There are 2 options for tickets for WDW, 7 or 14 days. Now most places offer the 14 day ticket for the price of 7 days. Buying your ticket before you go will always be the best option. UK based tickets are the best value for money rather than paying on the gate price.
With the 7 or 14 day ticket, you get the memory maker for free (worth $199) which you are able to have all your WDW photos on from the parks and are able to download them from your MDE (My Disney Experience, more on that later) though you only have a certain amount of days to download so be sure to do it when you arrive back home. You get unlimited amount of visits to the parks during your ticket, as it will be date based you will need to select the date from when you wish to you use it (please not, if you book a package you cannot chose the date you prefer, only if booking tickets on there own) The 7 day ticket you can use over 15 days and the 14 day ticket over 18 days. Now we know this sounds confusing but honestly you get longer to use it which is always a good thing. So for example, you have the 14 day ticket starting on 1st May, you're in Orlando for 21 days, you would have until the 18th May to use the ticket. You don't have to use the 14 day ticket consecutively, you can go to the parks for 4 days consecutively and then have a break for a few days and then go back to the parks and so on, This ticket type provides Guests with 14 theme park admissions and 14 water park admissions over the 18-day valid use window.
You no longer need to make park reservations for these date based tickets so this isn't something you need to worry about.
Currently you cannot upgrade tickets from the UK to an annual pass as much as people have tried. Some guests have been able to buy an annual pass in Florida however this will be paying full rate again for a ticket you essentially already have. The only pass you can get is the Incredi-pass and this is currently $1499 plus tax. With the Annual pass though, you do have to reserve your parks with this style of ticket.
Universal Studios currently offer either 2 or 3 park tickets. (The new park, Epic Universe hasn't currently been released for ticket information officially from Universal Orlando).
With the 2 park ticket you can visit Universal Studios and Island of Adventures, the 3 park tickets then adds on their water park, Volcano Bay. From the UK they offer 14 day based tickets which offer the most value as you can visit the parks unlimited whenever you like. With both tickets, you also get access to the Universal City walk which has shops and restuarants. Also with these tickets if you are purchasing from the UK, then they will include access to the hogwarts express which is the Harry Potter train you can get on to take you between Universal Studios and Island of Adventures. If you buy single day tickets and for only 1 park, you cannot ride the Hogwarts express so be sure to check the ticket you are buying. Harry potter is a huge part of Universal Studios and Island of Adventure but they are not different parks, they are a land inside the parks. A lot of people can get confused an think they need an additional tickets for the Harry Potter lands however you do not as they are included in your ticket.
You can purchase your UK ticket and then if you wish to, you can upgrade to an Annual Pass which can give discounts on food, merch and parking. This will vary in the amount depending on the Annual Pass you choose. There are 4 passes to choose from, Seasonal pass (blockout dates apply), Power pass (blockout dates apply), Preferred pass and the Premier pass. We have upgraded previously to the preferred pass as we were going twice in one year and the cost of the difference was cheaper than buying the 14 day tickets again. (it was roughly £400 to upgrade two adult tickets) This was worth the money in our opinion as we got very good value for money, as we upgraded to the preferred pass which included free parking, you just pay the parking on the first day you arrive if upgrading at the park at guest services. The preferred pass (some blockout dates apply) and premier pass also get you early park admission, discount on selected food, merchandise and specialty items, room discounts as well as discounts on selected special event tickets. Sometimes you can upgrade at the Universal Resort hotels if you can staying at one of them, just enquire with the front desk for more information.
Universal's Epic Universe - Opening 22nd May 2025
A brand new park is opening in Orlando and it's certainly got everyone excited! With this being Universal's 4th park, it surely will be Epic...see what we did there 🤣
Tickets at the moment for Epic are being sold with 2025 being a 14 day ticket with 1 day entry to Epic Universe. So this means you have 14 unlimited entry into the other Universal parks, Universal Studios, Island of Adventure and Volcano Bay plus the 1 day at Epic Universe. If you are purchasing this ticket, please note that you can only start the ticket from the 22nd May 2025 which is when Epic opens so if you are traveling beforehand and want to visit the other parks, you will need to buy another ticket as well. This isn't ideal and certainly an expensive way to do it however there isn't any other way around it at the time other than waiting for single day tickets to become available. However; Universal has announced that single day tickets will be available prior to the park opening to other guests at some point in the future as well as Express passes being available to purchase prior to the park opening.
At this time, the only 1 day ticket that is being sold is to Annual Pass holders (you must have a valid AP to purchase and this means using it for the first time in one of the parks, so you cannot pre purchase a pass then purchase a single day ticket to Epic).
With the purchase of a Discovery Cove ticket from the UK, either the dolphin or non dolphin swim, you do get access to SeaWorld and Aquatica. Busch Gardens is also included only in the ultimate tickets so if you don't plan on going, then get the standard package. This is great way to save money and have an amazing day out to Discovery cove. Please note, children under the age of 6 cannot do the dolphin swim. Children aged between 6 - 12 need to be accompanied by a paying adult. You would choose the date you wish to go to Discovery cove, so we would suggest doing a mock up itinerary and seeing where you'd like to place this in your holiday. You can however go to the other parks wherever you wish. Discovery Cove is very limited capacity and dates do sell out very quickly so book the date you wish to go as soon as you can. Discovery cove also offers included in your ticket,all day food, breakfast, lunch and snacks, soft drinks and selected alcohol.
If you are not wishing to go to Discovery Cove, then you can purchase SeaWorld tickets on their own which depending on which ticket you go for can also include Busch Gardens and Aquatica or Seaworld and Aquatica. There are certain UK packages offered where you can get the dining included but this is only for 3 days of park entry and not the full 14 days but it does include free parking.
Ticket prices always go up every year so it's always best to buy as soon as you know. The best discounts that we normally find are around November time, when the black Friday deals come around though sometimes there are different offers that come and go.
Floridatix - They offer WDW, Universal Studios, Seaworld, Discovery Cove tickets and can offer discounts at certain times.
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