Tickets and park entries have been doing my head in for the last few weeks. There are so many offers with so many different people, it's almost hard to choose, especially since our plans aren't concrete - we do whatever we feel like doing!
This year we are doing Disney, Universal and SeaWorld, and been trying to figure out what is the best option! It looks like we're getting Annual Passes for SeaWorld and Disney. I know we will be back next year, so we're trying to think of now and the future, so it makes it even harder!
On the day entry to SeaWorld is about £50pp. VH (we might be doing FlyDrive) have SeaWorld tickets for £55pp, so already cheaper to go on-the-door for this one. However, don't know if it's any help to you, and will increase the initial outlay, but SeaWorld (direct) offers a create-your-own-annual-passport ticket. You can have SeaWorld and/or Busch Gardens, and then add on Aquatica and/or Adventure Island - it's pretty customizable.
Anyway, we are going to get an 2-year pass for just SeaWorld, which including tax works out at about £110pp. We are going back next year, probably twice, and then earlier the following year than we are this year, so we should be able to make it cover four different trips, so well worth the money. Especially if you consider that two trips on VH tickets would cost the same, plus you get 10% off park merchandise and food/drinks
are offering a 2-year annual pass for $149.95 plus tax (about £110), which gives you access to just SeaWorld. Although for more you can add on Aquatica, Busch Gardens and Adventure Island. On the day entry is $75.00 and VH are offering tickets at £55pp. So, just two trips on 2-yr pass makes that same as two tickets from Virgin.
Disney we're also getting an annual pass, and will certainly make very good use of that! Annual passes normally have extra benefits and special offers, so don't rule them out without thinking about them - I know, yet something else to take into consideration!
As for Universal, there's a 2-park Unlimited ticket floating around - some on offer give you 7 days consecutive use (
Dreams Unlimited) and others give you 14 days (VH), but the prices vary slightly. We'll be getting one of them; which, we're not sure. That's about $99 + tax.
With the FlexiTickets, you have to be careful that you are going to get the most out of them. Our last offsite trip, we found we didn't really make use of them. We never visited Wet 'n' Wild, so already we had to visit the other parks more often in order to get our moneys worth, but didn't really happen. Aquatica wasn't around when we went, but now it is, it's another park we wouldn't use.
We'd only visit Universal and SeaWorld. The 2-Park unlimited and 2-year pass comes to only £180, and the FlexTicket is about the same. Only we aren't limited to '14 days after first use', we'll get extra discounts at SeaWorld, and be able to visit any time in the next 2 years!
Anyway, for our tickets this year - Disney annual pass, SeaWorld 2-year pass, and 2-Park Unlimited to Universal, it's going to be about £620pp (although will be a little cheaper for us as we'll get our annual passes through DVC).
Hope that helps a little?
