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?
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.