Discount Universal Studios Hollywood Tickets 2024: Get Universal Tickets Cheap!

Universal Studios Hollywood is a popular vacation destination and for many folks its a perfect day trip added on to a Disneyland vacation. When it comes to tickets to Universal Studios it can be overwhelming to find the best prices. Our guide will outline all the possible ways to get Universal Studios Hollywood discount tickets.

The main piece of advice I have is to start your search for Universal Studios discount tickets by visiting our recommended Universal-approved ticket reseller, Get Away Today. There are rarely other Universal Studio ticket discount rates that beat the exclusive ticket prices Get Away Today offers to our readers here at Mickey Visit.

Universal Studios Hollywood is home to the popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter and recently welcomed Super Nintendo World.

Keep reading for more information on the best coupons, Hollywood Studios Universal discount tickets, and special offers. Be sure to compare all of the Universal Studio discount ticket options listed below.

Universal Studios Tickets Discounts

The discounts below are listed below based on what will save the general public the most money on Universal Studios Hollywood discount tickets possible.

There is a small savings if you purchase your tickets from the Universal Studios Hollywood website in advance (more info below). However, this savings pales in comparison when you look at the prices from the Universal-approved ticket reseller that we convinced to offer exclusive discounts to you, our MickeyVisit.com readers.

The best cheap Universal Studios Hollywood tickets can be found from the authorized ticket reseller, Get Away Today. Not only do they have incredible ticket prices that blow other ticket resellers out the water, but the customer care department is so helpful with any problem you might have during your Universal Studios Hollywood trip. There is an entire department at the travel agency that works to earn a ten out of ten rating of your vacation. You can expect personal attention to details like a call one week before your vacation and a check in text on the first day of your trip. They are awesome!

For 30 years, Get Away Today has been working with Southern California destinations including Disneyland and Hollywood Universal Studios to offer the absolute best prices on tickets.

Save BIG on Universal Tickets>>

When I reached out about providing tickets for all of you, I made Get Away Today promise to provide the best prices for Universal Studios Hollywood tickets anywhere. By clicking through the special Mickey Visit ticket links you unlock access to the lower prices on tickets and hotels (you won't get the same deal if you just type Get Away Today into your browser and go to their website directly).

When you purchase tickets from Get Away Today you will be emailed a PDF of the tickets that you can print directly at home or just have them scan the barcode on your phone if you don't have time to print them. It's that easy. You may enter the parks one hour before the official park opening if you purchase your tickets in advance.

Buy your tickets for Universal Studios from Get Away Today. You will find the best savings and receive the best customer experience. Buy your tickets now>

Pro Tip: The lowest prices for both Disneyland tickets and Universal Studios Hollywood tickets come when you purchase a Universal Studios Hollywood Disneyland combo ticket that includes a discount Universal Studios Hollywood 1-day ticket and Disneyland tickets for two or three days. See ticket listing here>

Exclusive Universal Studios 2024 Discount Tickets for MickeyVisit.com Subscribers

Get Away Today frequently provides private discounts just for MickeyVisit.com subscribers on hotels, tickets, and packages for the entire Southern California area, including Universal Studios and Disneyland. The best Universal Studios ticket prices are listed on this page, however you should subscribe to our FREE MickeyVisit.com Deals Email to get great prices and coupon codes for other parts of your vacation including: shopping, dining, and transportation.

Click here to get access to the FREE MickeyVisit.com deals email and receive these special Universal Studios Hollywood discounts. My private discounts will save you hundreds while visiting Southern California and Universal Studios Hollywood.

Is it cheaper to buy Universal Studios Hollywood tickets online or at the gate?

As with most general admission tickets, you will always save money off admission when you purchase your tickets to Universal Studios in advance. You can typically get a reduced admission cost of about $10 per park ticket. You must purchase your admission 24 hours in advance to get the cheaper price. Keep in mind that this option locks you into a specific date, which helps the park plan their attendance numbers, and the tickets are non-refundable.

Universal Studios Hollywood General Admission Prices:

• 1-day tickets for ages 10 and up range from $109-$139 based on the date and $103-$123 for ages 3-9. Kids under 3 are free.
• 2-day Universal Studios tickets for ages 10 and up range from $149-$169 and $143-163 for ages 3-9. Kids under 3 are free.

Express Pass & VIP Ticket Prices:

• One VIP Experience ticket ranges from $349-$409. This experience is only available for ages 5 and up.
• The Universal Studios Hollywood Express Pass price varies with the season. You can see the current price for express access on the Universal Studios Hollywood website. Typically the cost for express tickets is around $70 per ticket.
• Super Nintendo World Early Access Ticket- you can purchase early access to Super Nintendo World as an add-on for your regular ticket that gives you an hour of early access to Super Nintendo World. This add-on also includes one-time express access to the Studio Tour which is valid until 11AM.

Parking Prices:

• Parking costs $25 for general parking, $35 for preferred parking, and $50 for Front Gate Parking. Prices decrease after 5pm at which point General Parking is $10, Preferred is $20, and Front Gate is $30.

You can read more about Universal Studios Hollywood ticket prices here.

Keep in mind that your ticket price is determined by the day of your visit- less popular days are cheaper while high peak times are going to be on the more expensive end of the ticket. Another great reason to book with Get Away Today! You can use these general admission tickets portion of the guide to help you price check the Universal Studio tickets discount options in our guide.

Universal Studios Hollywood VIP Experience

The Universal Studios Hollywood VIP experience includes a one day admission into the theme park, a special small group guided tour of the world-famous studio backlot, access to restricted areas that normal tram tour groups don't go, light continental breakfast and big buffet lunch, valet parking, and unlimited front of the line access to all attractions in the theme park with VIP tour guide.

This is an experience for guests that are looking to splurge for their day at the park! One ticket ranges from $349-$409. This experience is only available for ages 5 and up.

Your day with the VIP Experience will go something like this: You'll pull up to the valet parking right at the front of the theme park, hand the valet your keys and be escorted into the breakfast room that overlooks the main entrance of the park. From here you'll either leave on your tour or be given time to use your unlimited Express Access Pass throughout the theme park. After showing up 20 minutes prior to your scheduled tour you will be whisked off on a private VIP tour trolley with 10-15 people and two tour guides. Once your tour is complete you can either stay with your tour guide to be escorted throughout the entire park or take your express access pass and go on your own. Around lunch time you'll head over to the huge gourmet buffet in your private VIP dining room to kick back with your friends, family, and newly met acquaintances.

Recently our British neighbors visited both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood for the first time. At Disneyland they got regular park hopper tickets and at Universal Studios opted for the VIP Experience. After their trip, they overwhelming recommended Universal Studios Hollywood while just giving a “meh” for Disneyland. While I don't quite understand a “meh” for Disneyland, that review sure makes me want to experience the Universal Studios VIP Experience.

*In the past, our travel partner Get Away Today has offered cheap tickets on the VIP Universal Studios Experience. This offer is currently not available right now but keep checking back to see if it returns. 

Express Pass

The Express Pass allows you to skip to the front of the line for each attraction once during your day long visit by using the “Gate A” entrances at every attraction. Purchasing the Express Pass allows you to also get reserved seating to entertainment in the park. This system is similar to Disney's FastPass system where essentially you get to cut down the length of time spent in the queue for popular attractions.

You can read more on the Universal Studios Hollywood Express Pass offering for our tips and tricks.

One of the most common questions guests have about the Universal express tickets: is it worth it? That really depends on a few factors. If you're visiting on a weekend, holiday peak season, or have a limited amount of time then it's a good investment. Ride lines can get long very popular attractions during popular days of the year.

Pro Tip: On certain days there are same day discounted passes available from the box office (across the street from the main park Starbucks). These Universal express tickets will either be valid only after 2 pm or only after 4 pm. This can be a nice option to look into if you arrive at Universal Studios Hollywood and the park is much more crowded than you anticipated.

If you don't mind being split up from your group, a few of the popular attractions offer single rider as an option. With the single rider line you will wait in a much shorter queue and then be split up from your party to be put into empty seats on the various ride cars. This is a plus for you as the line is shorter and you don't have to pay for the Express Pass, and it is a plus for Universal Studios Hollywood because they don't end up sending out any ride cars with empty seats. My son and I rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey five times in a row (I'm still a bit dizzy!) using single rider on a day that the ride had a two hour line. So that's an option to utilize, if your group is comfortable with it if you don't want to purchase the Universal express tickets.

*In the past, our travel partner Get Away Today has offered reduced prices for the Express Pass. This offer is currently not available right now but keep checking back to see if it returns. 

Universal Studios Hollywood Annual Pass

The park recently changed the way they operate the Annual Pass program to match Disneyland's Annual Pass program. Previously, the park had offered a season pass good for a set amount of time or “season.” Now, all of these passes are valid for 12 months from the first day of use. Annual Passes can be purchased in advance on the park website.

The four types of Annual Pass/Season Passes are:

California Neighbor Pass:

There are lots of black out admission dates for this type of pass that include some weekends, holidays, summer days, and spring break period. You get 35 weekend days in the year with this pass and you can come any date for your first visit. With this pass you may purchase 1-day tickets for your guests for $15 off.

This pass is $189 when purchased at the gate and $179 when purchased online.

Silver Annual Pass:

This pass has less block out admission days than the season pass that includes some weekends, all holidays, summer dates, and spring break. You get around 60 weekend days in a year with this pass and you can come any date for your first visit.

This pass is $229 when purchased at the gate and $219 when purchased online.

Gold Annual Pass

The Gold Annual Pass is valid for 12 months from the first use, has various blackout admission dates, $15 discount on tickets for additional tickets, 15% off theme park merchandise and food, and free general parking. While there are black out dates for many weekends and holidays, you get around 75 weekend days in a year with this pass and you can come any date for your first visit.

This pass is $309 when purchased at the gate and $299 when purchased online.

Platinum Annual Pass

The Platinum Annual Pass includes no blackout admission dates, free parking, $15 discount on additional 1-day tickets, 15% discount on merchandise and dining, a ticket to Halloween Horror nights on select nights, a ticket to the New Years Eve celebration, free general parking, and a Platinum Annual Pass lanyard.

This pass is $579 when purchased at the ticket booth and $569 when purchased online.

Where can I get discount Universal Studios Hollywood tickets?

Annual Passholder Discounts

Annual Passholders can get $1 off one day tickets for up to six people when they purchase admission in person at the park ticket booths. When purchasing in advance on the website, annual passholders can get admission at $15 off the main gate general admission for up to six of their friends.

In order to get this advanced purchase price you have to wait 24-48 hours after activating your Annual Pass in person at the theme park and then create an account on the passholder website.

Military Admission

Military discounts are provided on general admission for all serving and inactive members of the armed forces and their families. The ticket discount only amounts to $3 off the price of park admission so we recommend looking at other options for your day in Lose Angeles.

To secure the best Universal Studios tickets for military members you need to plan in advance:

1. Purchase your Universal tickets at your local MWR/ITT ticket office. If your local base ticket office does not have the Universal tickets in stock, they can try to order more for you. Usually a ticket office can secure tickets within five business days for you. Call ahead if you can.
2. You can also order your tickets over the phone from Commander, Navy Region, Southwest by calling (619) 767-6000. Your tickets will arrive in about 6-7 business days. You can also pay for overnight shipping on your Universal Studios tickets.

These military discounts can be worth it if you call in advance, but I strongly suggest you price out our recommended regular park discount tickets before just sticking with the military discounts. Often the regular prices from our recommended company can be lower than military price. You can read more about their military discount on their park website.

Universal Studios College Student Discounts

Universal Studios Hollywood has a discount coupon program that allows select colleges and universities to access lower priced tickets and annual passes. These schools are all listed out on their website.

In order to purchase these discounted tickets online you must register with a school provided email address (must end in .edu). Some schools only allow for these general admission tickets to be purchased on campus in their student tickets office.

AARP Universal Studios Discount Tickets

The AARP, or American Association of Retired Persons, offers their members discounts on Universal Studios general admission. These discounts can be found through the AARP Travel Center that is curated by Expedia.

These Universal Studios Hollywood discount discount tickets are still about $10 more expensive than any of the discount tickets available from Get Away Today via our private link that we recommend above.

Using Rewards Points For Universal Studios Tickets

There are a number of rewards programs that allow you to redeem amassed points for Universal Studios Hollywood general admission tickets.

• American Express Rewards Points can be redeemed for one day child and adult tickets. Let me caution you that both a child and adult ticket cost the same amount of points, meaning that there has to be a better deal with your points somewhere else. (Official Site)
• Canadian Air Miles can be redeemed for Universal Studios Hollywood one day tickets on their website. (Official Site)
• Various other credit card redemption websites. Be sure to check your own credit card for information on redeeming points for a Universal Studios ticket.

Southern California Universal Studios Discounts on Tickets

Occasionally Universal Studios Hollywood will offer discounts on tickets and annual passes exclusively for Southern California Residents living in zip codes 90000-93599.

When these exclusive Southern California Universal Studios Hollywood discount tickets are available they will be listed below:

There are currently no Southern California specific Universal Studios discount tickets or annual passes. 

Universal Studios Discount Tickets Coke Can

Previously Universal Studios Hollywood offered numerous coupon codes on the sides of Coca-Cola cans and products. These Coke can discounts have not run in recent years because of the increasing popularity and class of the resort.

When this Universal Studios Coke Can promotion was running you could get a $15 discount off of the front gate price which at the time was much lower than current Universal Studios Hollywood admission prices.

How much is Universal Studios pass at Costco?

Various Costco stores in the Southern California area will sometimes carry cheaper tickets during slow periods of the year.. Since the successful addition of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, tickets can be found less and less often for a good Costco discount.

Costco offers the best discounts on the Universal Studios Hollywood Annual Passes. These passes are rarely discounted except for the Universal Studios website advanced purchase and the Costco website discounts.

The Costco Universal Studios Tickets and Universal Studios Hollywood Annual Pass are a members only items on Costco.com.

How much are AAA Universal Studios tickets?

AAA and the CAA, the Canadian equivalent both offer slight Universal Studios discounts to their members.

All AAA and CAA members get $3 off all admission into Universal Studios when purchasing tickets from the front gate. Also, members get 10% off many locations at the Universal CityWalk restaurants.

Just like all of the other general admission for Universal Studios Hollywood, you will save the most when you purchase your tickets in advance on the AAA and CAA joint website. There can be deals on Universal Studios during the off season, however these still rarely compare to the discounts that are exclusively for Mickey Visit subscribers.

Plan Your Universal Studios Hollywood Vacation!

You can find more information on planning your Universal Studios Hollywood visit in Los Angeles by subscribing to our MickeyVisit.com discounts newsletter. You will have access to exclusive Universal Studios Hollywood discount tickets when you subscribe.

Visit the Universal Studios website for official park schedule and information on varying crowd levels.

And don't forget to read our comprehensive guide to Universal Studios Hollywood so you can plan your visit!

Lea esta guía para Universal Studios boletos baratos en español aquí.

Tips for finding discount Disneyland tickets at Costco and AAA Disneyland Discount Tickets.