USH Price Increase!

[William]

They have also removed in park discounts to those who have Buy a Day pass.

What?! That's bogus. I've really gotta upgrade soon..

 

[RyanTTD]

Buy a Day and Value Passholders are no longer eligible for in-park discounts:

 

[William]

Grrrr.

 

[Jon Fu]

I've been told that employees should no longer actively seek whether or not guests have an annual pass the next time they visit a food or retail counter.


Doesn't make sense to me, but okay.

 

[...]

It helps marginally increase revenue and also prevents many pass holders from noticing that their discount is now gone. Any little bump in Merch/F&B revenue helps bring extra funds to all the little projects like House of Horrors, Palace Café, Cinnabon and Starbucks IMO.

 

[Jon Fu]

It helps marginally increase revenue and also prevents many pass holders from noticing that their discount is now gone. Any little bump in Merch/F&B revenue helps bring extra funds to all the little projects like House of Horrors, Palace Café, Cinnabon and Starbucks IMO.

True that. It's not like it isn't a smart move, but it's sort of scraping at the bottom of the barrow - no?

 

[William]

I've been told that employees should no longer actively seek whether or not guests have an annual pass the next time they visit a food or retail counter.Doesn't make sense to me, but okay.

Wow. Greedy, greedy, greedy.

 

[Allen The Actor]

This is absolutely all ridiculous in my opinion. Not only are the passes getting more expensive (and they're gonna be astronomically high soon 100%), we're also LOSING privileges and perks. And of all passes to remove a perk from, they chose PREMIUM?! USH doesn't care about its loyal AP base...

 

[smoaT]

I agree. Premium doesn't look attractive anymoee. I will renew only because it has free parking. I wouldn't mind the price hike (well I do, but I would mind less) if the perks were kept. I don't know why getting 5% less discount bothers me so much. Maybe because my mind is imagining what's coming when Potter arrives (i don't want to imagine what the suits are thinking as price hike for this pass in 2016). Something wicked this way comes

 

[William]

They're really trying to fumigate their annual passholders. The less APHs they have, the less people to fill up the park.

 

[Miss Betty Juice]

This all sounds like stuff I said too. I agree with pretty much the last five or six posts.

 

[Ryan]

Wow. Greedy, greedy, greedy.

This looks more like a change made in the name of customer service rather than greed, actually. If an employeee asks for an "AP", they have to then get into the uncomfortable situation of saying, "Oh no, wrong one" in the case a customer as a value pass.

 

[RyanTTD]

This looks more like a change made in the name of customer service rather than greed, actually. If an employeee asks for an "AP", they have to then get into the uncomfortable situation of saying, "Oh no, wrong one" in the case a customer as a value pass.

This.

Most people that have APs to USH have either the Buy a Day Pass or some sort of Value Pass.

 

[Jon Fu]

More information: from this point on, new passes must be printed with the 10% off signifier (to the right of the bar code) in order to receive a discount. Old passes will still be accepted (so you're fine if you have nothing printed), but this is Universal's model moving forward.

 

[Allen The Actor]

This.

Most people that have APs to USH have either the Buy a Day Pass or some sort of Value Pass.

I kinda understand removing the discounts from the bargain basement cheap Annual Passes. More of an incentive to get people to upgrade, which is a smart business move IMO. Greedy, but smart.

But having the HIGHEST available Annual Pass, premium, get an incentive bastardized, especially at these prices, is not just greedy but also moronic.

So much for getting Potter discounts with a 15% discount. I bet that's the biggest reason. They're so stupid though. You make the pass more expensive but ADD some incentives, not take them away!!!

3 years ago, I could get an 18 Month Premium Star Pass for around $120...

 

[...]

They're already adding incentives: it's called Springfield, Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. Personally the parking alone is reason to buy Premium. I have a feeling the reason they're trying to reduce the discount is in order to prevent such steep price increases when Potter arrives.

Little by little, they're also going to start weeding out those who use the BDGY pass to just hang out in the park and clog the walkways in favor of the upper two passes which increase ticket revenue. Most BDGY passholders eat before getting to the park and only buy the souvenir cup (once every few years or until the cup breaks) as their merchandise. Bottom line: they're not spending enough to justify giving them free admission for the entire year (this will come next year as F&F is opening I predict) let alone give a discount for the F&B that they're not buying.

We're hitting the fork in the road where we can have an extremely affordable experience with the for lack of a better word, ratchet theming of Curious George, Flintstones Carnival, Abandoned Wild West, etc or pay for the new Disney-quality Hogwarts, Universal Plaza or Springfield. Take a look at the Disney passholders who lose it everytime a pass increase occurs. They complain, yes, but they are sure to renew anyways and the prices there will continue to increase until they can reduce their overinflated pass market. Same with USH once Potter arrives.

 

[Jon Fu]

We're hitting the fork in the road where we can have an extremely affordable experience with the for lack of a better word, ratchet theming of Curious George, Flintstones Carnival, Abandoned Wild West, etc or pay for the new Disney-quality Hogwarts, Universal Plaza or Springfield. Take a look at the Disney passholders who lose it everytime a pass increase occurs. They complain, yes, but they are sure to renew anyways and the prices there will continue to increase until they can reduce their overinflated pass market. Same with USH once Potter arrives.

Yes, as much as this sucks, Daniel is right. We're hitting the big time!

 

[Allen The Actor]

I had to argue with so many shops and restaurants inside the park today to make them honor my grandfathered 15% discount. So many argued that I was wrong, but I insisted I was right, and I know I am, Guest Relations agreed. I hate when team members argue with customers and give them attitude....I won though....till February.

(Still can't get over the discount decrease....)

 

[Miss Betty Juice]

I finally buckled down and bought the highest level pass. I hope it proves worth it for the parking alone.

 

[Allen The Actor]

I finally buckled down and bought the highest level pass. I hope it proves worth it for the parking alone.

It's so worth it. The amount you save in parking over the course of the year with the premium pass is basically you saving up for another pass! Especially nice during spontaneous short trips before 5pm.