advice about upgrade to Universal annual passes

[Cills2015]

Hi

We are off to Orlando in Feb 2020, non Disney trip, and I have already bought my park tickets for Universal as part of a bundle with SW, BG etc

We are now thinking about going back again for a cheeky trip in Oct 2020 (just Universal that time) so I am wondering about upgrading to annual passes while we are there in Feb.

I can see that there are different types of AP - is it best to get one higher grade for the parking/discounts etc then the rest at a lower grade?
Can anyone give me an idea of how much the upgrade is likely to cost? I don't want to be sweet-talked by a CM into paying more than I should
And last question, how do I go about it? Is it just a case of going to a customer services kiosk and asking?

Thanks

[sha9]

We did it this year although not with the 14 day passes so I can’t help with price. We chose to get one preferred pass and one seasonal. I worked out that the preferred would pay for itself in free parking alone and then any discount on food and merchandise would then be a saving. We just did it at a guest services kiosk.

[chmurf]

Originally Posted by Cills2015

I can see that there are different types of AP - is it best to get one higher grade for the parking/discounts etc then the rest at a lower grade?

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as long as you pay attention to blackout dates for the lower tier APs, you can get one preferred pass for free parking, and the rest could get seasonnal passes.

just remember that APs do not get you free parking at universal hotels

also remember that, if you wish to upgrade to 2 park APs, you MUST NOT use any Volcano Bay entry on your 14 days ticket before upgrading (if your current ticket has it included)
if you use VB or want to keep it as part of your AP, it's $99 more than the 2 parks AP

Can anyone give me an idea of how much the upgrade is likely to cost?

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realistically, no
the upgrade price will be that of the AP, minus the value they give you for your current ticket.
This value is not predictable, escpecially not as to what it will be in 4 months time

I don't want to be sweet-talked by a CM into paying more than I should

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as long as you know what you want.
again, the only issue you could run into is with the inclusion of volcano bay, and going for a 2 or 3 parks AP

And last question, how do I go about it? Is it just a case of going to a customer services kiosk and asking?

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customer service inside either park.
if you're staying onsite, you can also use the attraction desks in the lobbies of the hotels.

APs will only be issued when you're there

if you're using a car, you won't get free parking for the day you upgrade if you need to park at citywalk, unless you go after 6pm when parking is usually free.

[Cills2015]

Thanks both, that's really useful info
I will check the black out dates first
I hadn't thought about whether or not to include VB, we do have it on our tickets this time so I will definitely bear in mind what you're saying about not going there before I do the upgrade.
Thanks again!

[CarsonMac]

we upgraded from 14 day passes to one preferred (for the free parking and discounts) and one seasonal and was around $200 for both! we did it on the day we got there at the tickets desk , we were there in sept so was AP appreciation month so meant seasonal passes got some perks too like early entry and discounts that they dont usually get

[Procrastinator]

We upgraded 14 day tickets. 1 to preferred - cost $100. 3 to seasonal for $50 each. That was for 3 park.

Even though we had not used VB they would not let us have a 2 park AP.

[SteveyJ]

Is there any reason to have everyone in the party upgrade? Why can't you just have one AP for the party? I'm ignoring the obvious benefit of entry to the park here.

[mossyflossy]

Originally Posted by Procrastinator

We upgraded 14 day tickets. 1 to preferred - cost $100. 3 to seasonal for $50 each. That was for 3 park.

Even though we had not used VB they would not let us have a 2 park AP.

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really useful info, thank you

So it means that if you want to upgrade to a 2 park pass you must only buy a 2 park ticket.

[Kat11]

We’ve just upgraded our 14 day tickets to seasonal passes. They were $49 each. We go in August (but second half of August after the black out dates have ended) so it includes Volcano Bay. I don’t think there are blackout dates in October, but might be wrong?

We are staying onsite so no need for parking in our case but as others have said you can buy one which includes the parking and the others as seasonal.

The CM was lovely in IOA customers service centre and didn’t pressurise at all, but o did know what I wanted.

Kat

[pretty_lucky]

Originally Posted by SteveyJ

Is there any reason to have everyone in the party upgrade? Why can't you just have one AP for the party? I'm ignoring the obvious benefit of entry to the park here.

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