Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,015
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Aug 3, 2014 17:50:55 GMT
I just priced 2 days park to park for 4 people and it's $750. You have to buy the park to park tickets if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express. $1030 to stay on property for one night to get the express pass and 1 extra hour. That had better be some crazy magical train ride, like actually take people to Hogwarts to be sorted.
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Post by rumplesnat on Aug 3, 2014 17:55:11 GMT
Good luck! We went last summer and got out of line when it approached the 4 hour waiting mark. There were multiple announcements that the ride was having difficulties.
Ticket prices are astronomical.
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Post by stampinbetsy on Aug 3, 2014 18:10:35 GMT
We just went to Universal and yes, the ticket prices were shocking. We bought park to park tickets for 4 adults for 1 day and it was $600! I don't think we got that much entertainment, mainly because it was rainy and some of the things we would have done either closed or were down.
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Post by anonrefugee on Aug 3, 2014 22:26:57 GMT
Ugh I didn't know it was that expensive! All we want to see is Harry Potter. I've been pushing for it, guess I'll back off.
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Post by I-95 on Aug 3, 2014 22:35:23 GMT
That might explain some of Disney's 45 BILLION dollar revenue stream last year!!
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Aug 3, 2014 22:57:43 GMT
All of the Orlando theme parks are expensive, but I do suggest park to park at Universal. The two parks are so close together that "hopping" is a short walk (or train ride). I can't wait to see the new HP area, but I'm waiting until the crowds slack off a little (probably next year).
ETA: The first day is the most expensive at Universal. Each subsequent day gets cheaper; much cheaper, if my memory is right.
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Post by cakediva on Aug 3, 2014 23:01:17 GMT
All of the Orlando theme parks are expensive, but I do suggest park to park at Universal. The two parks are so close together that "hopping" is a short walk (or train ride). I can't wait to see the new HP area, but I'm waiting until the crowds slack off a little (probably next year). ETA: The first day is the most expensive at Universal. Each subsequent day gets cheaper; much cheaper, if my memory is right. It's the same with Disney. By the time you reach 5 and 6 days of tickets, additional days are $10 more!
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Post by jennifercw on Aug 3, 2014 23:04:19 GMT
We're planning a trip to Disney with extended family next summer and were interested in spending one day at Universal. Mostly we just wanted to see the Harry Potter parts and ride the Hogwarts Express. Since you can't actually do that in one day without park hopper tickets to both Universal parks - it was not worth the cost for us.
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GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,456
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Aug 3, 2014 23:04:35 GMT
Yowza! How do people afford that? Plus you have to still purchase food and any trinkets.
We went many years ago to Disney (1994), WDW (1998) and Universal (2005). Looks like I won't be going back unless I win the lottery.
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Post by myshelly on Aug 3, 2014 23:11:46 GMT
That might explain some of Disney's 45 BILLION dollar revenue stream last year!! What?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 7, 2024 14:28:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 23:17:41 GMT
I will fully admit that I don't feel the same about Universal as I do Disney. We went to Universal twice. Neither time (one day each) could I really say I got the same type of experience we get at Disney. I just don't relate as much to their themes/characters/etc.
So I wouldn't pay to do anything at Universal honestly. Maybe if I got free tickets. But that's just me. DH and one DD liked it.
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Grom Pea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,944
Jun 27, 2014 0:21:07 GMT
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Post by Grom Pea on Aug 3, 2014 23:28:19 GMT
Universal was brilliantly evil when they designed Harry potter world, first they put it in islands of adventure which is the more expensive park, now they say they have the train to the other park so it well feel like you are traveling but my money says its so you have to pay for both parks! I guess I'm lucky I'm not interested in going, maybe when my kids are 10-13, there won't be as much waiting (my son is 2), expecting a second in January.
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Post by SallyPA on Aug 3, 2014 23:39:04 GMT
Wow- that IS pricey!
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Post by jamielynn on Aug 3, 2014 23:47:43 GMT
From time to time I have seen that they run specials on Travelzoo.com you may want to keep an eye on that. However, I feel like I see those more frequently in the fall months?
I also believe in the past they have done a buy a day get the annual pass for that price, or slightly higher - can someone else who lives in the area validate this? I know for sure SeaWorld and Busch Gardens do that promotion however, I also understand those are the same parent company but I don't believe Universal Studios is associated.
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MsKnit
Pearl Clutcher
RefuPea #1406
Posts: 2,648
Jun 26, 2014 19:06:42 GMT
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Post by MsKnit on Aug 3, 2014 23:48:18 GMT
Wow!
We went with my son's marching band in December.
The Harry Potter park was fascinating. I didn't ride anything, as I had too many days to go, and I was afraid of the rides triggering/escalating pain. Damn, Fibro!
The rest of Islands of Adventure was nothing special for those prices.
I would love to go back, though. Didn't get to go through the castle, which I heard was fantastic. And the rollercoasters...sigh. It was difficult staying off them.
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Post by sisterbdsq on Aug 3, 2014 23:54:17 GMT
I have family who works there. I go for free, get the fast pass for free and stay on property for a huge discount. Otherwise, no go.
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Post by houston249 on Aug 3, 2014 23:56:53 GMT
It has been strongly suggested by local theme park bloggers to wait at least 2 years from the opening of the second phase of the HP park for crowds to die down.
I waited close to 3 years to visit phase one before the second park opened and am so glad I did. The crowds were a lot more managable and much easier to plan around.
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Post by supersoda on Aug 4, 2014 0:25:43 GMT
We just returned from a trip to Universal. It was about $1500 for one night on site with two day park-to-park tix for 5 people at the Hard Rock on site. FYI, You get early entry and express passes for both your check in and check out days when you stay on site.
I booked our trip in March, only to eventually learn that we were arriving two days after Diagon Alley opened! I never would have planned that, but it worked out ok, other than ridiculously long lines for Gringotts. Diagon Alley was AMAZING! The Express passes made the rest of the park very manageable. The Hogwsrts Express was cool, but not hundreds of dollars extra cool.
I don't think the Universal prices are really out of whack with Disney. We did a last-minute add-on for one day at Disney and those tix were $500 for the five of us with no hoppers. ( We've done the whole Disney thing before.). My teens really enjoyed Universal more than Disney, but they are huge superhero and Harry Potter fans.
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Post by Pahina722 on Aug 4, 2014 0:30:03 GMT
As Florida residents, we find it cheaper to buy annual passes for both Disney and Universal. As others have mentioned, if you can wait until off season or until the new HP area has been opened for a while, the crowds will taper off, making it easier to get more rides in per day.
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Post by anonrefugee on Aug 4, 2014 1:27:39 GMT
Are the Florida residents special only for the resident- can they take out of state guests? We have family about two hours from the park, never thought to ask if they could get us a deal...
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Post by Darcy Collins on Aug 4, 2014 1:47:19 GMT
My kids loved, loved, loved Universal. They enjoyed Disney, but if we could only do one park, there's no contest. We went before Hogwarts Express opened, so will definitely be back in the next few years. It was fun to see my "too cool" tweens embrace Harry Potter land like a starry eyed toddler. They busted out the robes and everything.
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Post by travelscrapper on Aug 4, 2014 2:04:27 GMT
I have a group down in Florida right now and a lot of them purchased 1 day --park hopper tickets which allows them entrance into both parks w/round trip transfers from Disney and the cost was $165 p/adult. This did not include the express pass as it doesn't work w/Harry Potter rides.
This was not a special or convention rate.
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Post by I-95 on Aug 4, 2014 6:33:18 GMT
Oh, DUH!!! I refuse to take responsibility for anything I post after 2am (my time!) But Universal ain't doin' so bad either
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Post by pmk on Aug 4, 2014 7:43:22 GMT
This is quite interesting because it sounds like it's more expensive to buy tickets for Universal or Disney when you are in the US. We (UK) are less concerned about ticket prices than flights. We frequently get 'buy one week get one week free' deals which makes it much more cost effective than it sounds for you guys.
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lesley
Drama Llama
My best friend Turriff, desperately missed.
Posts: 7,296
Location: Scotland, Scotland, Scotland
Jul 6, 2014 21:50:44 GMT
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Post by lesley on Aug 4, 2014 8:28:02 GMT
We were in Universal at the end of June. We paid about $700 for 14-day passes for four adults (both parks). This might be a UK-only ticket though. We also booked an overnight at the Royal Pacific Resort to take advantage of the front-of-line passes for the two days we were visiting. I think that cost about $300. Not cheap. And we missed the opening of Diagonal Alley by a few days.
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Post by littlemama on Aug 4, 2014 10:39:33 GMT
We are going in a few weeks, and are not spending anywhere near $1030/night to stay on site - at the Hard Rock, on Club Level. Our tickets are the 3 park unlimited and those were about 200 each, and are good for 14 consecutive days.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 7, 2024 14:28:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2014 13:19:04 GMT
Are the Florida residents special only for the resident- can they take out of state guests? We have family about two hours from the park, never thought to ask if they could get us a deal... It's for residents only. Sorry.
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Post by anonrefugee on Aug 4, 2014 13:20:58 GMT
Thanks ScrapPower- thought it seemed too good to be true!
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Post by 1lear on Aug 4, 2014 13:23:18 GMT
Wow, I didn't realize it was that expensive. We're planning a trip to Disney next summer and want to also go to Universal for Harry Potter. I'd better up my budget!
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 4, 2014 14:07:44 GMT
Are the Florida residents special only for the resident- can they take out of state guests? We have family about two hours from the park, never thought to ask if they could get us a deal... It's for residents only. Sorry. Every time we got tickets, I had to provide proof of residency for all the ticket holders except the kids. I can't remember what they asked for them.
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