Can Universal Pref Pass be applied to hotel discount before Pass is activated?

[jl6z]

Hi there! We are planning our first trip to Disney/Universal in about a week and a half. The trip is very last minute and I'm scrambling to figure out the best ways to save money. I was able to reserve a room at PBR, however, the room rate is based on a discount from a Preferred Pass. The hotel reservation agent told me I could hang up and buy the pass right after I hung up with him and still get the discounted room rate, so I put a deposit down on the room and tried to do just that.

I called to purchase the Pass next and was told that until I activated the Pass, I could not use it towards any discounts, including my hotel reservation. And apparently activating requires me to actually walk through the entrance of the Park with it. Not going to happen since I'm in Chicago right now!

I'm surprised that the hotel agent didn't know this bit of info. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get the lower room rate. I'm more than willing to buy the Pass, but only if it will help with the room rate. I also wanted to use the Pass to purchase my family's multi-day passes, which I think I now have to do on location which means a. I would need to stand on line and b. I would not get the online discount... is this correct?

Wow... planning a trip is so complicated!! But, we are very very excited! I'm just hoping that I'm missing something here... Anyone have any advice on how to apply a fresh, new, unused Pass towards the discounted hotel rate?

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[tricky1]

I would not sweat it, I have booked the aph rate many times and not once
have I had to show it( I do have one though). The worse that could happen
is if it has to be activated before check in is complete, just store your luggage at the hotel, hop on the boat and go to the park and activate it.

I really doubt you would have to go thru all that , just show the pass before check out.

 

[rpbert1]

When i first bought my AP, i had room booked with AP rate. When i checked in,explained i had to get my AP at Guest Services i had t show it later at the checkin ,just to confirm i had one, so i could get the AP rate

 

[Nickarooney]

That's how I booked our first time stay at Uni. Got the AP rate before I ever bought the AP - went ahead and bought the AP online and printed out the confirmation email - showed the confirmation page when I checked in - went and retrieved my actual AP at the ticketing kiosk and then purchased my son's ticket in person at US ticketing counter to receive the discount. They didn't make me come back and show them my actual AP pass, but it is my understanding that sometimes they do (especially if you haven't purchased an AP yet and don't have even a confirmation page to show), but it is still not a big deal that you don't have it in hand upon check-in as long as you can show it before checkout. No problem at all to do it that way and more than made up for the price of the AP with the discount on the room and 10% off meals and stores. Have a great trip!

 

[jl6z]

tricky1, rpbert1, Nickarooney: Thanks so much!! What a relief.

Nickarooney, was there a long line when purchasing your son's ticket? I'm hoping since it'll be mid January there won't be horribly long lines... I'll just need to mentally prep my 6.5 year old twins though!

So excited... thanks again for the quick replies!

 

[Nickarooney]

No long lines at all - we were there the first week of June. Got it on a Saturday afternoon, checked into the hotel, then walked over and handled all the ticket stuff in under 5 minutes. I don't remember there being anyone in line at all. Because I bought my AP online I needed to retrieve it from the kiosk first, then go over to a ticket booth, but both together literally took less than 5 minutes. Now we went back the week before Christmas and those lines were something else all together - but you shouldn't have any problem at all. We ended up falling in love with Universal - hope you all have as much fun as we did!

 

[jl6z]

Nickarooney: Thanks again so much! I'm pretty sure my kids are going to have a hard time topping this trip for awhile. (And I'll admit that I'm very psyched to visit TWWOHP myself!)

Thank you!!

 

[macraven]

you received good accurate info here .......

glad it made your day great...


don't forget to flash your ap at the shops and restaurants in the parks and city walk, you can get a 10% discount off of food, soft drinks, merch, etc.

the AAA card also gives the same discount for the parks, hotels and city walk.

when making a purchase or buying food, tell the TM right away you have the card and would like the discount.
it is not automatic.
no TM will ask you if you have the AAA/APH for possible discounts....

 

[jl6z]

Thanks, macraven!

Thanks to your and everyone else's advice here, I will be flashing both of these cards (AP + AAA) everywhere and anywhere I can!

 

[macraven]

i hope you have a fantastic vacation at the darkside....



i'm sure all the other homies here would say the same.

 

[Nickarooney]

Thanks, macraven!

Thanks to your and everyone else's advice here, I will be flashing both of these cards (AP + AAA) everywhere and anywhere I can!

So if we hear about a flasher at Universal we will know who they are talking about!

 

[macraven]

 

[Nickarooney]

 

[jl6z]

I think the response would be more like this!

 

[macraven]

or one of these......