Best Way to get annual passes

[Jimmy Mac]

What's the deal with Annual passes? I mistakenly thought these were only for Florida residents.
Do they get you free parking at the parks etc.

I've previously bought the 2 week 3 park Universal package for our 3 week trip can I upgrade to the full 3 weeks for not much more?

[gismo1554]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Mac

What's the deal with Annual passes? I mistakenly thought these were only for Florida residents.
Do they get you free parking at the parks etc.

I've previously bought the 2 week 3 park Universal package for our 3 week trip can I upgrade to the full 3 weeks for not much more?

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So for Disney, the annual passes include free parking and discounted dining and merchandise (10% in most places)

In Universal however there are different levels. A seasonal pass (cheapest option but blacks out Easter, August and Christmas) is usually around $50 (plus tax) more than the 2 week 3 pass but doesn't give you parking benefits. There is then an inbetween one that was quoted as $100 (plus tax) which gives 50% parking discount and then there is the full free parking which is $150 (plus tax). Depending on how many days you are going will depend on whether this is worth it or not. For us we were staying on site so had paid for parking at the resort. We were going back for another trip so decided to go with the $50 one as paying the extra $100 would mean we would have to go another 4 times to make our money back in parking charges. The likelihood is next year we would go one or two days as not staying on site and prefer Disney anyway.

Some people have managed to get the 3 park ticket downgraded to a 2 park seasonal annual pass and paid around $20 but we were told this is no longer available.

[Jimmy Mac]

Originally Posted by gismo1554

So for Disney, the annual passes include free parking and discounted dining and merchandise (10% in most places)

In Universal however there are different levels. A seasonal pass (cheapest option but blacks out Easter, August and Christmas) is usually around $50 (plus tax) more than the 2 week 3 pass but doesn't give you parking benefits. There is then an inbetween one that was quoted as $100 (plus tax) which gives 50% parking discount and then there is the full free parking which is $150 (plus tax). Depending on how many days you are going will depend on whether this is worth it or not. For us we were staying on site so had paid for parking at the resort. We were going back for another trip so decided to go with the $50 one as paying the extra $100 would mean we would have to go another 4 times to make our money back in parking charges. The likelihood is next year we would go one or two days as not staying on site and prefer Disney anyway.

Some people have managed to get the 3 park ticket downgraded to a 2 park seasonal annual pass and paid around $20 but we were told this is no longer available.

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Thanks for the reply we’re staying at a Disney resort so parking is free for us . I’ll need to look into the universal one nearer the time hopefully save a few quid on parking the 3 weeks were there.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Mac

Thanks for the reply we’re staying at a Disney resort so parking is free for us . I’ll need to look into the universal one nearer the time hopefully save a few quid on parking the 3 weeks were there.

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BTW, you can find out more about the Universal annual passes here:

universalorlando/web...omo/index.html

There's currently a promo on offer where you can get extra months free - either 3 or 6 months depending on the type of annual pass.

If you are going twice (or more!) in one year then it's generally worth getting Annual passes for both Disney and Universal. If you are only going once in a year, then it's unlikely to be worth getting the Disney Annual pass but it might be worth getting a Universal Annual pass. It depends on the Annual pass you need/want, how many times you'll visit Universal, and how much you intend to spend on food/merchandise whilst there.

Using gismo1554's post earlier, to get free parking you'll need the Preferred Pass which might cost an additional $150 on top of the price of a 14-day ticket. This is equivalent to 6 days of parking at $25 a day. So, ignoring other benefits and discounts for now, you'd need to visit the Universal theme parks on 6 days or more to make the Preferred Pass worth buying.

[gismo1554]

Oh and remember - you only need 1 annual pass per car at Universal (or Disney) to get free parking. The free parking runs from visit 2 at Universal so actually you need to go 7 days in order to make it worthwhile btw.