Need help understanding Universal ticket"types"

[htegler]

Only have 3 days and have never been to Universal before. So any tips on what ticket gives the best bang for your buck and allow us to see as many attractions as possible without stressing out. Harry Potter is the big draw for me personally going in the first place.
Tried going on the site and it was too confusing or my computer wasn't playing nice... either way the pricing was scaring me. We will be "in town" from Dec 10 (late - we're on the West Coast" leaving early on Dec 17th)
If we go on Mon - Wed(Dec 12,13,14 - I think) can we get away with a park to park base pass or should we add say an.... "express pass" - is it worth the money?
Any suggestions would be appreciated

We are staying off site. Sheraton Vistana Villages (not sure where that is in relattion to Universal / WDW. So.... just buy straight through Universal or is there any other agent you can recommend? All adult trip with another couple. We belong to Costco, AAA we are from the State of Washington

Will spend another 3 days at WDW ( I know not nearly enough time - but it will give me a good excuse to get my DH to go back again.) Not mine but my DH's first visit. So I feel pretty comfortable with that part.

Thanks in advance to all the experts out there for your advice.

 

[macraven]

I'd start reading other threads on tickets
You can use the search button to find them
SoMe great threads have details in them for that

You can buy eps once you are in the park in case crowds create long waits

Prices for ep do rise when the demand is there for them

Buying them in advance usually have them at lower prices at times


Sales change so no idea if buy a 2 day pass get 3rd day free is valid for your trip dates
Read some of the threads to learn what is out there now
You have 8 months before your trip

 

[johde]

At Universal there are 3 basic "types" of tickets.

Base Tickets - Allow admission to 1 park per day (Will not let you ride Hogwarts Express since that attraction hops between parks)
Park to Park Tickets - Allows admission to both parks in a single day (required for Hogwarts Express)
Park to Park with Unlimited Express included - Tickets and Unlimited Express all in one. Usually cheaper than buying Unlimited Express for each day separately.

The Park to Park with Unlimited Express looks to be about $200 per person extra for the 3 days compared to buying from a place like Undercover Tourist.

Another option would be to book a room at PBR, HRH or RPR that includes Express pass.

2 nights at Royal Pacific would be $660. That would include 3 days of Express Pass. 4 tickets + Express passes for 3 days would be $800 more than the tickets from the resellers. You might be able to save even more if an annual passholder discount comes out. Because the Power Pass is only slightly more expensive than a 3 day ticket. You just need to book the room, you don't need to sleep there.

The big question is whether it's needed. If you're comfortable with 30 min. and under waits for most rides (and possibly a couple of long wait for rides like DM), you can probably get go without express passes. This is especially true if your group is willing to break up and use the single rider lines with lines get long.

 

[Jonny_Duck]

Only have 3 days and have never been to Universal before. So any tips on what ticket gives the best bang for your buck and allow us to see as many attractions as possible without stressing out. Harry Potter is the big draw for me personally going in the first place.
Tried going on the site and it was too confusing or my computer wasn't playing nice... either way the pricing was scaring me. We will be "in town" from Dec 10 (late - we're on the West Coast" leaving early on Dec 17th)
If we go on Mon - Wed(Dec 12,13,14 - I think) can we get away with a park to park base pass or should we add say an.... "express pass" - is it worth the money?
Any suggestions would be appreciated

We are staying off site. Sheraton Vistana Villages (not sure where that is in relattion to Universal / WDW. So.... just buy straight through Universal or is there any other agent you can recommend? All adult trip with another couple. We belong to Costco, AAA we are from the State of Washington

Will spend another 3 days at WDW ( I know not nearly enough time - but it will give me a good excuse to get my DH to go back again.) Not mine but my DH's first visit. So I feel pretty comfortable with that part.

Thanks in advance to all the experts out there for your advice.

My opinion would be to get a night onsite for the express....Even if you aren't staying there. The EP prices for your 3 dates are $70, $85, $70. If 4 ppl got express pass for 2 of the cheapest days then it would be $560. RPR is $294 for Dec 13th-Dec 14th.

This is assuming ya'll have settled on EP being necessary.

I always buy my tickets directly from Universal so I can't be of assistance with that. I'd suggest calling AAA and asking the discount. I don't think Costco has a discount unless you book as a package with a hotel. I only saw Universal Hollywood on their website.

 

[kohlby]

Hold off on express. Those dates could easily be quite manageable.

I usually buy my tickets from Undercover Tourist. Keep in mind their prices include taxes while those won't show up until the end of checking out on the Universal website. I'd suggest watching them for the buy 2 get the 3rd free deal. Make sure there is not an expiration date on it. (Also, note that if you buy this ticket and decide you want more days, it's only $10 per ticket to upgrade to either a 4 day ticket or the lowest level annual pass).

Looking at a fairly reputable crowd calendar, those days are listed as slow. Express pass is not needed for slow. Even if the calendar is a little off, we found moderate crowds were quite manageable without express pass and more than one day there.

 

[htegler]

Thanks Everyone for all the great input. I'm glad we do have 8 months. It sounds like I may need it. I will have to talk it over with the gang and see what the feel about our options.

 

[macraven]

Transportation to Orlando and hotel reservations are the hardest to decide and the priority to do first

You have time to sort out the ticket situation

And we will be here to explain different ways you can accomplish it the cheapest way

It is overwhelming to try to plan all aspects of a vacation at one time

 

[damo]

We've been to Universal during that time and definitely did not need express. I would order your tickets through somewhere like undercover tourist and I would get the park to park.

 

[tinydancer09]

We've been to Universal during that time and definitely did not need express. I would order your tickets through somewhere like undercover tourist and I would get the park to park.

I agree. I've been there during that time and did not need express passes. We had a 15 minute wait for Gringotts during that week the first year it opened. I had to do a double take. Around mid afternoon it got to 30 minutes and back down to 10 that night. I'd say don't buy the express in advance and instead leave that to a last minute decision later.
P2P 3 day tickets or power passes depending on if you think you will be back within a year.

 

[qv09vvp]

Hold off on express. Those dates could easily be quite manageable.

I usually buy my tickets from Undercover Tourist. Keep in mind their prices include taxes while those won't show up until the end of checking out on the Universal website. I'd suggest watching them for the buy 2 get the 3rd free deal. Make sure there is not an expiration date on it. (Also, note that if you buy this ticket and decide you want more days, it's only $10 per ticket to upgrade to either a 4 day ticket or the lowest level annual pass).

Looking at a fairly reputable crowd calendar, those days are listed as slow. Express pass is not needed for slow. Even if the calendar is a little off, we found moderate crowds were quite manageable without express pass and more than one day there.

Can I ask where you looked for the crowd calendar?

 

[qv09vvp]

Only have 3 days and have never been to Universal before. So any tips on what ticket gives the best bang for your buck and allow us to see as many attractions as possible without stressing out. Harry Potter is the big draw for me personally going in the first place.
Tried going on the site and it was too confusing or my computer wasn't playing nice... either way the pricing was scaring me. We will be "in town" from Dec 10 (late - we're on the West Coast" leaving early on Dec 17th)
If we go on Mon - Wed(Dec 12,13,14 - I think) can we get away with a park to park base pass or should we add say an.... "express pass" - is it worth the money?
Any suggestions would be appreciated

We are staying off site. Sheraton Vistana Villages (not sure where that is in relattion to Universal / WDW. So.... just buy straight through Universal or is there any other agent you can recommend? All adult trip with another couple. We belong to Costco, AAA we are from the State of Washington

Will spend another 3 days at WDW ( I know not nearly enough time - but it will give me a good excuse to get my DH to go back again.) Not mine but my DH's first visit. So I feel pretty comfortable with that part.

Thanks in advance to all the experts out there for your advice.

We arrive on the 10th & leave on the 18th....so almost identical dates. we also never been to universal but are huge HP fans. so glad you started this thread. I'm still trying to figure it all out and this is a big help!

 

[tinydancer09]

We arrive on the 10th & leave on the 18th....so almost identical dates. we also never been to universal but are huge HP fans. so glad you started this thread. I'm still trying to figure it all out and this is a big help!

Google search " Universal Orlando Crowd Calendar " and plenty should come up. I usually cross reference all of them and use my own intuition as they're sometimes off a bit. You can also look at express pass costs on the UOR website. If the prices for EP are higher it's expected to be a busier day.

 

[rsagusti]

We booked our Universal portion of our next trip at Costco, for $1000 I was able to get a 1 bedroom suite (for 3 nights) + 2 adult and 2 kid park-to-park 3 day tickets, plus at our hotel kids eat free. I think I saw Sheraton in the list of hotels that Costco does the universal (and/or) Disney package with so you might want to check it out. We are doing a split stay with the other 6 nights on Disney property.

ETA: we plan on upgrading our 3 day park-park tickets to AP when we get there!

 

[kohlby]

Can I ask where you looked for the crowd calendar?

I check a few places, but Universal Informer is often where I check first.

 

[smidgy]

we will be there aug 19 for 4 nights (at the new sapphire falls) if I go through Undercover tourist and buy the 2 day, one day free tickets, do they expire?. shoudl I have them sent to me now, or do will call? thanks!

 

[macraven]

UT site will list the ticket expiration date if there is one