I’m not. I go through my local military travel office. Purchase park to park tickets for all three parks that last the entire year, without block our dates. However 2023, the ticket expires 12/24/23, no block out dates. Universal is starting to nickel and dime like Disney. But no need to complain about it. IMO, we’ll still pay for it! Wait until Epic is operational. We should expect a generous price increase & probably a pay per ride system. Again Disney does it and we still pay it!
Tennessee resident UOAPs here! It is still worth it for how many times we visit. I am wondering how that pricing will change though with epic universe. It may get too $$$.
I am a Kentucky resident and currently have a season pass that I will unfortunately have to let laps this year while I adult and get my credits paid down. 😭 if it wasn't for that I would be taking advantage of it in one way or another. I did notice last year that the discounts for the resorts seemed less than previous years. Staying at Hard Rock during October it still was the best deal for Hotel with Fast Pass but it definitely contributed to my debt crisis!🤣 I look forward to next year so I can once agon get a season pass and visit the parks more often. Thank you both for great content!
As an out of state passholder that gets to the parks avg 3x a year, I have definitely noticed all of the trends you’re talking about. It’s a lot more important to sit down and do the math now than it was before. It’s going to be interesting to see how Epic Universe impacts things!
A note on the dining reservations. If you forget to make one or have a spontaneous trip to Citywalk, it's worth it to check out the bar seating at some of the restaurants as you might get lucky. It's usually first come first serve and not a lot of people know about it. We tried it out with Vivo and got right in and started eating when the wait time was 90 minutes. And they usually don't care if you order drinks or not.
Oh for sure! The bar at big fire was always a go-to for us when we didn’t have reservations. The hotel restaurants sometimes have more availability, too!
#1 thank you. I always enjoy your videos even when you are giving me information I need to know, but don’t like hearing. I remember my son telling his dad, “Lowes Royal Pacific is worth the extra money. You walk by hundreds of people to get on each ride. And you get over the guilt “
Thank you so much for being so transparent! I am a Florida resident and I’ve been debating about getting an annual pass for a few months now and I’m obsessed with watching you guys videos. I’m leaning towards getting one anyway, just sucks all the money saving tips aren’t good as it use to be.
@@ThePughTwo do they still allow you to upgrade to an annual pass when you're there? The year we got one, we just had to pay the difference between the current ticket price we had already bought and the price for the pass. So because we paid for our park tickets months in advance, it was just around $180 or so each to upgrade to the annual pass. That's the only reason we ended up doing it, and got to go 3 more times that year! Thanks for the info! I'm new here but definitely subbing! 😊
Thank you so much for keeping us updated. I'm a non-resident with an annual pass who got a fair deal on a premier hotel in 2022. However, for 2023, the travel agent said the discount would only be applicable for rooms $700 and up. 😳 I'm not sure if anyone else has run into that too. Fortunately, someone in our party was a Florida resident and we were able to get a discount that way. Your videos are always very helpful in planning any future trips, thank you! 💕
Love y’all’s videos. Y’all have helped me plan my first ever universal trip, my first trip for HHN and now I’m on my way in March for my third trip. Keep up the awesome videos. Also y’all have upped your production value tremendously. The hard work shows!
Haha that’s amazing! We love hearing that our videos have been helpful, and that someone else has found their love of the parks like us! And thank you, Zach! We really appreciate it!
Thank you so much for posting this update. We will be first-timers in a few weeks to Universal Orlando and we definitely had to price compare because it was about $750 cheaper for our family of 4 to do 4 days on property at Cabana Bay (through Costco travel) and buy separate express passes (through Sam’s Club travel). We had looked at the premier resorts with your original recommendations and just couldn’t justify the extra $$. Thank you again for being our favorite Universal vloggers!
It’s crazy how much prices have gone up! We’re glad you were able to make your trip work, though. You’re gonna have so much fun with express, and Cabana Bay is the perfect hotel for families!
Cabana Bays been my go to and favorite hotel in Orlando ever since it opened. It surprises me that Cabana Bay is priced as one of the lowest. I find it just as nice if not nicer than premier hotels. If you dig the 50’s aesthetic at least. Also cabana bay has the best and most affordable cafe. And the best pools plus a lazy River. Don’t feel bad for not being able to stay at premier, you’ll love cabana bay
Annual passes actually saved my wife and I money when we came this year. Now we have an excuse to go to HHN this year and not have to pay for park tickets. I just hope the crowds thin back out again.
Wow! This video is jam packed with solid information. I recommend that if you got any one good piece of information to re-watch it again, because you are definitely going to find other information that is beneficial.
It’s a good idea to check the app every morning or ask the front desk of your hotel, because there are often a lot of reservation, cancellations for dining, and you can set up dinner before you head to the park for the day.
Hagrid's is definitely better than sleeping! It's why my wife & I always get up super early for EPA at IOA and head straight to Hagrid's. Great tips as always! We always make reservations for our dinners before our trip, just in case. And pricing out premier hotels vs purchasing everything separately definitely should be done before every trip. We don't have annual passes and we live out of state
Haha that’s smart! Guarantee dinner before you’re even sure you’ll be down there. We like the way you think! Lol we’re so glad you enjoyed this one, Justin!
I’m so mad they got rid of the meal plans! You guys should do a budget video for foods or tips. I’m so stressed out trying to figure out how to budget now without that meal plan option.
We usually expect about $50 per person per day. You can look at the menus and prices for most of the restaurants at Universal if you wanna get an even better idea!
We're in Ohio and have had an AP for about 6 years now. We visit about three times a year. The pay-in-full renewal discount still makes it worth it so far. Also- LOVE the style and production of this video!!
Thank you Stacy! We had fun shooting it and wanted to have some fun with the editing! We always take advantage of the pay in full renewal! It makes it so affordable
Living in Indiana, I bought the preferred pass early last year and went to the park much more than I did in previous years. Found myself booking last minute trips more often due to hotel discounts with the annual pass. I still think it is worth it for me with the discounts. Planning on upping to the premier pass when I am eligible.
If you’re gonna visit several times in a year, it’s absolutely still worth it! They’ve also been dropping room rates last minute like crazy when they don’t sell out!
Love your videos!! We just went on our first universal trip and I felt so much more confident and prepared for the parks after watching your vlogs. Thank you!!
It's amazing to see how a "Things Have Changed" video for Universal talks about "do the math first to find the best deal" while every "Things Have Changed" video for Disney talks about lower quality, loss of perks, eliminated services, exorbitant pricing...
We always try to focus on the positive, while also being helpful! Things are gonna change, and prices are gonna go up, but it’s still a ton of fun to visit lol we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Definitely noticed the changes as well!! Didn't used to have to make dining reservations at all, of course now you kind of need to. Bubba Gump though...gotta have the Landrys card. It's a life saver! Great info as always!
@The Pugh Two you definitely need to. When we were there during Oct, walked up one night park had just closed. Person in front of us they told 45-1 hr. I pulled out the Landrys card, we went right in, seated within 5 minutes!!
Love love love y’all’s videos! Y’all have helped my family in lots of ways with your videos! I know I can go to you all for accurate tips and tricks! Much love you two!
Hello ... thank you for your Info.. soo nice to know you guys always give us, advice about the park... and Yes I will go there this year and those recommendations are good to know. !! as always Be the best !!!!
The reason for the long dining times on the 15th was national cheer leading and band competitions being held/ending. I should know since I was in town and my hotel, Endless summer dockside, was filled with the teams and it made getting to and from the park a hassle. Add that it was the week before a three day weekend makes for a lot of families making a trip thanks to extra day.
I agree this can be rough. Love yalls videos. I have an annual pass and live in jax. One thing i do love about premier hotels is reserved seating for restaurants. Loved it last time
So the video content was really well-spoken and interesting, but the presentation on this video was absolutely astounding. really impressed with the step-up.
Oh my gosh, thank you! You’re so sweet! We’re always trying to improve our videos and make them just that much better, so we’re glad you enjoyed this one!
We are GA residents and get the military annual pass for $235 which includes all 3 parks and is a great deal. I love having the annual pass because I don’t feel a need to get the express passes because we usually end up going during the week and if lines are long for certain rides we can always get on them the next time we visit. We love staying on property but it’s definitely starting to get really expensive!
Thank you for confirming my suspicions! We were annual pass holders for 3-4 years before the pandemic, traveling from NY several times a year, and staying off-peak at the premiere hotels. The hotel discounts alone enabled us to afford our habit. I've been trying to plan our next trip for a year or so, and I have not been able to get the numbers to work for us. The best deals I can find are the 5-day, 3-park packages at Aventura or Cabana Bay. I don't think we'll be pass holders ever again, unfortunately.
Unfortunately, if you do not live in the area, or if you aren't able to come for at least 6-7 days, we can't find a way to make the passes worth it anymore (at least for now!)
We stayed at the Hard Rock in May 2022; we saved $$ with free Express because there were five of us. When we go back next year, we will still stay there (regardless of saving or not on Express) JUST because it's worth the extra money to walk back and forth to the parks SO quickly! We're just budgeting for the rooms to cost double to prepare.
That's one of the reasons we LOVE the Hard Rock! It's literally right there lol. With 5 people, we can imagine it would definitely be worth it for express! Hopefully we don't see prices double in the next year, but who knows!
He pugh two! We are going the first week of may. Is there any changed in wait times by quick service restaurants? What is the best time (of early evening) to get food there? Thanks for all your help with the video's! Greetings from The Netherlands
Hi there! The best way to avoid long waits with the quick service restaurants is to eat at non-traditional times. For example, lunch is normally from around 11:30-2ish, so eating either before or after that can help. Also, utilizing mobile ordering can save you a TON of time. All you have to do is order your food and click the prepare button on the app. Then, just keep enjoying the parks (probably a good idea to stay relatively close to the restaurant you ordered from). Keep an eye on the app, and head to the restaurant when it says your food is ready!
Thanks for the tips. We’ve been wanting to come down for a few years but like most probably, we have to save money in order to be able to come and not worry about money once there. Probably next year before we have enough saved up for a 4 day 5 night 3 park vacation for us 4 people. Inflation keeps knocking us back another year.
We went to WDW in 2018, 2019, and loved it, but after a 2022 visit, we'll never go again. It was awful for so many reasons. So we're definitely in the category of dumping Disney for Universal now
Thank you for being honest enough to revisit past advise. I totally agree the express pass hotel deal may only benefit if you get the basic room anything larger you are paying $7k & up and I believe you still have to purchase admission tickets. As far as deals they were only offering $75 off if you bundle, at Disney we’re were able to get $500 - $1000 off which was $2000 less than a Universal trip. We looked at the annual pass as you previously advised and we’re told we would have to wait until passholder discounts were offered (for hotels). Universal raised prices to pass for all of its expansion ideas many vloggers aren’t being honest about this. We got frustrated and canceled.
As an out of state annual passholder that used to drive down for the weekend and stay at royal pacific this all just hurts me so much. I’ve been noticing these things for the last year or so and I thought I was going crazy because no one was talking about it. Im happy to see my favorite place in the world grow and expand but it does suck that universal no longer feels like my special little escape anymore. I mean now I can barley afford to go and go wayyyy less than I used to and the parks seem to just keep getting more and more crowded even in “non peak” times
We know what you mean. We really felt like that last year, but since moving down we’ve noticed you can still find slow times at the parks. The cost of the hotels is probably the most upsetting, but if you can get away during a really slow time and stay at one of the cheaper hotels, we feel like it’s still manageable. We get the frustration, though!!
Your all's videos are getting even better, great editing guys! Thanks for the heads up, I just renewed my premier pass and didn't know of the changes, I'll be there Friday, I hope I run into you all on the weekend, thanks!
You renewed before the price increase this year! Lol we’re so glad you’re enjoying our videos, too. We try to make every video just a little bit better than the last, and we really appreciate when people notice so thank you! We’ll be around, so keep an eye out for us!
Loved the video, was very informative as per usual guys! The Annual Pass is great (if you live in Florida), but honestly I agree that it isn't exactly worth it if you don't plan on visiting multiple times a year anymore.
Whew! You got us worried for a minute! Totally agree. We’ve noticed a difference between costs for sure. We did find a spot on universals site to save 30% off premiere resorts for our week stay though, so it’s still a deal for us for the resort and pass with a family of four. Definitely worth doing the research! Love your videos!
You can luck out and find good deals sometimes! Especially during the slower times of the year. We’re glad y’all had such a great time on your trip, too!
I was looking at getting an annual pass since I visit at least twice a year but after doing the math...it's almost always better to just buy a vacation package. There's always some promo running that slashes the price off your package, and it's usually a much better deal than if you purchased an annual pass for a non-resident.
We learned that we needed dinner reservations after our first trip. We got in late after driving from KY and had to eat at Pinks not our idea of a good dinner after such a long drive. We dont really eat while traveling. Now we make dinner reservations when we book. Months in advance there are several that you have to have that much notice, Im looking at you Hard Rock haha. Booked for September 🎉. We looked at annual passes because of you all we still may do it next year. ❤
Tip. Whenever you book a premier hotel. Just book it as two guest. So it’s the basic price never add more cause yes they up the price. Then just show up with who you have and they will still get their key/passes with no extra cost.
They’ve started increasing the cost per night if you add guests when checking in! They did that to Tyler when his brother added him onto their room so he could get express. They’ve closed that loophole lol
@@ThePughTwo interesting! I wonder if it depends on how you word it also. I wonder what Tyler had said. Usually my go to line is “they are on their way and be here later/still parking” then they would just ask for their names to make cards for them. It would be weird and odd for them to be like “well you booked it at this price and now it’s more”
Great info! I’ve always figured the difference for the premier vs Sapphire Falls (that’s where I always stay) just for the express passes. Usually it’s cheaper to just get the express passes daily. For me, anyway. I only get to stay for a long weekend. I get the freedom pass. I’m so grateful that Universal offers such a fantastic deal on the passes and hotels. I think with social media, the park is definitely getting more notice. It’s been so much more busier since I’ve started going yrs ago then what it has been the last couple yrs.
Oh we agree, it’s been crazy! We’re interested to see what happens next year before Epic opens up. We’re thinking people might delay their trips by a year and it might be a little slower!
Thank you so much for this. We are in WI and I was thinking that the passes were still the best way to save money. Just some more research before we head down again. Thank you!
We stayed at Hard Rock beginning of December, it was $400 a night. We had 3 people in the room so it made sense since we all got express passes. But we were SO SAD when we arrived and learned that the water taxis were not running that week because they were renovating the docks.
My wife and I are planning to take our 2 kids this summer and when we did the math, it actually came out cheaper to stay at the Endless Summer resort and book a couple extra days than to pay for express OR stay at a premier. We will still have to pay to eat those days, but when we crunched the numbers it made sense. That said, the experience is simply better than what Disney is churning out this days.
As far as premier hotels go I really think it depends on the time of year. It is super important to book fairly early and keep checking for price drops. We booked our spring break 2023 trip almost a year in advance. Been checking for AP rates with no luck. Checked through the main website & there was a savvy traveler discount that was less than the price we originally paid AND less than price when checking through the AP rate link. I did the math for staying at the. Healers Universal resort plus 2 park unlimited express for every day we are staying and by booking with Royal Pacific we are saving a little over $1200. 😳 It’s so important to do all of the maths… And I hate math. 😂 Thanks for all of the tips over the years! They have been truly helpful!!
Lol we couldn’t agree more! Do the math! That’s awesome you ended up getting such a great deal on your room. We’ve seen them dropping hotel rates at the last minute, too. Definitely something to look out for!!
Yep right now u have to Stalk the website.. and grab and change your reservations as the rates change. The website is awesome since it gives u all that at your fingertips and u don’t even need to call and speak to someone! Love it
Great video as always! For my family of 4 it’s still worth it to stay at a premier hotel, but it’s good to know that season passes may not be the cheapest way to get tickets to the parks anymore.
I priced it out both ways for 4 of us and staying at Hard Rock is saving us hundreds of dollars vs staying at Cabana Bay and buying the express passes.
With four people, we would imagine it’s almost always cheaper at the premier hotels! A lot of the time you can buy the current ticket promo for a later date, so that could save you some, too!
Premier hotels-Like you stated, need to check prices. Compared staying (1st week June, 5-day stay) @ Cabana Bay (+ purchasing Express Passes for 3-days) & Royal Pacific (includes EP for 5-days). Staying @ CB would save $40. Went w/RP. RP price later dropped (about $50/nite) to INCLUDE club level.
We’ve seen them dropping rates at the last minute, too! It’s like once they realize they’re not gonna sell out, they drop it big time, especially for pass holders and FL residents.
Thanks for the update guys - good info! I'm coming for a long weekend in a few days and I can't wait. I've never seen the Mardi Gras stuff before so I've been enjoying your videos about that too. I actually saw you guys in line when I last at the park (for HHN) but you were a bit ahead of me and my friend and I didn't wanna tell out 😂
Haha you should’ve yelled at us! We hope you have a great time at Mardi Gras, too. It’s definitely not HHN, but it’s so fun, and we love the food! Maybe we’ll see you this time around! Lol
Wow we were thinking of getting a hotel for the express passes for our anniversary but at those prices... thanks for the heads up. You two are so awesome
Love this video. Good info and I can personally vouch for the dining reservations and the Hotel/Express pass advice. For our upcoming trip it was much cheaper to stay at Sapphire Falls and buy Express Pass out of pocket then to stay at a premiere.
Trying to understand the express pass, it appears to be a daily fee of $250 plus per ticket, per person. to purchase separately. So for a 4 day pass that's 1000 for each person or more. Times a family of 5. Seems the premier hotel is a better deal?? Am I not understanding this right???
@ThePetra88888 this can be tricky so you'll have to do the math. If your family of 5 can sleep in one room like a superior room at Hard Rock, it may be cheaper for you to just book a premier hotel, which I've done before when traveling with my hubby and daughter. But for our upcoming trip we have 4 adults who don't want to share beds because we're not couples or family so we needed two rooms. What we ended up doing was buying a "combo" ticket that gave us both admission and unlimited express pass. This was cheaper than buying an admission ticket and adding express pass. We paid $702 for a 2 day, park to park ticket with unlimited express pass in June. You could save money by dropping the park to park option but I know that my fam wants to do Hogwarts Express so we splurged.
I went with the seasonal premiere pass this year for hotel and parking discounts. However I was disappointed to find out the parking benefit doesn't apply to Hotel parking and the hotel discount makes you jump through "hoops", you actually have to call a special number to get your AP hotel discount. You can't just do it online when you book your reservation.
Oh you can book the pass holder rates online! If you Google “uoap hotel rates” it’s on the first or second link! It’s buried somewhere on the pass holder page, but it exists! The lack of hotel parking discounts is frustrating, though! We feel that! Lol
It definitely helps to have flexible or last minute plans and be able to go slow weeks. We bought passes in Nov 21 back when they were $350 and visited three times Feb22-Feb23. We have a big enough family that it’s a great deal anyway but we managed last minute to book RP the week before Mardi Gras (I assume a pretty slow time) for $250/night passholder rate. Got $300/night the week of Oct 31, probably also slow with HHN ending. We didn’t renew our passes though, those two price hikes were steep and we can’t make so many trips again, but when you time it right you can save a ton!
Timing really is everything! Especially lately with the premier hotels. We’ve heard of people finding great last minute deals at the premier resorts and saving a ton. We totally get it about not renewing. We still can’t believe how expensive the seasonal pass is now!
@@ThePughTwo yeah I screwed up in 2021 and waited to buy until after the price increase so I just bought day passes- then upgraded at the park the last day cause I couldn’t think of not coming back (that was last March) but those price increases last year were no joke… I honestly cried when it happened cause I had been waiting for my adult daughter to give me the green light to buy hers. Should of just bought mine and waited on theirs. What a gut punch that price hike was
Thanks for the update you guys! One recent change in the parks that I was kinda bummed about is at the loading platform for Velocicoaster. They now make the team double check the rider’s restraints and because of how the block zones in the ride work it effectively cuts train operations in half, doubling wait times. ElToroRyan has a video about it where he goes into detail and explains it a million times better than I.
When I rode this month I heard a special announcement that I don’t think others noticed- they added a new train to thr ride that day, 4 trains going…. Not long after they announced express lane opening…. I think the 4th train being added had soemthing to do with it, just my thought. Has anyone else ever ridden when they have announced a 4th train is running?
@@colienemurphy2431 the poor boy dying last March at Icon park in Orlando, I was there the night before videoing the ride, I can’t imagine his poor family and his friends who were riding with him.
I know in a former video you mentioned that if you buy an AP with the 3 free months promo on flex pay, you would have to activate the pass within the promo window or the three months would be voided. This provision may have changed, as I purchased a new AP during the 15 month promo, and this was included in my contract: I understand that if I have submitted a valid promo code for a promotional offer, I agree that any additional months shall be added to my pass(es) once I have paid for the entire twelve-month term. The contract has no mention at all about activating your pass during the promo period to maintain the promo.
Annual passholder from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho! Went twice last year, should have been three times… This year is a little more difficult, we may only get to go once or twice, but we will always be annual passholders, the discounts on everything especially hotels are awesome! Not to mention express after 4pm. You guys nailed it when it comes to Premier hotels versus buying express passes separately. Prices change daily, so it just totally depends on the time, sometimes it’s a lot better of a deal to get a premier hotel, and other times, no way, stay at dockside/Surfside/cabana bay And buy the Xpress passes separately.
The express after 4 is such a huge benefit! We love being able to drop into the parks, ride a couple of things and leave! We are so happy to hear that others have noticed the same thing we have with the hotels! Just makes it kinda like a game to get the best deal haha!
@@ThePughTwo definitely, it would be nice if it was Xpress all day long unlimited, but it is what it is. If the parks are super busy, we will ride what we can in the morning, then look in the shops, and do all that kind of stuff, go back to the hotel and rest for a couple hours and then be back at the park right at 4 o’clock when the express kicks in. Works out really well.
Haha I (Anna) have prescription oakleys that I wear most of the time, but we bought a big box of cheap reflective sunglasses off of Amazon. They’re all different colors, and like $20 for a dozen so we don’t really care if they get dropped or scratched lol
a tip to get an annual pass for cheaper is knowing a friend or a family member that can get you the pass for $200 (includes: 2 park annual pass), $235 (includes: 3 park annual pass) i highly recommend it! thank you for all of your tips and tricks and i love all of your videos!!
Just wanted to point out that a night at a premiere hotel comes with express passes for two days, so even at $700 a night, it would still be $100 cheaper than 2 days of express passes for two people using the estimated $200 for express passes as mentioned. With that being said - the price increase at UO hotels is insane and I'm not suggesting anyone pay $700 a night.
That’s a great point, Jessica! We thought about mentioning it, but it only works if you’re able to go to the parks on your travel days. If you drive to the parks or have an early flight when leaving and can’t use the express on your check in/check out days, it’s kind of a wash. You’re totally right, though!!
Totally agree about the dinner reservations. Though when we were there back in August we managed to make a couple of reservations in the morning when we first got to the park. Though we still had to wait a few minutes at Cowfish, even with a reservation.
Thank you for all the information! I love watching your videos. We have a vacation package booked through universal - 7 nights at dockside with 5 day park to park tickets(buy 3 days get 2 free). Can we upgrade to annual passes during our trip or no because of the discount we got with booking the package bundle? We haven't been there in 20 years and our 11 year old daughter has never been there. If she enjoys the parks we would consider buying APs and going again before they expire. We just don't know as we haven't brought her to a theme park since she was six. Gotta see if it's her thing before we upgrade.
You should be able to upgrade, but make sure you do it while your tickets are still active! Once your trip is over and your tickets are no longer active, you can’t upgrade them retroactively!
Useful video thanks for keeping us update only going to get busy as getting closer to epic opening and more people seem to be leaving Disney for universal
We actually expect things to slow down a little before epic opens! We would think a lot of people will postpone trips until epic is here, but when epic opens it’ll probably be insane! Lol
I was an annual passholder last year but let my pass expire since I plan to move to orlando January 2024 and want to get the highest tier resident pass. Could you do an updated video on what the annual passes include, specifically valet and how that works in high season? Thanks!
The benefits with the passes haven't really changed! We'll probably do another video about passes when the price increases for 2023 kick in. You can see everything that comes with the premier pass on the website, though!
Fun tip. Make a reservation but show up early. Several restaurants will start you earlier. This worked for us at cowfish and confiscos. Likely because people cancelled their earlier reservations.
My Preferred Annual pass expires next month. It's just too expensive to renew for an out of stater who would only get to use it once this year. For active duty military, retired military, and DoD employees; you can get a Freedom pass through MWR for a lot less. There aren't any discounts with a freedom pass, but like an annual pass it's unlimited visits for a year for much less.
Hi Anna & Tyler! Interesting video, I wasn’t sure where you were going with this video went I saw the Thumbnails the other day. But one of my favorite sayings is “The only Constant in Life is Change.” and this this video is an example. I know this because I renewed my Annual Pass last month and last week I was invited to do something this year that might put my annual December trip in danger of not happening. So I may not get the value out of it that I would normally do. Ken
You were smart to renew before price hikes happen this year! The last few years they’ve happened at the end of February, so we’d expect them pretty soon. We hope you’re able to make your trip, though!
@@ThePughTwo we will see, my vacation time will be limited this year, I hope to get there for HHN at least. Mardi Gras doesn’t looks like it is going happen. My best change was last weekend but originally ruled it because it was a holiday weekend.
One part of the math to take into account when deciding if a premier hotel is worth it...keep in mind that the Express Pass benefit is for two days at the hotel. When you said you'd save $100 staying in the cheaper hotel and buying Express Passes separately, that was only for one day of express, right?
Excellent advice, although your math on the Express Pass Unlimited fails if you stay for one night. We are from the UK and will stay in a villa for 14 days, with one night in a Premier Hotel we get 2 days of Express Pass, so even for 2 of us it would be cheaper. If we were staying onsite for longer then I agree you would be better staying at a Value and getting one day Express Pass and having one full day using those and then taking a more relaxed approach the other days.
We are a strange case actually! We are technically Florida residents but live in Wyoming (USAF), but we still keep our annual passes and go to visit a few times a year!
Are you a non-Florida resident? If so, let us know if you have an annual pass or not down below!
Nope, not there often enough to justify the price, especially now lol. I guess the market was over saturated
I’m not. I go through my local military travel office. Purchase park to park tickets for all three parks that last the entire year, without block our dates. However 2023, the ticket expires 12/24/23, no block out dates. Universal is starting to nickel and dime like Disney. But no need to complain about it. IMO, we’ll still pay for it! Wait until Epic is operational. We should expect a generous price increase & probably a pay per ride system. Again Disney does it and we still pay it!
We're non-FLA residents & have UOAPs.
Tennessee resident UOAPs here! It is still worth it for how many times we visit. I am wondering how that pricing will change though with epic universe. It may get too $$$.
I am a Kentucky resident and currently have a season pass that I will unfortunately have to let laps this year while I adult and get my credits paid down. 😭 if it wasn't for that I would be taking advantage of it in one way or another. I did notice last year that the discounts for the resorts seemed less than previous years. Staying at Hard Rock during October it still was the best deal for Hotel with Fast Pass but it definitely contributed to my debt crisis!🤣 I look forward to next year so I can once agon get a season pass and visit the parks more often. Thank you both for great content!
As an out of state passholder that gets to the parks avg 3x a year, I have definitely noticed all of the trends you’re talking about. It’s a lot more important to sit down and do the math now than it was before. It’s going to be interesting to see how Epic Universe impacts things!
Oh my gosh, we agree! We’re super interested in seeing how everything changes with Epic. It’ll be a whole treasure trove of new travel tips lol
I’m excited for the transportation from the airport to the park area, that is a game changer for out of staters like me, I think
I love the creative filming and editing. It definitely makes you stand out from the many other theme park vloggers ❤
Wow, thank you! We really appreciate that!
A note on the dining reservations. If you forget to make one or have a spontaneous trip to Citywalk, it's worth it to check out the bar seating at some of the restaurants as you might get lucky. It's usually first come first serve and not a lot of people know about it. We tried it out with Vivo and got right in and started eating when the wait time was 90 minutes. And they usually don't care if you order drinks or not.
Oh for sure! The bar at big fire was always a go-to for us when we didn’t have reservations. The hotel restaurants sometimes have more availability, too!
#1 thank you. I always enjoy your videos even when you are giving me information I need to know, but don’t like hearing. I remember my son telling his dad, “Lowes Royal Pacific is worth the extra money. You walk by hundreds of people to get on each ride. And you get over the guilt “
😂😂 we love it! We definitely feel the express pass guilt. A little less so when you get the bill, though! Lol
Thank you so much for being so transparent! I am a Florida resident and I’ve been debating about getting an annual pass for a few months now and I’m obsessed with watching you guys videos. I’m leaning towards getting one anyway, just sucks all the money saving tips aren’t good as it use to be.
Awh, thank you! If you’re a FL resident they’re still a great deal! And cheaper for you!! Lol
@@ThePughTwo do they still allow you to upgrade to an annual pass when you're there? The year we got one, we just had to pay the difference between the current ticket price we had already bought and the price for the pass. So because we paid for our park tickets months in advance, it was just around $180 or so each to upgrade to the annual pass. That's the only reason we ended up doing it, and got to go 3 more times that year!
Thanks for the info! I'm new here but definitely subbing! 😊
Thank you so much for keeping us updated. I'm a non-resident with an annual pass who got a fair deal on a premier hotel in 2022. However, for 2023, the travel agent said the discount would only be applicable for rooms $700 and up. 😳
I'm not sure if anyone else has run into that too. Fortunately, someone in our party was a Florida resident and we were able to get a discount that way.
Your videos are always very helpful in planning any future trips, thank you! 💕
The Florida resident discounts are a great deal! It's super hard to find the passholder hotel rates now, though!
Love y’all’s videos. Y’all have helped me plan my first ever universal trip, my first trip for HHN and now I’m on my way in March for my third trip. Keep up the awesome videos. Also y’all have upped your production value tremendously. The hard work shows!
Haha that’s amazing! We love hearing that our videos have been helpful, and that someone else has found their love of the parks like us! And thank you, Zach! We really appreciate it!
Thank you so much for posting this update. We will be first-timers in a few weeks to Universal Orlando and we definitely had to price compare because it was about $750 cheaper for our family of 4 to do 4 days on property at Cabana Bay (through Costco travel) and buy separate express passes (through Sam’s Club travel). We had looked at the premier resorts with your original recommendations and just couldn’t justify the extra $$. Thank you again for being our favorite Universal vloggers!
It’s crazy how much prices have gone up! We’re glad you were able to make your trip work, though. You’re gonna have so much fun with express, and Cabana Bay is the perfect hotel for families!
Cabana Bays been my go to and favorite hotel in Orlando ever since it opened. It surprises me that Cabana Bay is priced as one of the lowest. I find it just as nice if not nicer than premier hotels. If you dig the 50’s aesthetic at least. Also cabana bay has the best and most affordable cafe. And the best pools plus a lazy River. Don’t feel bad for not being able to stay at premier, you’ll love cabana bay
Video quality goes hard 🔥 thanks for making this.
Thank you!
Annual passes actually saved my wife and I money when we came this year. Now we have an excuse to go to HHN this year and not have to pay for park tickets. I just hope the crowds thin back out again.
Haha we love it! They definitely can still save you money, it’s just harder than it was in the past!
You two have really stepped up your videos!! Really liked them before, now I love them! Great job guys!!
Oh my gosh, you’re so sweet!! We’ve been trying work on improving our quality every video, so we love hearing it’s appreciated!
Wow! This video is jam packed with solid information. I recommend that if you got any one good piece of information to re-watch it again, because you are definitely going to find other information that is beneficial.
Thank you, William! We're so glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful!!
It’s a good idea to check the app every morning or ask the front desk of your hotel, because there are often a lot of reservation, cancellations for dining, and you can set up dinner before you head to the park for the day.
That’s a great point!!
This video's quality is amazing I have always loved your content, and I am so happy to see it!
Thank you! We really appreciate you saying that. And thank you for watching!
I also agree that hagrids is better than sleep 🤝 thanks for the very detailed videos you guys always put out!
😂🤣 always! Thank you for watching!!
I’d rather sleep then ride Hagrids, but ask me about Velocicoaster and that’s a whole other story!
Hagrid's is definitely better than sleeping! It's why my wife & I always get up super early for EPA at IOA and head straight to Hagrid's. Great tips as always! We always make reservations for our dinners before our trip, just in case. And pricing out premier hotels vs purchasing everything separately definitely should be done before every trip. We don't have annual passes and we live out of state
Haha that’s smart! Guarantee dinner before you’re even sure you’ll be down there. We like the way you think! Lol we’re so glad you enjoyed this one, Justin!
@@ThePughTwo thx! It always pays to plan ahead so you don't waste money or time and you get to (most likely) do everything you want
The pugh 2 you guys are awesome hope to see you again
❤️ We hope so too, Dan!
man your editing has gotten really good! Awesome job you two!
Thank you so much!!
Loved the video! Just upgraded to 3 park preferred and I couldn't be happier. Volcano bay is such a good time
We love Volcano Bay!! and thank you, we appreciate you watching!
I’m so mad they got rid of the meal plans! You guys should do a budget video for foods or tips. I’m so stressed out trying to figure out how to budget now without that meal plan option.
We usually expect about $50 per person per day. You can look at the menus and prices for most of the restaurants at Universal if you wanna get an even better idea!
We're in Ohio and have had an AP for about 6 years now. We visit about three times a year. The pay-in-full renewal discount still makes it worth it so far.
Also- LOVE the style and production of this video!!
Thank you Stacy! We had fun shooting it and wanted to have some fun with the editing!
We always take advantage of the pay in full renewal! It makes it so affordable
The camera work and transitions were really great in this vid!! Keep creating dope content
Thank you, Tay! We really appreciate it!
Living in Indiana, I bought the preferred pass early last year and went to the park much more than I did in previous years. Found myself booking last minute trips more often due to hotel discounts with the annual pass. I still think it is worth it for me with the discounts. Planning on upping to the premier pass when I am eligible.
If you’re gonna visit several times in a year, it’s absolutely still worth it! They’ve also been dropping room rates last minute like crazy when they don’t sell out!
Love your videos!! We just went on our first universal trip and I felt so much more confident and prepared for the parks after watching your vlogs. Thank you!!
That’s amazing! We really can’t tell you how much we love hearing that. Thank you for watching!
First time seeing content from your channel. Great camera quality and presentation, keep it up.
Thank you so much!
I love how your videos changed. Such amazing quality improvement. The old ones were great but now these are fantastic!
Thank you, Steven! We try to make every video just a little bit better than the last, so we love hearing you appreciate it!
It's amazing to see how a "Things Have Changed" video for Universal talks about "do the math first to find the best deal" while every "Things Have Changed" video for Disney talks about lower quality, loss of perks, eliminated services, exorbitant pricing...
We always try to focus on the positive, while also being helpful! Things are gonna change, and prices are gonna go up, but it’s still a ton of fun to visit lol we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Definitely noticed the changes as well!! Didn't used to have to make dining reservations at all, of course now you kind of need to. Bubba Gump though...gotta have the Landrys card. It's a life saver!
Great info as always!
Haha we’ve heard that’s the best way at those restaurants! We need to get one!
@The Pugh Two you definitely need to. When we were there during Oct, walked up one night park had just closed. Person in front of us they told 45-1 hr. I pulled out the Landrys card, we went right in, seated within 5 minutes!!
Yesss! Love the pacing in this video. The transitions are looking great as well. 👌
Thank you, Kodi! We really appreciate it!
Thanks for the info on the restaurants.
Absolutely! Thanks for watching!
@@ThePughTwo please do not wear those shades again. Pleasssssse. With a cherry on top.
@@VeerMaharaj why is that?
@@ThePughTwo super distracting. I kept focusing on the reflection of the camera man instead of the presenter.
@@VeerMaharaj Unfortunately they are prescription glasses so I’ll have to keep wearing them
Even though I had to cancel the trip I was planning I LOVE your videos and your tips! Thank you
Awh! You’re so sweet! We’re sorry to hear that about your trip, though :( we hope you get to come back soon!!
Love love love y’all’s videos! Y’all have helped my family in lots of ways with your videos! I know I can go to you all for accurate tips and tricks! Much love you two!
You’re so sweet, thank you!! We really appreciate you watching and commenting on our videos!
Hello ... thank you for your Info.. soo nice to know you guys always give us, advice about the park... and Yes I will go there this year and those recommendations are good to know. !! as always Be the best !!!!
We’re glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful, Al! We appreciate you always watching and commenting!!
The reason for the long dining times on the 15th was national cheer leading and band competitions being held/ending. I should know since I was in town and my hotel, Endless summer dockside, was filled with the teams and it made getting to and from the park a hassle. Add that it was the week before a three day weekend makes for a lot of families making a trip thanks to extra day.
The cheer competitions are definitely wild! It’s like a mini spring break before the real chaos hits lol
I agree this can be rough. Love yalls videos. I have an annual pass and live in jax. One thing i do love about premier hotels is reserved seating for restaurants. Loved it last time
We always forget about that benefit! We need to try it out sometime!
So the video content was really well-spoken and interesting, but the presentation on this video was absolutely astounding. really impressed with the step-up.
Oh my gosh, thank you! You’re so sweet! We’re always trying to improve our videos and make them just that much better, so we’re glad you enjoyed this one!
We are GA residents and get the military annual pass for $235 which includes all 3 parks and is a great deal. I love having the annual pass because I don’t feel a need to get the express passes because we usually end up going during the week and if lines are long for certain rides we can always get on them the next time we visit. We love staying on property but it’s definitely starting to get really expensive!
We absolutely LOVE that the offer the military freedom passes!
You guys are killing it with your camera work lately, great job guys!
p.s. what camera are you using? 😅
This video was all shot on the a7 IV
Thank you for confirming my suspicions! We were annual pass holders for 3-4 years before the pandemic, traveling from NY several times a year, and staying off-peak at the premiere hotels. The hotel discounts alone enabled us to afford our habit. I've been trying to plan our next trip for a year or so, and I have not been able to get the numbers to work for us. The best deals I can find are the 5-day, 3-park packages at Aventura or Cabana Bay. I don't think we'll be pass holders ever again, unfortunately.
Unfortunately, if you do not live in the area, or if you aren't able to come for at least 6-7 days, we can't find a way to make the passes worth it anymore (at least for now!)
We stayed at the Hard Rock in May 2022; we saved $$ with free Express because there were five of us. When we go back next year, we will still stay there (regardless of saving or not on Express) JUST because it's worth the extra money to walk back and forth to the parks SO quickly! We're just budgeting for the rooms to cost double to prepare.
That's one of the reasons we LOVE the Hard Rock! It's literally right there lol. With 5 people, we can imagine it would definitely be worth it for express! Hopefully we don't see prices double in the next year, but who knows!
He pugh two!
We are going the first week of may. Is there any changed in wait times by quick service restaurants? What is the best time (of early evening) to get food there?
Thanks for all your help with the video's!
Greetings from The Netherlands
Hi there! The best way to avoid long waits with the quick service restaurants is to eat at non-traditional times. For example, lunch is normally from around 11:30-2ish, so eating either before or after that can help. Also, utilizing mobile ordering can save you a TON of time. All you have to do is order your food and click the prepare button on the app. Then, just keep enjoying the parks (probably a good idea to stay relatively close to the restaurant you ordered from). Keep an eye on the app, and head to the restaurant when it says your food is ready!
@@ThePughTwo sounds perfect! Thank you!!! Do we have to pay by app? Or at the desk where we pick up our food? Greetings!!
Thanks for the tips. We’ve been wanting to come down for a few years but like most probably, we have to save money in order to be able to come and not worry about money once there. Probably next year before we have enough saved up for a 4 day 5 night 3 park vacation for us 4 people. Inflation keeps knocking us back another year.
Prices have been crazy lately! We’re hoping as things slow down a little bit it gets a little better. We hope you make it down next year, though!!
great video. well thoughout and well produced (particularly the wait times).
Thank you, Patrick!!
I think it's getting more crowded because us Floridians are doing Universal instead of Disney.
A lot of people have switched from the mouse, for sure!
We went to WDW in 2018, 2019, and loved it, but after a 2022 visit, we'll never go again. It was awful for so many reasons. So we're definitely in the category of dumping Disney for Universal now
I don't fully agree to this.. just more people moving here & alot of people been going out & doing more after pandemic
My wife and I gave up our Disney ap for Universal and I’m not mad at it.
@@1pt21gw Disney was my happy place for almost 30 years but the magic has been wearing thin for almost 10 years now. Gonna stick with Universal.
Thank you for being honest enough to revisit past advise. I totally agree the express pass hotel deal may only benefit if you get the basic room anything larger you are paying $7k & up and I believe you still have to purchase admission tickets. As far as deals they were only offering $75 off if you bundle, at Disney we’re were able to get $500 - $1000 off which was $2000 less than a Universal trip. We looked at the annual pass as you previously advised and we’re told we would have to wait until passholder discounts were offered (for hotels). Universal raised prices to pass for all of its expansion ideas many vloggers aren’t being honest about this. We got frustrated and canceled.
As an out of state annual passholder that used to drive down for the weekend and stay at royal pacific this all just hurts me so much. I’ve been noticing these things for the last year or so and I thought I was going crazy because no one was talking about it. Im happy to see my favorite place in the world grow and expand but it does suck that universal no longer feels like my special little escape anymore. I mean now I can barley afford to go and go wayyyy less than I used to and the parks seem to just keep getting more and more crowded even in “non peak” times
We know what you mean. We really felt like that last year, but since moving down we’ve noticed you can still find slow times at the parks. The cost of the hotels is probably the most upsetting, but if you can get away during a really slow time and stay at one of the cheaper hotels, we feel like it’s still manageable. We get the frustration, though!!
Your all's videos are getting even better, great editing guys! Thanks for the heads up, I just renewed my premier pass and didn't know of the changes, I'll be there Friday, I hope I run into you all on the weekend, thanks!
You renewed before the price increase this year! Lol we’re so glad you’re enjoying our videos, too. We try to make every video just a little bit better than the last, and we really appreciate when people notice so thank you! We’ll be around, so keep an eye out for us!
Loved the video, was very informative as per usual guys! The Annual Pass is great (if you live in Florida), but honestly I agree that it isn't exactly worth it if you don't plan on visiting multiple times a year anymore.
Thank you so much!! And yeah, it’s crazy how much they upped the non FL resident passes last year. It hurt when we went to renew! Lol
I love you guys chemistry.. I am planning a trip in October and I you guys are going to help me 😂😂🥰 I just subscribed .
You’re so sweet, thank you! We hope you have the best time in October!!
Wow, ty for the update. We are FL residents and have preferred pass.
It’s definitely still worth it for FL residents! And you can get some great last minute deals on hotels if you’re patient! Lol
@@ThePughTwo oh my gosh ty!!
Whew! You got us worried for a minute! Totally agree. We’ve noticed a difference between costs for sure. We did find a spot on universals site to save 30% off premiere resorts for our week stay though, so it’s still a deal for us for the resort and pass with a family of four. Definitely worth doing the research! Love your videos!
You can luck out and find good deals sometimes! Especially during the slower times of the year. We’re glad y’all had such a great time on your trip, too!
For sure! We found the “Be a saavy traveler” discount under hotel deals. Definitely saves $$.
I was looking at getting an annual pass since I visit at least twice a year but after doing the math...it's almost always better to just buy a vacation package. There's always some promo running that slashes the price off your package, and it's usually a much better deal than if you purchased an annual pass for a non-resident.
APs have gone up a ton, and they’ve had some crazy deals this year. It just depends when you’re visiting and how often you come!
We learned that we needed dinner reservations after our first trip. We got in late after driving from KY and had to eat at Pinks not our idea of a good dinner after such a long drive. We dont really eat while traveling. Now we make dinner reservations when we book. Months in advance there are several that you have to have that much notice, Im looking at you Hard Rock haha. Booked for September 🎉. We looked at annual passes because of you all we still may do it next year. ❤
Tip. Whenever you book a premier hotel. Just book it as two guest. So it’s the basic price never add more cause yes they up the price. Then just show up with who you have and they will still get their key/passes with no extra cost.
They’ve started increasing the cost per night if you add guests when checking in! They did that to Tyler when his brother added him onto their room so he could get express. They’ve closed that loophole lol
@@ThePughTwo interesting! I wonder if it depends on how you word it also. I wonder what Tyler had said. Usually my go to line is “they are on their way and be here later/still parking” then they would just ask for their names to make cards for them. It would be weird and odd for them to be like “well you booked it at this price and now it’s more”
Great info! I’ve always figured the difference for the premier vs Sapphire Falls (that’s where I always stay) just for the express passes. Usually it’s cheaper to just get the express passes daily. For me, anyway. I only get to stay for a long weekend. I get the freedom pass. I’m so grateful that Universal offers such a fantastic deal on the passes and hotels. I think with social media, the park is definitely getting more notice. It’s been so much more busier since I’ve started going yrs ago then what it has been the last couple yrs.
Oh we agree, it’s been crazy! We’re interested to see what happens next year before Epic opens up. We’re thinking people might delay their trips by a year and it might be a little slower!
@@ThePughTwo I have a feeling IOA and Studios will be less crowded for awhile when Epic opens 😃. I’m curious too see what will happen.
Thank you so much for this. We are in WI and I was thinking that the passes were still the best way to save money. Just some more research before we head down again. Thank you!
Absolutely! We hope you have a wonderful time on your trip!!
We stayed at Hard Rock beginning of December, it was $400 a night. We had 3 people in the room so it made sense since we all got express passes. But we were SO SAD when we arrived and learned that the water taxis were not running that week because they were renovating the docks.
Oh we remember that week! That’s definitely frustrating, but I guess it has to happen at some point! Lol
My wife and I are planning to take our 2 kids this summer and when we did the math, it actually came out cheaper to stay at the Endless Summer resort and book a couple extra days than to pay for express OR stay at a premier. We will still have to pay to eat those days, but when we crunched the numbers it made sense. That said, the experience is simply better than what Disney is churning out this days.
It’s just crazy to us that it’s changed so much in the last year or so. We’re glad you were able to find the best, though!!
This video was so informative. Thank you so much for your advice.
Thank you, Kristy! We’re glad you enjoyed it!
As far as premier hotels go I really think it depends on the time of year. It is super important to book fairly early and keep checking for price drops. We booked our spring break 2023 trip almost a year in advance. Been checking for AP rates with no luck. Checked through the main website & there was a savvy traveler discount that was less than the price we originally paid AND less than price when checking through the AP rate link. I did the math for staying at the. Healers Universal resort plus 2 park unlimited express for every day we are staying and by booking with Royal Pacific we are saving a little over $1200. 😳 It’s so important to do all of the maths… And I hate math. 😂 Thanks for all of the tips over the years! They have been truly helpful!!
Lol we couldn’t agree more! Do the math! That’s awesome you ended up getting such a great deal on your room. We’ve seen them dropping hotel rates at the last minute, too. Definitely something to look out for!!
Yep right now u have to Stalk the website.. and grab and change your reservations as the rates change. The website is awesome since it gives u all that at your fingertips and u don’t even need to call and speak to someone! Love it
Great video as always! For my family of 4 it’s still worth it to stay at a premier hotel, but it’s good to know that season passes may not be the cheapest way to get tickets to the parks anymore.
I priced it out both ways for 4 of us and staying at Hard Rock is saving us hundreds of dollars vs staying at Cabana Bay and buying the express passes.
With four people, we would imagine it’s almost always cheaper at the premier hotels! A lot of the time you can buy the current ticket promo for a later date, so that could save you some, too!
Love the editing and filming changes!🤙🏻🤙🏻
Thank you! We’re glad you enjoyed it!!
You guys are awesome!
Thank you!
Premier hotels-Like you stated, need to check prices. Compared staying (1st week June, 5-day stay) @ Cabana Bay (+ purchasing Express Passes for 3-days) & Royal Pacific (includes EP for 5-days). Staying @ CB would save $40. Went w/RP. RP price later dropped (about $50/nite) to INCLUDE club level.
We’ve seen them dropping rates at the last minute, too! It’s like once they realize they’re not gonna sell out, they drop it big time, especially for pass holders and FL residents.
This just confirms that I need to only go for the Orlando Informer events. Best bang for the buck
😂😂 they really are a great deal! We love it!
Thanks for the update guys - good info! I'm coming for a long weekend in a few days and I can't wait. I've never seen the Mardi Gras stuff before so I've been enjoying your videos about that too. I actually saw you guys in line when I last at the park (for HHN) but you were a bit ahead of me and my friend and I didn't wanna tell out 😂
Haha you should’ve yelled at us! We hope you have a great time at Mardi Gras, too. It’s definitely not HHN, but it’s so fun, and we love the food! Maybe we’ll see you this time around! Lol
Wow we were thinking of getting a hotel for the express passes for our anniversary but at those prices... thanks for the heads up. You two are so awesome
Haha, we're glad we could help! We're not getting a room at the Hard Rock for our anniversary either because the rates are SO high!
@The Pugh Two aw what a shame though. I know it's special to you guys. But as long as you have each other that's all that matters ❤️
Love this video. Good info and I can personally vouch for the dining reservations and the Hotel/Express pass advice. For our upcoming trip it was much cheaper to stay at Sapphire Falls and buy Express Pass out of pocket then to stay at a premiere.
Thank you so much!! We’re happy you were able to find a better deal, too! Sapphire is such a great hotel!
Trying to understand the express pass, it appears to be a daily fee of $250 plus per ticket, per person. to purchase separately. So for a 4 day pass that's 1000 for each person or more. Times a family of 5. Seems the premier hotel is a better deal?? Am I not understanding this right???
@ThePetra88888 this can be tricky so you'll have to do the math. If your family of 5 can sleep in one room like a superior room at Hard Rock, it may be cheaper for you to just book a premier hotel, which I've done before when traveling with my hubby and daughter. But for our upcoming trip we have 4 adults who don't want to share beds because we're not couples or family so we needed two rooms. What we ended up doing was buying a "combo" ticket that gave us both admission and unlimited express pass. This was cheaper than buying an admission ticket and adding express pass. We paid $702 for a 2 day, park to park ticket with unlimited express pass in June. You could save money by dropping the park to park option but I know that my fam wants to do Hogwarts Express so we splurged.
I went with the seasonal premiere pass this year for hotel and parking discounts. However I was disappointed to find out the parking benefit doesn't apply to Hotel parking and the hotel discount makes you jump through "hoops", you actually have to call a special number to get your AP hotel discount. You can't just do it online when you book your reservation.
Oh you can book the pass holder rates online! If you Google “uoap hotel rates” it’s on the first or second link! It’s buried somewhere on the pass holder page, but it exists! The lack of hotel parking discounts is frustrating, though! We feel that! Lol
Thanks so much for this!! I didn't realize the passes had changed so much too. As always, this will help me advise as well. ❤️
❤️❤️ you’re the best, Sam!!
It definitely helps to have flexible or last minute plans and be able to go slow weeks. We bought passes in Nov 21 back when they were $350 and visited three times Feb22-Feb23. We have a big enough family that it’s a great deal anyway but we managed last minute to book RP the week before Mardi Gras (I assume a pretty slow time) for $250/night passholder rate. Got $300/night the week of Oct 31, probably also slow with HHN ending. We didn’t renew our passes though, those two price hikes were steep and we can’t make so many trips again, but when you time it right you can save a ton!
Timing really is everything! Especially lately with the premier hotels. We’ve heard of people finding great last minute deals at the premier resorts and saving a ton. We totally get it about not renewing. We still can’t believe how expensive the seasonal pass is now!
I caught that Royal rate too! It was awesome cause it was my first HHN!
@@ThePughTwo yeah I screwed up in 2021 and waited to buy until after the price increase so I just bought day passes- then upgraded at the park the last day cause I couldn’t think of not coming back (that was last March) but those price increases last year were no joke… I honestly cried when it happened cause I had been waiting for my adult daughter to give me the green light to buy hers.
Should of just bought mine and waited on theirs.
What a gut punch that price hike was
Thanks for the update you guys! One recent change in the parks that I was kinda bummed about is at the loading platform for Velocicoaster. They now make the team double check the rider’s restraints and because of how the block zones in the ride work it effectively cuts train operations in half, doubling wait times.
ElToroRyan has a video about it where he goes into detail and explains it a million times better than I.
We saw that video! It was so interesting, and we’ve seen the change in person, too. It’s definitely slowing down the line!
Better safe than sorry. I think the recent sad event made all theme parks look again at their safety processes
@@indigopeas4047 What was the recent sad event?
When I rode this month I heard a special announcement that I don’t think others noticed- they added a new train to thr ride that day, 4 trains going….
Not long after they announced express lane opening….
I think the 4th train being added had soemthing to do with it, just my thought.
Has anyone else ever ridden when they have announced a 4th train is running?
@@colienemurphy2431 the poor boy dying last March at Icon park in Orlando, I was there the night before videoing the ride, I can’t imagine his poor family and his friends who were riding with him.
Yup, just got myself one of those buy 3 days get 2 days free tickets.
Cannot wait to go in May!
That’s so exciting! You’re gonna love it!
I know in a former video you mentioned that if you buy an AP with the 3 free months promo on flex pay, you would have to activate the pass within the promo window or the three months would be voided. This provision may have changed, as I purchased a new AP during the 15 month promo, and this was included in my contract:
I understand that if I have submitted a valid promo code for a promotional offer, I agree that any additional months shall be added to my pass(es) once I have paid for the entire twelve-month term.
The contract has no mention at all about activating your pass during the promo period to maintain the promo.
That’s good to know! Thanks for the update!!
So much great information. With all the changes maybe you should do a new video for annual passes and what's included.
We're waiting for price hikes for this year first! lol
Annual passholder from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho! Went twice last year, should have been three times… This year is a little more difficult, we may only get to go once or twice, but we will always be annual passholders, the discounts on everything especially hotels are awesome! Not to mention express after 4pm. You guys nailed it when it comes to Premier hotels versus buying express passes separately. Prices change daily, so it just totally depends on the time, sometimes it’s a lot better of a deal to get a premier hotel, and other times, no way, stay at dockside/Surfside/cabana bay And buy the Xpress passes separately.
The express after 4 is such a huge benefit! We love being able to drop into the parks, ride a couple of things and leave!
We are so happy to hear that others have noticed the same thing we have with the hotels! Just makes it kinda like a game to get the best deal haha!
@@ThePughTwo definitely, it would be nice if it was Xpress all day long unlimited, but it is what it is. If the parks are super busy, we will ride what we can in the morning, then look in the shops, and do all that kind of stuff, go back to the hotel and rest for a couple hours and then be back at the park right at 4 o’clock when the express kicks in. Works out really well.
Great Video all theme parks are changing.. prices change everything
Ain’t that the truth! Lol we’re interested to see what happens when Epic gets here
@@ThePughTwo I'll be there I don't care about the cost I'm soo excited! 😊
What brand of sunglasses do you two buy?? I needs them. Love the content by the way
Haha I (Anna) have prescription oakleys that I wear most of the time, but we bought a big box of cheap reflective sunglasses off of Amazon. They’re all different colors, and like $20 for a dozen so we don’t really care if they get dropped or scratched lol
a tip to get an annual pass for cheaper is knowing a friend or a family member that can get you the pass for $200 (includes: 2 park annual pass), $235 (includes: 3 park annual pass)
i highly recommend it! thank you for all of your tips and tricks and i love all of your videos!!
We’re curious how people can get the passes for that?? That would be a steal!
@@ThePughTwo Any Militray Member can get up to 6 passes including themselves
Thanks for the information
Absolutely! Thank you for watching!
Just wanted to point out that a night at a premiere hotel comes with express passes for two days, so even at $700 a night, it would still be $100 cheaper than 2 days of express passes for two people using the estimated $200 for express passes as mentioned. With that being said - the price increase at UO hotels is insane and I'm not suggesting anyone pay $700 a night.
That’s a great point, Jessica! We thought about mentioning it, but it only works if you’re able to go to the parks on your travel days. If you drive to the parks or have an early flight when leaving and can’t use the express on your check in/check out days, it’s kind of a wash. You’re totally right, though!!
Totally agree about the dinner reservations. Though when we were there back in August we managed to make a couple of reservations in the morning when we first got to the park. Though we still had to wait a few minutes at Cowfish, even with a reservation.
That’s amazing! Cowfish is definitely worth the wait, too! Lol
Are you guys gonna be there tomorrow or the day after? Because I’m going tomorrow and thursday for full days and really love your guys’ content!!!
We might be there tomorrow! We hope you have a great time on your trip!!
@@ThePughTwo we’re here for the last tome today. Probably gonna be around mostly the mummy and harry potter.
Thank you for all the information! I love watching your videos. We have a vacation package booked through universal - 7 nights at dockside with 5 day park to park tickets(buy 3 days get 2 free). Can we upgrade to annual passes during our trip or no because of the discount we got with booking the package bundle? We haven't been there in 20 years and our 11 year old daughter has never been there. If she enjoys the parks we would consider buying APs and going again before they expire. We just don't know as we haven't brought her to a theme park since she was six. Gotta see if it's her thing before we upgrade.
You should be able to upgrade, but make sure you do it while your tickets are still active! Once your trip is over and your tickets are no longer active, you can’t upgrade them retroactively!
Useful video thanks for keeping us update only going to get busy as getting closer to epic opening and more people seem to be leaving Disney for universal
We actually expect things to slow down a little before epic opens! We would think a lot of people will postpone trips until epic is here, but when epic opens it’ll probably be insane! Lol
I was an annual passholder last year but let my pass expire since I plan to move to orlando January 2024 and want to get the highest tier resident pass. Could you do an updated video on what the annual passes include, specifically valet and how that works in high season? Thanks!
The benefits with the passes haven't really changed! We'll probably do another video about passes when the price increases for 2023 kick in. You can see everything that comes with the premier pass on the website, though!
Universal may change…but you two better never change.
Lol no worries, thundercat! We’ll be the same old Pugh Two as long as there’s Universal content to cover!
Fun tip. Make a reservation but show up early. Several restaurants will start you earlier. This worked for us at cowfish and confiscos. Likely because people cancelled their earlier reservations.
Oh we do that, too! They’re usually great about going ahead and putting you on the list to get seated.
My Preferred Annual pass expires next month. It's just too expensive to renew for an out of stater who would only get to use it once this year. For active duty military, retired military, and DoD employees; you can get a Freedom pass through MWR for a lot less. There aren't any discounts with a freedom pass, but like an annual pass it's unlimited visits for a year for much less.
The freedom pass is an amazing value for people that qualify!! We don’t blame you, we’d probably go with that option, too!
Just a quick tip. If you're going to stay for even one day it's a cost saver to purchase the universal soda fountain cup for free refills.
We love the freestyle cups! We have a cabinet full of them, and did an entire video breaking it down a while ago. We always take them to the parks!
Annual passholder hotel discounts are also subject to seasonal availability
Oh absolutely! They’re never guaranteed, unfortunately.
Thank you, very informative
You are very welcome! Thank you for watching!
Hi Anna & Tyler! Interesting video, I wasn’t sure where you were going with this video went I saw the Thumbnails the other day. But one of my favorite sayings is “The only Constant in Life is Change.” and this this video is an example. I know this because I renewed my Annual Pass last month and last week I was invited to do something this year that might put my annual December trip in danger of not happening. So I may not get the value out of it that I would normally do. Ken
You were smart to renew before price hikes happen this year! The last few years they’ve happened at the end of February, so we’d expect them pretty soon. We hope you’re able to make your trip, though!
@@ThePughTwo we will see, my vacation time will be limited this year, I hope to get there for HHN at least. Mardi Gras doesn’t looks like it is going happen. My best change was last weekend but originally ruled it because it was a holiday weekend.
One part of the math to take into account when deciding if a premier hotel is worth it...keep in mind that the Express Pass benefit is for two days at the hotel. When you said you'd save $100 staying in the cheaper hotel and buying Express Passes separately, that was only for one day of express, right?
This is very true! This only really matters if you have time for the parks on your travel days, though!
My family love all your content!! Quick question, does the express pass at Universal resorts work for ALL rides? Love y'all ❤️!!
It doesn’t work for Hagrid’s or Pteranodon Flyers, but it works for everything else at the two theme parks! It doesn’t work at Volcano Bay either.
@The Pugh Two Thanks y'all. Keep up the great work!
Excellent advice, although your math on the Express Pass Unlimited fails if you stay for one night. We are from the UK and will stay in a villa for 14 days, with one night in a Premier Hotel we get 2 days of Express Pass, so even for 2 of us it would be cheaper. If we were staying onsite for longer then I agree you would be better staying at a Value and getting one day Express Pass and having one full day using those and then taking a more relaxed approach the other days.
Oh for sure! One night at the premier hotels is a great deal. Especially if you have 3 or 4 people!
We are a strange case actually! We are technically Florida residents but live in Wyoming (USAF), but we still keep our annual passes and go to visit a few times a year!
Haha that’s awesome!! We love it!
Good seeing you tyler and Anna at universal
It was great seeing you, too!
That was hilarious watching Anna relay the CityWalk wait times😂
😂😂 we’re glad you enjoyed it!