If you’ve been following me for at least the last year and a half, you’ll know that I am an avid theme park enthusiast and visitor. So much so that I got an annual pass to Universal Studios Orlando!
After having it for over a year, here’s my thoughts on whether it’s worth it or not.
For me, living in Jacksonville, Florida, only 2.5 hours away from Orlando, it’s been worth it!
Annual passes range between $300-600 annually, depending on the level of pass you get and if you want passes to 2 parks or all 3. The 2 park passes include Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure; the 3 park passes include both of those plus the water park, Volcano Bay. I really appreciate the option to exclude the water park because I, personally, hate water parks so I would get no use out of paying for it.
I got the Power Pass for 2 parks (Universal Studios and Island of Adventure), which is $400 for florida residents and $35-40 monthly once it auto-renews after a year. The Power Pass has less blockout dates during the holidays but doesn’t give you as many perks. With this pass, I get discounted parking but not discounted food or speciality tickets like Halloween Horror Nights – I have to pay full price for all of that. However, it does include Mardi Gras and Christmas celebrations since that’s all included in regular park tickets.
With regular park tickets costing $100-200 throughout the year, I feel like it’s well worth to have an annual pass if you plan to go at least 3 or 4 times throughout the year. For me, I try to go once or twice at Halloween, and then during Christmas, Mardi Gras and in the summertime – so there’s at least 4 trips. This past year I had my annual pass, I visited once a month or every other month so I got a lot of bang for my buck.
Now, with it costing $35-40 per month after the auto-renew, I’m slightly conflicted. That means that it’s worth it to get the annual pass if you go every 3 months at least. For me, that’s doable and I’m likely to visit that frequently anyways, and $40 per month is well within my budget, so again, it’s worth it.
If you’re planning to visit more frequently than me, it might be worth it to get the more expensive passes because of the parking and food discounts, as well as a few other special perks. In the long run, it will likely save you more money.
I can’t speak to buying annual passes for families since I can only speak from personal experience with just me, but I imagine that it might be worth it if you visit frequently for the same reasons I’ve named above.
Overall, I 100% recommend buying an annual pass if you plan to visit Universal Studios Orlando at least 3-4 times a year. It is one of my favorite places in Orlando and at this point, it feels like a second home. I love it so much. Whether you’re a fan of Harry Potter or Jurassic Park or the Simpsons or Marvel comics or Jimmy Fallon, there’s so much to do for everyone at all ages.
Fun fact:
Did you know that Universal Orlando is building its fourth theme park?! Named “Epic Universe,” this theme park is scheduled to open in 2025. Some of the known areas of the park are: “How to train your Dragon,” Mario Bros, Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic, Universal Monsters (think traditional monsters – Dracula, Wolfman, Mummy, etc.). I can’t WAIT to visit and 2025 can’t come soon enough!
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Thank you for reading! What do you think about having an annual pass to Universal Studios Florida? Let me know in the comments below and like this post if you want more like it!
Xoxo’s
Emmalee
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Emmalee Mauldin 