Universal Studios Hollywood Ticket Discounts and Deals

LAST UPDATE: 1/30/24

Universal Studios Hollywood runs many promotions that can save you money. Universal Studios tickets are expensive, but there are multiple sources for discounts. Check below for the latest Universal Studios California ticket discounts, coupons and offers. Universal Studios Hollywood is located in Southern California; for information about tickets discounts and other offers for their Florida location, visit our Universal Orlando page.

The new Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood takes you into the world of Super Mario. On the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride you get to race on Mario Kart courses alongside Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach. Mario and other characters are available for meet and greets. Toadstool Café serves dishes crafted by Chef Toad, while you view scenery of the Mushroom Kingdom through the windows.

If you need tickets to Universal Studios Hollywood and other Southern California attractions, it’s worth checking out the available multi-attraction ticket discounts to see if they can save you extra money. Be sure to compare the final cost of a multi-park pass to the combined cost of the individual tickets; the best deal varies depending on the specific attractions and the discounts that are currently available.

All offers are subject to change without notice. Always call ahead and confirm before driving out of your way to take advantage of a particular offer!

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Universal Studios Hollywood Gate Prices

“Specific day” 1-day admission costs $109 – $154 per adult (age 10+) and $103 – $148 per child (age 3-9), depending on date, and must be purchased in advance. Weekends, holidays, most of July and early August have the higher prices, and low-season dates have the lowest prices. These tickets are only valid on a specific date and are non-refundable, so be sure you have the specific date you want to go locked down before purchasing. Kids under 3 (two years old and younger) are FREE.

“Specific day” 2-day admission costs $159 – $204 per adult (age 10+) and $153 – $198 per child (age 3-9), depending on date, and must be purchased in advance. Weekends, holidays, most of July and early August have the higher prices, and low-season dates have the lowest prices. You must pick a specific date for the first visit, but the second visit can take place on any day within 7 days after the first visit. These tickets are non-refundable, so be sure you have the first date you want to go locked down before purchasing. Kids under 3 (two years old and younger) are FREE.

Super Nintendo World Early Access Ticket costs $20 – $30 per person (age 3+). This ticket not valid for park entry, you must also purchase admission ticket. Get one hour early access to park and express access to Studio Tour (valid until 11:00 am). Kids under 3 (two years old and younger) are FREE.

Universal Express Pass costs $209 – $309 per person (age 3+), depending on date. It includes one day of admission, priority access to attractions, one time for each attraction, includes one time reservation-free entry to Super Nintendo World, (excludes Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge), and seating in a special reserved section for shows. These passes are only valid on a specific date and are non-refundable, so be sure you have the specific date you want to go locked down before purchasing.

VIP Experience costs $379 – $519 per person (age 5+), depending on the date. It includes one day of admission, priority access to attractions (unlimited for each attraction), seating in a special reserved section for shows, backlot tour, snacks, VIP meal, and valet parking included. These passes are only valid on a specific date and are non-refundable, so be sure you have the specific date you want to go locked down before purchasing. Children must be at least 5 years old to attend this experience. 

California Neighbor Pass is $189 when purchased at the gate, or $179 when purchased online. This pass has blackout dates, discounts on additional guest tickets and discounts on tickets to Halloween Horror Nights. You must select a specific date for your first visit. That first visit date is not subject to blackouts – you can pick any day of the year. After that, you may visit on any date that is not blacked out for Season passes (blacked out days are holidays, all summer and fall weekends and select weekend days throughout the year). The pass expires 9 months after your first visit.

Silver Annual Pass is $249 when purchased at the gate, or $239 when purchased online. This pass has blackout dates, discounts on additional guest tickets and discounts on tickets to Halloween Horror Nights and more. You must select a specific date for your first visit. That first visit date is not subject to blackouts – you can pick any day of the year. After that, you may visit on any date that is not blacked out for Silver passes (blacked out days are most weekends July – August, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, all weekends in January and most holidays). The pass expires 12 months after your first visit. 

Gold Annual Pass is $339 when purchased at the gate, or $329 when purchased online. This pass has blackout dates, FREE parking, discounts on additional guest tickets, discounts on tickets to Halloween Horror Nights, a 15% discount on in-park food and merchandise and more. You must select a specific date for your first visit. That first visit date is not subject to blackouts – you can pick any day of the year. After that, you may visit on any date that is not blacked out for Gold passes (blacked out days are most Saturdays in July and August, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, most Saturdays in January and a few other days during the year). The pass expires 12 months after your first visit. 

Platinum Annual Pass is $639 when purchased at the gate, or $629 when purchased online. This pass has no blackout dates, one-time per day Universal Express access after 3:00 pm to each attraction, ride and seated show, FREE parking, discounts on additional guest tickets, 15% discount on in-park food and merchandise and a FREE ticket to Halloween Horror Nights (valid on select dates only). Your first visit can be on any date. The pass expires 12 months after your first visit.

Parking prices are $32 for General Parking before 5:00 pm, $10 after 5:00 pm; $50 for Preferred Parking before 5:00 pm, $20 after 5:00 pm; $70 for Front Gate Parking. Valet parking is available for $25 (plus tip) for two hours or less and $50 (plus tip) for more than two hours.

Universal Studios Hollywood Ticket Discounts

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Universal Studios Hollywood Ticket Discounts From Undercover Tourist

Undercover TouristUndercover Tourist, a great ticket vendor we’ve recommended for many years, offers significant discounts on Universal Studios Hollywood tickets and tickets for other California and Florida attractions. We really like Undercover Tourist because they constantly strive to have both the best prices and best customer service in the business. That’s a tall order, but we have years of experience and feedback from our readers that tells us they really deliver!

Exclusive Discounts for MouseSavers Newsletter Subscribers

Undercover Tourist offers its best prices to subscribers to the FREE MouseSavers Newsletter and Hot Deals announcements! By using the exclusive link located in every monthly MouseSavers Newsletter, you always get an extra discount on most tickets, and the lowest prices Undercover Tourist offers, across the board! In addition, Undercover Tourist puts a handful of individual tickets on sale every month, and those tickets are offered only to Hot Deals subscribers! (It’s a different set of tickets every month, and can include any combination of Disneyland, Walt Disney World and/or other California or Florida attractions.) The MouseSavers Newsletter and the Hot Deals emails also contain exclusive hotel and other discounts not found anywhere else. Remember, it’s completely FREE.

Universal Studios Website Deals

Receive early admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter when you purchase a Universal Studios Hollywood ticket or a hotel package online on the Universal Studios Hollywood website. Early admission begins one hour before the park opens.

Check the Universal Studios Hollywood website for other deals and offers.

Annual Passholder Ticket Discounts

Holders of any of the annual passes get a discount on tickets for friends and family. The discount varies depending on whether your tickets are for peak or off-peak days. You can purchase the tickets in advance online on Universal Studios Hollywood’s Pass Member page

Costco Ticket Discounts

Some Costco stores in Southern California carry discounted Universal Hollywood tickets from time to time. These are often a great deal, so it’s worth checking with your local store.

Costco.com sometimes offers a very good discount on Universal Hollywood tickets and you don’t have to be a Costco member to buy through their site. (Non-members pay a 5% surcharge, however.) There is a shipping charge when ordering from Costco.com.

AAA Ticket Discounts

AAA is a loosely associated group of clubs that each cover a small geographical area, usually a single state or portion of a state. Different clubs have different offers, so it’s worth checking both your own AAA state club and the Southern California AAA club websites. To check your own state club, just go to AAA.com and you will be redirected (usually) to your local club. If you haven’t yet set up your online access, you’ll sometimes need to do that to see your local club’s discounts. Use this link to check the Southern California site, and enter zip code 91608. Once you get to the club home page, select the “Discounts & Rewards” tab and then select “Theme parks & attractions.”

If a particular discount on the Southern California site involves booking online through the club site, you will usually need to be a Southern California member. Discounts that involve showing your card at the gate are available to any AAA member. If you can get to a Southern California AAA club office, you can usually take advantage of offers that must be bought in person, even if you’re a member of a different AAA club.

Generally AAA members save $3 off admission at the gate year-round and a 10% discount for food and beverages at most park and CityWalk locations, with some exclusions that can vary by season. It never hurts to ask!

College Student Ticket Discounts

Faculty, staff, and students at many California colleges get a discount on tickets and annual passes. For most of the colleges you must register with an official college email address in order to order online. For others, you must purchase in person, usually at the student store, and show your ID. You may purchase tickets for others using this discount.

See the list of participating colleges.

Military Ticket Discounts

Universal offers discounts to active and retired US Military, DOD personnel, National Guard, Reservists and their dependents. Get $3 off general admission tickets purchased in person at the gates. You will need to show a valid military or US government ID showing your military/DOD affiliated status. A larger discount is available in advance from MWR/ITT offices.

Read more details on military discounts at Universal Studios Hollywood.

American Express Membership Rewards Points

If you have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points, you can redeem those points for Universal Studios Hollywood tickets. Thanks to Kristin K for info.

Air Miles

Readers report that Canadians can redeem Air Miles for Universal Hollywood tickets. Thanks to Dawn N for info.

Discounts on Multi-Attraction Tickets that include Universal Studios Hollywood

If you know you want to visit other attractions as well as Universal Studios, there are a number of discount pass options available that can save you a lot of money, and eliminate the hassle of buying all of your tickets individually. We’ve scouted out some of the best discounts you can find from reputable companies and describe them here. For more details and pricing, select the pass name below.

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Universal Studios Hollywood & Other Major Attractions

Go City Los Angeles Pass

Go City Los Angeles Pass is an all-inclusive pass that allows you to visit as many attractions as you want within a set number of days (usually 3 to 7 days). You pay one discount price for the number of days you choose. These work well if you are visiting at least two major attractions plus some less expensive attractions. The more attractions you visit, the more you save.

Go City Los Angeles Pass: This all-inclusive pass includes Universal Studios, Legoland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Discovery Cube OC, The Hollywood Museum, Dolby Theatre Guided Tour, Warner Bros. VIP  Studio Tour, Madame Tussaud’s Hollywood, The Huntington Library, Aquarium of the Pacific, and lots more. Plus, MouseSavers readers get an extra 5% off purchase price!

Getting To Universal Studios Hollywood From Anaheim

rental car is a good option if you’re going to be driving around the Los Angeles area quite a bit or going to multiple other theme parks or attractions. Remember to figure in the parking fee of $25-$50, depending on how close to the front you want to park (generally we wouldn’t recommend paying for closer parking; you’re going to be walking all day, what’s a little more?). Allow a good 1.5 – 2 hours to drive there during morning traffic, which will be stop and go most of the time. It’s only 40 minutes if there’s no traffic, but realistically, during normal daytime hours there’s going to be traffic. From the Disneyland area, there’s really only one good route – get on I-5 heading north, and about 20 miles up the road you switch to the 101 north, and eventually you’ll see signs for the Universal Studios exit. Coming back, just reverse directions: 101 south to I-5 south to the Disneyland exit.

You can take a cab; just call one directly or have bell services, the valet or front desk of your hotel call one for you. Keep in mind it’s a long trip: the round-trip fare is likely to be $275 – $325 with tip. Lyft will be less, more like $120-$150 depending on traffic.

Hotels Near Universal Studios Hollywood

The official hotel for Universal Studios Hollywood is the Sheraton Universal Hotel. The hotel offers amazing views of the theme park and complimentary tram rides to Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Citywalk.