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

[Tormania]

When we were planning our stay for Universal for our upcoming trip I was also a bit surprised at the prices when compared to WDW. But as I dug more into what I was getting I was able to swallow the costs a bit easier. We're staying 2 nights at RP and the rate was $409/night (before taxes) and we are doing the parks for 3 days and that ticket was $309/each through UT. Compared to our rented DVC points at AKL for the 2nd part of our trip at under $250/night and an 8-day PH for $560/each (also through UT) it did seem higher than expected for USO. But we opted to stay at RP and take advantage of the free Unlimited Express Pass partially because we are doing USO over the Thanksgiving holiday and feel pretty confident the crowds will justify this decision.

 

[1911]

8 nights at POP with 6 day non hopper tickets during the last room promo for our dates was 2900 and change this year. 8 nights at cabana bay with seasonal passes for the same dates was just a tick over 2000. quite a bit different.

 

[macraven]

Tormania
Prices around holiday periods and weekends, always carry a high price no matter where you stay

I just looked at rates for pop century at Disney
For the week prior to turkey day, rates are

$172-187-210

and
Nov 21-27 at $235 a night

add tax to get total cost

 

[lilsonicfan]

We are doing a week at Disney and a week at Universal. Universal is WAY cheaper when you look at it over the same timeframe. We could stay at RPH for $217/night, that is one of the top hotels at Universal, in Disney we are at CBR for min $295/night, more because we have “free” dining. An AP at Universal is like $305 (seasonal). Park hoppers at Disney are more. And express pass is so much better than FP. You can literally jump the line at almost every ride, multiple times if you want. I love both parks, but the convenience of Express pass beats disney every time.

 

[Squidgyness]

I agree with lilsonicfan. Without touching on park tickets (as I feel that depends on how long you want to go for, and on where you are based) I personally think that Universal hotels in particular offer superb value compared to their Disney equivalents, especially without special offers. Offers like "free" dining can offset the difference somewhat it's true, but I still think dollar for dollar (or £ for £ in my case) Universal offers a better hotel experience compared to their Disney rivals... provided you compare apples to apples. I see far too many people on Tripadvisor comparing Cabana Bay to a savannah room at AKL, or RPR to the Grand Floridian. For some reason people seem to forget the fact that the direct rival for RPR (price wise) is more likely to be a moderate, and in that case IMO (and it is an opinion I grant you) RPR blows away any Disney moderate.

With regards to EP there's really no loss from it. Either you don't get it and stay in one of the still very nice and very cheap Universal hotels that don't offer it, in which case provided you go at appropriate times it won't really affect you to not get it, OR you pay for an EP hotel and you get absolutely superb access to rides throughout the parks. Visiting Universal in 2017 we honestly felt conflicted about EP - it was lovely to use but not essential in the way FP+ can be for WDW. So much so that in 2018 we booked sapphire falls without EP, but got bumped to RPR and had a blast. For us that solidified the fact that we love the EP benefits so we've booked there again, but I definitely wouldn't feel in anyway crippled if we didn't have it. Compare that to Disney where were it not for savvy planning and a fair sprinkle of luck some of our days would have been nowhere near as good as we were unable to access FP+ 60 days out.

But of course, it's all based on how long you want to go and touring styles. Everyone is different. We go for 14 days, stay entirely onsite at RPR but visit both WDW and Universal for example. Not many people do the same I think.

 

[damo]

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?

Yes there is a way to do this cheaper. If you purchase one annual pass (the lowest pass is not that much more than a 2 day ticket) you then qualify for annual pass rates which are often at least $100/night less than normal rates.

You can check for Annual Pass rates using the link I am posting at the bottom of this post. You only have to enter your dates and if a rate is available it will come up. Experiment by using different dates during different months to get the hang of it.

Annual Pass rates at all the hotels