Newbie questions

[KyGirl]

Okay, same old story. We have taken our seven year old daughter to Disney five times and have become fairly proficient at that but I'm getting put out by some of the changes they've made and more importantly, my daughter has become an absolute freak for Harry Potter. We're planning to do Universal this time and are going to go for a three and a half days (the Sunday to Wednesday that includes the MLK holiday in January).

I am so confused about tickets! Am I overthinking this? I want four day, two park, park to park tickets for two adults and one child. It looks like right now, the deal on Undercover Tourist is that you automatically get three park tickets. I'm not opposed to that but don't expect to be able to use the water park. We have gone the same week three years in a row to Disney and it was only warm enough for us to swim one day in all those trips. What confused me though was that those tickets were actually like five dollars more than the base APs for us. This kind of blew my mind. Does that make sense?

And then of course it raises the question of the different types of APs and what would be right for us. First of all, I am probably being stupid but did not see an option for a child AP. Also, are the base APs "park to park", like could we ride the Hogwarts Express?

Obviously, the price difference for the tickets is negligible but I thought I read that APs sometimes provide room discounts. I've actually already booked rooms, two nights at Endless Summer Resort and one night at Royal Pacific to get the express passes for two days. Could I decrease what I paid for the rooms if there is an AP discount? I could not figure out on the website where I could even see what that price difference would be. The single night at RPR (which is Tuesday so a little after the holiday weekend) was over $300 and I had to pay it as a deposit because it was only a single night. If I get APs, can I use them for a room discount even though I won't have activated the tickets yet? That's assuming that even if I bought them today the clock would not start on them until we used them for the first day on the Sunday before MLK day.

On top of that, what should be my timing on ticket purchasing at all, wait until we are closer and see if the UT tickets runs a better deal? Or go ahead and get them, assuming the AP is the best deal and call Universal directly to try to figure out some sort of room discount. I'm just confused on all that. I do think that Disney, with all their faults, makes it easier to just know what tickets will cost for your trip.

One relevant piece of information-we will have a car with us because we drive down from Kentucky. Would we be best to park the car at the resort we are staying in each night then using Universal transportation? At Disney, we pull our camper down and stay at the campground which does not have parking fees for a campsite, then drive to the parks every day and get free parking for being resort guests so I'm not used to paying anything to park. We find Disney transportation to mostly be more trouble than it is worth and other than taking the boat from Fort Wilderness to MK, love driving ourselves. I'm guessing this isn't the same at Universal. But does upgrading to the AP that has the parking benefits help if you're leaving your car at a resort instead of at the park?

My daughter is a total daredevil. She finally hit 48 inches this summer and we have worn out our season passes riding all the roller coasters at Dollywood this summer. She will ride anything she's allowed on so I'm not worried about that. What about the water rides? If it's cold will they run? If they do, do they tame them at all so you don't get soaked? For a total Harry Potter nut, do you think 3.5 days is enough to enjoy the rest of the two parks but also spend plenty of time soaking up the Harry Potter lands?

Other than understanding this ticket and transportation dilemma, I feel like the thing I'm having the hardest time planning is..... not having to plan anything else! If we were doing Disney again I'd already have pages of plans and spreadsheets. Do I really NOT have to do that to pull this off?

Thanks for any advice and help!

 

[sandam1]

I want four day, two park, park to park tickets for two adults and one child. It looks like right now, the deal on Undercover Tourist is that you automatically get three park tickets. I'm not opposed to that but don't expect to be able to use the water park. We have gone the same week three years in a row to Disney and it was only warm enough for us to swim one day in all those trips. What confused me though was that those tickets were actually like five dollars more than the base APs for us. This kind of blew my mind. Does that make sense?

The deals change from time to time. Right now it is get the 3rd park free or buy two days, get one day free. If you wait a bit, there may be a different deal (there have been buy 2 days, get 2 free or buy 2 days, get 3 free within the past year). I know that UT and Visit Orlando both had Black Friday deals last year. And yes, the AP's aren't that much more than base tickets (although keep in mind that sales tax is NOT included in the prices on the Universal page).

And then of course it raises the question of the different types of APs and what would be right for us. First of all, I am probably being stupid but did not see an option for a child AP. Also, are the base APs "park to park", like could we ride the Hogwarts Express?

I don't think there is a child's AP. All APs are park-to-park. Just be VERY careful with black-out dates for the seasonal AP's. Universal has concerts for Mardi Gras and at Christmas that close the Studios side to these passholders. Every season, people who bought the seasonal passes come here and whine that they are blacked out and/or have to upgrade.

Could I decrease what I paid for the rooms if there is an AP discount? I could not figure out on the website where I could even see what that price difference would be. The single night at RPR (which is Tuesday so a little after the holiday weekend) was over $300 and I had to pay it as a deposit because it was only a single night. If I get APs, can I use them for a room discount even though I won't have activated the tickets yet? That's assuming that even if I bought them today the clock would not start on them until we used them for the first day on the Sunday before MLK day.

Check out the AP thread for a link to check for AP discounts. They changed regularly so check back often. And yes, you can book with an AP rate even if you haven't activated them yet. Some people report that you have to stop at the front desk after you get your APs to get the rate. Frankfully, I've never been asked to show mine.

Would we be best to park the car at the resort we are staying in each night then using Universal transportation?

Yes! If you get one of the upper level APs, you get free parking at the park - NOTE: everyone has to pay for parking at the hotels. That being said, Universal has their transportation down pat and it is so not worth driving your car to the park. And RP has a boat (or short walk) to get to the parks. ES has bus transportation.

What about the water rides? If it's cold will they run? If they do, do they tame them at all so you don't get soaked? For a total Harry Potter nut, do you think 3.5 days is enough to enjoy the rest of the two parks but also spend plenty of time soaking up the Harry Potter lands?

Jurassic Park usually goes down for a time over the winter to do refurbs. But the other two may be running. However, you will get SOAKED on these rides (JP it depends on where you are sitting).

Yes, 3.5 days is a great length. You probably won't get to do everything, but you should be able to hit most things and do some repeats.

Do I really NOT have to do that to pull this off?

Pretty much! I've planned and booked a Universal trip in literally 20 minutes - flight, hotel, tickets, ground transportation. Once we decide on dates, the rest is fairly simple.

 

[Lynne G]

There are currently promotional get free days tickets, but make very sure you know the expiration date. I think the current bonus ones end around December 19th this year. I'd wait to see what ticket options you have closer to your date, including the Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales UT may have.

And yes, easy. Hotel reservations, tickets in hand, and that's all you need. Know that your Royal's room card is your express pass, and will give you express pass privileges the day of check in and day of check out, so yay! 2 of your days will have the express pass. Only not good on the new Potter ride and the Flyers, that only small kid and adult can ride.

And agree, any of Universal's wet rides can leave you looking like you fell in a pool. Only one I sometimes only get a splashing is the Jurassic ride. That usually has to do with how many people are in the boat, and where you are sitting. And don't forget shoes that you don't mind getting soaked. We tend to wear our bathing suits and water shoes to do the 3 water rides. Then we go back, sometimes jump in the hotel pool, then freshen up, and hit the parks again, dry.

And I do think 3 and 1/2 days is a great start to enjoy all that Potter stuff, and all the other neat stuff the two parks have. Many other is fun for the whole family. And don't forget to try to see at least the Pet Show. It's cute, short, and fun to see the animals that are rescues that are tranied to be in films, and some have, including the pug from the MIB films. And yes, the shows let express holders in early.

What my family does is I have the Preferred Pass, it get free general parking in the garages, and 10 percent off on most food and merchandise, both in the parks and City Walk, and the restaurant in the hotels, but usually not the carts in the parks, and the quick service in the hotels, though maybe Endless will, but I am sure Royal's won't. Only one I know so far, is Aventura's let me have the AP discount. The kids have always had seasonal, but that's because we tend to not go during the blackout times, late August, January and June. Make the most sense if you are going to return in the year. And yes, you can always upgrade your tickets to an AP, inside the parks. Inside the parks' team members are better with upgrades than those outside the parks, generally. And agree, I'd leave the car parked at the hotel and take the bus from Endless and the boat from Royal. I only use my car to eat and do shopping outside of the parks. But we tend to only do that when staying more than 3 nights. With that short of time, easier to eat in the parks or City Walk, lots of choices for both quick service and sit down. Check out Damo's restaurant stickie at the top in this Forum. She keeps the menus up to date, so if you are wondering where to eat, that may give you a better idea.

I hope you have fun this January, it's a nice time to visit, and the express will be great when the crowds build for that holiday week-end, as all kids are off, including locals.