A Little A&A

            I am a pass-holder to all of the theme parks in the Orlando area, except for LegoLand. Nothing personal, I just have not had the opportunity to make it out there to get the new lego experience. And as a student, I have always kept an eye on when is the best times to buy passes. What annual pass is the most reasonable to get to what park? Which park offers more special events like the Summer Concert Series or Shamu Rocks? Blackout dates, separate priced events, Florida resident discounts, etc.

            I have held the highest priced annual pass, Premier Pass, at Universal Studios Orlando until now. When I went to renew my annual pass this year to attend the Mardi Gras celebration at Universal Studios, I was shocked to find out it was $308 to renew my pass. To buy a Premier Pass without being an existing annual pass-holder is $349.99. Does that seem right? I thought there was a mistake on the renewal website so I called to find out. No mistake AND the discounted price of $308 included the “Florida resident discount.”

             I continued to research my options and discovered it was actually cheaper to buy the Preferred Pass as a new pass-holder than it was for me to renew my old pass that I have had for over 4 years. A Preferred Pass for annual pass-holders is $224.99. This annual pass includes no blackout dates, free parking, and discounts on merchandise and food. So I decided to downgrade to the Preferred Pass and give up “red carpet” premier benefits.

            When I downgraded I found out, that as a previous annual pass-holder, I could downgrade from a Premier to a Preferred for $170. SO here’s the math, it would cost me $138 dollars more to keep my benefits. Wouldn’t you downgrade?

            From a marketing standpoint, I think it is absurd for your “premier” annual pass-holders to have to renew for a price that is more expensive than the price of the lower preferred pass, which any person can buy without a previous relationship with Universal Studios Orlando.  Why would a premier annual pass-holder keep this pass? Is Universal trying to get rid of this premier pass? Or are they trying to make it so exclusive that no one wants to buy it? I would like to know.