Seasonal / Annual Passes for Family of Six

[Richard C]

Our family of six is planning our first trip to Universal Orlando. We will be in Orlando for a full week in early June. We are looking at tickets and thinking about buying seasonal/annual passes. We would likely go 5 or 6 days that week and then return next Spring for another week.

I was looking at purchasing a seasonal pass for my wife and four kids, and possibly getting a preferred annual pass for me so that we could benefit from free parking and food discounts.

Any tips on the best way to configure our purchase? Are there significant discounts I am missing out on if only one of us buys a preferred annual pass?

I already looked at the blackout dates, and we would only be traveling during the times when the seasonal pass is good. Also, we have family members who own a Wyndham Timeshare, so we stay there....so no need to offer suggestions on Universal hotels.

I appreciate any suggestions/advice you can offer.

Richard

 

[JoeCamel]

No discounts (try Undercover Tourist) but your plan seems sound.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I know several families that do the one preferred (for parking and discounts on food, beverages, and merchandise), the rest seasonal thing. It seems to work very well for them. The 10% discount on Table Service meals makes getting one preferred pass worth the extra money when you're feeding an entire family.

 

[danpam1024]

Double check the blackout dates for the seasonal passes

 

[Richard C]

Blackout dates are not a problem. The times we are traveling fall within the times you can use a Seasonal Pass.

I know with some of the other passes you can get early park entry. My assumption is that EVERYONE in your group would need that pass in order to get in early, correct?

Richard

 

[Figment82]

That's how my husband and I bought our APs - he has the Preferred and I have the Power Pass. We're local, so we save on parking and food discounts with his pass, and avoid the blockout times anyway so saved some money with mine. It's worked out well for us, especially when they added the Seasonal Pass and relaxed the summer blockout dates on the Power Pass. As long you don't anticipate needing a certain perk for everyone in your family, it's a great option.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I think your plan sounds great!

We're doing a scaled-down version of it for our trip to Universal next year. (We're only visiting for 4 days and won't be making a second trip during that year, and APs for everybody is NOT less expensive than 4-day park-to-park tickets in our case, BUT if we're not visiting during a blackout time and I get a seasonal AP just for myself, I can then use it to book our on-site hotel at a discount, buy everybody else's tickets at a discount, and save on other in-park purchases...)