Should We Buy Annual Pass?

[sven1277]

We are heading to Universal for the first time this fall. We are frequent WDW visitors, but our kids are finally tall enough to ride many of the US rides, so we are doing 3 nights in a Universal hotel first!
We are definitely newbies.. but I've been reading these threads and think I have a handle on the details.

I have not booked the hotel, but we will be staying onsite for the benefits.
Since we are planning on spending 4 days in the park, should we purchase APs? I have heard people discussing this and that the discounts with an AP are worth it as well.
Opinions? Any pointers?

 

[reelmom]

I would buy the AP's. Not only do you get discounts in the park, you can get discounts on the onsite hotels. You can call and ask for the AP rate or go online. If you check online, be sure to click on Promotion for the Promo/Group Code and type APH on the code line. It will give you the AP rates if they are available online. If not, call the hotel directly. They will give you the rates over the phone that are not available online. Plus, you might decide you really like Universal and want to go back within a years time. We went in June for a short trip. We got AP's for the room discount and now are planning on going back next May instead of Disney. Only thing to remember is that you will have to pay $17.00/night parking for your car if staying onsite, regardless if you have AP or not.

 

[disneyblue]

Yes, the AP is worth it! I bought one just to get the lower room rate at PBH and believe me, it was significantly lower. There are only a limited number of rooms with the AP rate, and we actually had to go with a bay view since everything below that was already booked. Even with that upgrade, our room was significantly lower in price.

 

[bumbershoot]

To check for AP discounts, go here. it will show you all 3 hotels at once. As the PP said, use "APH" in the code box. The site will give you the lowest rate available, so if you put APH in and an AP rate doesn't show up, the AP rate isn't available at that time for those dates. (be sure to check back)

To use the AP for the rate, you only need one person to have it. (and you don't have to have it AT checkin; they will tell you when you need to show them the AP)

For a 4 day stay, I'm not sure if the money works out for an AP for all. But maybe check the non-resident PowerPass rate?

If you're big dining people, and/or big souvenir people, definitely include that AP discount in your calculations! But again, you only need the one AP for that (assuming you'll always be shopping and dining together).

What we did on our second trip was to buy the one AP, but budget to upgrade the other tickets, in case we felt we'd need to come back inside the year. And upgrade we did!

 

[Rip]

Also keep in mind that you can renew your AP for significantly less. There is a 30 day window after it expires, and at present the renewal rate is $157.00. So, if you think you'll go back within the next two years it will still probably make sense to get them.

 

[Maytrix]

If you think you'll go back, then definitely.

I've had one since 2003. Most times I've only been down once a year, but some times twice and one year even not at all.

It's well worth it, even with my skipping a year. I have such an old pass, I really can't not renew now - it's a plastic card, like a license, not like the paper they give.

Sometimes I even get an employee discount on food Last trip, it was well worth the price since I did get a few employee discounts on meals, plus we stayed offsite two nights and saved $40 in parking between a few different visits during the day and again at night.

 

[disneyred]

Also keep in mind that you can renew your AP for significantly less. There is a 30 day window after it expires, and at present the renewal rate is $157.00. So, if you think you'll go back within the next two years it will still probably make sense to get them.

do AP rates also apply to club level rooms?

 

[Rip]

do AP rates also apply to club level rooms?

Yes, though you have to keep in mind that they only have a limited number of rooms available at the AP rate. I got a CL room last fall at RPR and it was well worth it, but I can't remember the exact rate. It was less than the standard room at rack rates, though.

 

[wendyt_ca]

I've contemplated doing AP for us as well. We go annually and space our trips just within a year of each other so it would span 2 trips. Next year we are thinking of doing 2 nights onsite. We don't live in Florida though so I for some reason had thought you had to be a Florida resident

 

[bumbershoot]

I've contemplated doing AP for us as well. We go annually and space our trips just within a year of each other so it would span 2 trips. Next year we are thinking of doing 2 nights onsite. We don't live in Florida though so I for some reason had thought you had to be a Florida resident

They have FL resident rates, but you can click the "non-Florida resident" links to get to those rates. Or just buy it there, or upgrade from a ticket.

If your'e already going twice inside a year, you might as well do it!



But for those looking into it only or mainly for the hotel discounts, I would urge them to GET the AP discount first if it pops up for your dates, and THEN do the AP purchase.

 

[wendyt_ca]

They have FL resident rates, but you can click the "non-Florida resident" links to get to those rates. Or just buy it there, or upgrade from a ticket.

If your'e already going twice inside a year, you might as well do it!



But for those looking into it only or mainly for the hotel discounts, I would urge them to GET the AP discount first if it pops up for your dates, and THEN do the AP purchase.

The non Florida resident pass is a lot more then the non florida resident AP so if you upgrade a ticket or buy the pass in Orlando you get the florida resident rate without being a Florida resident?

 

[Metro West]

The non Florida resident pass is a lot more then the non florida resident AP so if you upgrade a ticket or buy the pass in Orlando you get the florida resident rate without being a Florida resident?

No...you can upgrade your ticket to the AP but you still have to prove you're a FL resident at that time.

 

[reelmom]

To check for AP discounts, go here. it will show you all 3 hotels at once. As the PP said, use "APH" in the code box. The site will give you the lowest rate available, so if you put APH in and an AP rate doesn't show up, the AP rate isn't available at that time for those dates. (be sure to check back)

If your rates are not available online, try calling the hotel directly. I did this and was still able to get an AP rate even though the AP rooms online were gone. If your dates are a ways out, they may not have been released yet. In this case, I would keep checking back.

 

[DCTooTall]

As others mentioned, I'd seriously consider getting at least 1 AP for the discounts. Your AP will also entitle you to a discount on multiday tickets for the others in the group, So the discounts you get on the other people's tickets may end up making the cost difference between the first ticket and the AP a trivial amount.

 

[redoschi]

What exactly are the Annual Pass discounts?

I've looked on Universal's website but it isn't very helpful.

It says free parking for the parks, but only after first visit!
I've read that is because the AP needs to be activated before entering the parking lot. But it can only be activated when you enter the park, right? So if we all want to enter at rope drop for WWoHP, we'll have to pay for parking on that first day?

We're planning on 3 Universal/IoA days in January and we won't stay on-site (those 3 hotels are way above our price range so we'll drive from Pop Century at WDW!)

I'm considering 1 AP for our party of 4 if it makes it worthwhile for this trip (we're from Brazil and wouldn't be able to return within a year). The other tickets would be 3 day park-to-park access which are $152 now while the AP for non-FL residents is $259 so we need at least $110 savings for an AP to be worth it.

What about the discounts for dining/merch? Is it applicable to all TS/CS locations (Three Broomsticks/ Hog's Head for Butterbeer and Mythos come to mind!)? Most souvenirs and clothing items?

What are the discounts for tickets bought for others by an AP holder? how much would it be for the 3-day park-to-park access?

What about Blue Man Group discounts? Would I be able to get discounted tickets for the whole party? How much would it be for Tier 1 tickets?

 

[damo]

What exactly are the Annual Pass discounts?

I've looked on Universal's website but it isn't very helpful.

It says free parking for the parks, but only after first visit!
I've read that is because the AP needs to be activated before entering the parking lot. But it can only be activated when you enter the park, right? So if we all want to enter at rope drop for WWoHP, we'll have to pay for parking on that first day?

We're planning on 3 Universal/IoA days in January and we won't stay on-site (those 3 hotels are way above our price range so we'll drive from Pop Century at WDW!)

I'm considering 1 AP for our party of 4 if it makes it worthwhile for this trip (we're from Brazil and wouldn't be able to return within a year). The other tickets would be 3 day park-to-park access which are $152 now while the AP for non-FL residents is $259 so we need at least $110 savings for an AP to be worth it.

What about the discounts for dining/merch? Is it applicable to all TS/CS locations (Three Broomsticks/ Hog's Head for Butterbeer and Mythos come to mind!)? Most souvenirs and clothing items?

What are the discounts for tickets bought for others by an AP holder? how much would it be for the 3-day park-to-park access?

What about Blue Man Group discounts? Would I be able to get discounted tickets for the whole party? How much would it be for Tier 1 tickets?

The discounts that make it worth it are the hotel discounts. They can be about 30%.

 

[Rip]

What exactly are the Annual Pass discounts?

I've looked on Universal's website but it isn't very helpful.

It says free parking for the parks, but only after first visit!
I've read that is because the AP needs to be activated before entering the parking lot. But it can only be activated when you enter the park, right? So if we all want to enter at rope drop for WWoHP, we'll have to pay for parking on that first day?

Correct.

We're planning on 3 Universal/IoA days in January and we won't stay on-site (those 3 hotels are way above our price range so we'll drive from Pop Century at WDW!)

I'm considering 1 AP for our party of 4 if it makes it worthwhile for this trip (we're from Brazil and wouldn't be able to return within a year). The other tickets would be 3 day park-to-park access which are $152 now while the AP for non-FL residents is $259 so we need at least $110 savings for an AP to be worth it.

What about the discounts for dining/merch? Is it applicable to all TS/CS locations (Three Broomsticks/ Hog's Head for Butterbeer and Mythos come to mind!)? Most souvenirs and clothing items?

I think there are a few of the cart vendors that don't offer a discount, but pretty much everything else (food, beverage, souvenirs, clothing, etc.) is discounted at 10%.

What are the discounts for tickets bought for others by an AP holder? how much would it be for the 3-day park-to-park access?

I believe it is either 10 or 15% off for up to 6 tickets, but from what I've read the tickets purchased from Undercover Tourist are cheaper even with that discount.

What about Blue Man Group discounts? Would I be able to get discounted tickets for the whole party? How much would it be for Tier 1 tickets?

I don't know about BMG tickets. I know I've gotten offers for discounted tickets for it, but I couldn't tell you anything specific.

 

[Rip]

The discounts that make it worth it are the hotel discounts. They can be about 30%.

This, and depending on when you go, it's possible to get a room at RPR for not much more than rack rates at the Pop Century.

 

[damo]

This, and depending on when you go, it's possible to get a room at RPR for not much more than rack rates at the Pop Century.

Yup!

 

[GeorgiaPeach74]

I just got off the phone with Universal Orlando and with a Preferred Pass, you can get up to 20% off on Blue Man Group Tickets and for park tickets, it's 10% on a 1-Day Ticket or 15% on 2, 3 or 4-Day Tickets. Now, they said it's up to 6 tickets per transaction; however, for Halloween Horror Nights, it's a maximum of 6 tickets total. Hope this clarifies a few things.