Ticket vs. annual pass... seems too good to be true

[chiisai]

I just looked up the Mardi Gras dates for Feb and it was the entire month of Feb and March. Are there concerts every night?

Here was the 2018 line up: https://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/mardi-gras-talent-lineup-2018/amp/

 

[luvsvacations]

That is very helpful thank you so much.

 

[jeanelle]

We have 5 day 2 Park (Park to Park) tickets. I'm seriously considering upgrading to the Preferred Pass for the discounts. Has anyone done this? I'm trying to figure out what the difference in price would be but it is confusing.

 

[AngiTN]

We have 5 day 2 Park (Park to Park) tickets. I'm seriously considering upgrading to the Preferred Pass for the discounts. Has anyone done this? I'm trying to figure out what the difference in price would be but it is confusing.

We did but it's hard to figure out the price before hand if you bought from a discount site. If you did, you'll have to wait till you get there and, after you enter the park the first day, go to GS and let them tell you the difference. If you bought from Universal, that should be easy to deduct the price you paid from the cost of the pass.

 

[jeanelle]

We did but it's hard to figure out the price before hand if you bought from a discount site. If you did, you'll have to wait till you get there and, after you enter the park the first day, go to GS and let them tell you the difference. If you bought from Universal, that should be easy to deduct the price you paid from the cost of the pass.

I bought them through Universal but part of a package so I'm not sure how much the tickets are. I think it would only be like $50 to update each ticket. We'll just have to ask when we are there. If this is what it is, we can easily make that up in savings from food and purchases.

 

[AngiTN]

I bought them through Universal but part of a package so I'm not sure how much the tickets are. I think it would only be like $50 to update each ticket. We'll just have to ask when we are there. If this is what it is, we can easily make that up in savings from food and purchases.

Yes indeed. I think it would be worth a stop at GS after you go in the park the first day. Shouldn't take too long to have them check. Heck, even if you just did one of them. Plus, resort discounts are really good, if you plan to come back again.

 

[luvsvacations]

If I should pay the seasonal pass and 6 months from now I want to upgrade - can I pay the difference then?
Thanks

 

[SonyaShay]

If I should pay the seasonal pass and 6 months from now I want to upgrade - can I pay the difference then?
Thanks

Yes you can. I asked the same question last week at GS inside the park when I was upgrading my tickets to Seasonal Passes. It was free for us to upgrade to the lowest level AP but we might head back down next year for Spring Break which would be a blackout period. They said we can upgrade at any point. Made more sense to keep the free level seasonal passes and wait to upgrade to a higher level if we do find that we can't get in on a day we want to go since there is a chance we don't get to go again this year.

 

[lcborn2run]

Mind being blown...
I wish Universal was more clear on this stuff.


So looking online at the annual pass hotel discount...it looks like they only allow you to currently book for only 2018 dates. Does that get extended later in the year?

I am planning a March 2020 trip and there is NO way that I am going to wait to book a room 3 months before our trip. Its nerve wrecking enough as it is that you cant book at least 1 year in advance.


Something new to research!

I am not sure if you got your answer yet but if not here it is! Book whatever room you want now for the entire length of your planned stay. I usually book two different ones. Yes you have to
Pay for one night at each, BUT you have the room and can change rate to APH when they are released. I then cancel one of the rooms (keep the one with the better deal). They refund you the money from the cancelled room. Going in Jan 2019. Booked my room(s) lol months ago. Will change rate in oct or so when APH rates are released. Good luck!

 

[Cuchman]

You can do this with the three park tickets, but ONLY to the three park annual pass (if you enter Volcano Bay, you cannot "downgrade" to a two park pass). Note that the tix that expire in Sept are promo tix and you will not get credit for the full value, only for the cheaper promotional price. This was my mistake when I did it. You want to get whichever tix have the biggest discount and DON'T say promo.

I am confused by the "Promo" aspect of this. I am pretty sure in the past, the discount tickets we had/used/upgraded were promo tickets (from UT) and it worked fine. In fact, all of their discounted tickets seem to be promo.
Did you activate your tickets by entering the park first when you tried to upgrade?
Still trying to figure out the best approach for our August trip - right now it is seeming like the seasonal pass unless I can work something out with the promo tix.

 

[Cuchman]

Actually, I see that Universal has a special on their site now - 5 day 3 park (to park) tickets for the price of 3 days for $339.99.
https://tickets2.universalorlando.com/park-tickets/index.html

Do you folks think I could buy those, use a day, and upgrade to a seasonal pass (normally $383) for no cost?
Seems like a decent way to save myself $44 off each person.

Thoughts?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Based on how they credited my promo tickets in Feb, you would get credit for the 3 day price rather than the 5 day price. Which means it negates any benefit of getting promo tickets if you plan to upgrade them.

Only a few tickets on UT say promo... They're the ones with specific expiration dates typically.


Yes, I upgraded in the park on day 4 of buy 2 days get 2 days free 3-park-to-park promo tickets. It was $40-45 each to upgrade to add day 5 (I was planning to upgrade to season passes, but since I went to VB I would have had to do a 3 park AP which was more expensive, and we just needed that one extra day. However I was able to have them extend the last day for the 5th day, to 10 days since the first visit. Since you can't buy tickets good for a 10 day stretch online, it was worthwhile.)

 

[NMK62303]

So we will be there in two weeks ... just to be sure I understand this right .... we could upgrade our 2 day/3rd day free tix from UT on our last day to Seasonal Passes before we leave the park, and be able to return anytime over the next year that is not during a blocked out period? In other words we would not upgrade on our first day in the parks on this trip since it is during July and seasonal passes are blocked out during July - but this way we can upgrade before we leave and secure our ability to return another time over the year during a non blocked out time? And then we have also secured the ability to upgrade to a higher level pass with no block outs over the next year if we do want to come back say next July before our one year date from this July? TIA!

 

[damo]

So we will be there in two weeks ... just to be sure I understand this right .... we could upgrade our 2 day/3rd day free tix from UT on our last day to Seasonal Passes before we leave the park, and be able to return anytime over the next year that is not during a blocked out period? In other words we would not upgrade on our first day in the parks on this trip since it is during July and seasonal passes are blocked out during July - but this way we can upgrade before we leave and secure our ability to return another time over the year during a non blocked out time? And then we have also secured the ability to upgrade to a higher level pass with no block outs over the next year if we do want to come back say next July before our one year date from this July? TIA!

Yup, you understand correctly.

 

[lisawbh]

I just booked today for a trip in 3 weeks and we have never been before. We are planning to do annual passes since the cost will be the same. We booked under a APH rate. Do I need to go to the park first and use a ticket to get the full value then upgrade to AP before checking in? I don't want to loose my AP rate at check in for not having it.

 

[damo]

I just booked today for a trip in 3 weeks and we have never been before. We are planning to do annual passes since the cost will be the same. We booked under a APH rate. Do I need to go to the park first and use a ticket to get the full value then upgrade to AP before checking in? I don't want to loose my AP rate at check in for not having it.

No, you can just show them the pass at the front desk at any time while you are there.

 

[2mickeys1minnie]

How would I go about this if we want to visit VB once only? I was planning on buying the 2 park 2 day plus 1 free tix from UT and converting to a seasonal annual pass. I wasn't planning on going to VB but the kids keep asking. It's not something we will likely do on each trip so I don't want the 3 park AP. What would be the best way to go about this? Just pay out of pocket for the day? I can't buy 3 park and downgrade to a 2 park AP after using correct? Ugh I'm so confused. I don't know why I'm not getting this.

 

[macraven]

If it is a one and done for Vbay, just buy the day ticket

Why pay for the 3 park ap if you only plan one day for Vbay?

 

[2mickeys1minnie]

If it is a one and done for Vbay, just buy the day ticket

Why pay for the 3 park ap if you only plan one day for Vbay?

Sorry I meant 3 park tickets then convert to a 2 park AP.

 

[macraven]

Policies change frequently

Last year and up to June this year, down grading from a 3 park ap to the 2 park ap was not allowed

Policy has changed where a 3 park ap uo for renewal can now be downgraded to the 2 park ap

But this new policy is for renewals

Don’t even want to post what policy has been for buying a 3 day pass and first use it for Vbay then trying to get a 2 park ap set up

Contact guest services by email to get current info

What is policy today, may change months from now

Is your trip next month?