Ticket upgrade questions

[magickingdomprincess]

Hi, trying to decide on which tickets to purchase for our May UOR trip and I have a few questions.

If I buy a UCT Buy 2 days get 2 days free promo ticket, can it be upgraded to a Seasonal AP? If so, do I get credit for the full 4 day ticket price or just what I paid to UCT? In other words, am I keeping the $83 in savings/ticket if I purchase from UCT first and then upgrade at the park, or should I just go ahead and buy the Seasonal AP directly from Universal? In the past I've bought from UCT and then upgraded, but I can't remember if they were B2G2 free tickets or not. Also, if I upgrade to the Seasonal AP, would we still get the 3 months additional for free?

If we go a different route and and purchased from the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal using points, can those tickets be upgraded to an AP? I would assume the same upgrade process would apply if buying from UCT as the UR portal, but wanted to verify.

And lastly, if we were to purchase a 3 park ticket and use it to go to Volcano Bay, would we be locked into a 3 park AP if we upgraded, or could we choose to upgrade to a 2 park AP? We've never been to VB and would like to try it sometime, and the UCT 3 park ticket is only like $26 more per person, but the AP is $107 more so not sure that's worth it. VB also has a lot more blackout dates than the other 2 parks so we have to consider that.

Just as an FYI - we usually go to Disney/UO every summer, and for UO we buy tickets and then upgrade them to Seasonal AP's, and use those the following year to save money. We've saved a lot doing it this way instead of buying brand new tickets each year. It will be interesting to see what happens with Epic Universe next year, although I'm guessing we'll have to buy a separate ticket for that. Anyways thank you so much for any assistance!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I can answer the 1st & 3rd paragraphs -
For promo tickets like those, that are really Universal promos, they can be upgraded but you will be only credited for Universal's official promo price - ie, a 2 day ticket at Universal pricing. So you save a few $ with UT, but not much. If you upgrade to the AP while the three month free promo is still going on, you will get the 15mo AP. But if the promo has already ended, you will only be able to upgrade to the normal 12mo AP.

Once you go to Volcano Bay, you can only upgrade to an AP that includes Volcano Bay. If you KNOW you only want to go one day, you can buy a separate VB ticket for less than the 3-park upcharge.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

I can answer the 1st & 3rd paragraphs -
For promo tickets like those, that are really Universal promos, they can be upgraded but you will be only credited for Universal's official promo price - ie, a 2 day ticket at Universal pricing. So you save a few $ with UT, but not much. If you upgrade to the AP while the three month free promo is still going on, you will get the 15mo AP. But if the promo has already ended, you will only be able to upgrade to the normal 12mo AP.

Once you go to Volcano Bay, you can only upgrade to an AP that includes Volcano Bay. If you KNOW you only want to go one day, you can buy a separate VB ticket for less than the 3-park upcharge.

Thanks, I appreciate the input. Lots to think about...

 

[ELSA711]

I purchased a third party ticket before I logged in and saw the 15mo promotion on APs. Now considering an upgrade as we may be going back next June. Does anyone know if I can upgrade my ticket before I use it or do I have to use it at least one day before I upgrade?

 

[georgina]

I can answer the 1st & 3rd paragraphs -
For promo tickets like those, that are really Universal promos, they can be upgraded but you will be only credited for Universal's official promo price - ie, a 2 day ticket at Universal pricing. So you save a few $ with UT, but not much. If you upgrade to the AP while the three month free promo is still going on, you will get the 15mo AP. But if the promo has already ended, you will only be able to upgrade to the normal 12mo AP.

Once you go to Volcano Bay, you can only upgrade to an AP that includes Volcano Bay. If you KNOW you only want to go one day, you can buy a separate VB ticket for less than the 3-park upcharge.

I upgraded a promo ticket (that I bought from OI) in November and was NOT given a 15 month AP. It says issued Nov 5, 2023 and expires Nov 4, 2024. I thought the fall promotion was still running then, perhaps I missed it.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I upgraded a promo ticket (that I bought from OI) in November and was NOT given a 15 month AP.

Right, because I don't think they were doing the 15mo promo in Nov, I think it ended in Sept. You would have needed to do the upgrade while the 15mo AP promo was going on.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I purchased a third party ticket before I logged in and saw the 15mo promotion on APs. Now considering an upgrade as we may be going back next June. Does anyone know if I can upgrade my ticket before I use it or do I have to use it at least one day before I upgrade?

I *believe* you would not be able to upgrade until you have used the ticket, since it was purchased through a third party. When I called to upgrade an unactivated AP to the 15mo promo, they said that since it was purchased through UO direct they could work with me (though I still ended up having to return & rebuy the AP to get the promo). But if Universal is not offering the 15mos promo at the time of your visit the point is moot. You can always call to confirm.

 

[MamaKate]

Does anyone know the dates that the 15-month promo ran last year?

 

[barb969]

Does anyone know the dates that the 15-month promo ran last year?

I bought ours on Sept. 18. I think it started the beginning of August and ended the end of Sept. I don’t remember the exact dates.