APH Upgrade Question - Tix Obviously Bought From UT

[CrewmanNumberSix]

Hi all,

I wish I had discovered this wonderful board sooner, but such is life.

I bought my tickets from UT over a month ago, and just yesterday realized that I could save a bunch of money on a PBH reservation via the APH rate. I've done my research on here to the best of my ability, and I understand that generally speaking, folks have been able to upgrade a 3-day park-to-park ticket bought from Undercover Tourist into an annual pass.

My tickets from UT, though, have the prominent designation "INSIDERGUIDE.COM, L.L.C.," which seems to be a big, flashing sign saying "These tickets were not purchased directly from Universal." Does anyone know if this could potentially affect my ability to upgrade a ticket to an annual pass at Guest Services? I know these things can often be a YMMV situation, but I just thought I'd see if anyone else has had an experience along these lines.

My alternative is returning my ticket to UT for a refund (minus a 5% service fee) then purchasing the annual pass directly from Universal ahead of time.

Thanks for the consideration, and all the other great info you guys post on here!

 

[damo]

Email UT and ask if that will cause a problem. I imagine all UT tickets are like that.

 

[tink1957]

We had no trouble upgrading our UT ticket to an AP in September. Just make sure you go through the gate first using the ticket then go to guest services inside the park to upgrade.

 

[CrewmanNumberSix]

Thanks to both of you for the info.

I e-mailed UT, but I'm not sure they'll be able to confidently comment on the AP upgrade policies of Universal Orlando itself.

Good to hear someone's had success in the not-too-distant past! I'll be sure to follow those instructions, and I'll certainly revisit this thread after I've done so to update other curious parties as to what the deal is when I happen to be there.

 

[biochemgirl]

I'm wondering if taking UT tickets into the park and then trading it in for a real ticket will "erase" the trail of it being a discount ticket like a 2+1 or 2+2. At some later point in the trip, the real ticket can be used to upgrade to AP even if the original was a 2+2 UT discounted ticket...

It would be great if anyone could confirm that this does or doesn't work! I'll try at the end of March, but that seems a ways a way

 

[bumbershoot]

There is no problem here. Please don't worry about this.

UT bought them from universal, so they were purchased from Universal at one point.

It's how we got DH and DS moved to APs, with UT tickets.

 

[biochemgirl]

I called guest services and the rep seemed certain that tickets from UT pose no problem when upgrading to AP. I clarified that I purchased a discounted 2 + 2 ticket to get a 4 day pass. She quoted the value of my pass as $303.51 and that a seasonal AP is the same price! We can basically upgrade for free

 

[JayDubs]

I upgraded a 2+1 ticket from UT just last week with no problem. It upgraded as a 3 day park-to-park. My ticket said the same thing on the back as OP.

I will note, though, that before I purchased the tix from UT, I asked UT customer service and they told me that the 2+2 pass would NOT be upgradable because 2+2 was a promo ticket. That's why I bought the 2+1 and not the 2+2.

 

[oumagic]

There seems to quite a bit of confusion regarding the specific ticket 2+2 ticket from UT . When I asked Universal on the phone, one person said that I could not upgrade it and 2 said that I could. My thought is that once I use it in the park, I will be able to upgrade the ticket but maybe I cannot upgrade it before using in the park? I guess I will find out in March; my printed ticket says, "2-Park 4-Day PTP Adult SC"

My tickets that I printed say to proceed directly to turnstile and just have Universal on them and nothing about "insiderguide"

 

[damo]

There seems to quite a bit of confusion regarding the specific ticket 2+2 ticket from UT . When I asked Universal on the phone, one person said that I could not upgrade it and 2 said that I could. My thought is that once I use it in the park, I will be able to upgrade the ticket but maybe I cannot upgrade it before using in the park? I guess I will find out in March; my printed ticket says, "2-Park 4-Day PTP Adult SC"

My tickets that I printed say to proceed directly to turnstile and just have Universal on them and nothing about "insiderguide"

Yes, there does seem to be confusion. I don't think we've had anyone report back from upgrading those tickets yet.

 

[oumagic]

I do not think I have seen someone say on the forums that they tried to upgrade one of these tickets at the parks and were refused. I have only seen people say that they were told on the phone that they could not upgrade these tickets. I personally have been told on the phone that I could and that I could not. Only one post I have seen said that they upgraded a 4 day UT ticket, but I am not sure if it was the ticket that was 4 days for the price of 2. http://disboards.com/threads/seasonal-vs-annual-pass.3567512/#post-56902656

I have all kinds of theories, but just will not know 100% until I try. I am holding out hope that it will not be a problem when I try to upgrade or someone at guest services will be able to help if it is a problem. I feel confident that if I want to upgrade my ticket that cost me $250 to a $320 power pass, someone at Universal will make that happen. If not, I may be out some money on a hotel room (rack rate versus APH rate). It will all work out and I am not worried; just trying to share my situation in case someone else is researching it like I am.

I will report back end of March: we have Disney cruise March 12-17 and Universal 17-20

 

[biochemgirl]

I do not think I have seen someone say on the forums that they tried to upgrade one of these tickets at the parks and were refused. I have only seen people say that they were told on the phone that they could not upgrade these tickets. I personally have been told on the phone that I could and that I could not. Only one post I have seen said that they upgraded a 4 day UT ticket, but I am not sure if it was the ticket that was 4 days for the price of 2. http://disboards.com/threads/seasonal-vs-annual-pass.3567512/#post-56902656

I have all kinds of theories, but just will not know 100% until I try. I am holding out hope that it will not be a problem when I try to upgrade or someone at guest services will be able to help if it is a problem. I feel confident that if I want to upgrade my ticket that cost me $250 to a $320 power pass, someone at Universal will make that happen. If not, I may be out some money on a hotel room (rack rate versus APH rate). It will all work out and I am not worried; just trying to share my situation in case someone else is researching it like I am.

I will report back end of March: we have Disney cruise March 12-17 and Universal 17-20

It seems that the ticket (a paper printed at home with a barcode) from UT has more value once scanned and validated onsite. Once it's used, the ticket is truly valid for 4 days.

 

[Mom3girls]

I just wanted to add that we purchased straight 4 day p2p tickets from UT in Dec and then upgraded them after using them at the park. We paid $282 per ticket and upgraded them to seasonal APs and it didn't cost us a penny Did it for all three of my teenagers and my Mother's too. Didn't have to pay a penny extra! Just make sure you use the ticket at the park first. We were staying at RPR and they have a counter where you can buy/upgrade tickets in their lobby next to EP machines. We upgraded at that counter on our second morning before going back to the park.

 

[to be tink]

I will be there at the end of February using the UT 2 + 2. I am hoping to upgrade at least 1 to a seasonal pass for the hotels savings. I am trying to decide if I should just return one and take the 5% hit and buy a seasonal pass outright. I would love to hear anyone else's experience on this but will report back mine when it happens.

 

[michelepa]

I am wondering if the Hard Rock Hotel has a place that you can upgrade your ticket to a seasonal AP?
That would be a more convenient location for us rather than in the park.

 

[damo]

I am wondering if the Hard Rock Hotel has a place that you can upgrade your ticket to a seasonal AP?
That would be a more convenient location for us rather than in the park.

If it is a UT ticket, it is suggested that you use it first. There is a ticket centre at each hotel where you can upgrade.

 

[michelepa]

If it is a UT ticket, it is suggested that you use it first. There is a ticket centre at each hotel where you can upgrade.

Great thank you.

Yes it is a UT ticket.
I am going with my daughter and using our first day of the UT ticket on 3/26 (we will be offsite at that time)
3/27 bright and early we will check into HRH and take advantage of the early entry and express passes
I reserved the room with the AP rate so I need to upgrade my ticket before checking out the next morning so I can get the AP rate I booked.

Thank you

 

[DIS_MERI]

I got a 2 park 2+2 pass from UT on Cyber Monday for $250.26
Ticket said 2 park 4 day PTP Adult SC
Outside Guest Services Maria (who took a 10 minute phone call while working with me ) said because I had bought my ticket somewhere else, I only got the $235 the vendor paid for it and it would be $70 to upgrade to a seasonal pass. I said no thanks and left.
Inside Guest Services (forgot his name) gave me full value of $304.99 giving me a $21.30 refund and my daughter's seasonal pass (which still cost $150 more than if she had upgraded in October with the rest of us, but she discovered she loves roller coasters *after* we left FL in October without her riding a single ride then....but I'm not bitter ). She may never use it, again, but at least we got a little money back