Newbie Question about AP

[Blackadder337]

Hi All,

So we're going to WDW and Universal in October. We will be doing Mickey's party but NOT HHN (due to daughter not being old enough).

Naturally we're looking for ways to save money, and someone recently suggested I could possibly order 1 AP, then use it to get the other 2 tickets with the discount the AP provides, then also save some money on souvenirs, restaurants etc. I looked on the Universal site and it would appear that AP's can only get discounted tickets at the gate. I was wondering if anyone could clarify for sure that you cannot use an AP to order tickets online ahead of time?

If I were to go this route, is there any likelihood that we'd get there early one day in October and for whatever reason, park tickets are sold out etc..? Our intention would be to get there well before the park opens, and as mentioned above, we would NOT be needing HHN tickets.

I hope these questions aren't dumb but I have never set foot anywhere near Universal before so I know absolutely nothing about it.

Thanks!

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

I don't think there'd be any chance of park tickets being sold out. As far as I know, there is no "quota" of discounted AP tickets that can be sold.

 

[damo]

Hi All,

So we're going to WDW and Universal in October. We will be doing Mickey's party but NOT HHN (due to daughter not being old enough).

Naturally we're looking for ways to save money, and someone recently suggested I could possibly order 1 AP, then use it to get the other 2 tickets with the discount the AP provides, then also save some money on souvenirs, restaurants etc. I looked on the Universal site and it would appear that AP's can only get discounted tickets at the gate. I was wondering if anyone could clarify for sure that you cannot use an AP to order tickets online ahead of time?

If I were to go this route, is there any likelihood that we'd get there early one day in October and for whatever reason, park tickets are sold out etc..? Our intention would be to get there well before the park opens, and as mentioned above, we would NOT be needing HHN tickets.

I hope these questions aren't dumb but I have never set foot anywhere near Universal before so I know absolutely nothing about it.

Thanks!

You can only buy them at the gate because the discount is only on gate prices, not the online price. In many cases, it is cheaper to get your tickets at Undercover tourist, Mapleleaf tickets, etc. I'd buy tickets in advance somewhere else.

 

[janicept]

If you will be at Universal multiple days it may be best to get three of the least expensive annual passes - power pass. These tickets will include park to park access so you can go on the train between Harry Potter lands. If you will be there a really long time and you will be parking in their parking lot it might be worth it to buy one middle level - preferred pass. The preferred pass will give discounts on food and merchandise but power does not. If you are just going one day an annual pass would not be worth it.

Another good thing with the annual pass is you can decide to go again during the year and your tickets are already paid for. I keep a premier since I go about 5 weeks a year but my husband gets a power pass since he only goes two weeks a year, but we plan our vacations so we go a week early right before his ticket will expire so he can use his one annual pass for three trips.

Disney is much more expensive.

 

[Blackadder337]

We will only be going for 2, possibly 3 days total as the bulk of our trip will be at WDW. I originally thought maybe get a preferred pass, which is about $60 more than the 2 day park 2 park tickets.

But that ticket allows you to get 15% discount on tickets, so if I bought 2 more tickets at the park, I'll save approximately $60-70 on those 2 tickets (depending on the price at that time). Then on top of that, we could save on food and souvenirs. The free parking is a bonus too but we won't be driving ourselves to Universal.

I guess my overall fear about going that route is for whatever reason, we get to the park and can't get tickets or something. I can't envision why we wouldn't be able to get tickets, but I do like the idea of arriving with our tickets ahead of time. But maybe the Undercover tourist option might be better for me. We're not going until October so I guess I've got some time to consider the options....

 

[damo]

We will only be going for 2, possibly 3 days total as the bulk of our trip will be at WDW. I originally thought maybe get a preferred pass, which is about $60 more than the 2 day park 2 park tickets.

But that ticket allows you to get 15% discount on tickets, so if I bought 2 more tickets at the park, I'll save approximately $60-70 on those 2 tickets (depending on the price at that time). Then on top of that, we could save on food and souvenirs. The free parking is a bonus too but we won't be driving ourselves to Universal.

I guess my overall fear about going that route is for whatever reason, we get to the park and can't get tickets or something. I can't envision why we wouldn't be able to get tickets, but I do like the idea of arriving with our tickets ahead of time. But maybe the Undercover tourist option might be better for me. We're not going until October so I guess I've got some time to consider the options....

2 day 2 park is $219.99 online and $239.99 at the gate. Preferred Pass for non Florida residents is $334.99. You may have been looking at the Florida Residents page. Power Pass for a non Florida resident is $239.99

https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-Tickets/Annual-Passes/Non-FL-Annual-Passes.aspx

2 day 2 park ticket at the gate is $239.99. With the 15% discount it is $203.15 plus tax so about $217. Mapleleaf tickets price is $193.92 including tax. Undercover Tourist has a buy 2 get one free ticket that does not expire this May for around $200. Still cheaper than buying at Universal gate with the AP discount.

 

[Blackadder337]

Ahh you're right. I must have been looking at the FL residents page Thanks for the clarification!

I think the AP option is not looking quite as likely now!

 

[damo]

Ahh you're right. I must have been looking at the FL residents page Thanks for the clarification!

I think the AP option is not looking quite as likely now!

Unless you're planning on a few trips that overlap the blockout dates, the preferred pass isn't always the best deal.

 

[mkwj]

Do the Undercovertourist buy 2 get one free. I think there is one that doesn't expire as soon. We just did this and upgraded to the powerpass. We didn't have to pay any upgrade fees and we can go back. We did upgrade one for the free parking and discounts. It was $95.

 

[bumbershoot]

We will only be going for 2, possibly 3 days total as the bulk of our trip will be at WDW.

So you think.