Universal Studio - Rates

[mivictori]

What is the best rate for Universal Studio Hard Rock Resort. I have heard that AAA has the best and others say Entertainment Book has the best. We are planning a trip in August 2007. :dance3: :cool1:

[bubba's mom]

:welcome: to the DIS!! :wave2: I do not believe they are accepting Entertainment Book rate.....just AAA or Annual Pass Holder rates. AAA rates are the first to be released and APH rates are released closer to the date of your travel...you just have to keep checking. :teeth:

[Foladar]

Best rates IMO are APH (annual passholder) and FLA (florida resident rates) .. then AAA .. then their specials (sometimes 20% off, sometimes 1 night free if staying 4 nts)

[damo]

Entertainment book discounts are long gone.

[Motherfletcher]

The best discount is for Travel Agents. APH is normally better than AAA but that wasn't the case last weekend.

[aztecgoods]

Best rates IMO are APH (annual passholder) and FLA (florida resident rates) .. then AAA .. then their specials (sometimes 20% off, sometimes 1 night free if staying 4 nts)

Hi Foladar, are you saying that if you buy the annual passes that you get the best hotel rates with that? I did not know that. That will def be something I will look into

[bubba's mom]

Hi Foladar, are you saying that if you buy the annual passes that you get the best hotel rates with that? I did not know that. That will def be something I will look into

That's one reason we bought AP's....i think the hotel discount was 30% vs. AAA was 20%...and restaurants were 15-20% vs. AAA 10%.

[mivictori]

I am having such a hard time trying to plan this vacation because we just got back from Disney and we were given the royal treatment :wizard: with all the Disney Magical express, lodging, fastpass and great service that I am having a hard time trying to get the same out of Universal Studios.

I am soooo confused on the passes and the front of the line that they don't make it easy. :smooth:

[damo]

It is very easy. Just stay at an onsite hotel and you get free unlimited express passes for everyone in the room that you can use whenever you want. No times written on fastpasses or anything. Just show your room key and get in the express line. It couldn't be easier.

[PlutoLuvr]

We've gotten good discounts using the passholder discount and/or Fl resident discount. We go off season, and the rates last year and the year before were 149 per night during the week.

However, we've had trouble in the past using their website to book. I always, always have to call the 1-800 number. Their website always gives us a message that no rooms match our request.

[mivictori]

Thanks to everyone that took the time to answer my question. Now we just need to decided when we want to go and what hotel on Universal property that we want to stay at. :cool1: I heard that Hard Rock is really cool. :banana: :crazy: The sad thing is that we hardly spent anytime in our room or at the resort.

[aztecgoods]

That's one reason we bought AP's....i think the hotel discount was 30% vs. AAA was 20%...and restaurants were 15-20% vs. AAA 10%.

WOW cool! I am so glad I read these for just when i thought I was beginning to think there wasn't much I didn't know about the park, I learn something new, thanks again, BM your awesome as usual!

[bubba's mom]

WOW cool! I am so glad I read these for just when i thought I was beginning to think there wasn't much I didn't know about the park, I learn something new, thanks again, BM your awesome as usual!

I try :cool2:

(actually, I don't try....I just pass along the same info I have already learned here.....)

[Foladar]

I try :cool2:

(actually, I don't try....I just pass along the same info I have already learned here.....)
:thumbsup2
Now tell Universal to pass along some good APH rates for late Oct! :surfweb:

[bubba's mom]

:thumbsup2
Now tell Universal to pass along some good APH rates for late Oct! :surfweb:


I'm right on it..... :surfweb:
(oh, if I only could have that influence!)

[Cinderella822]

I am having such a hard time trying to plan this vacation because we just got back from Disney and we were given the royal treatment :wizard: with all the Disney Magical express, lodging, fastpass and great service that I am having a hard time trying to get the same out of Universal Studios.

I am soooo confused on the passes and the front of the line that they don't make it easy. :smooth:
We always went to Disney and I loved it. I was hesitant to do Universal, but we stayed there a week last month. I just booked my room for next August today. Talk about special treatment - I thought Universal was far better than Disney when it came to special treatment. I LOVED FOTL. That spoiled me for life. And everyone at the hotel was so nice and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed - drinks by the pool, towels, etc. The entire week, the bellboy who took us to our room, smiled and said hello to us when he passed us in the hall and asked how we were enjoying our stay. I think you'll absolutely love the treatment you get at Universal. :thumbsup2

[luvdisney14]

How much was you room rate?

[Brendita]

DS really wants a Universal vacation.
Do the hotels have different rate like Disney.
Value, Holiday, Low Season, High Season?
Do they post them?
Where do I find them.
:confused3
Thanks

[bubba's mom]

DS really wants a Universal vacation.
Do the hotels have different rate like Disney.
Value, Holiday, Low Season, High Season?
Do they post them?
Where do I find them.
:confused3
Thanks

Yes, they have different "season" rates...go to www.universalorlando.com and click under hotels and then go down (to the right) to "hotel comparison" and you can see the different prices per season. fyi, Royal Pacific (RPR) is cheapest, with Hard Rock (HRH) next (usually) and Portofino Bay (PBH) is usually the most expensive and furthest away from the parks....with Hard Rock being closest to Universal Studios and Royal Pacific closest to Islands of Adventure....good luck :thumbsup2 (oh, and use AAA discount too...if you have it!)

[macraven]

i have AAA and the PAP.

i book in january for my october trips. i use the AAA rate as i want to secure the hotel and my preferences. the aaa rates are available 11 months out.

getting closer to my date/ about 3-4 weeks out/ i start checking the aph rate for the hotel. if it has dropped lower than what i have, i can switch


the past few years the aaa rate is lower than the aph at the beginning of the year. when the better aph rates come out, it is decision time

if i modify my ressie to aph, i lose my loews points and perks.
i usually know by september if that is what i want to do.

i only need to stay at a loews hotel a certain number of nights per year to keep my card status.

[Melanie230]

I don't think they are gone. I went in March/April this year and used an Entertainment book rate. I also got the coupons out of the book for all the extras in the park. Those were worth buying the book alone. I got the same rate as AAA, and APH with the book. I did check all three.

[damo]

I don't think they are gone. I went in March/April this year and used an Entertainment book rate. I also got the coupons out of the book for all the extras in the park. Those were worth buying the book alone. I got the same rate as AAA, and APH with the book. I did check all three.

You used to be able to type ENT as the rate code on the website and it no longer works. You are the first person stating that they have gotten an Ent rate in years! That would be great if they are back. Yippee for more low rate options!

[joey's mom]

what extras did you get in the park by using the Entertainment Book? I'm wondering if it is really worth spending the money for the book.

[Melanie230]

I got a coupon for a Movie and A Meal, and then a couple of other things I think that were like $7 off tickets. Nothing worth a lot EXCEPT for the Movie and a Meal pass. You get a free dinner, and a free movie. I also had a special when I bought the book that gave me a $10 rebate per night that I stayed. I used that to pay for my parking. I have no idea if they are doing it again this year, but the book was only $20.

[Melanie230]

I actually booked my vacation through Entertainment book. Not at Universal's site. I typed in where I wanted to go and RPR came up.

I just went to Entertainments site, and I typed in just a random date for this year and RPR popped up. The dates were

12/1-12/5 and the rates were from 184-299. Depending on your room.

It was the same rate using AAA.

OK...Did it AGAIN at their site for next year. I got RPR, HRH, AND PBH. You have to do a search and scroll. I did these dates: 3/31/2007-4/06/2007 city was Orlando 1 room. The hotels are on the 141-150 page.

The rates were:

RPH 319-429
HRH 349-439
PBH 379-499

These rates change when you get closer to your dates. All the same rates as AAA.

[damo]

I actually booked my vacation through Entertainment book. Not at Universal's site. I typed in where I wanted to go and RPR came up.

I just went to Entertainments site, and I typed in just a random date for this year and RPR popped up. The dates were

12/1-12/5 and the rates were from 184-299. Depending on your room.

It was the same rate using AAA.

So, I guess you wouldn't get the Loews first benefits either then, like you would with the AAA rate.

[Melanie230]

Nope...I didn't get those. BUT with my rebate from Entertainment, my parking was free. They sent me a $10 rebate per day. What are the benefits? I know that you can get a fruit basket when you arrive, but I didn't know of anything else.

[damo]

Nope...I didn't get those. BUT with my rebate from Entertainment, my parking was free. They sent me a $10 rebate per day. What are the benefits? I know that you can get a fruit basket when you arrive, but I didn't know of anything else.

Once you have accumulated enough qualifying nights (which wouldn't be counted with Ent rate) you are upgraded to a suite when you stay. Our next vacation, we are saving about $500/night with this bonus!

[Melanie230]

Oh that is great. We don't go enough to get that. We went last Spring Break and will go again this Spring Break but won't be back for a couple of years after next year. I think we will go to Disney the next year.

[macraven]

You used to be able to type ENT as the rate code on the website and it no longer works. You are the first person stating that they have gotten an Ent rate in years! That would be great if they are back. Yippee for more low rate options!


i looked in my book and the ent rate is listed as the guaranteed best rate which has always been available. the only hotel in the program is the rph.
the discount is up to 20%, depends on the time of year you go.
even so, the other cards have deeper discounts.

you have to call and book through ent on the guarnteed best rate program and pre pay in advance with a cc.
you get a rebate bases on a sliding scale.
2 nights is $10 rebate
3-4 nights $20 rebate
5-6-7 nights $30 rebate
these are the rebates when you call the 800 number in the book.
if you do it online, the rebate is $10 more per group nights as listed above.

the rebate is mailed to you after you end your trip and mail in the completed rebate form that is in your ent book.

you do not get a check back but a credit on the credit card you used to book your rooms with. your rebate is the credit rebate put on your cc account

i had called them before when the ent book rate stopped.
after checking it out, it was not as deep of a discount for when i would go.
also, didn't want to have to prepay entire stay in advance and then wait until after the trip was completed to file the rebate form in order to get a credit on my cc after the fact.

some people might prefer this program, but it wasn't one for me.
that is why i never mentioned it prior on the threads.

depending on the date you go, can determine what type of discount you can recieve.
when it states up to 20%, the times i would be traveling had a 5% discount.
my AAA and PAP had better discounts.

and, you are limited to only rph on the program.

if the poster was happy with what discount she received then that is great.
it wouldn't have worked out better for me on my dates.

we all check out the discounts and we should utilize the ones that fits our needs best.

so yes there is this program out there that has been around the last 3 years. the poster that used it is the first one i have read about.

[Melanie230]

I got a $10 rebate for every night we stayed there. The check wasn't mailed to me, they credited my credit card that I used to book our vacation.

[macraven]

i just reread the page in the ent . book that explains the rebate program.
the rebate covers days in intervals of 2 nights stay. if you stay only one night, rebate on cc after the form has been sent in. stay 2 nights no rebate

stay 1 to 2 nights equals one rebate.
stay 3 to 4 nights equals additional rebate.

the rebate is not based on each night of a multi day stay. it is broken down into intervals of nights stayed.

[4mygrls]

When you buy the ap, it makes it sound like you automatically get a discount at the universal hotels with the ap card. How do you know you are getting an ap rate or seasonal rate or what?

[damo]

When you buy the ap, it makes it sound like you automatically get a discount at the universal hotels with the ap card. How do you know you are getting an ap rate or seasonal rate or what?

When you book the hotel, you ask for the ap rate. You can also book online and use the code aph for annual pass rates. When the rates come up they also show which type of rate you are getting whether it be seasonal, AAA, APH or whatever.