Hotel & Tickets Separate vs. Vacation Package?

[glk2009]

Starting to plan our first trip to UO (April 2020, maybe) and I was wondering if most people book the hotel separately and then buy tix from a third-party or is it better to do the all-in-one with the package.

The package price was almost 3x the cost of the hotel only and that seemed excessive for adding on the park tickets. So, for what I priced, RPR was under $1k for just the hotel. With the package, the total was nearly $3k for park-to park tickets. It is for 4 of us for 2 nts/3 days. Let's just say I experienced some sticker shock!

Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated!

TIA!

 

[damo]

I've never booked a package.

 

[nkereina]

I can't think of any advantages to booking a package at Universal, save for maybe the convenience of having it all in one? But that's not a big deal. We always book our hotel separately and buy our park tickets from Undercover Tourist, which will be slightly cheaper than Universal's price which is what the package would be priced at. Sometimes we will purchase annual passes because they are only slightly more than the cost of a 3 day park-to-park ticket, and they can offer substantial savings on hotel rates.

 

[glk2009]

I can't think of any advantages to booking a package at Universal, save for maybe the convenience of having it all in one? But that's not a big deal. We always book our hotel separately and buy our park tickets from Undercover Tourist, which will be slightly cheaper than Universal's price which is what the package would be priced at. Sometimes we will purchase annual passes because they are only slightly more than the cost of a 3 day park-to-park ticket, and they can offer substantial savings on hotel rates.

Thanks! I’ll have to check it out and do some math!

 

[macraven]

Packages are for the convenience of a newbie
Tickets and room all in a package to do a one stop shopping/booking

Cheaper to book hotel and possible use a public discount code for it and buy your tickets from the 3 rd party vendors
UT is reliable and popular
Quite a few other companies are highly recommended
And at times universal has specials of buy 2 day ticket, get xx days free deals

 

[Sue M]

I book separately. You’d have to do the math and price out pkg vs room only and buying your own tickets.
Also keep in mind room rates fluctuate so keep watching them and book when you see a good price. You can always rebook if they go down.
Because we had a 10 day stay I bought an AP from AAA while I was in Ft. Lauderdale before we drove up to Orlando. AAA gives a bit of a discount, they use a 3rd party seller.

 

[amberpi]

We did a package this time as it worked out a couple of hundred dollars less (maybe only $150) and we don't want all the hassle of UT tickets. Other times when I've gone it's been far cheaper to book separately. Just look for your times, you've got a good long while before April 2020.

 

[glk2009]

Thanks everyone! I think I'm going to book a room only for now and then check out my ticket options and keep my eyes open for deals. Thanks! This is half of the fun, right? =)

 

[bumbershoot]

The last time this came up, I checked prices, and it was cheaper for the package. I think it was a package through Costco, though.

And what I looked at showed a change/cancel policy that was totally fine.

So things might be changing.

But do the math. Read the policies. KNOW what you’re getting.

Drives me nutty that the packages give you a reservation at 3B and LC. Those are counter service places. It’s mystifying. And you’re paying the cost anyway.

But if the total cost is better and the policies are fine, then there’s no reason not to.

 

[glk2009]

The last time this came up, I checked prices, and it was cheaper for the package. I think it was a package through Costco, though.

And what I looked at showed a change/cancel policy that was totally fine.

So things might be changing.

But do the math. Read the policies. KNOW what you’re getting.

Drives me nutty that the packages give you a reservation at 3B and LC. Those are counter service places. It’s mystifying. And you’re paying the cost anyway.

But if the total cost is better and the policies are fine, then there’s no reason not to.

I thought about Costco but it looks likes those packages are only thru 2019 for now. But I will definitely double check.

I'm used to the DW cancel policy of 45 days but for some reason it irks me when I see it for Universal packages. It definitely a good tip to double check the policies because you never know!

I'm also in the midst of planning our July trip to Universal Studios in LA and bought tix from Costco and I read and re-read all of the policies before purchasing to make sure I could actually use them!

Thanks for the input!

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm also in the midst of planning our July trip to Universal Studios in LA and bought tix from Costco and I read and re-read all of the policies before purchasing to make sure I could actually use them!

LOL. My son and I were just there for the inaugural 5K, and decided to do it up big time in between the 5K and leaving for our same-day flight. I was going to get the plain Express Pass ticket, then saw on undercovertourist that they had an unlimited EP ticket for *less* than the EP ticket being sold through USH. I must have read that page 18 separate times, out loud, to make SURE I wasn't making a very expensive mistake. And then read the printout 12 times.

 

[crabbymom]

Packages are for the convenience of a newbie
Tickets and room all in a package to do a one stop shopping/booking

Cheaper to book hotel and possible use a public discount code for it and buy your tickets from the 3 rd party vendors
UT is reliable and popular
Quite a few other companies are highly recommended
And at times universal has specials of buy 2 day ticket, get xx days free deals

This is exactly what I did as a "newbie!" I booked my tickets and room all as a package from UT. The only real benefit (okay, they gave me $10) was that the whole thing was paid in one fell swoop. Now, since I book under APH, I only pay the one night deposit with the rest due at check in. Other than that, no real benefit that I have ever seen.

 

[georgina]

I always book them separately. I now have an AP, but never found UT tickets to be a hassle as someone upthread mentioned. They were very easy to work with when I bought 4 tickets for my family last year and then a better promotion came out, I was able to return them and get the better deal with no fees. I like that UT sends actual physical tickets.

 

[glk2009]

I always book them separately. I now have an AP, but never found UT tickets to be a hassle as someone upthread mentioned. They were very easy to work with when I bought 4 tickets for my family last year and then a better promotion came out, I was able to return them and get the better deal with no fees. I like that UT sends actual physical tickets.

It's good to know that you can return tix to UT if you find a better deal!

Quick question... I read on another thread that someone was thinking of getting an AP for the hotel discount but I can't seem to find how to determine the rate (compared to the regular rate). And does everyone in the room need an AP or just the person making the reservation.

Thanks!

 

[macraven]

Quick question... I read on another thread that someone was thinking of getting an AP for the hotel discount but I can't seem to find how to determine the rate (compared to the regular rate). And does everyone in the room need an AP or just the person making the reservation.

Thanks!

The person making the reservation is who needs the AP

AP holder covers the bill and any charge backs to the room

Use the search button at the upper right side of the page to find specific topic posts

We have quite a few posts of AP rates compared to either smsm, etc rates

 

[kniquy]

Booking separate is usually better than a "package". You can buy UO tickets on undercover tourist for usually cheaper. For the hotel you can go on some of the hotel discount booking sites. I actually used the Loews direct hotel site to book.

 

[glk2009]

Booking separate is usually better than a "package". You can buy UO tickets on undercover tourist for usually cheaper. For the hotel you can go on some of the hotel discount booking sites. I actually used the Loews direct hotel site to book.

If you book through the Loews site, do you still get the Unlimited Express Pass for the premium hotels?

 

[macraven]

If you book through the Loews site, do you still get the Unlimited Express Pass for the premium hotels?

All guests staying at one of the 3 premier hotels, get unlimited express pass

It is a perk of staying at the 3 hotels

Does not matter how you booked

To answer your question, yes
Book through the Loews site is not an issue

 

[kniquy]

If you book through the Loews site, do you still get the Unlimited Express Pass for the premium hotels?

Yes you do. So like the PP mentioned it doesn't matter how you book your room you get the express pass. I Priced out getting the express passes for my family of 5 (separate from staying at the resort) and at around $80-90 each per day someties more (who on earth would pay an additional $450 on top of park tickets). So it makes just getting the room there worthwhile.

Many will say EP is not necessary during slower times. We went mid april and despite it not being too busy it was definitely nice to just hop in the express pass line.

 

[PoohIsHome]

We've always booked separately as well. We get one AP (I'm a shopper so that in park discount really adds up) then buy two park-to-pak tix from either ticketsatwork.com or UT.