advice about upgrade to Universal annual passes

[sha9]

Originally Posted by pretty_lucky

Yes, you said it yourself, the benefit of park entry if you're able to make another trip within the year!

See more...

Which is easy to do even if you travel the same two weeks every year. We went to Universal the second week this year so as long as we go the first week this year we’ll still get use of an AP.

[SteveyJ]

Originally Posted by pretty_lucky

Yes, you said it yourself, the benefit of park entry if you're able to make another trip within the year!

See more...

Originally Posted by sha9

Which is easy to do even if you travel the same two weeks every year. We went to Universal the second week this year so as long as we go the first week this year we’ll still get use of an AP.

See more...

But if the purpose is just to get the discount then one is fine right? Haven't actually checked if the seasonal pass is comparable to a 14 day 3 park ticket but we'd only ever visit once a year so tempted to upgrade one of the tickets to a preferred pass to get the discounts on HHN etc in following years.

[chmurf]

Originally Posted by SteveyJ

But if the purpose is just to get the discount then one is fine right?

See more...

yes

Haven't actually checked if the seasonal pass is comparable to a 14 day 3 park ticket but we'd only ever visit once a year so tempted to upgrade one of the tickets to a preferred pass to get the discounts on HHN etc in following years.

See more...

well, the thing is that, in order to receive discounts for HHN for example, you need to have a valid AP
this means that you would need to renew your AP year after year, in order to keep it active.
if you let it lapse, then you'll need to purchase a new one, and activate it before you can benefit from any discount, so that could only be made in FL

at that rate, you might as well stick to 14 days tickets each year, and upgrade one for a new AP in order to get the discounts

otherwise, you need to blindly renew your AP even if you're unsure you'll go the next year

hope it makes sense.

[SteveyJ]

Yeah I get having to renew each year which is fine as we're planning to visit every year now. We'd need to get HHN tickets with it though to make it pay on top of the food discounts.

[disneypars]

Instead of upgrading can you not just purchase an AP when you're there? Reason I'm asking is that we are visiting in both May and October, mainly Disney, but will visit Universal for a couple of days each trip.

[chmurf]

Originally Posted by disneypars

Instead of upgrading can you not just purchase an AP when you're there? Reason I'm asking is that we are visiting in both May and October, mainly Disney, but will visit Universal for a couple of days each trip.

See more...

well that's where you need to do the maths

if you're only sure you'll make a couple of days each trip, how much are 2 sets of 2 days tickets (you might even find 2 days + 1 free to spread visits)

they might be less expensive than an AP, (or they may not, I didn't do the maths)


next you need to think about blackout dates,
with may and october you should be safe, but it's worth checking

next, what about discounts ? you'll only get free parking at citywalk starting with a preferred AP, and if you're only going for 4 days total, the saving on parking may not be that interesting compared to the price of the AP, and you don't get free parking on your first visit.


there are many things to consider. Sure you could wait to be there and straight up purchase an AP instead of getting a ticket

the last thing to consider is that the 2 days tickets need to be used over a period of 7 days including activation day
meaning that, if you go for 2 weeks on each trip, and fancy one visit per week at universal, then the regular tickets would not work, and that would be one more reason to get AP

hope there are a few useful information in that post and it will help you get a wider or clearer picture.

[disneypars]

Originally Posted by chmurf

well that's where you need to do the maths

if you're only sure you'll make a couple of days each trip, how much are 2 sets of 2 days tickets (you might even find 2 days + 1 free to spread visits)

they might be less expensive than an AP, (or they may not, I didn't do the maths)


next you need to think about blackout dates,
with may and october you should be safe, but it's worth checking

next, what about discounts ? you'll only get free parking at citywalk starting with a preferred AP, and if you're only going for 4 days total, the saving on parking may not be that interesting compared to the price of the AP, and you don't get free parking on your first visit.


there are many things to consider. Sure you could wait to be there and straight up purchase an AP instead of getting a ticket

the last thing to consider is that the 2 days tickets need to be used over a period of 7 days including activation day
meaning that, if you go for 2 weeks on each trip, and fancy one visit per week at universal, then the regular tickets would not work, and that would be one more reason to get AP

hope there are a few useful information in that post and it will help you get a wider or clearer picture.

See more...

Great information thanks. Have to get the calculator out.