Staying 1 night at Universal for benefits

[drise]

We are staying at Disney over Thanksgiving but doing 1 night at Pacific Resort Universal for the benefit of early entry 2 days. We were also going to buy AP's with 1 a preferred to get free parking. I've read that the 1st day is not free parking since you don't have your AP yet. (I'm starting to remember why I love Disney and DVC). Can we drive over to Universal the night before our stay just to buy the AP and then use it when we check in to get the free parking that day? Also can you carry in a backpack with water, soda as you can at Disney?

 

[damo]

We are staying at Disney over Thanksgiving but doing 1 night at Pacific Resort Universal for the benefit of early entry 2 days. We were also going to buy AP's with 1 a preferred to get free parking. I've read that the 1st day is not free parking since you don't have your AP yet. (I'm starting to remember why I love Disney and DVC). Can we drive over to Universal the night before our stay just to buy the AP and then use it when we check in to get the free parking that day? Also can you carry in a backpack with water, soda as you can at Disney?

The free parking is for at the parks, not at the hotels and since you are staying at the hotel, you will just be leaving your car there. You will still have to pay to park at the hotel. The hotels are not operated by Universal.

Food rules are the same at Universal as at Disney.

 

[drise]

The free parking is for at the parks, not at the hotels and since you are staying at the hotel, you will just be leaving your car there. You will still have to pay to park at the hotel. The hotels are not operated by Universal.

Food rules are the same at Universal as at Disney.

Thank you for the clarification. I had no idea that you have to pay $17/day when you stay at the hotel! So the Preferred AP has no benefit unless you're going to park in the lots for the parks? I think that's pretty outragous.

 

[damo]

Thank you for the clarification. I had no idea that you have to pay $17/day when you stay at the hotel! So the Preferred AP has no benefit unless you're going to park in the lots for the parks? I think that's pretty outragous.

The preferred AP gives amazing discounts at the hotels and discounts for merchandise and food in the parks. For $259 you can often get at least 30% off of your room. It often pays for itself with one visit.


For example, Nov. 11 -- rack rate at RPR is $254, APH rate is $149. Now, that is outrageous --- a 41% savings!!! Even if you add in parking, you are still getting a great deal.

A two day ticket costs $140, so If you add in your savings of of $105, you are only $14 short of the AP cost of $259. If you stay more than one night, you have already made money.

 

[drise]

The preferred AP gives amazing discounts at the hotels and discounts for merchandise and food in the parks. For $259 you can often get at least 30% off of your room. It often pays for itself with one visit.


For example, Nov. 11 -- rack rate at RPR is $254, APH rate is $149. Now, that is outrageous --- a 41% savings!!! Even if you add in parking, you are still getting a great deal.

A two day ticket costs $140, so If you add in your savings of of $105, you are only $14 short of the AP cost of $259. If you stay more than one night, you have already made money.

That is a great rate, I am paying the $149 (w/a friend who is a FL resident). What is the discount for merchandise and food? Do you get a discount for food at CityWalk? Thanks for the info.

 

[damo]

That is a great rate, I am paying the $149 (w/a friend who is a FL resident). What is the discount for merchandise and food? Do you get a discount for food at CityWalk? Thanks for the info.

10%. Some of the restaurants at Citywalk give you a discount. Just make sure to ask.

And the AP renewal rate is about $170

 

[drise]

How early do you need to check in at the hotel in order to get in the park as early as possible? Is it worth going from Disney to Universal the day before to get our passes and pictures or do we need to wait until the day we check in? We could also walk around and get a feel for the area. I guess if we have our passes we still need to check in so that we have our room key? Just trying to figure out how to save time that first morning and not have to rush to get there.

Thanks for any info.

 

[macraven]

How early do you need to check in at the hotel in order to get in the park as early as possible? Is it worth going from Disney to Universal the day before to get our passes and pictures or do we need to wait until the day we check in? We could also walk around and get a feel for the area. I guess if we have our passes we still need to check in so that we have our room key? Just trying to figure out how to save time that first morning and not have to rush to get there.

Thanks for any info.

you can check into the onsite hotel early morning.
i have checked in as early as 6:30 am on my arrival date.

you can not check in prior to your reservation date.


if you arrive early to the hotel, you can check in, get your room key, info packets and have your picture card processed at the hotel and be done within 15 minutes at the most.
once you have your room key, you can do the express pass card at the hotel kiosk.

i did my check in this month and the kiosk picture card for express line usage within 6 minutes, but the process was faster as i am a repeat guest there that had no additional questions.

early entry is at 8:00 am.

if you check in around 7:00 am that morning, you will have plenty of time to get everything done and be at the park gate for opening.


when you mention about getting your passes in advance, are you talking about park passes?

if you ordered park tickets online, you can use the kiosks to retrieve them anytime. you can do that the day before you check in to the hotel.

it does not have to be on the day you check into the hotel unless you have purchased a package that includes the park tickets.



hth

 

[drise]

you can check into the onsite hotel early morning.
i have checked in as early as 6:30 am on my arrival date.

you can not check in prior to your reservation date.


if you arrive early to the hotel, you can check in, get your room key, info packets and have your picture card processed at the hotel and be done within 15 minutes at the most.
once you have your room key, you can do the express pass card at the hotel kiosk.

i did my check in this month and the kiosk picture card for express line usage within 6 minutes, but the process was faster as i am a repeat guest there that had no additional questions.

early entry is at 8:00 am.

if you check in around 7:00 am that morning, you will have plenty of time to get everything done and be at the park gate for opening.


when you mention about getting your passes in advance, are you talking about park passes?

if you ordered park tickets online, you can use the kiosks to retrieve them anytime. you can do that the day before you check in to the hotel.

it does not have to be on the day you check into the hotel unless you have purchased a package that includes the park tickets.



hth

Thank you, that definitely clears up alot of questions. I did order park passes online, will it save time to get those the day before check-in? Do you have to pay to park to do that? Then we get our room key at check in and the kiosk to get early entry? The kiosk takes our picture for that?
Sorry for all the ?

 

[macraven]

Thank you, that definitely clears up alot of questions. I did order park passes online, will it save time to get those the day before check-in? Do you have to pay to park to do that? Then we get our room key at check in and the kiosk to get early entry? The kiosk takes our picture for that?
Sorry for all the ?

if you have a car, you can have someone drop you off so you can get your park tickets from the kiosk near the outside of the park guest services area.

then call the driver to return and pick you up.
that way you will not have to pay for parking in the garage to get your tickets the day prior.

or you can retrieve the tickets from the kiosk the day you check in.


some have stated they were able to use the hotel kiosk for obtaining their park tickets.

i am familiar with the kiosks that are outside of the parks near guest services.

sometimes the line for those kiosk ticket pick up can have a wait.
i saw this usually around 8:30 when more people were coming to that area for ticket pick up.

if you have any issues in obtaining your tickets from the kiosk, guest services will help you.
you do need the cc that you make the purchase with for the tickets and the confirmation number of that ticket order.

perhaps you could drive to the hotel the day prior of check in and check out the hotel like you mentioned above.
you could try the hotel kiosk for ticket retrieval at that point.
if that is not sucessful, walk or take the water taxi to the parks (outside the
parks) and get your tickets from those kiosks.

when you drive to the hotel, tell them that you are not staying but picking up your tickets, then leaving.

i doubt there will be any parking charge to do that.
but, you can call the hotel now to inquire if that would be the case.

on the other hand, if you arrive at the hotel early on check in day, you should have plenty of time to retrieve the tickets from the kiosk after you check in.
or have someone in your party try the hotel kiosk while you are checking the party in.

reread your questions:

once you check in and get your room key, you can use the hotel kiosk to make your pass that is needed for the express lines.

procedure for processing this is on the kiosk and very easy to follow.

you can see yourself in the machine, click when you are ready for the picture to be taken. if you like that picture you see on the screen then, push the button for the card to be made and printed.

if you do not like the picture, hit the button for a repeat.

i did 3 repeats as i kept looking down and not up.....

the picture i did at rph turned out looking like me and had correct lighting.
i saw a picture express pass of someone in the park that was taken at hrh and it was not clear. could hardly see the person as the picture was cloudy and dark.

guess you can get differences in the pictures based on where they are taken.

the picture card can also be made at the guest services in the park.
i saw the kiosk machine and peeps using it while i was in guest service inside the park.

homies do lose things in the park, such as the express picture passes.

they can be remade at GS.
the original is voided and a new one is made by the guest.

 

[damo]

There is a ticket kiosk at the hotel where you can get your tickets too. You can just get them when you get to the hotel in the morning. It only takes a minute to get them. If you got the print at home version, you don't have to pick anything up...just use the print out.

The ticket kiosk at the RPR is past the check in counter at the back right beside concierge. Just keep walking when you see the check in counter. One person could check in while the other gets the tickets. They are very close to each other.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thank you for the clarification. I had no idea that you have to pay $17/day when you stay at the hotel! So the Preferred AP has no benefit unless you're going to park in the lots for the parks? I think that's pretty outragous.

It's actually charged at midnight, so unless your car is parked there on the *second* midnight, you'll just be charged one day's fee.

I use the AP for the admission benefits and for the hotel discount when I can get it. I check here and use "APH" in the code field to check for it. If they have an AP rate at that time FOR your vacation's time, it will show up. If not, it will show you whatever deal they do have.

We still haven't used the park-parking part of our Universal APs, but the above benefits, along with the food and merchandise discounts have made them WELL worth it for us.