Should One of Us Get an AP?

[Luv Bunnies]

I'm planning a trip for the weekend before Thanksgiving for our family of four. I know hotel rates will be higher and it will be crowded, but the timing works out so we can meet our Miami college student in Orlando during his break. We're spending the rest of the week at WDW.

In looking at ticket and hotel prices, I'm wondering if getting one AP would pay off in discounts. It looks like 2-day park tickets will cost $264 each. We're booking Cabana Bay for four nights, priced at $157/night, with an overlapping room at Royal Pacific for one night, priced at $404/night. It looks like a Preferred AP will cost $384, $120 over the cost of a 2-day ticket. Between discounts on hotels, park passes for the other three people and meals, will I potentially save more than $120 to make the cost of the AP worth it? We live in California and likely won't get to Universal again within a year, so I would only use the AP for admission for this trip. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[damo]

It could potentially save you money. However, right now, it is impossible to tell how much. You might want to hold off until AP rates are out for your dates. There are generally good AP rate deals in the time between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Check the old date and rate threads for past rates at that time.

 

[Gary2T]

I...will I potentially save more than $120 to make the cost of the AP worth it? We live in California and likely won't get to Universal again within a year, so I would only use the AP for admission for this trip. Any advice is appreciated!

As damo said, you can wait for AP rates to be released. You don't need an AP to book an AP rate. You just need the AP at some pint during your stay to show to the front desk (if they even ask).

If you can snag an AP rate for your one night at Royal Pacific, you could potentially save $50-100 on that night alone. Savings on Cabana Bay would be less.

You could also save some money by going with the Seasonal pass instead of the Preferred pass. It is about $100 less and still gets you hotel discounts, but not all the food/merch discounts. The Seasonal AP does have blackout dates, but it doesn't look like any dates around Thanksgiving are blacked out (unless there is a concert).

Buying park tickets using your AP discount is usually not the best deal. The discount is off of the gate price, which is already higher than the online pre-purchased price (the $264 you mentioned), which is higher than the tax-inclusive price you can get from 3rd-party ticket sellers (ie. Undercover Tourist).

Once you run the numbers for the different scenarios, pick the one that works best for you. Take a look at Seasonal passes for everyone as well, as the cost difference between the 2-day ticket you mentioned and the Seasonal AP is about $20, and would allow you to hit the parks at your leisure on every day of your stay. Some people have also purchased UT tickets at a discount and then upgraded them to seasonal APs once in the park for even less.

 

[keishashadow]

They ask (for the APH)

OP - check out last year’s date & rate thread here to see what rates were posted during that time frame to get a ballpark guesstimate on where things may end up. We went the weekend after Thanksgiving, rates wound up more reasonable than i had expected.

 

[macraven]

Preferred ap has perks

Show it and receive 10% discounts off of food and merch in the parks, city walk and hotels

Some exclusions apply so check the we site for which places allow the discounts