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Universal Is Handing Annual Passholders Priority Seating at The Untrainable Dragon, and the Perk Starts Saturday
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Universal Is Handing Annual Passholders Priority Seating at The Untrainable Dragon, and the Perk Starts Saturday

Michael Travels
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Passholder Appreciation Days already came stocked with discounts, exclusive menu items and a pair of after hours parties whose reservations are fully booked. Universal has now added seating priority.

On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, the official Universal Orlando Resort Annual Passholders Instagram account posted to its Stories that UOAPs get priority seating at The Untrainable Dragon at Universal Epic Universe for the duration of Passholder Appreciation Days.

Universal passholder announcement graphic reading Welcome to the Dragon Hatchery! with text about priority seating, beside Astrid and a blue dragon puppet
The top of the announcement as Universal posted it to the passholder Instagram Stories, above the fine print. Astrid appears at the bottom center, laughing, with a blue scaled, gold horned dragon leaning in from the right edge. Credit: Universal Orlando Resort, via WDW News Today

The graphic opened with "Welcome to the Dragon Hatchery!" then laid out the offer: "UOAPs can enjoy priority seating at The Untrainable Dragon during Passholder Appreciation Days. Arrive 15 minutes before showtime!"

Read the fine print before you plan around it. The bottom of the same Story carries the caveats: separate Epic Universe admission is required, seats go first-come, first-served, and Universal says the arrangement can change. Priority seating is not a reserved seat, and it does not get you into the park. Universal has not spelled out the mechanics beyond that 15 minute call time, so treat it as a better shot at a good seat rather than a guaranteed one.

A large blue and purple dragon puppet on a dark stage with two wings raised high and two more fanned low, all four lit deep red, standing above silhouetted audience heads
The show in performance: a blue and purple dragon puppet with two wings raised high and two more fanned low along the stage, all four lit deep red, the membranes glowing with big eye like markings, above the silhouetted heads of the audience. The four wings point to the Storm Cutter the story turns on rather than Toothless, who is black and has two. Credit: Universal Orlando Resort

What you are getting a better seat for: The Untrainable Dragon is a 20 minute musical stage show for all ages in which Hiccup, Toothless, Gobber and Astrid sort out why the Vikings cannot see eye to eye with a new Storm Cutter that has turned up on the Isle of Berk. It plays in the How to Train Your Dragon land, Isle of Berk, at Epic Universe, and Universal's own land guide tells you to head into the dragon hatchery to watch it, the venue the announcement graphic names in its headline.

Astrid in Viking costume at left facing a large blue scaled dragon puppet with its mouth open, while a guest in a horned helmet laughs and touches its snout
Astrid and Stormfly meeting guests elsewhere in Isle of Berk. Astrid is at the left in her red and fur trimmed costume, with a laughing guest in a horned Viking helmet at the right resting a hand on the dragon's snout. Credit: Universal Orlando Resort

The wrinkle: Passholder Appreciation Days run from August 15 to September 30, 2026, but the show is not available for all of it. The Untrainable Dragon closes for refurbishment from September 15 to September 20, 2026, a closure Universal disclosed back in July. Those six days are the one announced stretch of Passholder Appreciation Days when the perk has nothing to attach to.

Universal detailed the passholder exclusive menu on its official blog on August 10, with items at Universal CityWalk, Universal Studios Florida, Universal Volcano Bay and Universal Islands of Adventure. The wider slate, announced in late July, also includes 40 percent off rooms at select hotels for Sunday through Thursday stays, 30 percent off Express Pass, sold only at the front gate ticket windows, extended UOAP Lounge hours in Toon Lagoon at Universal Islands of Adventure, and UOAP Nights at Universal Studios Florida on August 15 and 16 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., for which reservations are already fully booked.

Passholder Appreciation Days begin Saturday.

Sources: WDW News Today, "Universal Orlando Resort Annual Passholders Get Priority Seating for The Untrainable Dragon"; Universal Orlando's official blog on the Passholder Appreciation Days menu; WDW News Today on the September refurbishment; Universal Orlando's official guide to Isle of Berk; WDW News Today on the full Passholder Appreciation Days perk list.

Image credits: Isle of Berk, the stage show and the Astrid meet and greet images are Universal Orlando Resort. The passholder announcement graphic is Universal Orlando Resort, via WDW News Today.

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