Whoa…That is a Lot of Ticket Options
When it comes to visiting Universal Orlando Parks & Resorts, you may think well they only have two main theme parks and a water park and I am here for just a few days so I can go buy park tickets for a couple of them. But then when you jump online and see all the options you may start panicking. Not to worry, I am here to help break these options down for you.
My number one rule when it comes to buying tickets is (drumroll please)…………..get yourself a travel agent - and oh hey guess what, that’s me! If a client comes to me and says we want to go to Universal for 5 nights and visit all the parks I will tell them okay, you’ll need a 4 day 3 park park-to-park ticket and because you staying at a premier resort you’ll get the Express Pass Unlimited. At that point, my client says Carrie, I have no idea what that means but you know what you’re talking about so we’re going to trust you. Seriously, travel agents like myself have been trained and we can help you decide which type of ticket is best suited for your family. And guess what…not everyone in your party needs to have the same ticket. I know…I know…mind blown already.
Let’s start with the basics shall we? Universal Orlando Resort currently has three parks you can visit during your stay; Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay Water Theme Park. I say currently because at this time they are in the beginning stages of building their fourth theme park, Epic Universe which is expected to open in 2025.
Ready to dive in to the good stuff? Great, lets go. Okay, so you can of course purchase a one day park ticket for either of the three parks, which I have actually done, but believe me you feel like you are missing out; especially if you have been there before. So for purposes of this post, we are going to focus on multi-day, multi park tickets.
My next ticket rule is having a Park-to-Park ticket and I do not let my clients purchase anything different. Yes, this ticket costs more but it is the best way to experience the parks. What you must understand is that Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are located right next to one another. These parks are so close they could almost be one huge park. But since they are two parks, they created a ticket that allows you to visit both in the same day along with a pretty ingenious way to get back and forth…The Hogwarts Express. Yep, the actual train from Harry Potter is a ride from King’s Cross Station to Hogsmeade Station (and vice versa) and unfortunately, the only way you get to ride it is by having a park-to-park ticket. So for all those diehard Harry Potter fans out there, if you don’t have this type of ticket, you won’t even be let into the stations to take a peek so be sure you get the right ticket.
Now that we’ve established why you need a ticket that allows you to visit multiple parks, it’s time to figure out how many days. I know what you’re thinking, Carrie, three parks so three days right? Nope. I personally find 4 days to be perfect. I like to breakdown my park days like this:
Day 1 - Mostly Universal finishing at Islands
Day 2 - Mostly Islands finishing at Universal
Day 3 - Volcano Bay all day
Day 4 - Bounce back and forth between Universal & Islands to repeat favorites.
Of course everyone has their own way of enjoying the parks but this is just the way my family likes to spread out our time. We like to see and do it all and have time to go back and hit up something we may have missed or just really love and want to do all over again.
Next up on my ticket rules is knowing that every member of your party does not have to have the exact same ticket. Universal is very flexible in allowing you to literally create your own package. Let me give you an example. I had a multi-generational family visiting for 3 nights and 4 days; Mom, Dad, their older son, his wife & their grandson. Son, wife and grandson are huge Harry Potter fans and wanted to hit the ground running as soon as they arrived. Mom and Dad however wanted to relax at the hotel and meander over to CityWalk for a nice meal. Mom and Dad were also not water park fans and preferred to have a leisurely resort day. Here is what they purchased:
2 Day, 2 Park, Park-to-Park Tickets for Mom & Dad
3 Day, 3 Park, Park-to-Park Tickets for Son, Wife & Grandson
I just love that Universal allows me to fully cater to my clients needs without jumping through hoops. You really can assign each member of your party a customized ticket.
And so, we are up to the final part of tickets that I would be remiss if I failed to talk about which is the add-on feature called Express Pass.
Express Pass when added to a park ticket, allows you to skip the regular standby lines for most attractions at both Universal and Islands of Adventure. There are two different options: Express Pass and Express Pass Unlimited.
With Express Pass, you are allowed to skip-the-line once per attraction. And Express Pass Unlimited allows you to skip-the-line over and over as many times as you like for all participating attractions.
The prices of both Express Pass options vary by day with a starting cost of $69.99 per person per day for just one park or $89.99 per person per day for one park unlimited.
Guests who chose to stay at a Premier resort will be given the 2 Park Express Pass Unlimited for the length of their stay which is why I always suggest a Premier resort. The value of this perk starts at $119.99 per person per day.
Volcano Bay also has two Express Pass options for purchase. Starting at $19.99 per person per day, guests can skip-the-line one time at SELECT participating rides with the Volcano Bay Express Pass. Or with the Volcano Bay Express Pass Plus, guests can get a one time skip-the-line for ALL participating rides which starts at $39.99 per person per day.
Phew, that is a lot of information. Did I explain it well or thoroughly confuse you? Either way, please contact me to start discussing your next trip to Universal Orlando. I am happy to help figure out exactly what tickets will be perfect for your vacation.