My Take on Universal and All Things Disney
Before I blog about my personal experience at Universal/Islands of Adventure (which was great by the way,) I need to get some things off my chest. If each park would tithe I really believe they could feed the WORLD! It’s incredible how much money they rake it. Mind you, I have no idea what it takes to keep the place clean and running, but come on, $12 for parking??? I could feed a kid for a month on $12!
But it’s not all their fault, is it? We’re the ones raking out the cash!
What is it about these establishments that make people pay $80 or more to stand in hour long lines to ride a 60 second ride. On paper it’s insane. The money people spend is insane. A hot dog meal for $7.50 is insane.
So why do we do it?
I have no clue, but if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it smart. Since my dad is a Florida resident we were able to get the resident rate and a two park two day deal for $71 for adults and a little less for kids. Yet, I think kids should be more close to $20 a ticket at Universal/Islands of Adventure since there are hardly any rides for them to ride!
I love the idea of the refill cups. Even at $6.99 a cup with 74 cent refills it’s a bargain since drinks cost $2.50 a pop. We’d refill our cup and share it between 6 or more people. To the park’s credit, they always gave us cups of ice (for free) when we asked for it, and each refill kept us satisfied until the next drink stop. By the end of day two, and sick of sugary drinks and pop, I decided to ask for water. They filled it up for FREE! So we stuck to the water refills and felt hydrated and refreshed.
We found buying a whole pizza or two was the best meal for us, though the Meal Deals were pretty tempting. For $10.99 (kids) and $ 20ish (for adults) you could eat as much as you want at designated locations. I seriously considered this, but since we only ate one meal a day and brought our own snacks, it wasn’t cost efficient for us.
Well, I guess that’s all I have to say for now on the subject. What’s your take on our entertainment crazed culture?
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Wow. It sure is a crazy world out there, isn’t it?
I live close to Branson and actually worked at one of the theme parks here for parts of 3 seasons. I loved it. It was a very family-friendly place and there were actually lot of retired ministers and ministers wives who also worked there, so making friends was easy and a blessed experience. The prices there were not as high as the one you are talking about, but that could also be because of geographical reasons – this is an extremely poor area. A day pass at this park would run you $52 and kids meals were in the $4-5 range.
BUT if you had a season pass – which if you are a local is about $100 per year, which is less than two day trips! – you would also get a discount on all food. It really is the way to go at this park.
As an employee I was able to get in for free on any day I wasn’t working, and food and merchandise was all 30-50% off with my pass. That was really, really nice. I haven’t been back since I’ve stopped working except for one time when I was given a free day pass. I love going there and one of these years I’d like to get a season’s pass. It just isn’t practical with my living situation right now.
Anyway, that’s just a few thoughts from someone who had a good experience working at a theme park.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:00 am“Contest 2009!” You are so correct in your view of Disneyworld. We didn’t make it to Universal, but I wanted to! I am glad that our two sons were able to see and experience Orlando. My husband purchased a package deal that took care of most of our meals. We drove their which is a very long way and our total cost for the vacation was quite expensive. Cindi
January 5th, 2009 at 10:18 pmContest 2009. I so totally agree. I am apalled by the prices at these theme park and the only way we go to these parks is because we get a discount for being Florida residents. We try to stay away from the souveneir shops because the prices are appalling and we go to some of the discount places outside of the park and pick up souveneirs there instead. We try to eat just one meal there as well.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:34 amCONTEST2009 They know people will pay,no matter what.Monica
January 6th, 2009 at 10:38 amContest 2009> I haven’t been to any of the major amusement parks for a very long time, but we did go the one by us here in MN. Admission is pretty reasonable, but food costs are outrageous. We end up bringing our own food, and then getting one thing to share. Someday we want to take the family on a trip to Disney World or Land. We’ll need lots of tips and advice.
January 6th, 2009 at 8:36 pmContest 2009
So glad you brought this one up since I am leaving for said stealers of our money on Thursday.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:10 pm