Check the current Universal Orlando annual pass prices here.

Check current Universal Orlando park ticket prices here.

Awesome Renewal Rates on Universal Orlando Annual Passes

Even if you don’t plan to return for 2-3 years, it can still make sense to buy an annual pass. This is because the renewal rate for a Universal Orlando Seasonal or Power annual pass is lower than the cost of a 3-day 2-park ticket! (Current rates, of course Universal could change this, but they are generally very generous to renewing passholders).

The current renewal rate for a Seasonal pass is $243.99, renewal for a Power pass is $283.99. The regular price for a 3-day, 2-park ticket is $284.99.

Check the current Universal Orlando annual pass renewal prices for non-Florida-residents here.

Plus, of course, you get those great Universal Orlando hotel passholder discounts.

What if you buy a Seasonal pass but your return trip is during the blockout dates? You can upgrade your pass at any time to make sure it covers the dates of your visit.

Things to Know About Using an Annual Pass to Save Money at Universal Orlando

Only one person needs to have the annual pass to get the hotel discount. So you don’t have to buy a pass for everyone in your room. Only the person making the booking needs to be a passholder.

You don’t need to have an annual pass to find out the discounted hotel rates. Anyone can search for the annual passholder hotel rates on the Universal Orlando website here.

You don’t need to own an annual pass to book the annual passholder hotel rate. You just need to have an annual pass when you check in. You can buy your Universal Orlando annual pass on the UO website here.

Book the annual passholder hotel rates on the Universal Orlando website here. If you’re working with a travel agent, ask them if they can book the passholder discount and help you buy an annual pass.

Universal Orlando usually releases the annual passholder discount hotel rates about two months in advance.

If you’re planning your trip far in advance, don’t buy your park tickets until you see the annual passholder hotel rates. You can book a hotel room far in advance, but make sure the reservation can be canceled. That way you can change the booking if it makes sense to get an annual pass and make a new reservation using the passholder discount. (More explanation about this at about 30:00 in the audio – press play at the top of this page).