Too expensive for this family!

[calliemom]

We are headed to Orlando in October 2011 and thought this time we would try to leave the Disney parks. One day is all we were hoping for (to see WWOHP) but after checking the price for one days admission I'm afraid we're going to have to pass. Over $360 for 2 adults and a 12 year old seems a little crazy!!!!! Is there anywhere I can get discounted tickets?

 

[Metro West]

We are headed to Orlando in October 2011 and thought this time we would try to leave the Disney parks. One day is all we were hoping for (to see WWOHP) but after checking the price for one days admission I'm afraid we're going to have to pass. Over $360 for 2 adults and a 12 year old seems a little crazy!!!!! Is there anywhere I can get discounted tickets?

I remember quite a few people on the boards talking about Maple Leaf tickets or something like that. They offer discount tickets.

 

[francie57]

Undercover tourist has a 1 day 1 park ticket that would be $260 for 3 adult tickets with free shipping (taxes included). Universal's site has a 1 day 1 park ticket for $82/day plus taxes and shipping. AAA offers a discount on Universal tickets but I don't know if they offer 1 day tickets since we always get the 2 day/2 park ones. Not sure if you want to visit both parks in the one day but that would increase the cost of your tickets since they are more.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

No offense, but I find the fact that you find WDW affordable and Uni too expensive pretty funny.

 

[rcraw45425]

No offense, but I find the fact that you find WDW affordable and Uni too expensive pretty funny.

I have to agree! Nothing is cheap anymore!

 

[calliemom]

No offense, but I find the fact that you find WDW affordable and Uni too expensive pretty funny.

No offense taken! It's just that we are big disney fans and usually buy a 7 day pass which as you know makes the cost of visiting the park much more affordable. I'm sure the case is the same if we were planning on spending more days at Universal. As it stands we really only wanted to see WWOHP.

Thank you Franci57 &Metro West! I will definitely check out these other options to see if we can make this visit to Universal possible.

 

[damo]

If you've got Air Miles, they offer passes as well.

 

[Bradsdadg]

It definitely is expensive going on vacation!! I think of it as something we do for a week out of the year, and in the case of Universal, a day out of the year. So we go for it anyway. How often do you go to Disney? If you go every year, maybe you could get an annual pass and just push your dates back by a few days or a week and then save some money on passes that way?

 

[ChisJo]

If you have aeroplan, you can get discounts there too. I believe its 10,500 for a one day/one park pass for an adult.

 

[McIntoshTx]

We are headed to Orlando in October 2011 and thought this time we would try to leave the Disney parks. One day is all we were hoping for (to see WWOHP) but after checking the price for one days admission I'm afraid we're going to have to pass. Over $360 for 2 adults and a 12 year old seems a little crazy!!!!! Is there anywhere I can get discounted tickets?

WWOHP is very nice but so is the rest of the park, I would scrimp and save to get the money if needed as I think you would enjoy 1 less day at Disney for 1 day at Universal.

 

[Lucky4me]

I never thought we could enjoy Universal as much as Disney. I was so wrong. This last trip we spent 4 days at Universal- 2 at Disney and had a blast!
I also can't imagine going there with kids and only doing wwohp. It's such a small area. If it's not crowded you can do it all and do several rides repeatedly in a couple of hours.
I think if you do decide to go, keep an open mind. Take Disney out of the picture and just enjoy Universal for what it is. You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[stpetedisneydad]

It looks like you priced 1 day 2 park access tickets which have a price of $112 plus tax. If you really only want to do WWOHP then you only need a 1 day 1 park ticket which has a price of $82 plus tax.

3 adult tickets with tax comes to $268.44. A little over $90 cheaper than what you thought.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I never thought we could enjoy Universal as much as Disney. I was so wrong. This last trip we spent 4 days at Universal- 2 at Disney and had a blast!
I also can't imagine going there with kids and only doing wwohp. It's such a small area. If it's not crowded you can do it all and do several rides repeatedly in a couple of hours.
I think if you do decide to go, keep an open mind. Take Disney out of the picture and just enjoy Universal for what it is. You may be pleasantly surprised.

What a great post and right on target.

So often people visit Uni with WDW on their mind. This isn't a good way to travel, IMO. When you visit SF are you constantly comparing it to NYC. No. When you visit the Grand Canyon do you constantly compare it to Yellowstone? No. It shouldn't be done here either as similarities and differences will arise anyway, which is OK. But the "I Love everything Disney more than life itself but I'll look at UNI with an open mind" attitude is hogwash. Note: This pontification IS NOT intended for the OP in the least (she has stated her open mindedness, IMO) but only as a general statement regarding 'Disney people' going to Uni.

 

[Minniemouse07]

We are headed to Orlando in October 2011 and thought this time we would try to leave the Disney parks. One day is all we were hoping for (to see WWOHP) but after checking the price for one days admission I'm afraid we're going to have to pass. Over $360 for 2 adults and a 12 year old seems a little crazy!!!!! Is there anywhere I can get discounted tickets?

We are also passing during our trip next summer. We originally planned to but after looking at the prices as well as the ride heights we decided to push it off until a later trip when our 5yo ds is taller and can go on more rides.

It makes more sense financially to add another day at WDW than to lay out a lot more $$ for one day at Universal where ds won't be able to ride all that much.

 

[GingerJay]

Before our trip this year, I seriously debated taking Universal/IOA out of my plans and I am so glad that I didn't. Even though it added almost $500 to my trip budget (family of 5 and stayed onsite) it was definitely worth it! The rides are amazing and the park (especially IOA) are beautiful. If you can swing it, definitely go..you will not regret it

 

[Planogirl]

What a great post and right on target.

So often people visit Uni with WDW on their mind. This isn't a good way to travel, IMO. When you visit SF are you constantly comparing it to NYC. No. When you visit the Grand Canyon do you constantly compare it to Yellowstone? No. It shouldn't be done here either as similarities and differences will arise anyway, which is OK. But the "I Love everything Disney more than life itself but I'll look at UNI with an open mind" attitude is hogwash. Note: This pontification IS NOT intended for the OP in the least (she has stated her open mindedness, IMO) but only as a general statement regarding 'Disney people' going to Uni.

Speaking of great posts....

I couldn't agree more. Life is so much more fun IMO if you try to enjoy everything and anything and accept things for what they are. No, Universal isn't Disney but why should it be?

Good luck finding better prices OP!

 

[Brit_Jude]

What a great post and right on target.

So often people visit Uni with WDW on their mind. This isn't a good way to travel, IMO. When you visit SF are you constantly comparing it to NYC. No. When you visit the Grand Canyon do you constantly compare it to Yellowstone? No. It shouldn't be done here either as similarities and differences will arise anyway, which is OK. But the "I Love everything Disney more than life itself but I'll look at UNI with an open mind" attitude is hogwash. Note: This pontification IS NOT intended for the OP in the least (she has stated her open mindedness, IMO) but only as a general statement regarding 'Disney people' going to Uni.

 

[ChisJo]

I'll be the first to admit that I had my Disney blinders on the first time I went to Universal. I was negative, critical, and downright miserable to go to Universal. I went to Orlando to go to Disney...plain and simple. It didn't help that I went to Universal at the end of 2 weeks, hadn't explored any discounts on anything, wasn't staying onsite, and was exhausted from our Disney days.

However, on my next trip, I explored going to Universal and IOA again. I checked their website and got a pass for $99 for 7 days/2parks. I got a GREAT deal on a Universal property hotel (entertainment rate, however, they don't do this anymore), and used my AAA card for discounts within the park. It ended up being the best part of my trip, and it was FAR cheaper than any Disney trip I have been on. I absolutely loved it and am now hooked. Coincidentally, the last 2 times I have been down in Orlando, I haven't gone to WDW because of how expensive I thought WDW was compared to USO.

Its the same thing with Disney....if you do your homework, and you look for deals, and you pay attention to these boards, you will find a good deal, and guaranteed, it will be cheaper. However, if you only took one day to do Disney, booked one night in their hotels, bought only a one day pass, and ate in their parks, it would be just as expensive, if not more.

 

[BarbWB]

I'm a big Disney fan, but I after our first trip to Universal last month, I have to tell you that Universal is wayyyyyy, wayyyy, wayyy, better with older kids. Disney will be a side-trip for us now that our kids are older. Prices are no higher for on-property equivalent comparisons.

 

[Albytaps]

If going to WDW for several days, it's much cheaper to go an extra day to a WDW park than to buy a 1 day ticket to UO... and vice versa. I would love to mix my trips with both WDW and UO but it just doesn't make sense to me.