Confused..can anyone help, trying to figure out cost

[mzmickey]

My DH and I are staying at Universal for the first time. Also for the first time, I booked this trip myself and didn't use a T/A, thanks to the help of these boards.

Now I was just on Universal's site, checking the reservations and I am trying to figure this out.

We have currently booked the RPH for 3 nights in December, including the 2 Park 2 Day + 3rd Day free tickets for the cost of $661.

But I am now curious about that 5 day bonus pass. Would it be cheaper for me to do that and book the room seperately?

I figure out a way to get the cost of the whole thing without going in and making a second reservation.....can you do that?

Thanks fot eh help

 

[Peterd]

You should give them a call and ask what the price would be. Ask what the fan club rate for the room would be. Later, you could also get discounts for the tickets with the fanclub card.

 

[E.Jane]

You might also call and ask if the entertainment rate is available for your nights - that could reduce the rack rate to almost half, in which case it is more than likely in your best interest to book everything separately. Packages are not necessarily the "best deal", usually just the most convenient.

 

[princessb]

New to the Universal portion of this site - what is the Entertainment rate/Fanclub rates everyone keeps referring to?

 

[E.Jane]

To get a fan club rate you need a fan club card! There's a thread at the top of this page - I believe there's someone here who will send you one if you request it. Discounts are about 30% off rack rate with a fan club card.

An entertainment rate comes from having an Entertainment book - go to www.entertainment.com to purchase one. You can purchase a book from any city, and Universal will honour it. If you get the book, don't be worried that Universal is not actually listed in it as a participating hotel, they will still honour it. Discounts are usually close to 50% off rack rate, so definitely worth investing in an entertainment book!

To get a discount, you need to call and ask specifically if the fan club or entertainment rates are available for the nights you want to stay. Discounts become available at various times, and there appears to be no logical system on how they release the discounts! Only a certain amount of rooms will be discounted at any given time, so first come, first served. It sometimes helps if you are flexible on your travel dates.

When you make an initial ressie, a discount may not yet be available (they may even tell you disounts are all gone!). But don't give up - keep phoning back using the 1-800 # - if they become available, you can then have them change your rate to the discounted one. If a discount does not become available, you can cancel your ressie anytime up to 5 days prior to arrival date for a full refund of your one night's deposit required at time of booking. I currently have two reservations for the same week, one for HRH, the other for PBH. I'm waiting to see ends up being the better deal before making a final decision.

Phew! Hope I haven't confused you even more!

 

[E.Jane]

princessb - I forgot to mention. You do not need to purchase the entertainment book before asking for the discount. You can secure the entertainment rate first, then purchase the book. You just need to be sure you have the card when you check in. Of course, if your travel dates are coming up soon, you might want to purchase the book right away to avoid any shipping delays.

 

[rrychen]

mzmickey


just got back....got deluxe room at HRH using Ent. Card for $155 per night....and bought 3 (5 day) bonus passes on net for about $289.....might be little cheaper going this route than buying a package.

rrychen

 

[mzmickey]

Okay,

Now I am bummed. I went on the web site and I called Universal directly. They are pretty much all sold out at the RPH. True, it would only save us a couple of bucks, but that would have meant another souvenire or dinner....or something.

I was suprised that RP was all full. HRH and PBH have some limited availability, but not all that much and it would add $200 to our price, just not in the budget.

Oh well, I'll keep watching!

Thanks for all your help!