Need Help with Platinum Passports

[dturner]

I’m trying to make my upcoming trip as cheap as possible so I have a couple of questions regarding tickets for anyone that can help me.

I want to take my son to Sea World this year and thought about buying the Platinum Passports so they could be taken out of my bank account monthly and also so I can use them here at home at Sea World San Antonio and for my trip next year also. My question is: if I buy these Platinum Passports is the two year period operating seasons or are they like Disney and Universal and don’t start until you activate them at the park? I’m not going until late September so most of the year would be gone and I won’t be able to activate them here in San Antonio because they don’t have the Platinum Passports only the Orlando park does (and the Platinum Passports are the only Passports good at all Bush Parks -hope this makes sense).

I appreciate any help I can get as I called the ticket people at Sea World and they just confused me even more.

[WebmasterBarry]

If you buy a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platnium Pass, you get a voucher that needs to be redeemed for a photo pass. Then it will be good from the time of activation to the end (1 or 2 years later).

[dturner]

Great! That's exactly what I wanted to hear, the year starts off when you activate it. WOO HOO!!!

[lawgs]

if you ever decide to renew "platinum" or upgrade "silver" or "gold" annual passes......you will not get the "renewal" rate but will have to pay the full cost, as if you were buying the pass again ....

we just upgraded from gold to platinum, since we are going to williamsburg next week and were going to continue EXpay since we were told it was 10.83 a month ( which when we viewed the website ) looked like the cost connected to the "renewal" price, when we got the charge on our credit card it was 11.57 a month so i called to enquire why.....

they said prices quoted on the website did not have "tax in"

when i asked about the renewal price listed on the net, they told me it applied only if you paid the cost in FULL .....

after doing the math.....upgrade using EZpay would have cost
a total of 277.50$ while the renewal rate for the same pass paying for it in FULL was 250.50$

conclusion, after the initial EZpay period you have to weigh your options when renewing your annual passes in this case paying up front was 27$ cheaper...

must say they tried us very nicely over the phone.....cancelled our Ezpay contract for us, will issue new passes paid in full and have them to us before we leave next thursday (april 24)....also said if they had not arrived in time , just to call them and they would make arrangements at busch gardens williamsburg to take care of us....NOW that is customer service