Help with first timer for one or two days, cost seems so high

[blessedby3]

We will be in Orlando June 10-June 13. My oldest and youngest love HP but we have never done Universal, only Disney. In looking at pricing it just seems so expensive. If I am looking correctly a one day park to park ticket is $198 on AAA. A 2 day park to park ticket is $295 from what I can tell. Then to add on Unlimited Express Pass is $139 per person. That is so expensive for 3 tickets.
$337 per person for a one day ticket?? Am I doing something wrong here?
I also looked at getting a room for the one night to have the EP "free" and the room alone is $448 at RP, then add 3 two day tickets and we are at $1333 for the room and 3 two day tickets.
My kids are 30, 24 and 12. It would only be them going.
Is there a way to do this cheaper?

 

[Asnell]

Yes, it's expensive. The good news is that with two days there, staying onsite and taking advantage of the Express Passes, they'll be able to see and experience everything.

There are three hotels that give the Express Passes, so check prices on all of them, including using other discounted travel sites (Expedia and the like).

 

[blessedby3]

Yes, it's expensive. The good news is that with two days there, staying onsite and taking advantage of the Express Passes, they'll be able to see and experience everything.

There are three hotels that give the Express Passes, so check prices on all of them, including using other discounted travel sites (Expedia and the like).

Ugg, ok. This Royal Pacific is the cheapest at the $399 rate. I just cant even believe how much it is. I feel like we get a much better deal at Disney. I guess because we stay longer at Disney.

 

[Asnell]

Ugg, ok. This Royal Pacific is the cheapest at the $399 rate. I just cant even believe how much it is. I feel like we get a much better deal at Disney. I guess because we stay longer at Disney.

And one night there gives you two days of ExP, so they could be somewhere else the other days.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I feel like we get a much better deal at Disney. I guess because we stay longer at Disney.

This. A 1 day park hopper at Disney is about $190. Both parks get more cost effective for longer visits.

 

[blessedby3]

This. A 1 day park hopper at Disney is about $190. Both parks get more cost effective for longer visits.

yeah, I guess I have never looked at a single day cost at WDW. We always do an 8-10 day ticket at Disney. I think the extra cost of the EP is just so much money. We get FP free at Disney. Granted it is a different beast, but still have the opportunity for FP without paying. Guess I will just have to suck it up and accept the cost

 

[hopemax]

People seem to lock onto the idea that since they use FP at WDW then they need Express Pass at Universal. But unless you are going at the truly busiest times you can have a great time without it.

I love using Express the times we have stayed onsite, but the majority of our visits we don’t have it. Old school planning works very well. Arrive at opening and knock off a bunch of stuff, and again in the late afternoon and evening.

Use the app to watch wait times. They can change pretty quickly. I was just there last week and I would see rides at 40 minutes, and then an hour later it would be only 15 or 20. Those things don’t happen at WDW anymore, so people see a 45 min wait and think that will be as good as it gets and might get worse instead of thinking that’s the bad wait typical from 11-4

 

[bchbetha]

EPs are never a must. You can certainly get by without them. When time is short, Parks are busy and you want to ride everything then you should get them. But, if you’re ok missing some stuff potentially and just enjoying the parks, you’ll be fine. Sometimes waiting in line can be fun! They do a great job with the line themeing. And if you get some party games like Heads Up for your phones, it passes the time.
What do you do when you go to a local amusement park? That’s how you should approach Universal. Don’t compare it to Disney.

 

[blessedby3]

People seem to lock onto the idea that since they use FP at WDW then they need Express Pass at Universal. But unless you are going at the truly busiest times you can have a great time without it.

I love using Express the times we have stayed onsite, but the majority of our visits we don’t have it. Old school planning works very well. Arrive at opening and knock off a bunch of stuff, and again in the late afternoon and evening.

Use the app to watch wait times. They can change pretty quickly. I was just there last week and I would see rides at 40 minutes, and then an hour later it would be only 15 or 20. Those things don’t happen at WDW anymore, so people see a 45 min wait and think that will be as good as it gets and might get worse instead of thinking that’s the bad wait typical from 11-4

Ok, thanks for that! They would be there on Thursday, June 11. I just assume the crowds would be big since it’s summer...but I guess they could wait and see when they get there if they need it?

 

[piccolopat]

Ok, thanks for that! They would be there on Thursday, June 11. I just assume the crowds would be big since it’s summer...but I guess they could wait and see when they get there if they need it?

That's what I was going to suggest. If the day you are there is really busy, buy the EP when you get to the park. If not, use wait times to your advantage.

 

[hopemax]

Ok, thanks for that! They would be there on Thursday, June 11. I just assume the crowds would be big since it’s summer...but I guess they could wait and see when they get there if they need it?

Summer now, is not the same as summer years ago. WDWs new ticket pricing, festivals and parties in other seasons, school schedules, tolerances to the FL heat etc. Even though it’s not WDW many people make their travel decisions to travel to Orlando based on what’s happening there. Demand is more spread out. Weekdays are better than Weekends, so your Thursday day is good.

And Universal has been really good about building and operating attractions with sufficient capacity. Hagrid’s is an issue because of the technical problems, once they can operate the number of trains they want, lines moves fast. Gringotts had issues when it opened, less so now and you can see that in the waits have dropped from a standard 2 hours to an hour or less. Express Pass doesn’t slow Standby lines as much as FP+ does, because not so many seats need to be devoted to the “other” line. So even when there are longer queues it doesn’t feel as bad as waiting in a WDW line does now.

 

[georgina]

Lots of single rider lines at Universal. I rarely have EP when I go.

 

[acarsme123]

We are taking our first Universal trip in a week. I too was floored by the cost! We’ve done Disney twice in the last 4 years and I felt like we were able to stay for much longer at Disney than what this shorter stay at Universal is costing us. Disney almost practically gives you the park tickets for next to nothing once you hit so many days in a package. So then you’re just paying the cost of the hotel. And at Disney I get Fast Passes no matter what tier resort I stay at, unlike Universal in which I feel forced to stay at the highest tiered resorts to be able to ride things in a timely manner. So in that sense Disney to me comes across as a much better deal than what Universal has been. I’m going to stay positive and try to have a great time, but I was fuming mad when I saw I had to spend as much money for a shorter stay at Universal than what I spend for a longer stay at Disney. Yet lots of people constantly think Universal is the better value. I just don’t see it

We will be in Orlando June 10-June 13. My oldest and youngest love HP but we have never done Universal, only Disney. In looking at pricing it just seems so expensive. If I am looking correctly a one day park to park ticket is $198 on AAA. A 2 day park to park ticket is $295 from what I can tell. Then to add on Unlimited Express Pass is $139 per person. That is so expensive for 3 tickets.
$337 per person for a one day ticket?? Am I doing something wrong here?
I also looked at getting a room for the one night to have the EP "free" and the room alone is $448 at RP, then add 3 two day tickets and we are at $1333 for the room and 3 two day tickets.
My kids are 30, 24 and 12. It would only be them going.
Is there a way to do this cheaper?

 

[TommyJK]

We are taking our first Universal trip in a week. I too was floored by the cost! We’ve done Disney twice in the last 4 years and I felt like we were able to stay for much longer at Disney than what this shorter stay at Universal is costing us. Disney almost practically gives you the park tickets for next to nothing once you hit so many days in a package. So then you’re just paying the cost of the hotel. And at Disney I get Fast Passes no matter what tier resort I stay at, unlike Universal in which I feel forced to stay at the highest tiered resorts to be able to ride things in a timely manner. So in that sense Disney to me comes across as a much better deal than what Universal has been. I’m going to stay positive and try to have a great time, but I was fuming mad when I saw I had to spend as much money for a shorter stay at Universal than what I spend for a longer stay at Disney. Yet lots of people constantly think Universal is the better value. I just don’t see it

I don't think you're really doing a fair comparison. You should compare "apples to apples". Same number of nights at hotel, same number of days in the park ticket-wise. You get higher discounts per room at a universal hotel the more nights you stay. Tickets are also cheaper per day the more days you get.

I did a quick random comparison:

7 nights, May 1 - 8, 2 adults, 2 kids aged 11 and 14:

Disney Animal Kingdon, Savanna View room. 5 day park tickets:
- $5822 (with no park hopper)
- $6184.54 (with park hopper)

Universal Portofino Bay (highest class resort at Universal, and it also comes with free Express Pass). Garden View Room. 5 day Park Hopper tickets
- $3939.42

As for rides in a timely manner, you definitely don't need to stay at premier necessarily and have EP to ride in a timely manner. Universal is not always rammed like Disney (that has no low period anymore). Below is a compare I did for a couple of the most popular rides in the middle of Feb. The comparison isn't even close. Disney's top rides are always 60min+ or much more, regardless of when you go.


And even with FP, for some of the most super popular rides you have to be lucky enough to even score an FP. Or you have to make the choice of one over another in the tier'ed FP parks and bite the bullet for a huge wait for the others.

 

[acarsme123]

But at Disney you don’t have to stay at a deluxe resort to get the benefit of the Fast Passes. So I can save money by being at a value or moderate resort. And if you are there for rope drop, plus fast passes, plus a decent length of stay you have no problem usually getting on everything. Now, with Disney adding so many new top tier attractions in the next year or so, you’ll probably need 1.5 weeks minimum stay to get on everything. That’s my worry. Their FastPass system may definitely have to be re-worked.

 

[TommyJK]

But at Disney you don’t have to stay at a deluxe resort to get the benefit of the Fast Passes. So I can save money by being at a value or moderate resort. And if you are there for rope drop, plus fast passes, plus a decent length of stay you have no problem usually getting on everything. Now, with Disney adding so many new top tier attractions in the next year or so, you’ll probably need 1.5 weeks minimum stay to get on everything. That’s my worry. Their FastPass system may definitely have to be re-worked.

I'd make the argument that you don't need EP at all at Universal to be able to do everything with similar strategies of rope drop and decent length of stay, and you can stay at one of Universal's cheaper resorts (Endless Summer, Cabana Bay, Aventura etc.) that comes with early entry.

Even still, from a cost perspective, you could stay at the lowest cost hotel that provides Express Pass (Royal Pacific) and the total cost with resort and tickets (provided you're staying the same # of nights and have the same number of park day tickets) and the costs per day are still really close to one another vs a Disney Value resort, but you're staying at a higher class hotel and have the equivalent of unlimited FP+ for all rides (not just 3 and a hope to maybe get more for decent rides, or tiered).

Again, it comes down to comparing apples to apples to make a fair comparison.

 

[tony67]

The one thing that also needs to be priced in - the amount of work that planning a Disney vacation takes.
Booking rides and meals months in advance, and you may not even get a FP to the ride you want to you have to keep checking back and make changes.
I book a Universal trip with express pass and that about all I have to do.
If I have to cancel the trip for some reason, like the current events, I dont loose six months worth of planning efforts.

The just showing up and having a vacation is exactly why I dont go to Disney anymore, the amount of planning is ridiculous.

 

[bchbetha]

Express passes and fast passes are just very, very different. How much would you pay for unlimited fast passes that you didn’t even have to prebook? I can’t be even imagine how much Disney would charge for such a thing.

 

[TommyJK]

The one thing that also needs to be priced in - the amount of work that planning a Disney vacation takes.
Booking rides and meals months in advance, and you may not even get a FP to the ride you want to you have to keep checking back and make changes.
I book a Universal trip with express pass and that about all I have to do.
If I have to cancel the trip for some reason, like the current events, I dont loose six months worth of planning efforts.

The just showing up and having a vacation is exactly why I dont go to Disney anymore, the amount of planning is ridiculous.

While I still love Disney (we have been 3 times in the last 5 years, twice to WDW and once to DL Paris), and I don't mind the planning it takes (I'm a project manager so I love sitting down with my spreadsheets and creating my own touring plans), I can't imagine how disappointing a visit some must have that don't know about the intricate planning that is needed to best maximize a visit.

Imagine if you didn't know the ins and outs of FP+ planning (and pretty much needing to stay on site to book 60 days out as opposed to 30 days out), staying off-site to save money, not meticulously planning a rope drop strategy + touring plan scheduled around you're pre-booked FP+'s etc. and then just show up to the parks just looking to have a good time, only to be hit with 60-120 min waits for every decent attraction. I'd come away being very disappointed.

 

[ScooterScott44]

First disclaimer - I understand this is a Disney centric board and we have been AP holders at WDW for the past 15 years plus (and DL some years).

The comparison on the FP+ and UEP for the resorts are not really fair. They are not the same and the impacts are not the same. If someone perceives that the FP+ system is better because it is “free”, I doubt anyone will change their mind. Partially because Disney has lead them to believe it and partly because they are clouded by the fact that is is Disney.

We did a recent trip to stay for a few days at both universal and Disney this month (sorry February so last month). Both with AP but we looked at costs of everything beforehand. Costs were not that different so focusing on the FP and UEP aspect.

At Universal, since we were new to them, we tried just about everything at least once and a few things multiple times at both parks over 3 days. We could have done it without the UEP but it helped as we were able to play around a lot more, especially doing spells in the WWHP. Things always seemed to move in the queues and expect on the busy day (weekend/holiday) waits even for the standby were usually never more than 20-60 minutes. Except for Hagrid’s, LOL!

While at WDW, since we didn’t plan much ahead, we really only could get a few FP and nothing that was really interesting. We skipped a lot of things regular and FP since we have “been there and done that”. Sorry but everything was really too long of a wait and “no thank you” to waiting 30 minutes for Muppets 3D and the Tomorrowland People Mover. Sure we like them but not for that time investment. Expect for Smugglers Run all of our FP waits were as long or longer than the UEP waits. So as Disney crams more people into the free FP line the waits are getting longer for but regular and FP queues. When you combine the time to stalk the app and try and get good FP it becomes less user friendly. Not really much return for investment on the FP.