Ordering through Booking and an Annual Pass - In need of help

[GoldmanTrust]

hey guys!

We are a family of three coming in from Scandinavia to Orlando for our fourth year in a row. Again we will be taking my in laws with us (I am their favorite son in law!).

So it’s a total of 5 (four adults and one 8 year old).

Last time we stayed for 2 weeks at Cabana Bay and we loved it. The proximity to Volcano Bay is what really stood out. We started every morning by going to Volcano Bay.

Last year we bought a vacation package from Universal. Two week, 3 park explorer ticket was a part of our purchase. So we could go when we wanted and were in no need to stay at the parks for to long.

We have already booked our flights and rental car for our September trip. We have been monitoring the price on the Vacation package.

It is now at a price where we would actually save 200-300 dollars by buying a season pass (no blackout dates during our trip) and ordering through Booking. Is that a good idea? are there any drawback if you don’t order through the Universal website?

Best regards and thanks in advance!

 

[hhoope01]

Which annual pass are you looking to purchase? While I don't think there are any set Blockout dates during the month of September, you could still be Blocked out of the US park for a day or 2 during your stay due to in park concerts if you purchase the cheapest annual pass, Seasonal Pass. I haven't seen the concert schedule to see if they have it listed out to September, but don't think they have yet.

Other than that, the only downside I can see is that having an annual pass might give you a strong "itch" to come back and use those passes again before they expire.

 

[sandam1]

I'm not sure I would recommend buying a package from Universal. Most of the time the prices are the same (if not cheaper) to book your hotel room and tickets separately. Buying through a package can make things complicated if rates for your room go down or you want to change any portion of the package.

Now, that being said, on to your original question - yes, annual passes may work out perfectly for you. With the AP, you may get a better price on your hotel room (the AP rates probably won't be out for several months yet, but you can always book a room now and rebook if the price goes down). Also, if you get upgrade at least one of the passes to the preferred level, you can get a 10% discount on almost all of your food and merchandise purchases. On a two week trip, I would imagine that you make your money back on that fairly easily.

In addition, September is traditionally the annual passholder month so they offer some additional deals. The past two years there has been a buy one, get one half price on the quick service dining plan as well as discounts on the photo package and Blue Man group tickets.

The only downsides:
- potential black-out dates (but I don't think they should be an issue - I don't there should be any concerts with Studios already closing early for Halloween Horror Nights)
- make super sure that you are pricing 3-park passes
- and yes, having an AP is super addictive! I did 4 trips on the first year of my pass, 2 trips on my second (and one more that I couldn't do because of things at home) and then got suckered into renewing for one more year after swearing that I was taking a year off.

 

[macraven]

I would buy from any legit company since you are traveling from over seas

You have your flight and car rental already covered

Play with the numbers for room cost and tickets

If you come out ahead with the company offering the package, why not cut your expenses down and go with them

I’m not familiar with the company you might use ....

Universal package has penalties for modifying any package changes and has to be paid in full prior to your check in
But you already know that since you used them last trip

 

[GoldmanTrust]

Thanks so much guys! We will probably go with booking. It is a good website. We used it to find a hotel for our upcoming Dubai trip. People around me used it numerous times. I was just somehow convinced it should be better to book through the Universal website.

I think I can say it with certainty that we will buy annual passes for the whole group.

Comparing the Vacation Package to booking separately, we will save 242 dollars in 2 weeks on the current rates.

I’m leaning towards buying one preferred pass with all the discounts. We will save 142 dollars vs the Vacation Package. On top of all the savings on food and stuff.

I am looking forward to being an annual pass holder even though we live far away. We travel a lot and will just come more often to Florida. Love it.

Thanks so much for your help everyone!

 

[macraven]

That is wise
Buy the preferred for you who is booking the package and lower price ap for all others

Make sure your dates for the others do not have any blackouts/restrictions

You can pay for all the food and merch, show your preferred ap and receive the 10% discount

The savings will add up

I bought my preferred ap and renew it yearly
When you renew, a discount is applied

 

[bumbershoot]

Do you mean booking your room through booking.com, and buying your season pass through Universal? if so that's fine, as long as you know Booking's terms and conditions. Have you checked loewshotels.com to see if they have the same or better deal, though? Can even check with the code APH to see if there's an AP rate for the room-only booking. Oh well, September, they won't have the AP rates out yet. But definitely check loewshotels.com to see, and if it's a better or same rate as Booking, I would book directly through loewshotels.com. Then you can check periodically to see if the APH code brings up a discount (there's also a thread here that lists when AP rates go "live" to follow) and modify the booking if needed.

 

[GoldmanTrust]

Do you mean booking your room through booking.com, and buying your season pass through Universal? if so that's fine, as long as you know Booking's terms and conditions. Have you checked loewshotels.com to see if they have the same or better deal, though? Can even check with the code APH to see if there's an AP rate for the room-only booking. Oh well, September, they won't have the AP rates out yet. But definitely check loewshotels.com to see, and if it's a better or same rate as Booking, I would book directly through loewshotels.com. Then you can check periodically to see if the APH code brings up a discount (there's also a thread here that lists when AP rates go "live" to follow) and modify the booking if needed.

Great advice. Thank you. Yes I was talking about Booking.com.

I will check out Loews website. I always prefer to buy it straight from the hotel and leave the third party out of it. But when there is maybe a 400-500 dollar difference for the two rooms we book, I have to check that out.