AP rates on already booked hotel?

[elbodans]

my husband and i are going to universal in may. we're each buying a 4-day 2-park pass. we are also staying on site at portofino bay. however, i'll be going back to universal in the fall (most likely--i'd put it at around an 85% chance). i'm now thinking it would make sense to get an AP. the price difference between the 4-day ticket and the annual pass is $80. if i could save at least that much on the room, it would be a no-brainer. however, we've already booked the room. is it still possible to have the AP rate applied to our room rate, and if so, how do i go about doing that, as obviously i've not purchased the AP yet? i did this in disney--got an AP rate before buying the pass, with the understanding that i'd present it at check in; additionally, i had the AP rate applied to an existing reservation--and everyone was really nice about it. i don't know if this is how things work at universal, though. any experience/input would be greatly appreciated. thanks!!!

 

[cvjw]

I just booked a AP rate on PBH for June this morning. I haven't even bought the AP yet, and it was no problem to get the AP rate. Just call them back and have the new rate applied. The CM said I just had to have the AP at checkin to keep the rate.

 

[elbodans]

ok--calling now. will post results!

EDIT--results. saved $100 on room, but that's because i got a 'better' room (they didn't have any of the basic rooms left at AP rate...of course!) buying AP, as it now pays for itself, and then i'll have it for most-likely fall travel. now if only i could convince my husband to stay at Royal Pacific instead--we'd save even more!

 

[Momw/aplan]

ok--calling now. will post results!

EDIT--results. saved $100 on room, but that's because i got a 'better' room (they didn't have any of the basic rooms left at AP rate...of course!) buying AP, as it now pays for itself, and then i'll have it for most-likely fall travel. now if only i could convince my husband to stay at Royal Pacific instead--we'd save even more!

We haven't been to any of the other Universal hotels, so I can't really compare with them, but we LOVED Royal Pacific. It is an absolutely breathtaking hotel. And we are quite picky when it comes to where we stay for vacations. In fact, the next time we go to Orlando to hit both Universal and Disney my first choice will be to stay at RP. Our trip to Disney in Nov 2009 we stayed at AKL in a Savannah view room and loved every minute of it, but I would still choose RP over AKL in a heartbeat. You really can't go wrong there, and I have no idea why it is the "cheaper" hotel. Not that I'm complaining!!