Is a Premier AP a good value?

pattyw

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
We have had Preferred AP's for years. We have always visited UO while staying at a deluxe and had unlimited express. The new hotels aren't offering EP and we'd like to try them. Sapphire Falls looks lovely!

For the first time, I've thought about upgrading to Premier. I can put a $$ on the HHN ticket, but the rest of the cost increase is mainly for the after 4 EP.

Any comments/ experiences on the Premier AP?

Thanks!
 
I have a Premier AP for Universal’s three parks. I find I enjoy the free prime self-parking (same level as the walkways to the parks, so it is slightly less distance for my tired feet after a full day). If you stay on site, this is a moot point. Free valet parking is part of that AP, too, but my car is too messy for me to feel comfortable using that option. :)

The Express Pass after 4 p.m. is nice. It might not apply to the Harry Potter rides, but I avail myself of the single rider lines. Given that the Universal parks can close anywhere from 6 p.m. (for after-hours special events) to 10 p.m., you mght want to study a calendar before your trip to assure you’re getting enough time from that. As with the Preferred AP, the Premier allows you to observe the early entry hours even if you are not staying at an onsite resort — another plus for those of us who drive. Note that this early entry does not apply to Volcano Bay. I have not spent much time at VB this past year, as I am not a water-park devotee. Being new and shiny, it has often maxed out it occupancy early on hot days, meaning I can’t simply walk through to enjoy VB’s interesting food options and the go back to the other parks.

I would need to check the card, but I think I get a better discount with the Premier AP, 15% instead of 10%, or somesuch. Makes a difference when activating my Coca-Cola Freestyle cup for a day, especially since Icees are included ($5 a pop if you buy individually, so at less than $10 to reactivate for a day and $3+ for individual soft drinks, they are a great deal). This upgraded discount might apply for the resort hotels, too. As I drive, I have not studied those options.

Yes, the free ticket to Halloween Horror Nights prompted me to splurge for the Premier AP. However, when September rolled around, I opted to buy the HHN Frequent Fear pass, allowing entry for all weekdays, the first two weekends and the final November days. There were restrictions on which days I could use the AP entry, mostly the same dates I already had from the Frequent Fear pass. It is not an actual ticket you could share with a friend, btw, but a range of dates when you may show your AP card at the gates to gain entry.

As a Premier AP holder, I receive email invites to special events: opening day at the water park last year, a special preview of the Christmas displays at Harry Potter lands, probably other things I could not attend. If you receive the same wth your Preferred AP, then this won’t be a selling point for the upgrade.

Sapphire Bay is lovely, I did stay there one night when I took the daylong Behind-the-Screams tour of several HHN houses. You can take a boat, even walk to that resort after passing some of the others, should you be local and want to check it out some day you are not going into the parks all day.

So, if you like the more popular rides, the Express Pass is nice. As at Disney, the crowds thin in the evenings as families with young children filter away. Because I use the single rider lines, I do not pay attention to wait times. I would assume Express would let me run through a ride multiple times before the free time on the lockers runs out, same as with single riders most days.

If I choose to renew my Universal AP this year, I might drop down to Preferred level, saving a couple of hundred bucks. I will probably go to guest services to discuss my options when the time comes.
 
I have a Premier AP for Universal’s three parks. I find I enjoy the free prime self-parking (same level as the walkways to the parks, so it is slightly less distance for my tired feet after a full day). If you stay on site, this is a moot point. Free valet parking is part of that AP, too, but my car is too messy for me to feel comfortable using that option. :)

The Express Pass after 4 p.m. is nice. It might not apply to the Harry Potter rides, but I avail myself of the single rider lines. Given that the Universal parks can close anywhere from 6 p.m. (for after-hours special events) to 10 p.m., you mght want to study a calendar before your trip to assure you’re getting enough time from that. As with the Preferred AP, the Premier allows you to observe the early entry hours even if you are not staying at an onsite resort — another plus for those of us who drive. Note that this early entry does not apply to Volcano Bay. I have not spent much time at VB this past year, as I am not a water-park devotee. Being new and shiny, it has often maxed out it occupancy early on hot days, meaning I can’t simply walk through to enjoy VB’s interesting food options and the go back to the other parks.

I would need to check the card, but I think I get a better discount with the Premier AP, 15% instead of 10%, or somesuch. Makes a difference when activating my Coca-Cola Freestyle cup for a day, especially since Icees are included ($5 a pop if you buy individually, so at less than $10 to reactivate for a day and $3+ for individual soft drinks, they are a great deal). This upgraded discount might apply for the resort hotels, too. As I drive, I have not studied those options.

Yes, the free ticket to Halloween Horror Nights prompted me to splurge for the Premier AP. However, when September rolled around, I opted to buy the HHN Frequent Fear pass, allowing entry for all weekdays, the first two weekends and the final November days. There were restrictions on which days I could use the AP entry, mostly the same dates I already had from the Frequent Fear pass. It is not an actual ticket you could share with a friend, btw, but a range of dates when you may show your AP card at the gates to gain entry.

As a Premier AP holder, I receive email invites to special events: opening day at the water park last year, a special preview of the Christmas displays at Harry Potter lands, probably other things I could not attend. If you receive the same wth your Preferred AP, then this won’t be a selling point for the upgrade.

Sapphire Bay is lovely, I did stay there one night when I took the daylong Behind-the-Screams tour of several HHN houses. You can take a boat, even walk to that resort after passing some of the others, should you be local and want to check it out some day you are not going into the parks all day.

So, if you like the more popular rides, the Express Pass is nice. As at Disney, the crowds thin in the evenings as families with young children filter away. Because I use the single rider lines, I do not pay attention to wait times. I would assume Express would let me run through a ride multiple times before the free time on the lockers runs out, same as with single riders most days.

If I choose to renew my Universal AP this year, I might drop down to Preferred level, saving a couple of hundred bucks. I will probably go to guest services to discuss my options when the time comes.

Thank you very much for sharing your experience!

I guess I'll have to ask if HP rides are included! And the discount differences. I've looked all around the website and don't see answers to those questions. Yep- I think I'll visit guest services when I'm there next month and go over all of this with them.

It's nice to hear a first hand experience!!
 




The after 4:00 allows premier ap holders a one time usage per ride in the express lines per evening
I did not know it was limited to one time per evening, thanks! I suppose I have not bothered to go through any ride more than once at that time of day. As a single rider, I like to see how many loops I can manage through The Mummy ride during the free locker period. Last time,p there were tour groups of young adults who jammed up that queue, a few managing to duck under the railings to move into the faster standby line. I wanted to smack them (OK, verbally chastise them), but it meant I was four or five steps closer in the singles queue.
 

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