USH Price Increase!

[William]

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....)

That's odd. Do you mean insisting on 15% discount as opposed to 10%, or 15% discount as opposed to no discount whatsoever? I've been showing them my BDGY pass even after the change in discounts, and they still accept it.

 

[Jon Fu]

^ They still offer 10%, so I'm guessing he was haggling them about 15%.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Yes...I was "haggling" them for 15% that I originally paid for and was grandfathered under the old policy, as guest relations confirmed and others at the park initially. Should not be something I should have even been haggling about with attitude being given to me. Luckily I proved them wrong. It's the principal of the thing. Their miscommunication with their upper management about what to do isn't my issue.

Bottom line is, if you have a premium pass that you got under the old discount policy, you should still be entitled to it. It seemed like only a few lead team members were aware of it and the lower team members gave me attitude as if I was a liar...

Same thing goes for your BDGYF pass William. You're entitled to the discounts since you got the pass before the new rules.

 

[Jon Fu]

^ I hear you, but I pick my battles. I just don't have the patience to debate people over something like this.

 

[Allen The Actor]

I have till February till my pass expires, and by George, I'm gonna use the 15% discounts haha. They've upped the prices to the sky and took away so many benefits. I think it's horrible.

 

[Jon Fu]

^ Well it's not going to get better from what I'm hearing. I hear they're looking to discontinue the birthday ticket for annual pass holders.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Again, when it comes to money, I'm not a tightwad, but it's the principal of the thing. I also don't like seeing such ignorant and rude cast members that so blatantly argue with me about something they're wrong about. And if I'm entitled to save some extra money, I'm gonna fight for it, especially if the cast members are rude about it (luckily the leads came in and put them in their place and told them that I was right. Lots of misunformation.)

I wouldn't be surprised that they're gonna get rid of the birthday ticket. Especially with so many new additions coming, they'd rather have people pay. It's gonna be the end of all perks soon. Gonna be either zero perks or sky high prices for the same benefits we get now with a No Blackout Days pass. That huge survey I took regarding the future pricing schemes scared the banana out of me.

 

[Jon Fu]

Passes that have been purchased or initially used after October 1, 2014 are no longer eligible for the birthday program.


http://insideuniversal.net/2014/08/universal-reduces-annual-pass-benefits/

 

[William]

So I'm assuming those who purchased before, even if they have a birthday after October, still have one last shot at this offer?

 

[transfo]

Passes that have been purchased or initially used after October 1, 2014 are no longer eligible for the birthday program.

http://insideuniversal.net/2014/08/universal-reduces-annual-pass-benefits/

Man. Really sad to see all these benefits go. They were one of the reasons I (and many others) continued renewing my AP.

 

[Armadillo4]

Just tangentially related to the topic of the AP Price Increase...

Tonight, I just renewed my Universal Orlando Preferred Annual Pass for LESS than I paid to "renew" my USH Premium Star Pass last month. The Preferred Annual Pass in Orlando is the equivalent of the USH Premium Star Pass with no blackout dates and free parking. Of course, the big difference is that in Orlando, the pass gives you access to TWO THEME PARKS. This is the first time it's cheaper for me to visit Universal Orlando than USH...well, except for airfare and hotel costs, but just on admission alone, it's cheaper. 

To be honest, this really speaks more to the incredible renewal discount that they offer in Orlando vs. Hollywood. My renewal price was $135 less than the price of a new pass. I don't quite understand why they offer such a huge discount, but I'm not complaining! I just wish they would offer some kind of discount for renewals here too, especially since benefits are being reduced.

 

[Chris]

Rant begin...

I absolutely agree.  The gimmick in Hollywood is such a lie.  USH says you can renew your premium pass for $179 if you renew online.  However, if you go online and buy an all new pass, you get a $20 discount off the original $199 price which brings the price to....wait for it....$179.

Where is the benefit?  There isn't a benefit!

If you renew your pass at the park in person, you receive a $10 discount and pay $189.  What?  Wait a minute?  If you RENEW your pass at the park, you end up paying more than a new annual pass subscriber who purchases their NEW pass online.  Dumb and lazy.

In other words, you get no discount and they don't care.  All they want to do is discourage you from using an employee at the park to help assist you in renewing your pass.  I feel this is in part of the fact that we are not a resort and the management at USH still does not operate the park as Orlando does.  I also attribute this to the fact that Universal in California is only competing with Disneyland Annual Pass prices which are tremendously higher.

Even Disneyland offered an annual passholder event night where if you renewed your pass at the event, you would receive a significant discount not offered throughout the year.  What an awesome idea!

Rant over.

 

[transfo]

Adding to Chris' rant:

And if you do end up getting the "Premium Star think of more flashy words to put in here Annual Pass", the " exclusive " perks such as the free lanyard are done horribly. It's a greyscale picture of the arch.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Add to the fact that the annual pass discounts have been cut to the extreme, and you have very unhappy loyal USH fans...

USH would be smart to make a pass with lots of perks. I'd pay for it.

 

[JaySalahi]

Not agreeing or disagreeing but a Disney World pass to the 4 parks is cheaper than a Disneyland pass to 2 parks. We have soooo many more locals in LA it makes sense to cost more than Orlando which is basically all tourist based. They need to weed people out for Potter, no buy a day in 2016 I'm betting. 

 

[Allen The Actor]

100% no more Buy a Day in 2016. This is the last year. I'm all for weeding out some people if it helps with crowds. My problem is their most premium pass now has less benefits and perks than it used to. THAT is my issue.

 

[RyanTTD]

^They may keep the Buy a Day pass around.

If you look at the Blackout Day calendars for that pass this year and then compare it to past years the difference is night and day.   In the past only a few weekends and some holidays were blacked out but now most of June, July, and August are blacked out.  Even the Value pass blackout dates have drastically increased.

I can see them keeping it and just adding more blackout days to the pass to control crowds. Or if they do get rid if it, I can see them switching it over to "Buy 2 Days, Get The Year Free" deal.

If they do end up getting rid of that pass, Universal is going to have to bring back the monthly payment plan or they risk losing a large chunk of their AP holder base.

 

[Allen The Actor]

From what I've personally seen of Universal's concepts of the future AP programs starting in 2016, there is no Buy a Day pass.

 

[William]

Even if they do lose a chunk of their passholder base, Universal is beginning to cater to a slightly different audience. A large portion of the park's visitors for the past few years have been annual passholders, who are mostly locals just visiting the park on the weekend. As the park moves toward the rank of a higher class entertainment destination on the level of Disneyland, prices will change and so will visitors. It's time to ditch the BDGY deal and set up a system similar to Disney's, with distinct levels of annual passes. This is Universal's time to get their act together before it's really put to the test next year.

 

[transfo]

Even if they do lose a chunk of their passholder base, Universal is beginning to cater to a slightly different audience. A large portion of the park's visitors for the past few years have been annual passholders, who are mostly locals just visiting the park on the weekend. As the park moves toward the rank of a higher class entertainment destination on the level of Disneyland, prices will change and so will visitors. It's time to ditch the BDGY deal and set up a system similar to Disney's, with distinct levels of annual passes. This is Universal's time to get their act together before it's really put to the test next year.

Not trying to be class-ist but this will in turn remove a portion of the obnoxious people from the park that throw trash everywhere, leave 3D glasses in the urinal (yes, I saw this 3 times on my last visit) , etc. Which is a welcome change.