Possible to use annual passes instead of tickets?

Dingdingding

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 12, 2017
Small question: Is it possible to use annual passes for you vacation instead of tickets? Is it possible to buy them beforehand or do you have to buy the annual passes there. We're going for almost the whole of September (August 31 till September 28) and have a 21-day ticket for Disney but we are thinking about using annual passes at Universal and Seaworld instead of tickets as they are cheaper, give discounts and give more freedom. Is it possible to buy the passes, pick them up at our first visit to the park and use them right away?

I'm asking since I know you can't do something like that at parks like Disneyland Paris (where you have to wait a couple of days before you can use the pass after picking it up). Are there any other reason's we couldn't (or shouldn't) do it that way?

Many thanks in advance!
 
I can't speak for Seaworld (as I've not been) but Universal APs can be used as soon as you've collected them.
 


Short follow up question: is it possible to buy the passes online a couple of months beforehand to get a discount rate at the hotels if you're not an American?
 
Remember with the passes, you only need one per car to get any parking discounts (or any others actually). Means you can often save a bit by getting one of the premium annual passes with free parking and the others at the lower rate that doesn't include it. There was around $100 difference at Universal between the two park passes. As parking is $28 I think now as long as you are going more than 4 times in the life of the ticket you probably should get one with free parking to save money.

Oh and with universal, you can buy the passes online deffo and then use them for the discount at the hotel. To be fair I think the discount on hotels is only on certain ones and at certain times so may or may not work out.
 
Remember with the passes, you only need one per car to get any parking discounts (or any others actually). Means you can often save a bit by getting one of the premium annual passes with free parking and the others at the lower rate that doesn't include it. There was around $100 difference at Universal between the two park passes. As parking is $28 I think now as long as you are going more than 4 times in the life of the ticket you probably should get one with free parking to save money.

Oh and with universal, you can buy the passes online deffo and then use them for the discount at the hotel. To be fair I think the discount on hotels is only on certain ones and at certain times so may or may not work out.
Thanks! Yes we were planning to get one preferred pass and one seasonal one. I've heared that the discounts aren't better than the rate you get when you book a week or longer, is that true? But we're considering switching one of our Universal hotels for a Disney one due to the parking costs, as I've understood that hotels booked through the British Disney site still offer free parking and parking is still pricey in the hotels when you have an annual pass. We could have Animal kingdom Lodge for the same price as Sapphire Falls if you include parking.
 


Thanks! Yes we were planning to get one preferred pass and one seasonal one. I've heared that the discounts aren't better than the rate you get when you book a week or longer, is that true? But we're considering switching one of our Universal hotels for a Disney one due to the parking costs, as I've understood that hotels booked through the British Disney site still offer free parking and parking is still pricey in the hotels when you have an annual pass. We could have Animal kingdom Lodge for the same price as Sapphire Falls if you include parking.

Parking wise I think Disney are still offering free up until 2020 not sure about 2020 and beyond but yes its about $26 a day I think we paid at Portofino in September. The only thing to take into account is that for Universal its free parking after your first visit so you don't get the first parking charge back if that makes sense?
 

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