Universal/Disney tickets - upgrading to annual pass

[MillieMoo23]

We are off to Orlando in May next year, staying off site, and have just found out ticket prices have increased . We are four adults and we will probably do 6/7 days in Universal (not bothered about Volcano Bay) and the rest in Disney.
I was wondering whether it would make sense to purchase one 2-park preferred annual pass for Universal as I understand you get free parking and 10% off merchandise and food. Would the extra cost for the annual pass mitigate the savings for parking and discount? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by MillieMoo23

I was wondering whether it would make sense to purchase one 2-park preferred annual pass for Universal as I understand you get free parking and 10% off merchandise and food. Would the extra cost for the annual pass mitigate the savings for parking and discount?

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Answering your main question above, I assume the others in your party would be buying 2-Park 14 day Explorer tickets for Universal.

Currently:

• A Universal 2-Park Preferred Annual Pass costs $385+tax = £315 (approx)
• A 2019 14-Day Universal ticket costs around £260 (approx).

So, the Preferred Annual Pass will cost you around £55 more.

Parking at Universal is just under £17 per day at the moment. So, if you park at Universal on 4 days or more then you'll save money getting the Preferred Annual Pass. Or if you spent more than £550 on merchandise and food then you'd also be better off with the Annual Pass.

Given that you are thinking of visiting Universal on 6 or 7 days then, the savings you make with the free parking would mitigate the extra cost of the Annual pass.

However, it's worth noting that the price of the Annual Passes will probably increase in February next year. So the price difference may be greater when you go.

(Note that it's only the UK Universal tickets that have gone up in price recently. The American Universal tickets haven't and nor have the UK Disney tickets).

[MillieMoo23]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, the others will be buying the 2-park Universal ticket, but more than likely part of a joint Disney/Universal ticket. We don't anticipate going again within a year, so if I was to purchase the annual pass for 31 December 2018, I could get it at the price it is currently, and it would be valid for May2019?

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by MillieMoo23

but more than likely part of a joint Disney/Universal ticket.

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Just to check, you are aware that it won't be a joint ticket? You'll get 2 separate tickets - one for Disney and one for Universal - just sold at one single "combo" price. There's no such thing as a single ticket that covers both Disney and Universal.

Originally Posted by MillieMoo23

We don't anticipate going again within a year, so if I was to purchase the annual pass for 31 December 2018, I could get it at the price it is currently, and it would be valid for May2019?

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I think so but I'm not sure. The website states that the AP doesn't start until you begin to use it but it doesn't say how long beforehand you can buy it.

Of course, even if the AP started now, it would last for the next 12 months - i.e. until the end of July 2019. So it could be used in May 2019.

[Mrs Valentine]

whats the difference in the disney 14 day pass to the annual pass then, I would be interested in this myself.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Mrs Valentine

whats the difference in the disney 14 day pass to the annual pass then, I would be interested in this myself.

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With the 14 day ticket you can only use it for 14 days and with the Annual Pass you can use it all year round...



...I guess you mean the price difference?

Okay, here are the current prices for 2019:

• Disney 2019 14-Day Ultimate ticket = £419 (official), about £390 (other places)
• Disney Platinum Pass = $904 = about £695
• Disney Platinum Plus Pass = $1011 = about £778

The difference in price is therefore £276 for the Platinum Pass (no waterparks, no mini-golf) or £359 for the Platinum Plus Pass (includes access to the waterparks & mini-golf). This uses the official price - if you get the 14-day ticket from elsewhere then the price difference will be greater. And if your talking about 2018 tickets, then the price difference will be greater still.

As you can see, there is a much larger difference in the price with Disney compared to Universal. If you were only visiting Florida once in a year, then you would need to park at Disney 17 times to make the (cheaper) Platinum Pass worth getting. Or spend £2760 on merchandise, assuming you get 10% discount. Or a combination of the two.

Thus, for most people, a Disney Annual Pass is only worthwhile if they have two (or more) Florida holidays in a year.

[robotango]

Slightly different question but, I've already purchased 4, 14 day 3 park passes to Universal but had heard you could upgrade them to an annual pass for a fee, does anyone no if this is correct or have any experience of upgrading at the parks

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by robotango

Slightly different question but, I've already purchased 4, 14 day 3 park passes to Universal but had heard you could upgrade them to an annual pass for a fee, does anyone no if this is correct or have any experience of upgrading at the parks

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You can swap your tickets for the Annual Passes and pay the difference in price - which is what this thread is about.

The price to "upgrade" a 2019 14-day Universal ticket to a 2-Park Preferred Annual Pass should be about £55 or $72 - that's the approximate difference in price between the two (see above).

However, sometimes Universal appears to give a different price for the UK tickets. And it's worth pointing out that I was comparing the 2019 ticket prices. And Universal does a range of different Annual Passes with a variety of different benefits. The Seasonal Pass is the cheapest but this doesn't give you free parking and has some block-out dates when you can't use it.

Hopefully, someone will come along and provide their recent experience with upgrading.