Seasonal Pass Debacle-hopefully someone can help!

[kkayluvsdis]

Hi There!
I am posting in hopes that someone may have had this experience-actually, I don't want you to have had this experience because it really stinks, but anyway, hoping for some help!

Our family of five all have the Universal Seasonal Passes. We had upgraded our multi-day tickets a couple years ago because the price difference was so minimal and we knew we'd be making another trip to the Orlando area so it made sense. When it was up for renewal last year, we again renewed because we were taking a cruise and figured we could use the passes again for a few days at Universal.

Fast forward to this fall-we have had a cruise with friends booked for well over a year. They have never been to Universal or even Florida, for that matter, so we decided it would be fun to tack some days at Universal onto the end of our trip. SO, today I notice that they have added concerts on both of the days we are planning to visit the parks I called customer service and they told me my only option is to upgrade at guest services actually at IOA or UO. They were not able to do anything for me at all over the phone nor able to give me a price estimate.

Just wondering if this has even happened to you and if so, how did you handle it? I'm so torn, because we still want to go with our friends and have had the resort reservation booked for months, but we already have a significant amount of money spent on this vacation and we were basically justifying the expensive hotel stay by the fact that the tickets were already paid for. The customer service person indicated that the amount due to upgrade would be dependent on how many months left on our passes and wouldn't even venture a guess. So-if this has happened to you and you decided to upgrade, would you be willing to share the price amount?

Sorry to be so long-winded! And, yes, I understand that this happening is part of the risk we took with buying a seasonal pass.

Thank you!

Kelly

 

[Linkura]

Well, the current full-year difference is only $50 per pass, so it won't be any more than that.

 

[bumbershoot]

The customer service person indicated that the amount due to upgrade would be dependent on how many months left on our passes

No that's not correct. They don't prorate. You pay the full difference between the two passes. Linkura seems to have looked it up, so that seems reasonable.

 

[Linkura]

No that's not correct. They don't prorate. You pay the full difference between the two passes. Linkura seems to have looked it up, so that seems reasonable.

That's what I thought, but I didn't want to contradict her since the CSR seemed to think it was pro-rated- thought maybe they changed policies.

So it's gonna be $50 for 2-park and $60 for 3-park.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

No that's not correct. They don't prorate. You pay the full difference between the two passes. Linkura seems to have looked it up, so that seems reasonable.

Oh, man. That stinks! I was hopeful that we wouldn't have to pay for the full difference. $250 is not an insignificant amount of money... Especially for one day. Maybe we'll just do the IOA portion with our friends

 

[MamaKate]

My November trip was also effected by the added concerts and I looked into upgrading for my family. It's around an additional $53.50 per pass with tax and as stated above, it's not prorated. We decided against it because we can still go to IOA and we have a few additional weekdays that we aren't block for USO.

I may upgrade just DH and me because he would like to see Mannheim Steamroller but I'm figuring out if it's worth it...

 

[damo]

Same thing is happening to me. We are planning a trip that I didn't expect when I purchased my season pass. However, the Mannheim Steamroller concert schedule from last year is pretty much identical to this year so I knew that I would have to upgrade as soon as we made the decision. Last year it started on Nov. 17 and this year it starts on Nov. 16. It's a bummer that concerts affect Seasonal Passes. However, the schedule has been pretty consistent for the past couple of years but it does seem to catch people off-guard every year.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh, man. That stinks! I was hopeful that we wouldn't have to pay for the full difference. $250 is not an insignificant amount of money... Especially for one day. Maybe we'll just do the IOA portion with our friends

And here I was thinking that $50 per AP was good! 50 is less than a stand-alone day ticket, that’s for sure.

Are you staying onsite? If so were you able to book it at the APH rate?

 

[kkayluvsdis]

And here I was thinking that $50 per AP was good! 50 is less than a stand-alone day ticket, that’s for sure.

Are you staying onsite? If so were you able to book it at the APH rate?

I guess I'm not seeing it that way given factoring in the initial investment in the passes themselves. We have only made one trip down this year so definitely have not made good use of AP Yes, we did book onsite with a APH rate. Is that also not going to be valid?

 

[Lynne G]

Yes, you can still use your seasonal pass to be valid for AP hotel rate savings, and can use the pass any time that is valid in the parks. So, only when the Studios has a concert, you cannot go to the Studios that day, you may be able to go to Islands and VB, if your passes are valid that day. I bought a seasonal pass for my kids, and a preferred one for me. So, far, we have not gone when the concerts were, and kids got 16 days out of the pass, so far, this year. Me, 27 days so far.

Guess you have to do the math, to see if upgrading is really worth the days you want to spend in the Studios, and the times of year you go, and how many more days you use the pass for, for the remainder of your pass year.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Same thing is happening to me. We are planning a trip that I didn't expect when I purchased my season pass. However, the Mannheim Steamroller concert schedule from last year is pretty much identical to this year so I knew that I would have to upgrade as soon as we made the decision. Last year it started on Nov. 17 and this year it starts on Nov. 16. It's a bummer that concerts affect Seasonal Passes. However, the schedule has been pretty consistent for the past couple of years but it does seem to catch people off-guard every year.

Yes. You are right about the dates being pretty consistent. I guess that is why it surprised me that they don't just go ahead and block them out sooner if it's going to be the same year after year. Oh well, lesson learned on my part! Enjoy your trip!

 

[glocon]

FYI- You can upgrade your APs at your onsite resort if that’s the route you decide to take- we did at RPR this past July.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

FYI- You can upgrade your APs at your onsite resort if that’s the route you decide to take- we did at RPR this past July.

That's great to know! I called and spoke with someone in guest services yesterday and they said it could only be done at the locations within the parks. Definitely have been getting lots of conflicting info from Universal so it's great to have all of you with personal experience! Thank you!