Tips/Observations from a Disney vet/Universal newbie

[Magical2017]

Your comment is similar to a lot I've seen about Universal being cheaper than Disney. This is not the case for the trip I just booked for our family next year. We are going in May and the tickets per-day are more expensive at Universal. The hotel was less, but may be equal if we are able to get a room discount for our Disney hotel. Have the prices gone up recently, and so opinions are from past experiences when this was true?

Our upcoming trip is more expensive than in the past. Memorial Day of 2021 we paid in the $200s for Portofino Bay with an AP discount. That was back when people were not traveling quite as much. The rate has doubled for us so it is a bit more than a moderate but less than a Disney deluxe. Since the premiere hotels come with Express Pass, I still consider it a good deal. However, we can get a suite at Cabana Bay for in the $100s (no express passes unless we pay separately, of course). I think the values at Disney are more than that, but have not priced a Disney trip in four years.

 

[bluedolphin32]

Wow...I'm pretty shocked about that. I just priced Universal for the Ides of March and got $213 for a 4 day ticket ($256 for Park to Park)...WDW was $496 ($575 for Park Hopper)

Well, it could be because we're only doing 2 day park-to-park tickets at Universal and we're doing 4 day park hoppers at Disney. I know the more days you stay the lower the price is per day. But also with the way they bundle all the pricing I sometimes have a hard time breaking down the price per day. I wish they made it easier to see things like that. I know they like to sell you a bundle, but I would like to see detailed, itemized breakdowns per day instead of the grand total.

We decided on a Premier hotel for the free EPs since that's a great deal for a family of 5. That seemed to be an obvious choice.

 

[vedamathews01]

Well, it could be because we're only doing 2 day park-to-park tickets at Universal and we're doing 4 day park hoppers at Disney. I know the more days you stay the lower the price is per day. But also with the way they bundle all the pricing I sometimes have a hard time breaking down the price per day. I wish they made it easier to see things like that. I know they like to sell you a bundle, but I would like to see detailed, itemized breakdowns per day instead of the grand total.

We decided on a Premier hotel for the free EPs since that's a great deal for a family of 5. That seemed to be an obvious choice.

Ah...that is the problem. I've never bought tickets from Disney...always another site (not sure of the rules here so don't want to name them directly). But that site is what I used to price the tickets.

It's extremely obvious what you are buying.

But to be clear, the prices I quoted were total for 4 days...so while the pppd is approx $50 for Universal and $125 for WDW, even going for 2 days the pppd should be cheaper at Universal.

When I went to Universal I did buy directly from them, but I got a super covid deal. If I were to return, I'd buy from another site.

 

[bluedolphin32]

I went back and checked the prices for our dates, and I must have read something wrong last time I looked because they are actually pretty close in price. I thought I had seen $184 for UOR but it's actually $135 for our dates. We are booking our trip through a TA, so tickets are being purchased directly. I think for future trips I may book everything myself and save some money. In looking at it in the past, for the savings booking myself vs a TA, it wasn't a significant savings for us. Plus, I like using a TA to help book dining and watch for room discounts for us, so for a little bit more, I don't mind letting our TA provide that service for us.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

As someone who loves Universal parks and city walk but had a horrible experience in their resort (but willing to try again) I agreed with a large chunk of this list. The only thing I would disagree with is the lines. I never have had an issue with lines and merge points in UOR. Then again it’s been a year so things could have changed.