Which Annual Pass Is Best? Comparing Orlando’s Theme Park Annual Pass Programs
The Big Three Orlando theme parks indulge Florida residents with passholder perks.
Passport to Fun
UOAP. SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THAT EVERY THIRD VEHICLE TRAVELING CENTRAL FLORIDA’S HIGHWAYS sports a magnet with the mysterious, all-caps lettering UOAP. What is it, you may ask? Well, it’s a signal to the like-minded, a shout-out to a favorite place and, yes, a brag that says we belong. UOAP = Universal Orlando Annual Pass.
Orlando’s Big Three theme parks—SeaWorld, Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort—all recognized the value of car magnets early on and still issue them to their passholders as a thank you.
A magnet is one small but tangible benefit of being a passholder. Which prompted us to wonder what else makes an annual pass worth the investment. Are there real, cost-effective benefits for those who want the keys to the kingdom? In a word, yes. We did a little comparing and contrasting and found a slew of reasons to pick a park and join its elite plan.
We wanted to speak with a real-life passholder and didn’t have to go far to find a family of longtime fans. In fact, the familiar name within these pages has annual passes to TWO theme parks: Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando.
Kristin Merrick, Orlando’s associate publisher, is a Central Florida native, so theme parks have always been a part of her life. She and her husband had been passholders since before their daughter was born. Now 14, she herself is a seasoned professional with a taste for thrill rides.
“My husband had passes to everything before the pandemic and when we started them again, he just decided not to. It’s now something special that she and I can do together,” Merrick says.
“One of the great things I’ve loved about having passes is that there is no pressure to stay out there for a certain amount of time. You can go out for a couple of hours, have a meal, do some shopping, get on a few rides and then go home.”
With a pass, there is something for everybody and every budget, so nobody comes in first, second or third here. If you’re a Disney family, the choice is obvious. If you have a budding marine biologist or Spiderman at home, there are parks for that, too.
SeaWorld Orlando | Cutting-Edge Thrills Abound
First up is SeaWorld Orlando, which has a robust reward plan for customer loyalty. We spoke with Erin Kendrick, annual pass marketing leader, for some insight. The marine park has been making waves in the coaster industry for some time now and has become a destination for aficionados of cutting-edge thrills. Its eighth coaster, Penguin Trek, is set to open this spring.
SeaWorld distinguishes itself as being the only one of the three that does not require a down payment on its passes and guests don’t make a reservation to visit a park. “That is huge,” Kendrick says.
“Florida residents are extremely important to our pass program,” Kendrick says. “We pride ourselves on having unbeatable benefits. We have free samples at our food events, like our Seven Seas Food Festival,” she says. That event, which features cuisines from across the seven seas, local craft beers and live entertainment, runs through May 19.
Walt Disney World Resort | The Gold Standard
Next is Walt Disney World Resort, the gold standard of theme parks. “There are a ton of perks available to our passholders, including having special access to some of our limited-time offerings,” a Disney spokesperson explains. He says WDW listens to its guests and knows what they want out of a Disney experience. “They’re very big fans of all the EPCOT festivals, so during these we tend to have special offerings. We have our newsletter, called The Pass Holder Buzz, that’s available in the My Disney Experience app, where our passholders can see all our current offerings. “On top of that, we off er several annual passholder-exclusive food and beverage offerings. A few other things: Passholders can save on water park tickets and some of our special-event tickets like Disney After Hours. They can get access to special resort hotel offers if they want to do a vacation or staycation,” he adds.
Universal Orlando Resort | Solid Value + Extra Months
Finally, we come to Universal Orlando Resort.
“We think Universal Orlando’s annual and seasonal passes provide locals and Floridians with a really solid value,” says Heather Layson Brown, senior vice president of destination marketing and sales. “What passholders really love is that easy access to the parks. You can come for a day trip with friends or a getaway with your family with our onsite hotels or just pop in and experience your favorite attraction on a whim.”
“If you’ve committed to buying a pass and visiting us, we really bring you into the fold. We always off er FlexPay, to make it easy for folks to purchase passes on a monthly basis. And through April 17, we’re offering three months free, so that extends access to 15 months,” she adds.
She says Universal passholders really enjoy their perks and the exclusives that come to them. For instance, Passholder Appreciation Days are well attended, and their guests know they will be indulged. “Passholders are a very important audience for us. We learn a lot from them; we listen to them,” Layson Brown says.
For more information on all passholder benefits, visit seaworld.com, disneyworld. disney.go.com and universalorlando.com.
