The Problem with Universal Studios

[higgipoker]

First apologies for what is basically just a frustrated rant, but I must vent!

For a bit of context, since we are coming from Europe a trip to Disney is a pretty major event. I was lucky enough to go a few times as a kid some 30 years ago and just had the most awesome memories of those vacations.

So I took my girlfriend in 2017 and 2018 and even as an adult it was everything I remembered and more. She also fell in love with Disney and the whole experience that is a Disney vacation. We got married in 2020 and of course we booked Disney for our honeymoon, which was then postponed twice for obvious reasons. We are finally getting to go this summer (touch wood) and CAN'T WAIT!

So... Universal... as a kid you don't really differentiate between Disney and Universal, the memories all kind of merge into one... we couldn't come all the way from Europe and not do a day at Universal. It also did not disappoint. Absolutely fantastic. I love the thrill rides (the wife not so much), Harry Potter land is just breathtaking and I'm a sucker for anything Jurassic Park!

Anyway, on our second visit in 2018 we had horrid luck with long lines and rides breaking down. When you only have one day at the park it can be a huge bummer. We got to the park at opening and managed to ride just one attraction before lunch (Spider Man 45 min without riding because the attraction broke down, then the same at Forbidden Journey after over an hour in line, even the train thing in Suess land broke down after a 30 minute wait) and then for much of the rest of the day the outdoor thrill rides were closed due to "inclement weather" with hardly a cloud in the sky!

This makes Universal a really hard sell for us, especially since my wife really doesn't enjoy it as much as I do and she just doesn't think the attractions are worth the wait times in comparison with Disney.

So, this year to make it a bit more palatable I wanted to just splash out (hey, honeymoon!) and get the Universal version of the fast pass...

Boy was I shocked.

One day at Universal is going to cost $800! Now we are not skinflints by any means but given the possibility of having one unlucky day and the fact that my wife just isn't into the park that much, it's a really hard sell this year and looks like I'm going to miss out on all the thrill ride potter simpsons dinosaur goodness

Come on Universal $320 for a pair of fast passes for ONE DAY is a big ask!

Honestly I'm still considering just biting the bullet, but the wife WILL NOT be happy, just as a matter of principle. She already feels you get way more for your money at Disney and would rather have a day shopping at springs than drop $800 for a day at Universal!

Ok rant over. Roll on summer 2022!

 

[FeelsSoGoodToBeBad]

First apologies for what is basically just a frustrated rant, but I must vent!

For a bit of context, since we are coming from Europe a trip to Disney is a pretty major event. I was lucky enough to go a few times as a kid some 30 years ago and just had the most awesome memories of those vacations.

So I took my girlfriend in 2017 and 2018 and even as an adult it was everything I remembered and more. She also fell in love with Disney and the whole experience that is a Disney vacation. We got married in 2020 and of course we booked Disney for our honeymoon, which was then postponed twice for obvious reasons. We are finally getting to go this summer (touch wood) and CAN'T WAIT!

So... Universal... as a kid you don't really differentiate between Disney and Universal, the memories all kind of merge into one... we couldn't come all the way from Europe and not do a day at Universal. It also did not disappoint. Absolutely fantastic. I love the thrill rides (the wife not so much), Harry Potter land is just breathtaking and I'm a sucker for anything Jurassic Park!

Anyway, on our second visit in 2018 we had horrid luck with long lines and rides breaking down. When you only have one day at the park it can be a huge bummer. We got to the park at opening and managed to ride just one attraction before lunch (Spider Man 45 min without riding because the attraction broke down, then the same at Forbidden Journey after over an hour in line, even the train thing in Suess land broke down after a 30 minute wait) and then for much of the rest of the day the outdoor thrill rides were closed due to "inclement weather" with hardly a cloud in the sky!

This makes Universal a really hard sell for us, especially since my wife really doesn't enjoy it as much as I do and she just doesn't think the attractions are worth the wait times in comparison with Disney.

So, this year to make it a bit more palatable I wanted to just splash out (hey, honeymoon!) and get the Universal version of the fast pass...

Boy was I shocked.

One day at Universal is going to cost $800! Now we are not skinflints by any means but given the possibility of having one unlucky day and the fact that my wife just isn't into the park that much, it's a really hard sell this year and looks like I'm going to miss out on all the thrill ride potter simpsons dinosaur goodness

Come on Universal $320 for a pair of fast passes for ONE DAY is a big ask!

Honestly I'm still considering just biting the bullet, but the wife WILL NOT be happy, just as a matter of principle. She already feels you get way more for your money at Disney and would rather have a day shopping at springs than drop $800 for a day at Universal!

Ok rant over. Roll on summer 2022!

Congrats on the marriage! So glad you're FINALLY getting to take that honeymoon!

I agree that the price for the EP at UO is VERY high, but there are a few options, if you're open to it. I'll preface this with "I haven't done the math".

First option is to book one of UO's Premier hotels (even if you don't plan actually sleeping in it). This would net included UEP for the two of you for the day of "arrival" and "departure". Note that this doesn't include the ticket itself, so you're still in for that cost.

The other, likely far less desirable option given it is your honeymoon trip, is that you go by yourself to spend a day at UO and your lovely wife gets a day to go shopping on her own, guilt-free, using the money you would have otherwise spent on her ticket to UO with the EP, food, and whatever else you're taking into consideration for that visit.

Whatever you decide, I hope you have an amazingly magical trip!

 

[higgipoker]

Congrats on the marriage! So glad you're FINALLY getting to take that honeymoon!

I agree that the price for the EP at UO is VERY high, but there are a few options, if you're open to it. I'll preface this with "I haven't done the math".

First option is to book one of UO's Premier hotels (even if you don't plan actually sleeping in it). This would net included UEP for the two of you for the day of "arrival" and "departure". Note that this doesn't include the ticket itself, so you're still in for that cost.

The other, likely far less desirable option given it is your honeymoon trip, is that you go by yourself to spend a day at UO and your lovely wife gets a day to go shopping on her own, guilt-free, using the money you would have otherwise spent on her ticket to UO with the EP, food, and whatever else you're taking into consideration for that visit.

Whatever you decide, I hope you have an amazingly magical trip!

Thank you! And thanks for the suggestions. Will certainly look into it. I think the tipping point is the bad experience we had last time out (first visit wasn't all plain sailing either). With Disney when something doesn't work out because of weather or a malfunction or whatever, oh well, there's always another day. Universal not so. If everything doesn't go smoothly on your one day then it really leaves a bad taste. And there's just not enough at Universal to justify a milti-day visit for us.

Were I more convinced of a hitch-free day at Universal then I'd be pushing for it a bit more, unfortunately due to past experiences they just don't fill me with confidence.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

I do think it's a little unfair to paint Uni in such a bad light. Yes you have had a bad experience in the parks with malfunctions and queues but you could easily have the same problem ( and many have reported having them ) at Disney. Things go wrong and no theme park can predict it. That being said I hope you have a great time overall and UNI is a completely different experience for you.

 

[higgipoker]

I do think it's a little unfair to paint Uni in such a bad light. Yes you have had a bad experience in the parks with malfunctions and queues but you could easily have the same problem ( and many have reported having them ) at Disney. Things go wrong and no theme park can predict it. That being said I hope you have a great time overall and UNI is a completely different experience for you.

Yes fair point, completely agree. We are definitely Disney biased and I make no bones about it. The same would absolutely be true in reverse were we doing a 2 week Universal stay with one day at Disney!

That's the point really, Disney has the pull to make us drop $$$$'s for a vacation from Europe whereas we wouldn't be doing it just for Universal. It's just a shame that the cost/risk is a little too prohibitive for a day "bonus" at Universal... I don't mean to sound too negative about Universal, clearly I love those parks too!

So yeah, it is a self-serving rant, specific to our situation.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Express pass has always been pricey…but it works in that it is limited supply. It’s just the trade off you make there.

I can only say it’s far superior to whatever miserable excuse Disney is selling these days: paid vs “free” brings all the park flaws out into the open.

the best way to go to universal is still to pay the fee to stay in one of the 3 hotels where express pass is included. Pricey…but you kill two birds with one stone.

welcome back.

 

[higgipoker]

Express pass has always been pricey…but it works in that it is limited supply. It’s just the trade off you make there.

I can only say it’s far superior to whatever miserable excuse Disney is selling these days: paid vs “free” brings all the park flaws out into the open.

the best way to go to universal is still to pay the fee to stay in one of the 3 hotels where express pass is included. Pricey…but you kill two birds with one stone.

welcome back.

Yeah I guess if we were more into Universal, that's exactly what we'd do. Take a Universal hotel for a few days and spread out the visit

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Yeah I guess if we were more into Universal, that's exactly what we'd do. Take a Universal hotel for a few days and spread out the visit

You only really “need” it for one night…that would give you two days of express and you could enjoy the parks a little more casually. It’s only 8 or so miles up the road.

reports are Disney is “not really fun at all” these days…they are short staffed and kinda sticking it to the paying customers testing out schemes.

it’s still gonna be what it always was - because much better people built it from the 1960’s -2000…but you may not want to give it “weeks”.

just a thought.

 

[Figgy1]

You only really “need” it for one night…that would give you two days of express and you could enjoy the parks a little more casually. It’s only 8 or so miles up the road.

reports are Disney is “not really fun at all” these days…they are short staffed and kinda sticking it to the paying customers testing out schemes.

it’s still gonna be what it always was - because much better people built it from the 1960’s -2000…but you may not want to give it “weeks”.

just a thought.

IMHO with no more ME start at UNI. For a honeymoon I suggest Portofino or Royal Pacific IMHO I'd do 2 nights which would give you 3 days to get adjusted to the time change with 2 or 3 park days with express pass. How long are you going to be in Orlando?

 

[higgipoker]

IMHO with no more ME start at UNI. For a honeymoon I suggest Portofino or Royal Pacific IMHO I'd do 2 nights which would give you 3 days to get adjusted to the time change with 2 or 3 park days with express pass. How long are you going to be in Orlando?

We're 14 nights on-site at Disney. We have considered a couple of nights either at the start or end of our trip in a Universal hotel but to be honest the better half just isn't that into it.

We normally do one day Universal mid-trip to scratch my thrill ride itch and my wife "tags along" more than anything. I practically had to bribe her for a Universal day last time and that turned out to be a total disaster, so it's a REALLY hard sell this time round!

 

[drizgirl]

First off, Disney has plenty of bad days where lots of rides go down and the experience is less than stellar.

If you want to do Universal, tack one night on at the beginning or end of your trip. That will give you Express Pass for arrival day and the next. We tacked on 2 nights and got 3 days of Express Pass.

Not sure when your last visit was, but if you like Harry Potter and Jurassic Park, things have stepped up a bit since then with the addition of Velocicoaster and Hagrid's Motor Bikes.

 

[drizgirl]

IMHO with no more ME start at UNI. For a honeymoon I suggest Portofino or Royal Pacific IMHO I'd do 2 nights which would give you 3 days to get adjusted to the time change with 2 or 3 park days with express pass. How long are you going to be in Orlando?

I'll be honest, that was a consideration for us and got us to take the plunge and try Universal again. Just as easy to Uber to Universal upon arrival as it is to Uber to Disney.

 

[Figgy1]

We're 14 nights on-site at Disney. We have considered a couple of nights either at the start or end of our trip in a Universal hotel but to be honest the better half just isn't that into it.

We normally do one day Universal mid-trip to scratch my thrill ride itch and my wife "tags along" more than anything. I practically had to bribe her for a Universal day last time and that turned out to be a total disaster, so it's a REALLY hard sell this time round!

With the demise of ME I still suggest a night at UNI to adjust to the time change to save money on the first night.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

With the demise of ME I still suggest a night at UNI to adjust to the time change to save money on the first night.

The three express pass hotels aren’t cheap…so saving is relative

but of course neither is anything on Disney property

the problem here is we’re talking British travel packages…which are the last of a dying breed…enjoy those while they last

 

[dovetail65]

First apologies for what is basically just a frustrated rant, but I must vent!

For a bit of context, since we are coming from Europe a trip to Disney is a pretty major event. I was lucky enough to go a few times as a kid some 30 years ago and just had the most awesome memories of those vacations.

So I took my girlfriend in 2017 and 2018 and even as an adult it was everything I remembered and more. She also fell in love with Disney and the whole experience that is a Disney vacation. We got married in 2020 and of course we booked Disney for our honeymoon, which was then postponed twice for obvious reasons. We are finally getting to go this summer (touch wood) and CAN'T WAIT!

So... Universal... as a kid you don't really differentiate between Disney and Universal, the memories all kind of merge into one... we couldn't come all the way from Europe and not do a day at Universal. It also did not disappoint. Absolutely fantastic. I love the thrill rides (the wife not so much), Harry Potter land is just breathtaking and I'm a sucker for anything Jurassic Park!

Anyway, on our second visit in 2018 we had horrid luck with long lines and rides breaking down. When you only have one day at the park it can be a huge bummer. We got to the park at opening and managed to ride just one attraction before lunch (Spider Man 45 min without riding because the attraction broke down, then the same at Forbidden Journey after over an hour in line, even the train thing in Suess land broke down after a 30 minute wait) and then for much of the rest of the day the outdoor thrill rides were closed due to "inclement weather" with hardly a cloud in the sky!

This makes Universal a really hard sell for us, especially since my wife really doesn't enjoy it as much as I do and she just doesn't think the attractions are worth the wait times in comparison with Disney.

So, this year to make it a bit more palatable I wanted to just splash out (hey, honeymoon!) and get the Universal version of the fast pass...

Boy was I shocked.

One day at Universal is going to cost $800! Now we are not skinflints by any means but given the possibility of having one unlucky day and the fact that my wife just isn't into the park that much, it's a really hard sell this year and looks like I'm going to miss out on all the thrill ride potter simpsons dinosaur goodness

Come on Universal $320 for a pair of fast passes for ONE DAY is a big ask!

Honestly I'm still considering just biting the bullet, but the wife WILL NOT be happy, just as a matter of principle. She already feels you get way more adn for your money at Disney and would rather have a day shopping at springs than drop $800 for a day at Universal!

Ok rant over. Roll on summer 2022!

This is why in the past we used to get Annual Passes (even living out of state). The cost right now at Universal for the best Premier AP is 599.00 plus tax for 365 days a year. It includes fast pass after 4 PM(once each ride per day), plus free valet parking(normally 45 a day), a free night at Halloween Horror night and more perks. Two Premier AP cost about 1250.00, but now we could go any number of days over a year. Even living out of state it was better for us than a daily pass and paying for the FP.

The best thing about Universal is you will not all of a sudden find out you can not get into a park while having an ADR reservation that took 20 days of effort to get and is non refundable!

It is outrageous, this park pass system has to go and Disney need hire the 10 thousand employees they are short that is closing these Parks. Once again people saying how busy it is, but even yesterday we had no issues paying to ride. Even hotel guests nor single day ticket buyers can get in the parks the next 4 days, outrageous. In 50 years they closed all 4 parks to all guests less than 10 times so how can this be? It is lack of manpower.

Be careful, you may drop that 15 thousand to find you can not get in the parks. 5 days is just not enough Park passes for people that do a lot of things like us. If you get a hotel you best pre plan everyday and not forget to make park reservations for every single day and if you have more events and ADR than that only crossing your fingers can help. If you do have more than 5 things planned even if you get that hotel 6 months ahead of time you may find as soon as your next day is available there is no park pass for you like we did last night. There goes the new system that was supposed to make planning less important.

All we want to do it get in the park and go to pre paid specials tour and ADR's and now we can't? I had 5 days booked up with the parks reservations so we go to the park last night and that leaves 1 available. Do I think at that very instant to make another(I guess now we have to and some said they were already gone at that point anyhow.). Who does that and really there has been so much availability that WDW was giving us free extra park passes on top of the 5 our AP include for the last 3 weeks. So at the end of the night when I get home I go to make a park reservation and they are gone. So to those that say it can't happen, it does and just did.. Our perfect trip for the last 18 days just soured. It went from me waking up and Disney giving us free extra park Pass days to all of a sudden no parks available.

WDW is not doing what they they need to do to get the manpower they need. Now I need call and complain and get our money back for tours adn ADR that as I said are paid for non refundable and were very tough to get and now unusable, not my fault! The only other thing I could have done was do less things at WDW!!!! I am so aggravated even if they offer to override the system and get us in the parks these next 3 days we are taking the refund and using the money for as AP's at Universal. The refunds will pay for one AP for an entire year over there.

I remember a few months back some of us thought something like this was possible and some chimed in that there was no worry at all and that 5 park reservations were enough, well I can say for a fact they are NOT.

RANT OVER.

 

[Figgy1]

The three express pass hotels aren’t cheap…so saving is relative

but of course neither is anything on Disney property

the problem here is we’re talking British travel packages…which are the last of a dying breed…enjoy those while they last

Most of the time the EP hotels are the same price as mods at Disney sometimes even less

 

[drizgirl]

Most of the time the EP hotels are the same price as mods at Disney sometimes even less

At times even comparable to Pop Century.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Most of the time the EP hotels are the same price as mods at Disney sometimes even less

At times even comparable to Pop Century.

I don’t see that often…but I believe you.

usually in the $400-550 range IF you’re there at any demand time

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

This is why in the past we used to get Annual Passes (even living out of state). The cost right now at Universal for the best Premier AP is 599.00 plus tax for 365 days a year. It includes fast pass after 4 PM(once each ride per day), plus free valet parking(normally 45 a day), a free night at Halloween Horror night and more perks. Two Premier AP cost about 1250.00, but now we could go any number of days over a year. Even living out of state it was better for us than a daily pass and paying for the FP.

The best thing about Universal is you will not all of a sudden find out you can not get into a park while having an ADR reservation that took 20 days of effort to get and is non refundable!

It is outrageous, this park pass system has to go and Disney need hire the 10 thousand employees they are short that is closing these Parks. Once again people saying how busy it is, but even yesterday we had no issues paying to ride. Even hotel guests nor single day ticket buyers can get in the parks the next 4 days, outrageous. In 50 years they closed all 4 parks to all guests less than 10 times so how can this be? It is lack of manpower.

Be careful, you may drop that 15 thousand to find you can not get in the parks. 5 days is just not enough Park passes for people that do a lot of things like us. If you get a hotel you best pre plan everyday and not forget to make park reservations for every single day and if you have more events and ADR than that only crossing your fingers can help. If you do have more than 5 things planned even if you get that hotel 6 months ahead of time you may find as soon as your next day is available there is no park pass for you like we did last night. There goes the new system that was supposed to make planning less important.

All we want to do it get in the park and go to pre paid specials tour and ADR's and now we can't? I had 5 days booked up with the parks reservations so we go to the park last night and that leaves 1 available. Do I think at that very instant to make another(I guess now we have to and some said they were already gone at that point anyhow.). Who does that and really there has been so much availability that WDW was giving us free extra park passes on top of the 5 our AP include for the last 3 weeks. So at the end of the night when I get home I go to make a park reservation and they are gone. So to those that say it can't happen, it does and just did.. Our perfect trip for the last 18 days just soured. It went from me waking up and Disney giving us free extra park Pass days to all of a sudden no parks available.

WDW is not doing what they they need to do to get the manpower they need. Now I need call and complain and get our money back for tours adn ADR that as I said are paid for non refundable and were very tough to get and now unusable, not my fault! The only other thing I could have done was do less things at WDW!!!! I am so aggravated even if they offer to override the system and get us in the parks these next 3 days we are taking the refund and using the money for as AP's at Universal. The refunds will pay for one AP for an entire year over there.

I remember a few months back some of us thought something like this was possible and some chimed in that there was no worry at all and that 5 park reservations were enough, well I can say for a fact they are NOT.

RANT OVER.

The reservation will never go…unless there’s a travel dip associated with a recession (which is what’s needed anyway)

and the Disney employee shortages are likely due to their indentured servants - college and international program - and they will give those up from their cold, dead hands

 

[yensid1967]

Disney has the pull to make us drop $$$$'s for a vacation from Europe whereas we wouldn't be doing it just for Universal.

--Not anymore, at least for the US guests. UK must get discounts galore on Disney vacations! Has anyone told you about the Disney Genie+...$15/per day/person to skip the lines? Similar to FastPass+, but more expensive and most are saying it's not worth it or too hard to get what rides you want when most selections for the day are gone in 5 minutes of the system opening at 7am.

EDIT: do a search for GENIE+ and you will find a slew of complaints