3-day/2 park or seasonal pass?

Planning our first trip to Universal and it appears to me that the price of a seasonal annual pass and a 3-day/2 park pass is about the same.
We don't plan on going more than this one trip, but as we are planning to stay on site, I would assume that there are perks and discounts for passholders that might drop the price of the Royal Pacific (where we plan to stay)
We are not going during any of the blackout periods so that is not a concern.
Should we go ahead and buy the pass online prior to booking our hotel or am I wrong about the pricing?

It doesn't matter when you buy the pass, you just have to be able to show it before you check out.

You are not actually getting a discount, you are only booking a room under an APH rate.

It is like booking under an AARP rate where you have to have proof of membership before you check out.

Jumping in here as I have an additional question on this topic. When taking my tickets to I assume guest services? to be upgraded, do we all need to be there? I'd be upgrading everyone's tickets to APs.

ETA, OP it took me way to long to wrap my brain around this, but if you get the 2 day/ 2 park with one day free tickets from Undercover Tourist, what you'll get is a three day ticket that can then be upgraded for cheaper than purchasing direct from Universal.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong as that's what I had hoped to do but if it's changed then we'll need to adjust.

Bethany10 said:

Jumping in here as I have an additional question on this topic. When taking my tickets to I assume guest services? to be upgraded, do we all need to be there? I'd be upgrading everyone's tickets to APs.

ETA, OP it took me way to long to wrap my brain around this, but if you get the 2 day/ 2 park with one day free tickets from Undercover Tourist, what you'll get is a three day ticket that can then be upgraded for cheaper than purchasing direct from Universal.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong as that's what I had hoped to do but if it's changed then we'll need to adjust.

Click to expand...

No, you don't all have to be there to upgrade. Prices of upgrading depend on the ticket. Sometimes the buy 2 get 3 or 4 or 5 is counted as just a 2 and sometimes it is counted as more. It all depends on what the original ticket is and if it is a special deal from the seller or it is a general deal from Universal. Universal will often have a buy 2 get 1 ticket and so that specific ticket will only get you 2 days value when you try to upgrade. Undercover Tourist will often have their own buy 2 get 1 ticket which is actually just a 3 day ticket and that will get you 3 days value on an upgrade. It really is difficult to know what you are getting. As a general rule, if there is an expiration date on the ticket, you won't get value for all of the days but just the original ones.

Yep. I upgraded a 2 park 3 day ticket from Undercover Tourist a few years ago to a seasonal pass. The ticket was purchased as a buy 2 days get 1 free, but the back of the ticket just said 2 park 3 day ticket, and the value credited was a 3 day ticket. I just bought some of these for my family for our trip in November (also from UT), and it is the same - you can't tell from the ticket that it was a buy 2 get 1 deal. (Of course when my seasonal pass was expiring I had to upgrade to a 3 park preferred AP now that I'm hooked!)

This is so confusing! So if five of us are going... no blackout time... undercover has 270 for 2days plus one day free... If I want one annual pass to save on hotel , do I buy that then upgrade? we are staying at Portofino and will have a rental car. we booked our room with aph discount

You can upgrade to the AP anytime before you check out of the hotel. And you only need the guest named on the room to be the one with the AP.

cbonebt said:

If I want one annual pass to save on hotel , do I buy that then upgrade?

Click to expand...

Yep. this is how it was explained to me:
Purchase your ticket/s from UT (2 days with 1 day free) What you actually get is a 2 park 3 day ticket for $270.95 each.
check into your hotel, and explain that you don't have the AP yet but will once you enter the park.
Enter the park.
At that point, your 2 day/ 1 day free ticket becomes a 3 day ticket that holds the same value as if you had walked up to the ticket kiosk out front and purchased it. (currently selling for $284 on the uni site which saves you 20 bucks over the gate)
Take your ticket to guest services and upgrade to a seasonal pass (valued at $284.99)
So as far as universal is concerned it's an even swap. If you wanted more than just the seasonal pass, you'd pay the cost difference between that 284 for your three day ticket, and whatever the higher level pass is.

That's why its important to confirm what you're getting from UT is actually a three day ticket and not a promotional deal.

As always I'm no Universal expert, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night so someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Definitely confirm with UT what you are getting, an actual 3 or 4 day ticket or a promotional 2 days plus days free ticket. We tried this last year not understanding there was a difference. Plenty of people were reporting success at the time, but the tickets we received from UT didn’t work. They were the plus days free kind. Universal didn’t count the free days on the tickets received from UT toward the price, so no savings for us at all. It actually ended up costing us a little more as at the time we could have gotten APs through AAA South for less than the Universal gate price.

Having said that, there’s no real risk in trying this strategy unless you can find AP tickets on sale somewhere else which is very rare. Even if Universal doesn't count the extra day(s) and charges you the higher 2 day price difference, you still won’t pay more than you would have originally paid if you had bought the AP tickets outright. Just be aware this can happen and budget for that possibility.

nighttowll said:

Definitely confirm with UT what you are getting, an actual 3 or 4 day ticket or a promotional 2 days plus days free ticket. We tried this last year not understanding there was a difference. Plenty of people were reporting success at the time, but the tickets we received from UT didn’t work. They were the plus days free kind. Universal didn’t count the free days on the tickets received from UT toward the price, so no savings for us at all. It actually ended up costing us a little more as at the time we could have gotten APs through AAA South for less than the Universal gate price.

Having said that, there’s no real risk in trying this strategy unless you can find AP tickets on sale somewhere else which is very rare. Even if Universal doesn't count the extra day(s) and charges you the higher 2 day price difference, you still won’t pay more than you would have originally paid if you had bought the AP tickets outright. Just be aware this can happen and budget for that possibility.

Click to expand...

Do you remember which ticket you bought? There had been some discussion about buy 2 get 2 free not working for upgrades, but I have never had a buy 2 get 1 free ticket from them not arrive as a regular 3 day ticket, and I have bought quite a few over the years.

I can’t remember exactly. I’ve had a Preferred AP for about 4 years now, but I had friends going with me I was helping, so these were their tickets. Long story, but I bought them for them.

I think it was either a buy 2 get 2 or a buy 3 get 2. I’m not sure. I know it was at least a 4 day ticket because we stayed the whole week of spring break with one day to Kennedy. We wanted to buy the regular tickets for the trip because the seasonal AP had some of our spring break days blocked out, but we planned to upgrade at the end of the trip because we had a second trip planned together for the end of May right before the black out dates would kick in for the summer.

I remember there were others reporting success at the time with similar tickets because they were getting refunds since it was going from a 4 or 5 day ticket which costs more down to the seasonal AP. But it didn’t work for us, and we had to pay for the upgrades.

I bought (5) three day park to park tickets am I able to upgrade them to ap's and if so how much would I pay?

Edit: sorry they are 4 day 3 park to park tickets. They were discouned with the MWR on base.

It depends on what kind of ticket you purchased. If it's a promotional deal, then those are looked at differently than a straight 3 day park to park ticket.

Assuming what you've purchased is a 3 day park to park ticket. Then once you use the ticket to enter the park it is worth whatever the current value of that ticket is. (not what you might have paid for it). If you entered the park tomorrow, then the value is 284.99. (I'm assuming universal ups their ticket prices once a year)

Again, the current value of the most basic level AP is 284.99 so it's an even trade, and you'll owe nothing.

BUT, as others have said if you have promotional tickets, those aren't looked at the same as a 3 day ticket so it really depends on what you purchased.

Any ticket can be upgraded.

If they are straight up 3 day park to park, and you paid $285 + tax each, the seasonal AP should be an even upgrade.

The problem some people are having is that they buy a discounted ticket from some place with a promotion such as buy 2 day ticket get 2 days free. For those types of tickets, you will only get the value of 2 days towards the price of the upgrade NOT the 4 days.

If you buy a discounted 2 day ticket with one free day, and you actually use that ticket to enter the park at least once and then upgrade them to APs, You may or may not get the current price of a three day ticket towards AP.

Not everyone is reporting that they are getting the credit for that 3rd day so YMMV.

It depends on if the ticket you receive is a PROMOTIONAL ticket or just a straight up 3 day ticket.

I will add to what Bethany10 said, even if you do have promotional tickets, they are still eligible to upgrade, you will just have to pay the price difference.

When you get your tickets, look at the wording on them to see which you received. If it says 3 day, you are probably good, and it shouldn’t cost you anything to upgrade. If it says 2 days plus 1 free, you will most likely have to pay the difference to upgrade which won’t cost you more than if you’d bought the APs out right.

nighttowll said:

I will add to what Bethany10 said, even if you do have promotional tickets, they are still eligible to upgrade, you will just have to pay the price difference.

When you get your tickets, look at the wording on them to see which you received. If it says 3 day, you are probably good, and it shouldn’t cost you anything to upgrade. If it says 2 days plus 1 free, you will most likely have to pay the difference to upgrade which won’t cost you more than if you’d bought the APs out right.

Click to expand...

Ok so maybe I can call under cover tourist and see what the ticket reads? The website says buy 2 get one free

What is the advantage of upgrading to an AP?

We purchased 3-day Park-to-Park ticket + 2 extra days free from Undercover Tourist and will be staying at CBBR. Would there be any benefit for us to upgrade if we probably will not be visiting Universal again within the next year?

ForeverAfter said:

Would there be any benefit for us to upgrade if we probably will not be visiting Universal again within the next year?

Click to expand...

Hotel discount, (and CBBR discounts since you're staying there) which may or may not be good as (if this year is any indication) Universal waited until the very last minute to release discounts. If we had kept our original May dates we would have seen a significant savings on our hotel room. Bottom line: it's a crapshoot as to whether or not you're going to see a savings.

The best advice I've seen here is book at a rate you're ok paying. if the AP rates come out and you can get a better rate, then jump on that.

Since you're staying at CBBR, check out the fine print on the AP page. There are some small discounts given for things like tubes, sonic refill cups food at the bowling alley etc. Since you're there anyways it might be worth it to you to look into upgrading.

We too have no plans to return, but b/c the B2G1 tickets are a break even with the AP, we can go whenever we want during the week down there and not see an additional cost.

ETA: This is with the lowest level AP. Of course, if the cost difference to upgrade to the higher levels is something you can break even with then that is another bonus. I just don't see us justifying the extra $$ even with the level that gives you the discount.

ETA2: I just really read the fine print on what discounts the AP gives you, and there are some I was not familiar with. We're doing a split stay with the second half at CBBR, I had no idea I could get discounts with my little seasonal pass so thank you for posting and sending me down the rabbit hole!

ForeverAfter said:

What is the advantage of upgrading to an AP?

We purchased 3-day Park-to-Park ticket + 2 extra days free from Undercover Tourist and will be staying at CBBR. Would there be any benefit for us to upgrade if we probably will not be visiting Universal again within the next year?

Click to expand...

People usually upgrade to the AP for one of three reasons. Really the first two more than the third.

1) To cheaply add more days. Usually they are staying a full week or longer in Orlando and would like the option to stretch their visits out over more than 2 or 3 days. This way instead of rushing around trying to do everything in a short time, they can relax. They have the option to do 5 or 6 half days, mixed in with resort and pool time or visiting other nearby attractions. Even if you think you’d only go a couple of hours one extra day, if it essentially costs nothing to upgrade and add those 2 hrs, you might as well.

2) To get a discounted room rate at one of the Universal hotels. The three deluxe hotels can be very expensive. Depending on the time of year, room type, number of rooms needed, and the number of nights you are staying, the savings can be hundreds of dollars even after subtracting the extra cost incurred from purchasing an AP. When you factor in those hotels also give you unlimited EP, the cost of one AP can save you a lot of money, especially if you planned on buying EP anyway. Only one person in the room needs the AP for the discounts, and proof of AP only needs to be shown before checking out, not upon checking in which is why this works.

3) To get two separate vacations out of the same tickets. If you upgrade to APs for either the same price or less (receiving a refund), you essentially have free tickets that can be used on next year’s vacation because you have 365 days from first use to use them. So if you can work your vacation out to fall a week or two before this year’s, you are all set.

If none of the above would be beneficial to you, than there probably isn’t any reason to get an AP over a regular ticket. There are some additional savings and benefits that the APs offer, but none of the lower grade APs really offer any perks worth upgrading solely for. The AP everyone has been discussing here is the Seasonal, the lowest category. It offers little extra except room discounts, and it has a lot of blackout dates to be aware of. As you get to the higher grade APs, you start getting more discounts on food and souvenirs, free parking, early entry, and other perks that might be of interest. The thing is on a short trip, you probably wouldn’t save enough even with those extra discounts to offset the higher cost of those APs. You can see a rough breakdown of the benefits each AP ticket gives you in the link below.

https://www.universalorlando.com/we...enewal/index.html#2-park-non-florida-renewals




On another note, I don’t think anyone has mentioned that you need to be careful about when you upgrade in regards to the blackout dates. Say you are at Universal in the summer and plan to upgrade to the Seasonal AP because you are planning a second trip for fall break. Summer is blocked out for the seasonal AP, so as soon as you upgrade you won’t be able to use your ticket anymore. You can still upgrade; just don't upgrade on the first day you use the ticket. Wait until the last day of your ticket. You will be allowed to stay in the park after upgrading since you entered the park with a non blocked out ticket. However, once you leave, you won’t be allowed back in either park with the Seasonal AP ticket. This means you can’t leave and go back to the room during the day, or go to Citywalk for lunch, or ride the Hogwarts Express to the other park, and still be able to re-enter. So, make sure upgrading your ticket is the last thing you do before leaving the park on the last day. You won’t be allowed back in until after the blackout dates are past. This holds true for concert nights and Christmas which are also blacked out for the seasonal AP. Enter on the regular ticket for these dates, then upgrade last day. Power passes are blocked out for Christmas. Preferred and Premier Passes have no black out dates. You can upgrade to any pass type you like for the ticket difference. However, when people are discussing even exchanges, they are referring solely to the Seasonal.

cbonebt said:

Ok so maybe I can call under cover tourist and see what the ticket reads? The website says buy 2 get one free

Click to expand...

That would be the best idea. Some people have received 3 day tickets from them because the promotion was on the UT end where UT was selling a normal 3 day ticket at a discounted 2 day cost. This is the kind of ticket needed for the even exchange upgrade. Other people have received 2 day plus 1 free tickets which were Universal promotional tickets passed on by UT. These are usually viewed as 2 day tickets and require paying the difference between a 2 day ticket and an AP ticket.