Choosing not to use last night of a stay?

[Anthony Vito]

So we're finally planning to go to Universal for a few days on a trip in late January. Friends are staying with us at WDW for the 2nd half or so of the trip, so we're just looking to stay at Universal for 3 nights. Because our son (11 y.o.) has his first basketball game the day we were planning to go down, and doesn't want to miss it (missing 2nd one already while away), we're going to leave late in the day on Saturday. We then check in to WDW on Tuesday. Because the basketball stuff threw a wrench in our plans, we procrastinated a bit after getting the quote for the package. We want Express Pass, so we're going to stay at a Premier. I'm waiting to hear back from our agent, but I realize prices probably went up, although I find Universal's site for comparing prices and figuring out what their best deal is to be really terrible.

So, while looking at it, I decided to look up Costco - never really used their travel, I think we looked at some point but WDW wasn't any cheaper really, so hadn't looked in a while. Well, I decided to check for Universal, just out of curiosity, and they have a deal for Portofino Bay for a minimum 4-night package with 4-day tickets. It ends up being, from what I can figure out on Universal's website, about $300 cheaper than 3 nights at Royal Pacific with 2-day tickets. We would definitely not use the 4th night because our friends are flying in with their kids on that Tuesday night, so we will definitely be at WDW by then. We were unsure if we'd want to do a third day at the parks or just head over to WDW that morning we check out and do something there, so that's why we were only going with 2-day tickets, since we saw we could add a day to the tickets before the end of the 2nd day, if we wanted. Also likely no chance to use the 4th day. Still, with it being cheaper than the lesser, I'm intrigued.

How does checkout work at Universal though? Is it something where if we just left a day early, it wouldn't matter, or do we need to checkout. Would they be weird if we went down and checked out a day early? Is there some other concern I'm missing with booking the longer deal and not using it all and staying the full time?

 

[PollyannaMom]

I've never done it, but I don't think it would be an issue, since I've heard of people booking "throwaway rooms" just to get express pass.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You can checkout online, so I doubt they'd even know.

But, have you looked to see if there are AP hotel rates for the days you are going? You would be able to get the lowest tier Seasonal Pass for late Jan for 1 person to qualify.
You do not need the AP in hand before booking, so you can check rates to see if there are good deals on your dates: https://res.windsurfercrs.com/ibe/d...hildren=0&promo=aph&iata=&group=&hotels=&ada=
You will need to adjust dates - then may need to adjust dates to see best availability.

Also, generally speaking, you may not find a package is the best deal for Universal. Have you tried pricing out a la crate - room & tickets separately? I'm wondering if the package I s kicking you up to a higher room level at RP & thus spitting out a higher price.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Sat Jan 27-Tues Jan 30 is showing some really good AP rates:


https://res.windsurfercrs.com/ibe/d...ls=&ada=0&currid=1&vouchercode=&attendeeCode=

 

[Anthony Vito]

So, getting a bit aside of the main question - but how does it work then if booked separately - so if I were to buy an annual pass and 3 tickets, book the room separately, does it then automatically connect the Express Pass to our tickets? Also, I went to that link - is that a Universal site or third-party (what's windsurfer...)? For the conversation, it's actually 1/20-1/23 we're going.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Your room key from the Premier hotel is your Express Pass.

I've used that site for every UO vacay we've taken with no issue - 7 vacays in 4 years.

We always check out online - you'll receive an email from the hotel in the wee hours of the morning on your check out day.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

What @DoryGirl1963 said. It was a link posted on here ages ago and I have used that site many times since 2020. It is a direct Universal booking when you go through that site.

EP from the hotel works by showing your room key in the EP line at each ride - it makes no difference what ticket/AP you used to get into the park.

$308 for Portofino for those dates is not too shabby.

 

[cfoxga]

I've always booked separately, as it is usually cheaper and easier to change than booking online. You can change your reservation without penalty as long as you are outside 5 days to travel. You can wait to buy the tickets (including the Seasonal Pass) until you arrive; they have kiosks in the resorts for tickets.

It looks like a 2-day park-to-park is around $350 for your dates, and the Seasonal Pass is $430. Hopefully that saves you more than the Costco package.

If you end up loving UO (like we did) and can make another trip within 12 months, you can upgrade all of your tickets to Seasonal Passes.

 

[georgina]

I asked a front desk rep last time if I had to do anything to checkout, and she said no, you can just leave. So I did.

 

[AJA]

You don’t have to worry. Check out from your phone (even if you are already at Disney).

 

[Anthony Vito]

Thanks everyone - this is a big help. Since I'm new to Universal, based on what's being said about the AP discount (which is about 33%) and it being really good - the Costco one seems even more impressive - to the point that I'm almost worried about it.

So, thanks to the help here, I priced the room only for 3 nights (1/20 - 1/23) with 3 2-day tickets and an annual pass. It would come to $2607 total (priced at the garden view room). The Costco deal for 4 nights (1/20 - 1/24) with 4 tickets for 4-days is $2571. Now, granted, we won't use the last night, but we might use a third day on the tickets, but 4 days is almost certainly not happening. Now I'm just curious with Costco deals if they ever get WDW deals that good.

 

[nighttowll]

With the cost being so close, I think there are 3 things to consider:

1) Which hotel do you prefer?
I'd do some research on the two. Both have their pros and cons.
RP is a closer walk (8 min), more compact, with a Polynesian themed, and slightly smaller rooms than PB.
PB is a farther walk (18 min), larger resort with a spa, Italian themed, and has the largest rooms of the premier resorts.

2) Would you get any benefit out of having a room on-site that third day?
I can see how it might be nice to not need to be physically out of the room early in the morning and instead be able to come and go from the room and leave luggage there until you are ready to leave that afternoon / evening. You'd have a bathroom to use and a mini-fridge to keep things cool if needed. It might be nice.

3) Would you want to return to the parks a 3rd day?
We have had AP for years, but it seems like there is always some reason we find that we need to pop into a park just one more time. To stop and pick up that souvenir we saw on the first day and never made it back around to getting. To ride that one ride we never managed to fit it, or to re-ride a favorite, or to even just play with the wands early morning without the crowds. Sometimes it is even to just to pick up a snack, desert, or a meal somewhere for one last little treat.

Edited to Add:
People do the Costco deals all the time, so I don't think you have to worry about them not being legit.

 

[BostonEd]

I find Universal's site for comparing prices and figuring out what their best deal is to be really terrible.

You got that right. People complain about Disney's IT, but trying to compare different hotel bookings on Universal's site is a nightmare.

As far as going for 3 days: if there isn't a special deal now, wait as long as possible to see if there is a "buy 2, get 1 free" type deal for your dates. Also, unlike Disney, just simply buying a 3 day ticket is not much more than a 2 day. The difference in price might be low enough for you to say "what the heck, let's just get the 3 day". Check out the ticket prices at Undercover Tourist--that is easier to use than Universal's site.

EDIT: I just checked UT, and there is indeed a buy 2 get 2 day ticket currently available.