If you live in LA or any one of its surrounding areas you are familiar with Universal Studios Hollywood. We tend to not take advantage of this place, given it is so close to us, and many wonder if Universal Studios season tickets are worth the price.
As a parent to kids ages 10 and 5 I would say yes for me it is worth it and here is why.
What is Universal Studios Hollywood
The park is one of the oldest operating theme parks in the world, and it has been open since 1915. Universal Studios Hollywood is home to a variety of rides, shows, and attractions, based on popular movies and television shows. Some of the most popular rides include The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Simpsons Ride, and Revenge of the Mummy. The park also hosts a variety of live shows, such as WaterWorld and Universal’s Animal Actors.
Why are season tickets worth it
Here is why its worth it to me. For me Universal Studios is a 15 minute drive from our house. It is entertaining for the kids and provides a quick “mini” vacation type of activity. Because of its close proximity, I am able to make last minute decision to go if we feel like it. It’s not like other theme parks where you need to plan ahead of time. After doing the calculation, when purchasing season tickets, If we attend the theme park only twice throughout the year then it will pay for itself.
Lets do the math for a family of 4
1 day general admission starts at $109 per person. That price is hard to find on any given day – realistically it will cost more like $120 per person. So for a family of 4 for two adults and two children (children prices are a little lower) you are looking at roughly $480 dollars for admission for a single day.
Now for annual passes for residents it starts for about $180 per person but is valid for only 9 months. Instead I would recommend the silver annual pass which is valid for 12 months and has less blackout dates. The price for the silver is $229 per person. So for a family of 4 (same price for adults and children) it will cost about $916 which is a little less then double the single day pass.
Again, if you do the math and visit the theme park at least 2 times throughout the year then the passes pay for itself. The reason I like the annual pass is, if we are bored and have nothing to do, I can take the family to the park for even 4 hours or however long we like and not worry about spending so much for only a few hours. Why? Because I can do this year round as many times as I would like.
This is why the annual pass is recommended and worth it to me.
A bonus tip is to buy the Gold pass for a single person in the family as it does provide a free general parking admission and a discount for premier parking, which is worth it. The premier parking is located right next to the theme park where as the general parking is located at the end of CityWalk, which is quite a walk to get to the theme park. For this reason I recommend a single pass to be the Gold pass as the entire family can take advantage of the parking and discounts within the theme park.
Is Universal Hollywood worth the money
While tickets and items in the theme parks can be expensive, it is worth the money to visit. The theme parks is great with lots of rides and attractions for everyone to enjoy. The best part of the park is that it is not tailored to only specific age groups. There are rides and shows and events that are fit for kids of different ages as well as adults. In my opinion, Universal Studios Hollywood theme park is worth the money.
Is one day enough for Universal Studios
Universal is large and offers lots of attractions and shows. If the day is planned I do believe one day is enough to finish the entire park. There will be rides and attractions that you may want to skip, but the key is to plan ahead and use the virtual line queue for rides that are available. Some rides will have longer lines than others, so using their app will give you an idea of how long the lines are at that moment. Keep in mind if you purchased season tickets and live within Los Angeles, you can always come back another day to finish the rest of the park if you do not get a chance to sit on every ride, but generally speaking one day should be enough to finish most of the park.
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