I mentioned a little while ago that while planning my Orlando trip over Spring Break, that I thought UOR was coming out as more expensive than Disney. I just did the math, and I was right. For WDW this is staying at CSR (no discount), booked tickets through my conference, maximizing Genie+ and ILL. For UOR I have two options - staying at RSR one night and Adventura the 2nd, and booking tickets through my conferece, and 2nd - staying Adventura two nights, buying the one ride express pass for two days, and booking tickets through my conference.
There is quite the premium on UOR during the high season. Iāll keep track of prices as hotel deals come out. I did not include fancy cost savings like buying my UOR tickets through Rakuten on Trip Advisor (I am going to save 20%) becuase that is an advanced hack and not the point.
This result doesnāt surprise me. On a per-day basis, UOR is always more expensive for me because I try to cram everything into those 2-3 days. UOR discounts much more aggressively for adding on additional days, so I would guess a 5-7 day UOR trip would come out under Disney. And you would probably be best off getting a Seasonal Pass or something and be able to come back again that year.
The other piece is really the premium for express pass. Also, Disney convention tickets are not date based (making them a steal at spring break), whereas Universal has no convention discount.
You should be looking at Annual Passes through UOR, depending on your dates. You can often save money. Parking is included on the upper two tiers (preferred and premier), and parking is 50% for the Power pass.
Because I am going over spring break I will have to buy a higher tier of pass and often the hotels are blacked out for those weeks. As soon as any deals come out for March, I will definitely be considering that.
My biggest point really is that if I were random person, going to my conference and wanting to add on 2-3 days, in the high season Universal is not cheaper - if you want to tale advantage of line skipping options.
Iāll go back and add an extra park day, since most people would do.2 nights three day, and see without line skipping.
Thank you for sharing. We are having breakfast with the Grinch for the first time this year. I saw a few videos and I am disappointed with the changes. For the price, the food is lacking and the entire experience looks so different. I donāt like that the Grinch isnāt visiting tables and it looks like they put minimal effort towards decorating. I know it will still be fun but not thrilled with the changes.
I watched VincentVision on YT. He and his wife videoed the experience. The food looks the same, but itās not as āwhimsicalā inside Confisco Grill as Circus McGurkus.
Overall, they were happy with it. Youāll have to wait in a 2 - 3 hour queue (as they saw that day) to meet The Grinch otherwiseā¦
Iām still trying to go into it being positive, but I am sad that itās different than last year. Iām going to try & keep an open mind
Did any characters stop at the table in the video? I am taking two first timers and I havenāt been since precovid (2019) but this looks very different to me. My family wonāt know any difference. Not giving a free photo does not make sense. That really seems unusual for Universal.
Yesā¦ The restaurant is filled with Whos and residents of Whoville
All the photo pass stuff at Universal is done via 3rd party. Iām guessing they decided to be ācheapā and not pay for those photographers and such.
That is for Thursday and Friday March 28 and 29th. Let me recaluculate adding one more ticket day, as most people would do two nights and 3 park days. (We are saving $1000 on flights leaving earlier)
I donāt think any Liners are there now, but just in caseā¦
Volcano Bay will be closed on Thursday, November 23, and Friday, November 24, due to inclement weather. For park updates, please call 407-817-8317 or stay tuned to Universal Orlandoās social channels.
