Disney, Universal raise ticket prices again

Theme park tickets rasied again

One thing that I should include in my annual events section but don’t is the annual theme park ticket price raises. Just a day or two ago Universal Studios for the first time raised their ticket prices before Disney.

Normally they follow Disney once they raise ticket prices. Does that mean they are now equal to them, or as bad? Anyways yes, both Disney and Universal Studios have raised their base price ticket cost plus a few other types of tickets.

The cost now of an adult one-day, one-park ticket to one of the two Universal Studios parks is now $88.00. A few of the other types of tickets also jumped a bit at Universal.
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Walt Disney World verses Universal Studios Orlando, what one?

Walt Disney World's Snow Whitemarvels spiderman

Living right here in Orlando, I’m always surprised at some things people ask me. But then I realize that not everyone deals with theme parks every week! I often get asked if Disney is part of Universal Studios. No, they are not, in fact they are big competitors of each other. So then I get asked the next question, which is, which one do I recommend?

Ouch! That’s a really loaded question, and it depends on so many things. So let me try to explain the fundamental differences between the two theme parks, and then you can decide for yourself. The biggest difference I think is the characters of the parks. Walt Disney World has all of the favorite characters of the Disney movies.

Snow White, Cinderella, Mickey and Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Daffy Duck, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell and all the other Disney stars are at,,,, Disney of course. Universal Studios has Marvel comics characters and Universal movie stars.
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Walt Disney World buys Marvel Comics rights

Walt Disney World buys Marvel Comics rights, bad news for Universal

Well in case you have not heard, Walt Disney World has bought the rights to Marvel Comics, at least in some ways. It’s a complex deal with many twist and turns. The biggest and most awkward part of it is the relationship with Disney’s competitor, Universal Studios. You see, Universal already had a contract with Marvel Comics to build theme park rides and market merchandise from the characters of Marvel Comics.

At Universal Studios Islands Of Adventure they have a whole section called Marvel Super Hero Island. It features the Incredible Hulk roller coaster, The Spider Man ride, Dr. Dooms free fall ride and Storm’s Force Accelatron ride. They also have The X men characters running around in costume. Those are all characters from Marvel Comics.

So how is that going to affect Universal Studios? Will they have to shut down their Marvel rides? Well for now the answer is,,, no. It seems that Universal Studio retains some rights from their earlier contract. One of them is that Universal can continue using the Marvel trademarks for as long as the attractions are in operation. It also ensures that no other theme park east of the Mississippi River — including Walt Disney World — can develop attractions based on the same characters.

So if your afraid of your favorite theme park rides at Universal Studios getting shut down by Disney, you can relax. They will stay open and everything will go on as usual. Walt Disney cannot make new rides in their Florida theme parks based on Marvel Comics characters. However they can, and I’m sure they will, at Disneyland in California.

However it is a very interesting deal, with Disney holding rights to some aspects of what Universal Studios can do. I’m sure they don’t like it one bit! Die hard Marvel Comics fans are upset that Disney will come out with movies based on the Marvel Comics characters as more “sissy” than Universal would make them, seeing as Disney is family friendly.

I guess all we can do is wait and see what happens. In the meantime nothing will change much at Disney World or Universal Studios here in Orlando Florida. So all the rides will still be going at Universal, and no new Marvel Comics rides will be going up at Disney. We just have to wait and see if a new movie will be coming out called The Hulk verses Pirates Of The Caribbean!

Soft opening for Rip Ride Rockit coaster at Universal Studios!

Soft opening for rip ride rockit roller coaster at Universal Studios

Well it took them long enough, but finally Universal Studios Orlando is having a soft opening for their new ride, the Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster! So just what is a “soft opening”? Basically it means it’s not officially open yet, but they are letting guest ride it periodically throughout the day as they test it out. Some things, like the custom music you can select and the cameras on it might not work.

Soft opening for rip ride rockit roller coaster at Universal Studios

The Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster at Universal Studios has had it’s share of problems, forcing it to delay the opening several times. But with a soft opening starting now, the official opening should not be long behind. So far the feedback from the guest that have rode it has been very positive. So I predict it should be open for all within a few weeks if not sooner.

That means I need to get my butt down there and try to be one that test it out! It is not running all day. They give some rides, then work on it, do more rides and so on. A soft opening is a fine tuning of everything. I took these pictures of it the last time I was there. It will look a bit different once they have everything done. Lights will go on the big first hill, which is 17 stories high. So Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster at Universal Studios will be open soon!

Soft opening for rip ride rockit roller coaster at Universal Studios