I look at all the rates…savvy traveler, seasonal, AP and other promos. I promise I’m not trying to deceive anyone by showing “different” options.
My experience booking is always like this. I’m not locked into holidays or school breaks. I can be flexible with my dates. That’s how I book. I know approximately the “season” or “event” I want to attend. Then I start juggling flights & hotels until I find the best rates for me…
These rates were the lowest using the dates I had as an example. I’ll gladly go look up Savvy = Savvy or AP = AP for this experiment. However, IME, it’s not going to improve - only cost more than what I have booked…
I got bored…
UPDATE - I did match a Seasonal Rate to a Seasonal Rate. It took a lot of juggling! The system kept wanting to give me the better price which was a “savvy traveler”
It doesn’t give me a better deal than mixing promos / rates, but it did keep the overall total closer for a complete stay in the same room
The survey I got was all about which potential passholder perks at resorts would make me want to visit (like a list of 6 things and I had to pick the one that was most likely to make me visit and the one that was least likely to make me visit). It was annoying, because it kept putting up a couple that I consistently rated least likely over and over again. No, I will not ever visit because you have a paid admission passholder party with drinks at a particular hotel. That’s a terrible idea.
Would I be tempted to visit by a passholder lounge in a specific resort? WTF? No! I can already lounge for free in the resort’s a/c all I want without question or reservations! They seem to think have an AP confers some sort of social status that would make passholders just want to hang out together.
In the text boxes I let them know that passholder benefits that actually provided some benefit I don’t already have access to (i.e. special entrances, early entry, discounts) and that I don’t have to pay extra for are what would make me more likely to plan a visit.
Yep! Universal does make you cancel before rebooking. That used to “scare” me. I was worried I’d cancel & then not get the new rate. (I was just excited about my trips)
IME - I have found the easiest way to rebook is to call. The TM can do it all over the phone in a couple minutes. (That puts my mind at east each time)
You can do it all online, I just prefer a little help
Nice! This kinda has become a “catch-all” thread for Universal. It’s so cool to see new people coming in this thread saying, “We go to WDW a lot. We are going to UOR for the first time and…”
So many new UOR guests!
I spied this the other day. It’s now a stop in my plans! I hope it’s durable / dishwasher safe!
Like most Universal souvenir cups if you bring it back to The Watering Hole you get $2 off the new cocktails. However, there a bonus this time… You get $4 off the older cocktails! (Guess who is probably having two drinks that day!)
Yeah. I’ve done it both ways…but when I needed to book the AP rate for my son, who would NOT have an AP, I called. The TM made sure to ask if there is at least one person in our group per room that has an AP, which we did. (There were 4 of us with APs, but we were booked in a different room.) It was no issue, and the rebooking took a few minutes at the lower price.
I was nervous about the whole AP rate for my DS, though, before we arrived…but I went on-line and read the fine-print. Sure enough, it doesn’t actually require that anyone STAYING in the room has an AP, only that there is at least one person with an AP for each room. I even took a screenshot of the wording in case there was an issue at check-in. But there wasn’t. However, the TM at the check-in desk did add me to the room (but without charging the usual extra adult fee)…which wasn’t actually required or necessary. I think that was simply a misunderstanding, since the room was actually booked on my credit card.
I am really excited. I have always been a theme park fanatic. I remeber every trip I have ever made to a theme park and so many of them have core memories tied up with them.
My DD is now 12, and into Harry Potter. Before she said no to Universal, now she is psyched to go.
One drawback to Universal is that it is not as size friendly as Disney. I found a Facebook group run by a touring plans staff member that is a judgement free place to share information about being plus sized at Universal. It gave me the confidence to navigate the size issues while also navigating a new park.
Additionally my DH and I are at a place where we are willing to try a ride and not fit, and not be embarrassed. DD doesn’t care if we have to walk off. So I think we are ready.
DD and I go to Orlando once a year in addition to any family trips we may take (those are every 2-3 years). Once the three of us go to Universal together, I am sure Universal will become a regular part of those mother/daughter trips.
I just realized I need a TP Universal subscription!
