economie

How my family of 3 spent $2,855 for a single day at Universal Hollywood — and what we’ll do differently next time

October 6, 20240
Universal Hollywood has a few things we won’t find at our local Universal parks.

Amanda Adler

My family frequently visits the two Universal theme parks near our home in Orlando. However, they do not yet have the highly interactive Super Nintendo World land that’s available at Universal Hollywood. This was a major draw for my video-game-obsessed son.

The park also has other experiences not found in Florida, including a thrilling “Jurassic World” attraction, the Studio Tour tram experience, and a splashy “WaterWorld” show.

For our trip, we bought three one-day tickets at $249 each, which included admittance to the California parks and Universal Express skip-the-line passes.

One-day tickets with skip-the-line passes have variable pricing, but at the time of writing, they were $209 to $319 a person in California but $313 to $489 at Universal Orlando.

So, although traveling to California was pricier than visiting the parks closer to home, Universal Hollywood’s more appealing pricing helped offset some of those added expenses.

I used reward miles to cut down on flight costs, but I scrimped too much on accommodations.
We had themed burgers at Toadstool Café.

Amanda Adler

Since the main purpose of our visit was to experience Super Nintendo World, we made sure to secure a spot at the land’s restaurant, Toadstool Café.

Here, we spent $71.40 on unique food items like Mario- and Luigi-inspired burgers and themed spaghetti, plus cute appetizers and drinks.

The restaurant featured immersive décor, and the food was very Instagram-worthy. Given the quality of the meal, the pricing felt fair.

For the remainder of the day, we snacked on oversized pretzels, Butterbeers (and regular beers) in the park’s Wizarding World, plus other treats that left us full and our wallets only a little lighter.

Power-Up Bands were essential to our visit.
My son isn’t a huge “Harry Potter” fan so he forgot about this wand pretty quickly.

Amanda Adler

In terms of souvenirs, I wish we hadn’t bought the interactive wand from the “Harry Potter”-themed Wizarding World, which cost almost $65.

My son was selected to take part in a ceremony at the park’s wand shop, Ollivanders, and although the show was cute, we felt compelled to buy the wand that “chose him.”

However, he’s not really a fan of the “Harry Potter” series, and this souvenir was quickly forgotten.

Our other souvenirs served a more practical purpose and hold a special place in our hearts.
My son chose posters and a Piranha Plant lamp for his new bedroom.

Amanda Adler

Beyond magic wands and interactive bracelets, we spent an additional $110.28 on souvenirs. However, most of these served a more practical purpose.

When we traveled to California, we were in the process of selling our home. With numerous showings and open houses scheduled, we needed to be out of our home for several days.

Instead of staying in a hotel close to home, one reason we chose to visit Hollywood was because my son was nervous about moving. I felt that taking him to this “dream” locale would be a welcome distraction.

Before leaving Universal Hollywood, we allowed him to pick out several souvenirs that he could use to decorate his room at our new home.

The Piranha Plant lamp and posters he selected helped him to personalize and, ultimately, embrace his new space, making these items an enduring and worthwhile investment.