Annual pass math

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Help me think thru this... We have a standard king room at RPR for two nights booked thru orbitz (using a discount code that I thought was pretty good) for $501.62. I see the APH rate for the same room is $380.26... Which is a $121.36 difference. I'd have to get an AP for me which would add $200, but then would not need tickets for myself for the two days, which is about $150. None of our days are blacked out so I could do the cheapest pass. Dh and dd would need tickets, and it says it's a 10% discount if I buy them at the ticket booth, so instead of $283.98 it would be $255.58. So without the AP I am looking at $935 ish, and with it $835 ish...

What are the logistics? I buy the AP online... Can I then buy a two day park to park pass when we arrive in May for dh and dd, or can I only buy 1 day at a time cause one day at a time would kill my savings I think. And how much running around will all this entail? Are there other perks/disadvantages I am not thinking of?

 

[damo]

First off, you need to get the preferred pass to get any discounts on hotels and merchandise. The power pass will not give you those discounts.

The discount for the other tickets is on gate price, so make sure you aren't calculating the discount using the online prices which are $20 lower for multiday passes. One day passes are the same online or at the gate.

You can buy multiple passes at the gate. I think it is up to 6 at a time.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Okay, I didn't read that in the fine print... So it's $80 more but then the ticket discount is more too (15%)... So I think it would still be saving $35? And then there are food discounts, which won't amount to much, but is something. So I would buy the pass online... Rebook at the APH rate. When I check in, I read that you can activate your pass right at RPR? We can get our express passes for all three of us, head to the parks and get dh and dd 2 day park to park passes with a 15% discount off gate prices (which I just remembered you said are higher.). Hmm... That would probably negate the rest of the savings, so ignore my rambling. Unless I am still missing something? We will probably not be back to orlando, so the pass would be two day use for me.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Hmm... That would probably negate the rest of the savings, so ignore my rambling. Unless I am still missing something? We will probably not be back to orlando, so the pass would be two day use for me.

But that's the value of an AP, it burns a hole in your pocket and you plan another trip because your tickets are already paid for .

 

[damo]

Renewals are about $100 less. That helps.

I don't think you can activate your pass at the hotel. I do believe you actually need to go through the park gates to activate.

Sometimes, depending on the ticket, getting them through undercovertourist.com is still cheaper than the AP discount.

 

[rowan555]

But that's the value of an AP, it burns a hole in your pocket and you plan another trip because your tickets are already paid for .

I bought an AP last August to save money on our hotel stay and only intended to make the ONE trip. Now, here I am planning a May trip because hey, I have the AP and only need to buy tickets for my daughter! I wish I'd gotten the annual pass for her too - oh well!

 

[troydjames]

If you go every year like I do you can renew the AP at a discount rate, every June I get a renewal for $179 I think, the original cost was around $230

 

[son3disfan]

You can now use a power pass for room discounts.
I called ( twice to make sure) universal customer service and they confirmed it.

I did the same math just as the op did and for a family of 5 , we are saving $182 by buying the power pass and staying at the portifino bay resort in March with the APH discount.

Worth it for us.

ETA they did say your pass needs to be activated before you get the discount rate at the hotel.
Literally walk through the turnstile at the park and turn around to go back out. Again, a little inconvenience but worth the savings for us

 

[damo]

You can now use a power pass for room discounts.
I called ( twice to make sure) universal customer service and they confirmed it.

I did the same math just as the op did and for a family of 5 , we are saving $182 by buying the power pass and staying at the portifino bay resort in March with the APH discount.

Worth it for us.

ETA they did say your pass needs to be activated before you get the discount rate at the hotel.
Literally walk through the turnstile at the park and turn around to go back out. Again, a little inconvenience but worth the savings for us

Although those things have never have been true in the past, you can always upgrade the power pass if you are told that it is not enough. Here is the website info which clearly states that power passes aren't used for hotel discounts. Unless the front desk at the hotels now have scanners, I'm not sure how they would know if your pass is activated. Activating a pass is not always possible before you check in. The parks could be closed.

https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-Tickets/Annual-Passes.aspx

The power pass is fine to get discounted tickets and that never used to be the case but that is correctly stated on the website.

 

[son3disfan]

Although those things have never have been true in the past, you can always upgrade the power pass if you are told that it is not enough. Here is the website info which clearly states that power passes aren't used for hotel discounts. Unless the front desk at the hotels now have scanners, I'm not sure how they would know if your pass is activated. Activating a pass is not always possible before you check in. The parks could be closed.

https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-Tickets/Annual-Passes.aspx

The power pass is fine to get discounted tickets and that never used to be the case but that is correctly stated on the website.

Power pass can be used for hotel discounts. Call yourself and ask....
I quoted that the website did not state that, only the better passes did, and she said I will confirm with my supervisor....answer yes.
I hung up called another agent, same response.
So if you are unsure, call for your own confirmation.

True about the parks not being open...forgot about that if we are checking in at 7 am.
I will have to stop by the park one day while we are in Disney.

 

[damo]

Power pass can be used for hotel discounts. Call yourself and ask....
I quoted that the website did not state that, only the better passes did, and she said I will confirm with my supervisor....answer yes.
I hung up called another agent, same response.
So if you are unsure, call for your own confirmation.

True about the parks not being open...forgot about that if we are checking in at 7 am.
I will have to stop by the park one day while we are in Disney.

I'll call the Annual Pass line tomorrow and ask. It's great news if that is now true.

We've had people at the park give wrong information before, so it would be nice to hear it from the annual pass information line.

Remember now that if you are going to stop in the park one day while at Disney, that you have to pay for parking unless your AP is activated and they don't refund that payment. You can get around that if someone just takes you to a hotel and waits in the car for you while you run to a park. I suggest waiting at the HRH since it is closest to get to a park.

 

[son3disfan]

I'll call the Annual Pass line tomorrow and ask. It's great news if that is now true.

We've had people at the park give wrong information before, so it would be nice to hear it from the annual pass information line.

Remember now that if you are going to stop in the park one day while at Disney, that you have to pay for parking unless your AP is activated and they don't refund that payment. You can get around that if someone just takes you to a hotel and waits in the car for you while you run to a park. I suggest waiting at the HRH since it is closest to get to a park.

Thanks for the info. We are first timers so this great info is very much appreciated. I would love it for someone else to confirm the hotel discount for power pass. Please post when you do.

 

[macraven]

True about the parks not being open...forgot about that if we are checking in at 7 am.
I will have to stop by the park one day while we are in Disney.

guest services outside the parks open an hour before the parks officially open.
i have the ap but had to pick up a pass for my son this month for him to enter the park with me for early entry/8:00.

i was at ioa guest service before 8, they opened promptly and picked up the ticket within minutes.
made it into the park about 8:05 that morning.

 

[damo]

Thanks for the info. We are first timers so this great info is very much appreciated. I would love it for someone else to confirm the hotel discount for power pass. Please post when you do.

Called the AP line and hotel discounts up to 30% are now included in the power pass. You don't get food and merchandise discounts though.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Called the AP line and hotel discounts up to 30% are now included in the power pass. You don't get food and merchandise discounts though.

This is good news! Back to my math... Lol

 

[MrsMud]

Called the AP line and hotel discounts up to 30% are now included in the power pass. You don't get food and merchandise discounts though.

Seriously? That is great news, and gives me something to think about. Even if we DON'T make another trip within the year, the room discount may make up the difference and then some!

 

[nfceagles]

What if you are arriving late at night? Can you check in with the APH discount if you can't get through the gates until next morning?

 

[macraven]

Yes

 

[mjohnson96]

Called the AP line and hotel discounts up to 30% are now included in the power pass. You don't get food and merchandise discounts though.

Only bad thing i noticed is that the blackout dates for US are pretty much all summer! So for me I will be getting the Prefered Pass again since we are staying 3 or 4 nights and the cost savings on the hotel usually greatly outweigh the cost of the pass. Plus gives me an excuse to go back!