Figuring out costs of Premier on site vs staying at Swan and Ubering

[julesann]

I'm trying to pencil out the costs between staying at a UO premier for 2 nights to get the Express Entry versus staying at my hotel (Swan) the whole time, buying the passes separately and taking Uber. How much is an Uber each way would you say? I need to stay 2 nights because our flight doesn't get in til 8 pm so can't do one night to get in two days there.

 

[damo]

About $20

 

[julesann]

About $20

Thank you Damo!

 

[cfoxga]

How many are in your group? For 1-2, it is often cheaper to buy this regular EPs. For 3-5, the room is often cheaper than the cost of EPs.

Don't forget to look at Annual Passes, even for a 2-day trip. The pass can open up APH rates at the hotels, which is usually 30% for a deluxe hotel. A Seasonal Pass is usually pretty close in price to a 2-day park-to-park ticket, so you actually save money with an Annual Pass. I have more tips here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-i-plan-a-universal-trip.3794121/

 

[julesann]

Wow @cfoxga-- I didn't even think of AP's as we are coming from CA. That is such a great idea!!! I did read your amazing thread already but I missed this info. Thank you!

 

[cfoxga]

The Seasonal AP at $305 is a fantastic deal for Orlando. Just take a look at the AP prices for Disney

The other suggestion I have to to put Universal at the end of the trip. Being at a deluxe hotel at UO makes it a very relaxing way to end a trip. While Disney is fun, it is very tiring to do all the planning and having to be at a specific place at a specific time. At UO, you just show up and do things at whatever pace you want. We have not had to make reservations for restaurants yet, though we do avoid the real busy hours...

 

[julesann]

Thank you--I found those tickets. Based on your great advice, I did change our dates to the end of our trip (they were at the beginning)

 

[julesann]

Is there a way to find out AP rates for my dates?

 

[dancergirlsmom]

Is there a way to find out AP rates for my dates?

Go to the Universal web site and go to the passholder page and hotels. You put in your dates and a rate will show, it will say if it's a passholder rate or a seasonal rate. I was able to get one night at the AP rate for March 25. March 26th is a seasonal rate. So I saved $266 using the AP rate for the 25th and get my express passes for the 25th and 26th. This is at Royal Pacific.

 

[cfoxga]

Here is the link I use: https://res.windsurfercrs.com/ibe/d...a=&group=&hotels=&ada=0&currid=0&vouchercode=

Just change the dates and the number of travelers, then bookmark it. APH rates for deluxe hotels usually don't open up until a couple months ahead of time. If you see one, be ready to reserve it. Sometimes certain room categories don't have many APH rooms, and they can go fast...

 

[damo]

And remember...if there are no rooms available, they may not have been released yet. Often, people will post here that there are new dates released.

 

[julesann]

@damo Thank you. I called this morning because one of my nights was no longer available (then it was and then it wasn't) and found out that AP rates haven't been released yet--she said about 90 days out, but I'll look here too.