Ticket question - which is better?

[gopherit]

Ok, US/IOA novice here, planning first trip there in Aug 2006. WHich is better - buying tix separately from room (we plan to stay on-site), or as a package deal?

Is AP worth it? We have a fam of 5 - kids aged 11,9,and 6.

Was looking at getting 2 adult 2-day tix (which also nets me 2 kid tix), then buying one AP.

If I get the AP first - can I use it to get discounts on the other tix?

What about room discounts - any good deals with AP on the on-site rooms, and if so, how far in advance to those deals come out? Right now it appears the ticket / package deals only extend as far as June/july.

ANy help appreciated!

 

[phamton]

You can use your AP to purchase other tickets but there is no AP discount for the buy one adult/ get one kids ticket free.

 

[twin43]

Not sure about August but you can check. We originally had the 2day/2 park tix with 3 free days plus a child free for 99.00 on themeparks.universalstudios.com.A great deal. Then we found family free for all which is a room at rpr, 2 adult tix and 2 kid's tix free with a 4 night stay. I checked the site and in Aug. you can at least get the room with 2 adult tix free with a four night stay. Good luck.

 

[disneyfreakk]

How many nights are you planning on staying? Which resort are you interested in?

 

[gopherit]

How many nights are you planning on staying? Which resort are you interested in?

We want either RPR or HRH, for 3 nights, Aug 9-12.

I like the idea of CLub level (getting continental in am, and having access to sodas / water during day, snack at night). But if I didn't do Club level, I'm not inclined to pay more just for a view. Right now it looks like AAA discount rate is better than anything with a PAP - is that typical?

 

[lindalinda]

I have booked package deals in the past....and then gone back and changed them. I have never found one to work out for a family of five, personaly. The 99$ 2 day/3 free is such a good deal, and look for good rates thru AAA or maybe buy 1 APH if you can find a better rate with that. So far, AAA has been the best this time (Used to be entertainment book, but , alas, them days are over)

 

[disneyfreakk]

We always go in October so I am not sure if these prices are typical for that time of year. BUT I did check your dates and the AAA *IS* a better discount than the *APH* for the RPH. But at the HRH there was only a .10 price difference. Discounts usually start going down the closer you get to your vacation date. Last year the best price for me was a promo code on the loews hotels website that came out about a month before we went. I always book our Oct stay in Jan/Feb with the APH discount and then keep checking prices.

Maybe you can go ahead and buy 2 of the bonus passes ( 2 kids tickets included ) and a power pass. Book your room with the AAA rate now and keep checking the prices. Then if it turns out the APH is that much better discount just upgrade your PP to a APH when you get on property. By doing it this way you will be guarenteed your room at atleast some kind of discount, and you wont miss out on the bonus pass ticket offer.

I also think club would be good for you since there are 5 people in your group.

I hope this makes sense! Just ask me to clarify if it doesnt

 

[gopherit]

We always go in October so I am not sure if these prices are typical for that time of year. BUT I did check your dates and the AAA *IS* a better discount than the *APH* for the RPH. But at the HRH there was only a .10 price difference. Discounts usually start going down the closer you get to your vacation date. Last year the best price for me was a promo code on the loews hotels website that came out about a month before we went. I always book our Oct stay in Jan/Feb with the APH discount and then keep checking prices.

Maybe you can go ahead and buy 2 of the bonus passes ( 2 kids tickets included ) and a power pass. Book your room with the AAA rate now and keep checking the prices. Then if it turns out the APH is that much better discount just upgrade your PP to a APH when you get on property. By doing it this way you will be guarenteed your room at atleast some kind of discount, and you wont miss out on the bonus pass ticket offer.

I also think club would be good for you since there are 5 people in your group.

I hope this makes sense! Just ask me to clarify if it doesnt

You read my mind... although I hadn't thought about the prospect of getting just a PP and then upgrading. I figured I would get the PAP so I could take advantage of the dining discounts. (Do you get those with PP?)

What are the PAP vs. AAA dining discounts? I figure with 5 people for 4 days, we are gonna eat some chow... may as well save a buck where we can!

Glad to hear you think club would be good ... the more I thought about it, the more I could see it paying off. August is a hot time of year - just the bottled water alone is gonna add up!

It does sound like this ticket deal is too good to pass up. My DH still thinks it's a hoax or I've read something wrong... 2 adults and 2 kids for up to 5 days for $198? We're planning on 3 or 4 park days, so that averages out to about $15 per person per day for admission, give or take a few bucks. Not too shabby.

I'm off to buy some tix and secure a room!

 

[disneyfreakk]

Here are the APH discounts :

DISCOUNTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE FOLLOWING:

Universal Studios Florida & Universal's Islands of Adventure Theme Parks

10% savings on single day & 15% savings on multi-day theme park tickets (up to 6 people)
Free admission to select special events, such as Mardi Gras
Special discounts on separately ticketed events, such as Halloween Horror Nights and Rock the Universe
10% savings on select VIP Tours (call 407-363-8295 to book your VIP Tour - dates subject to availability).
20% savings at merchandise stores and carts (excluding The Master Coin Monster and Mystics of the Seven Veils)
15% savings at all restaurants (excluding carts and alcohol)


Universal CityWalk Orlando Entertainment Complex

20% savings on a CityWalk Party Pass (up to 4 people)
CityWalk venue discounts* are as follows:
Air Brush Wizard - 10% savings
Bob Marley, A Tribute to FreedomSM - 15% savings on food & beverage
Cinnabon® - 20% savings
CityJazz® - 15% savings on food & beverage
Dapy® - 20% savings
Decades Cafe- 15% savings on food & beverage
The Endangered Species StoreSM - 10% Savings
Get Wired - 10% savings
Glow!® - 20% savings
Hair Wraps - 10% savings
Hard Rock Café® Orlando - 10% savings on merchandise, food and beverages
Hard Rock LIVE - 2 free admissions to "Livewire" & "Jam Bando" local nights (118 and up only - call 407-351-LIVE for schedule of events)
Horse Drawn Carriages - 10% savings
Jimmy Buffet's®; Margaritaville® - 10% savings on savings on food, beverages, and merchandise
Latin QuarterTM - 15% savings on food & beverages
NASCAR CaféTM - 10% savings on food & beverages
NBA City - 10% off food on food & beverages, one (1) free interactive game card per passholder, and one (1) $3.00 off merchandise voucher per party
PastamoreSM Ristorante & Market - 15% savings on food & beverages, plus kids (ages 3-9) eat free for dinner with the purchase of an adult entrée (limit one (1) per party for up to $4.95)
PPat O'Brien’s® Orlando - 15% savings on food & beverage, plus kids (ages 3-9) eat free from 4:00 PM-9:00 PM eastern with the purchase of an adult entrée (limit one (1) per party)
The grooveSM - 2 for 1 domestic drafts
Quiet Flight® Surf Shop - 10% savings
Rant N Rave Jewelry - 10% savings
Starbucks - 15% savings
Universal Cineplex - $6.00 admission after 6:00 PM on Sundays though Thursdays AND $2.25 off admission on Friday & Saturday
Universal Studios Store® - 20% savings


Universal Orlando® Resort Hotels
Save up to 30% off* room rates at each of the three (3) onsite hotels (for reservations call 1 866-PASS-4-FUN)
10% discount at Mandara Spa at the Portofino Bay Hotel (Call 407-503-1244 for appointments)
Save 10% at the following restaurants*:
Trattoria del Porto® at the Portofino Bay Hotel, A Loews Hotel
The Kitchen at the Hard Rock Hotel
Islands Dining Room at the Royal Pacific Resort
Wantilan Luau at the Royal Pacific Resort (call 407-503-DINE to receive discount)


Wet 'n Wild Orlando Water Park

Save $20.00 off the regular price Annual Pass (valid for the passholder only- not applicable to the purchase of a Weekday Annual Pass)
Save 25% off the regular price of an all-day admission to Wet 'n Wild Orlando (valid for the passholder only - blackout dates apply)
Save 10% in the Breakers Beach Shop (excluding sundries)


Additional Discounts

Free self-parking each time you visit, or pay for 2 hours of valet parking and get the rest of the day for free.
Special price of $4.00 for preferred parking (regular price is $13.00)
10% discount at Samsonite Company Stores (call 1-800-547-BAGS for the store near you)
Free use of kennels for one (1) pet on the day of your visit (subject to availability)
$100 off Birthday Parties (call 407-224-BDAY for more details)


*NOTE: Above benefits cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts. Beverage discounts apply to non-alcoholic beverages only, alcohol excluded. Special Events and Holidays excluded on all hotel offers above.

You can compare that to the AAA dining discounts. The PP do not include any discounts. If you dont see any real difference in the discounts I would stick with the PP. Here are the black out dates for the PP
Blackout Dates:
Summer Weekdays 2006: July 3-7, 10-14, 17-21, 24-28, July 31-August 4, December 23-January 2007
Christmas 2005: December 23, 2005 - January 1, 2006
Easter/Spring Break 2006: April 10 - 14, April 15 (9:00 am - 5:00 pm)

It all depends on how much your family eats. If you do club then you have breakfast taken care of. My DH and I usually eat lunch at the parks or at the Kitchen in the HRH, then a snack in the lounge ( 5:00 - 7:00 evening offerings ). Then we eat room service whenever we get back from the clubs/ partys/ HHNs. You might want to look into the all you can eat pass.

It's still available. I'll see if I can find the other thread with all the info.

Found it: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=10834687

"All You Can Eat Pass" all day long (actually until 30 minutes before park closing).

Adults (one park) $18.99 plus tax
Chlidren (one park) $8.99 plus tax

Adults (two park) $22.99 plus tax
Children (two parks) $10.99 plus tax
Beverages are not included.

You can choose 1 entree, 1 side, and 1 dessert each time you go through the line. You can eat as often as you wish during the day.

The participating restaurants at Universal Studios are:
Louie's Italian Restaurant
Mel's Drive-in
International Food and Film Festival

At IOA:
Circus McGirkus
Captain American Diner
Comic Strip Cafe

You can purchase these at the dining and Information Carts at Citywalk, Universal Studios, and IOA and also at the Ticket booths at both parks and Guest Services at either park.

They can also be purchased at these stores:
Universal Studio Store
Sahara Traders
Islands of Adventure Trading Company
Marvel Alterniverse Store

You will receive a wristband that identifies those who have purchased it.

with the all you can eat pass, I would think the APH discounts would be a moot point.

 

[krismom]

Gopherit-
I thought it was too good to be true also... we are a family of 5 also and we got 3 sets of the buy one adult get a child free tix. @ days for a child was $99 and the buy one get one was $99. They are for 2 days (although someone posted that they may give you third day free at guest relations). I called the Universal info # and was told that the "extra" ticket I have will not expire as it will not have been activated (expires 5 days from first use). All in all 3 days of tix for 5 people for a little over $300- certainly not Disney currency!

PS- I still remember your trip reports as the best I've ever read!
We are venturing off of Disney property for the first time with our crew (DD 7 and DS's 5) this March!

Kris

 

[gopherit]

Gopherit-
I thought it was too good to be true also... we are a family of 5 also and we got 3 sets of the buy one adult get a child free tix. @ days for a child was $99 and the buy one get one was $99. They are for 2 days (although someone posted that they may give you third day free at guest relations). I called the Universal info # and was told that the "extra" ticket I have will not expire as it will not have been activated (expires 5 days from first use). All in all 3 days of tix for 5 people for a little over $300- certainly not Disney currency!

The passes I've seen show them with 3 free days (meaning up to 5 days use, so long as the days are consecutive. Once you use the first day on the pass, you have up to 4 more days of use for that pass - but even if you only go one more day, you still only get the 5 total days to use it, if that makes sense.) Are the tix you bought different from that?

Not that it matters in our case, really - we only plan to use 3 days anyway. Kinda seems wasteful to get 5 and lose 2 days, LOL, even if they are "free"!

PS- I still remember your trip reports as the best I've ever read!
We are venturing off of Disney property for the first time with our crew (DD 7 and DS's 5) this March! Kris

Aww shucks, now you've gone and made this Gopher blush!

Hope you have a great time at the "other side" of Orlando! I found out today that our 5 yr old is telling all her friends in kindergarten that Mom is "studying up on the computer so the whole family can go to University this summer." Her teacher was quite impressed... kinda hated to burst the illusion and tell her the only education dd would be getting is how to maximize those FOTL privileges! We're combining the 3 nts at US/IOA with 7 days over at OKW... I expect we will welcome coming home to our familiar friend, Disney, after 3 days of feeling clueless, LOL!