I've Spent Three Days in Universal Orlando — Here's Why I Know Being An Annual Passholder is Worth It

Earlier this year, I decided to become a Universal Orlando passholder in addition to being a Disney World Annual Passholder.

I know, I know, that’s a lot of money to spend, but since I’m traveling down to Orlando pretty frequently now, I realized that I’d likely be in Universal pretty often both to film, and to go for fun, so I figured it would be a great way to save some money. I was skeptical, though, hoping that it wouldn’t be a bad financial choice. Let me tell you, though — after just THREE days in the park, I knew I had made a GREAT choice.

I purchased the 2-Park Preferred Pass, which is the second-highest tier of Annual Pass. I spent $670 on the pass overall and chose to do the flex pay option, so while I put my down payment down, I also pay around $30 a month for the next twelve months, which works well for me.

Universal Orlando tickets certainly aren’t cheap, especially if you’re park hopping between both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. When I went earlier this year, I would have park hopped 2/3 of the days, and after doing the math, I was SHOCKED at how much it would have cost me.

Including what I would have spent on parking (which I paid for the very first time I activated my pass, but I didn’t count that), I would have spent $584.59 in just those THREE days! That means with just ONE more day in the parks, which I did on the following trip, I had already easily made up for what my pass cost me.

Depending on what pass you get, it’ll take you a maximum of around 7 days visiting the park to make up for what your pass costs, especially if you’re park hopping. The most expensive pass for two parks is the Premier Pass at (currently) $905, the second highest tier is the Preferred Pass at (currently) $630, then you’ve got the Power Pass at $475, and finally the Seasonal Pass at $425. With these numbers in mind, you can expect to save money on your pass after 3-7 visits, which, depending on how long you go for, could be just ONE trip, or 2-3.

For me, since I go down so often and likely spend at least ONE day down there, it was a great deal for me. If you know you’ll be traveling to Universal Orlando frequently in a year, it’s best to crunch the numbers ahead of time and see what works best to save you the most money. While buying an AP is great for frequent visitors, I do NOT recommend it for those visiting sporadically, even the lower two passes. Ultimately, it’s likely you may end up spending more money, and that’s the last thing you want.