Press Coverage

Woman's Day Magazine - Arricca Elin Sansone - Theme Parks on a Budget

April 15th, 2008

Admission Tickets
Consider online ticket wholesalers
Vendors such as UndercoverTourist.com ....... offer discounts on major parks and attractions in Orlando. "You'll get about 2 to 5 percent off Disney tickets through such sites," says Bob Sehlinger, author of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008. "And the savings are even steeper for other attractions, such as dinner shows."

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SmarterTravel.com - Beth - The Deal Detective

February 7th, 2008

More Disney deals
Speaking of reader suggestions, you were full of ideas about Disney. Last week I asked you to help some of my readers who had Disney questions that I didn't have a chance to answer when I covered this topic in January. Here's a sampling of the best responses.

Reader Micayla McElvain offered the following suggestions for Brenda, a single mom who wants to take her daughter to Disney World over the Christmas holiday: "There are tons of ways to save money on Disney World, but the best answer for Brenda is to try another time of year besides Christmas. Christmas week is the busiest week of the year at Disney, making for both a more expensive visit and an unpleasant trip spent waiting in line rather than riding rides or meeting characters. My sister's first visit was during Christmas and she would never have gone back had I not [taken] her and her children along years later. It was a completely different experience.

"Ticket prices are pretty fixed but a small discount can be had on legitimate tickets at UndercoverTourist.com.

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Family Circle - Laura Manske - Orlando Grows Up

May, 2007

Must-See Websites
undercovertourist.com have discounts for Universal's two parks, SeaWorld and other attractions.

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The Seattle Times - Elouise Schumacher - Theme-park Tilt-A-Whirl

April 20th, 2007

Tickets
For Disney World, select a "Magic Your Way base ticket," and then "customize your ticket." Options include number of days you want tickets, Park Hopper option for visiting more than one park each day, admission to two water parks, and a no-expiration option for tickets after 14-day window from first usage. The combinations present a mathematical puzzle.

For WDW, I bought from a discount ticket broker: undercovertourist.com. We saved about $20 per pass, there was good phone support, free shipping, and the tickets were exchanged without charge or complaint when we changed our minds about length of stay.

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Daily Herald - George Hobica

June 16th, 2006

Q: Where can I buy discount tickets to Disney World?

A: ...... The real discounts are when you buy multiple-day passes. For example, a one-day Disney Pass with Park Hopper (admission to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom Park within the same day) costs $103 (plus tax and $3 shipping per order or free pick-up at will call) for anyone 10 and up.

However, if you were to buy the four-day version through Disney (www.disneyworld.com), it's $233 ($248.15 after tax, saving you a couple of dollars compared to buying it at the gate), which works out to be $58.25 per day.

And the longer the pass, the cheaper the per-day rate would be. XXXXX (available for members only) sells the four-day Hopper for $238 (taxes included); XXXXXXXXXX sells it for $237 plus $6 shipping; and UndercoverTourist (www.undercovertourist.com) sells it for $238 (taxes and shipping included).

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Star Telegram - Teresa McUSIC - The Savvy Consumer

June 9th, 2006

For $207, Undercover Tourist offered a seven-day adult pass and $166 for a child pass, which included taxes and shipping. The price is the same on the Disney Web site, but Disney adds taxes and shipping. Teresa McUsic's column appears Monday and Fridays.

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Telegraph Travel - Gill Charlton

April 16th, 2005

Is it best to buy tickets for Orlando theme parks in advance?
Tour operators usually send out vouchers that are exchanged for actual tickets in the resort. The advantage of this is that if you lose the voucher you can ask for a replacement to be issued. Lost tickets are usually not refundable.

There is one exception. Undercover Tourist (0800 081 1702, www.undercovertourist.com), a US-based company with an Edinburgh office, does replace lost or unused tickets. It charges £157/£136 for an Ultimate ticket and £96.77/£80.18 for a four-park Universal FlexTicket. It can also supply tickets for shorter durations, which are not sold in Britain.

If you do not use a ticket, you can apply for a refund (less four per cent to cover card-handling charges). Undercover Tourist will also reissue tickets lost by customers either before travel or while on holiday. Allow 14 days for delivery.

I think it is worth paying a few pounds more for decent service (the telephone was picked up quickly both times I called).

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The Times - Travel (Readers' Forum)

August 21st, 2004

I am about to book a two-week trip to Orlando and would like to know why customers cannot buy tickets through www.disneyworld.com using a UK credit card. As soon as you key in your country of residence you are redirected to the UK site, where currency rates make tickets more expensive. On the UK site, a Seven-Day Park Hopper Plus costs £197. Apparently the rate was set at $1.74 to £1. When I last looked, the rate was almost $1.87, but the benefit has not been passed on. - Graeme Roberts, Stratford-upon-Avon

A spokeswoman for Disney said that it runs local websites through which customers can buy products and services in their own currencies. She also pointed out that the UK price for a Seven-Day Park Hopper Plus includes a bonus: the DisneyQuest experience, for which Americans pay extra. However, you do not have to buy your tickets directly from Disney. Undercovertourist.com charges in US dollars but lists its prices in sterling. Because it can't predict exactly what exchange rate your credit card company will use, it lists ticket prices according to the current best-value rate and adds about 5 per cent as a safety margin. Most people end up paying about 2 per cent less than the amount listed. When I looked, a Seven-Day Park Hopper Plus was £187.79 including tax and shipping.

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The Sunday Times - Travel (Mark Hodson)

January 18, 2004

Dollar signs in your eyes?
You should have: the US dollar is at an 11-year low. Mark Hodson reports on the resulting holiday superdeals

British holidaymakers booking trips to America were rubbing their hands with glee last week as the dollar hit an 11-year low. The US currency has now fallen by 27% against the pound over the past two years. In January 2002, the cash rate for tourists was $1.39; last week, it was $1.77.

This is particularly welcome news for travellers tired of being clobbered financially in France, Spain and other European destinations, where the pound has fallen 13% against the euro in the past two years. Many families are opting for an American trip instead.

Can I get a good deal from a UK tour operator?
Families going to Orlando can also save on theme- park tickets by booking online. Travel agents and operators have always insisted that British visitors are better off prebooking their park tickets, and in the past this may well have been true, but last week the evidence was unconvincing. One of the most popular deals among British families is the 14-day Orlando Flex Ticket, which allows admission to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, Busch Gardens and Wet 'n' Wild. The ticket agency Keith Prowse (028 9023 2425, www.keithprowsetickets.co.uk) says that the ticket cost £150 (children £126) last year. This year, it has cut the price to £141 (children £117), and if you buy before February 1, you can get it for just £133 (children £111). This appears to be an excellent deal - until you look at some of the prices offered by American agencies. UnderCoverTourist.com, based in Florida, specialises in selling park tickets to British visitors: it quotes prices in pounds, has a UK freephone number (0800 081 1702) and even offers free postage to the UK. Last week, it had the 14-day Flex Ticket for just £116.67 (children £96.62). Similarly, a five-day Disney Park Hopper Plus Ticket bought direct from Disney in the UK (0870 242 4900, www.disneyholidays.co.uk) would cost £179 (children £143). At UnderCoverTourist.com last week, they were priced at £145.24 (children £114.85). For prices, visit www.undercovertourist.com

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