Can someone please give me advice about ticket buying vs AP?

[jujubiee4]

Hi beginning of December we are going to WDW and Universal. 2 of my kids plan on coming back next
October for HHN and maybe spring break. We are not Florida residents. Should those 2 get an annual pass?
Looking at the blockout dates seems like Seasonal Pass will be fine?

Again dates coming....beginning of Dec 2021...end of April 2022 and few days in Oct 22. Maybe even squeeze
beggining of Dec again. Buy now or later?

Is the best place to buy is from Universal direct? Can you buy from UT and upgrade? what is the cheapest?
*Also one more question. Do the tickets cost the same throughout the year? As in i see prices but when
we go in December will they be the same?

thanks for your help!

 

[FoxC63]

Definitely shop around, here's some info I found for Universal Tickets

We ultimately went with Tickets at Work because my husband earns Wow Points which can be applied to Universal tickets. I'm not sure if your company has the same. Dates do matter.

First day of Use: Oct 28, 2021
TicketsAtWork: 4 day 2 park to park = $317.83 / with tax $342.67
We paid $142.83 and $292.67, separate transactions for 2 adult tickets.

I believe UCT offers promotions like Bundle & Save when you buy Universal & Disney tickets together. Without a doubt, you're going to have to put the time in to compare prices.

We opted not to get Universal AP's.

 

[FoxC63]

For just Disney tickets, Touring Plans has a free search tool: HERE.

Using the TouringPlans.com Tools – Disney World Least Expensive Ticket Calculator

 

[FoxC63]

Is the best place to buy is from Universal direct? Can you buy from UT and upgrade? what is the cheapest?

Yes, you can buy from UCT and upgrade at Customer Service/Guest Services in the park and at any Universal Resort.

 

[georgina]

Hi beginning of December we are going to WDW and Universal. 2 of my kids plan on coming back next
October for HHN and maybe spring break. We are not Florida residents. Should those 2 get an annual pass?
Looking at the blockout dates seems like Seasonal Pass will be fine?

Again dates coming....beginning of Dec 2021...end of April 2022 and few days in Oct 22. Maybe even squeeze
beggining of Dec again. Buy now or later?

Is the best place to buy is from Universal direct? Can you buy from UT and upgrade? what is the cheapest?
*Also one more question. Do the tickets cost the same throughout the year? As in i see prices but when
we go in December will they be the same?

thanks for your help!

Pre-covid, there were concerts at US on the weekends in Dec that would block out seasonal. They potentially could return Dec 2022. Easter is April 17 in 2022, which may cause some AP blockouts in April. If it turns out they are blocked out, they can always upgrade to power AP (for December anyway). Power AP's were also blocked out in 2021 March 27 - April 10 (Easter was April 4 2021).

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Definitely APs for those 2 making multiple trips in the year. Even without a 3rd trip, it should be cheaper to do the AP than 2 sets of tickets (Dec & Oct). Any extra trips are just bonuses.

You can buy from UT & upgrade. Note if you get a deal on tickets through UT and it is a Universal promo, Universal will credit it at their promo price (in other words, if you get a buy 2 days get 2 free promo deal, Universal credits it as a 2 day ticket for upgrade purposes). For this reason, you would want the UT ticket with the biggest discount that ISN'T a Universal promo. Usually, the Universal promos will say "promo" on them and have a specific expiration date.

All that said, you may consider seeing if saving on Black Friday is a better deal - I got tickets 10% off at Visitorlando.com on Black Friday which beat all the other discounted ticket places. Waiting can be a risk - I doubt they will raise AP prices again by the end of the year (they raised them earlier this year) but it would not surprise me if ticket prices increased. Also of course no guarantees there will be deals this year (or any year).

Universal also sometimes does AP promos where they add free months to APs. This works if you buy the AP while the deal is going, or if you upgrade while at Universal while the deal is going; however if you purchased tickets from a 3rd party you cannot call and upgrade over the phone to an AP, so you may miss out on that opportunity. This only matters if the 3 months would be a benefit. Also only matters if they offer that deal again.

If you think you'll hit blockout dates and are looking at a Power AP, you might consider upgrading one AP to the Preferred for the discounts on food / merchandise / parking (actually, if you're parking at the garage any of the trips you probably want to consider upgrading for the free parking, it'll pay for the upgrade in a few days).

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

Hi beginning of December we are going to WDW and Universal. 2 of my kids plan on coming back next
October for HHN and maybe spring break. We are not Florida residents. Should those 2 get an annual pass?
Looking at the blockout dates seems like Seasonal Pass will be fine?

Again dates coming....beginning of Dec 2021...end of April 2022 and few days in Oct 22. Maybe even squeeze
beggining of Dec again. Buy now or later?

Is the best place to buy is from Universal direct? Can you buy from UT and upgrade? what is the cheapest?
*Also one more question. Do the tickets cost the same throughout the year? As in i see prices but when
we go in December will they be the same?

thanks for your help!

Go with the AP for the 2 for sure!

 

[jujubiee4]

Definitely APs for those 2 making multiple trips in the year. Even without a 3rd trip, it should be cheaper to do the AP than 2 sets of tickets (Dec & Oct). Any extra trips are just bonuses.

You can buy from UT & upgrade. Note if you get a deal on tickets through UT and it is a Universal promo, Universal will credit it at their promo price (in other words, if you get a buy 2 days get 2 free promo deal, Universal credits it as a 2 day ticket for upgrade purposes). For this reason, you would want the UT ticket with the biggest discount that ISN'T a Universal promo. Usually, the Universal promos will say "promo" on them and have a specific expiration date.

All that said, you may consider seeing if saving on Black Friday is a better deal - I got tickets 10% off at Visitorlando.com on Black Friday which beat all the other discounted ticket places. Waiting can be a risk - I doubt they will raise AP prices again by the end of the year (they raised them earlier this year) but it would not surprise me if ticket prices increased. Also of course no guarantees there will be deals this year (or any year).

Universal also sometimes does AP promos where they add free months to APs. This works if you buy the AP while the deal is going, or if you upgrade while at Universal while the deal is going; however if you purchased tickets from a 3rd party you cannot call and upgrade over the phone to an AP, so you may miss out on that opportunity. This only matters if the 3 months would be a benefit. Also only matters if they offer that deal again.

If you think you'll hit blockout dates and are looking at a Power AP, you might consider upgrading one AP to the Preferred for the discounts on food / merchandise / parking (actually, if you're parking at the garage any of the trips you probably want to consider upgrading for the free parking, it'll pay for the upgrade in a few days).

Is there ever any specials on AP for black friday? How do i find out when specials on AP passes are?
Is there a way to subscribe? On the Visitorlando black friday deal could you pick the tickets up? We
will be there 5 days later so i don't want to risk mailed. Say you pick up those tickets then do you take
them to guest services that day to upgrade to AP? I hear ya about it is a risk to wait. I keep
wondering if they will raise price. Wish I could have gotten on the 3 months free plan.

 

[macraven]

When I first started doing the AP, I did will call
for pick up and got mine at the park guests service

 

[CAPSLOCK]

With visitorlando you can get tickets e-mailed for you to print. You could also pick up, but at the visitorlando office (not at Universal). The printed e-mail tickets can be taken right to the gate, so they work just fine w/ no delays. We did swap them to the actual physical UO tickets just for durability and portability (the shiny credit card tickets rather than full size printed sheets are easier to pocket and more durable over a several day trip). You can swap or upgrade to AP at any guest services.