Post by MinnieMom on Feb 18, 2023 13:25:06 GMT -5
I am on the phone with customer service at Universal Studios to ask a question about hotel discounts. US offers significant discounts for FL residents. One of my FL buddies will probably join us for a night or more if we stay onsite, so I was curious if we all had to be FL residents to get that discount at the hotel.
Customer service resp said no, that it was fine to have a mixed party as long as the FL resident was present to show ID at check in. Technically, she also said they should actually stay in the room for the trip. I take that with a grain of salt as I can't see how or why they would try to verify who slept in a hotel bed which night. However, she also said that currently annual pass and Florida resident discounts were exactly the same. I'd been considering AP for US, so that made the decision simple.
Plan before the call:
Purchase US tickets for DD from Undercover Tourist: $377.60 (3 day park to park with 2 additional days free)
Stay at nearby Homewood Suites for 3 nights: $689.00
Decide if I wanted to do same tickets for me or go ahead with preferred AP at $539.99. The difference in ticket prices would be ~$168. Probably I would have done AP for parking discount, but let's use 3 day ticket for this comparison.
Total for tickets & hotel: $1449
Decision During Call:
Keep US ticket for DD from Undercover Tourist: $377.60 (3 day park to park with 2 additional days free) & add her as hotel guest for Endless Summer Resort
Cancel Homewood Suites reservations & book Endless Summer Resort for 3 nights: $582
Purchase AP for me: $540
Total for tickets (AP for me) & hotel: $1500
The hotels are not exactly apples to apples, as Homewood was a 1 bedroom & Endless Summer is a value studio room. Then again, staying on site means early entry & transportation perks, so maybe that is a wash. Staying onsite and upgrading to AP cost less than $100. Using the AP discount to stay on site actually saved money if I had gone with that but would have been really close to a break even if I'd opted to get a regular ticket instead of AP and just pay for the parking separately. This is a long post to say that I was impressed with US customer service for calling with a question. The rep who answered was friendly, informative and got the details right for our reservation.
Given the decision to get AP for US for me, that likely means I let my Disney AP expire in April. There is still time to change my mind, but I think US may be a good alternative to Disney for a year or so.
Customer service resp said no, that it was fine to have a mixed party as long as the FL resident was present to show ID at check in. Technically, she also said they should actually stay in the room for the trip. I take that with a grain of salt as I can't see how or why they would try to verify who slept in a hotel bed which night. However, she also said that currently annual pass and Florida resident discounts were exactly the same. I'd been considering AP for US, so that made the decision simple.
Plan before the call:
Purchase US tickets for DD from Undercover Tourist: $377.60 (3 day park to park with 2 additional days free)
Stay at nearby Homewood Suites for 3 nights: $689.00
Decide if I wanted to do same tickets for me or go ahead with preferred AP at $539.99. The difference in ticket prices would be ~$168. Probably I would have done AP for parking discount, but let's use 3 day ticket for this comparison.
Total for tickets & hotel: $1449
Decision During Call:
Keep US ticket for DD from Undercover Tourist: $377.60 (3 day park to park with 2 additional days free) & add her as hotel guest for Endless Summer Resort
Cancel Homewood Suites reservations & book Endless Summer Resort for 3 nights: $582
Purchase AP for me: $540
Total for tickets (AP for me) & hotel: $1500
The hotels are not exactly apples to apples, as Homewood was a 1 bedroom & Endless Summer is a value studio room. Then again, staying on site means early entry & transportation perks, so maybe that is a wash. Staying onsite and upgrading to AP cost less than $100. Using the AP discount to stay on site actually saved money if I had gone with that but would have been really close to a break even if I'd opted to get a regular ticket instead of AP and just pay for the parking separately. This is a long post to say that I was impressed with US customer service for calling with a question. The rep who answered was friendly, informative and got the details right for our reservation.
Given the decision to get AP for US for me, that likely means I let my Disney AP expire in April. There is still time to change my mind, but I think US may be a good alternative to Disney for a year or so.
