SeaWorld Orlando's Future Plans

[bob albert]

I think the real problem and this is the problem that Universal has faced also is that the more parks a resort has the cheaper it is. It's hard to compete with Disney and now Universal for that extra day when it may only cost $10 versus almost $100 for SeaWorld.

Lol have you seen ticket prices? Universal is going to charge and extra $100 for that extra day.

 

[s8film40]

Lol have you seen ticket prices? Universal is going to charge and extra $100 for that extra day.

I suspect when they raise prices it will be uniformly mostly across all their tickets. As an example I recently had family visiting and they were planning a Universal trip. They initially wanted 2-3 days. and were planning a day to rest or do something else. I gave them the alternative of the SeaWorld AP special that was going on last month for $25 one day tickets. A fourth day at Universal was $13.58. They chose to add a fourth day at Universal over SeaWorld. It's hard to beat that price and it gave them the added benefit of being able to take things a little slower. It was almost half the price of SeaWords heavily discounted tickets. SeaWorld is going to have a tough time competing in the $10-$20 range which is the reality they are facing as it becomes easier to justify those 3rd, 4th and 5th days at Universal.

 

[MakoMania]

^Not everyone wants to spend all that time at Universal though. And I have yet to see prices anywhere near that, we phoned up a year or two ago to see what an extra Universal day would be and were quoted over £100 per person.

Many people want a day in a park with a less insane crowd level and more relaxed atmoshpere. Spending so many days in Universal or Disney can become obnoxious, that's one reason why on holiday this year my family are only visiting the SeaWorld parks, not Universal or Disney.

You mustn't forget that SeaWorld also offers free parking with multi-day tickets, that would cost you an extra $20+ per day at Universal or Disney.

 

[s8film40]

^Not everyone wants to spend all that time at Universal though. And I have yet to see prices anywhere near that, we phoned up a year or two ago to see what an extra Universal day would be and were quoted over £100 per person.

$100 for a fourth day would make Universal the most expensive park in the area and likely put the multi-day passes well over the cost of an AP. I'm not sure how you did the math but right now it's well under $20. Yeah not everyone wants to spend that much time at Universal which is why I suggested SeaWorld to my family. My point though is once they have another park people will want to spend more time. So that third or fourth day to get in the third Universal park becomes far less expensive than a day at SeaWorld. Certainly people will still want to go to SeaWorld, but they'll be paying a premium over Universal's park if they're already spending a few days there..

Many people want a day in a park with a less insane crowd level and more relaxed atmoshpere. Spending so many days in Universal or Disney can become obnoxious, that's one reason why on holiday this year my family are only visiting the SeaWorld parks, not Universal or Disney.

SeaWorld has some pretty insane crowds right now.

You mustn't forget that SeaWorld also offers free parking with multi-day tickets, that would cost you an extra $20+ per day at Universal or Disney.

I didn't know this, good to know. Didn't matter for my family as I was with them with an AP either way.

 

[shiekra38]

^Not everyone wants to spend all that time at Universal though. And I have yet to see prices anywhere near that, we phoned up a year or two ago to see what an extra Universal day would be and were quoted over £100 per person.

Many people want a day in a park with a less insane crowd level and more relaxed atmoshpere. Spending so many days in Universal or Disney can become obnoxious, that's one reason why on holiday this year my family are only visiting the SeaWorld parks, not Universal or Disney.

You mustn't forget that SeaWorld also offers free parking with multi-day tickets, that would cost you an extra $20+ per day at Universal or Disney.

From a vacation point of view, it is more convenient to stay where you're at instead of traveling out...That's why the Universal or Disney extra day is of value to people

I don't think people say "oh it's so crowded, let's go to Sea World"...rather they say, "it's so crowded, let's go to the pool and come back later"

 

[GadgetGuru]

From a vacation point of view, it is more convenient to stay where you're at instead of traveling out...That's why the Universal or Disney extra day is of value to people

I don't think people say "oh it's so crowded, let's go to Sea World"...rather they say, "it's so crowded, let's go to the pool and come back later"

I think that only works if you're staying on-site.

Especially with the rise of Uber/Lyft, I'm under the assumption that somebody staying on-site at Disney/Universal has absolutely no reason to ever rent a car. That makes getting to SeaWorld or I-Drive harder and pricier.

For the record, I'm convinced that a large majority of people stay off-site though. It would be a lot easier for those people to make a side trip to SeaWorld. Especially when their hotel probably isn't a huge draw like an on-site hotel would be.

 

[MakoMania]

From my experience far more people stay off site during an Orlando vacation than on site at Disney or Uni.

 

[shiekra38]

I think that only works if you're staying on-site.

Especially with the rise of Uber/Lyft, I'm under the assumption that somebody staying on-site at Disney/Universal has absolutely no reason to ever rent a car. That makes getting to SeaWorld or I-Drive harder and pricier.

For the record, I'm convinced that a large majority of people stay off-site though. It would be a lot easier for those people to make a side trip to SeaWorld. Especially when their hotel probably isn't a huge draw like an on-site hotel would be.

Sure, but there is a reason Universal is building hotels at the rate they are, demand

SeaWorld does have the partnership with some of the hotels in the area

The gap is closing price-wise though...It's way better to stay at Cabanna Bay, for instance, instead of Holiday Inn

Endless Summer is also going to continue that

 

[MakoMania]

^Cabana Bay is loads more expensive than a Holiday Inn though.

You can get 7 nights at Holiday Inn for less than $100 in the January sales.

 

[bob albert]

With free parking and breakfast.

 

[shiekra38]

^Cabana Bay is loads more expensive than a Holiday Inn though.

You can get 7 nights at Holiday Inn for less than $100 in the January sales.

Loads more?

For my trip to HHN Sept 20-23rd, a room at CB is $154.00 per night

Holiday Inn is $93.72 on the low end and $154.62 on the high end

Plus you get early access to the parks, free transportation, actually nice pools, etc

There is value in staying on site at Universal

 

[MakoMania]

^A value that many cannot afford. $50 more per night is a substantial amount of money, that's $700 over a 2 week vacation.

January sales are a big thing in the European vacation market, you find prices on European vendor websites that are not available the rest of the year. Many Orlando hotels take part but Universal/Disney don't, simply because they don't need to.

 

[shiekra38]

^A value that many cannot afford. $50 more per night is a substantial amount of money, that's $700 over a 2 week vacation.

January sales are a big thing in the European vacation market, you find prices on European vendor websites that are not available the rest of the year. Many Orlando hotels take part but Universal/Disney don't, simply because they don't need to.

Because demand is high

 

[Kraken&Manta]

Loads more?

For my trip to HHN Sept 20-23rd, a room at CB is $154.00 per night

Holiday Inn is $93.72 on the low end and $154.62 on the high end

Plus you get early access to the parks, free transportation, actually nice pools, etc

There is value in staying on site at Universal

I feel like you're seriously overpaying. You can find hotels with more amenities than Universal's for less. And if you just want the bare basics, you can certainly find something under $90. I've never personally found Universal's hotel offerings to be worth, but that's as an AP and in-state. They seem great for foreign and out-of-state guests or people who don't make many trips in general.

 

[bob albert]

I feel like your seriously overpaying. You can find hotels with more amenities than Universal's for less. And if you just want the bare basics, you can certainly find something under $90. I've never personally found Universal's hotel offerings to be worth, but that's as an AP and in-state. They seem great for foreign and out-of-state guests or people who don't make many trips in general.

People will pay giant premiums for official packages and guarantees of a certain level of accessibility or service. People also have generally no idea how competitive and cheap the orlando market can be during non peak times if you are willing to sacrifice some of these guarantees and be flexible. I have stayed within medium to longish walking distance to universal for under 75 per night with parking and sometimes free breakfast during HHN. That being said they wouldn't be deals if everyone were looking for them. Even the further down Idrive hotels are perfectly acceptable and a great deal even with shuttles/uber if you look for well rated places.

The tourist boom at disney coincided with them building true value hotels even if they were a premium over nearby value hotels. The reality is the lower the onsite cost for a package the more guests are going to come to universal no matter what the offsite deals are, which given increased onsite hotels and competition for offsite ones is prob still a win for you and me.

 

[shiekra38]

I feel like you're seriously overpaying. You can find hotels with more amenities than Universal's for less. And if you just want the bare basics, you can certainly find something under $90. I've never personally found Universal's hotel offerings to be worth, but that's as an AP and in-state. They seem great for foreign and out-of-state guests or people who don't make many trips in general.

Seriously overpaying? Being five minutes away from the parks? I'm an AP as are most of the people on this board that stay on-site for HHN...There is tremendous value to staying on site

Also, I pulled the Holiday Inn rates from a non-peak time...Endless Summer is going to be even more cheap

Where do you stay? Howard Johnson?

 

[Kraken&Manta]

Seriously overpaying? Being five minutes away from the parks? I'm an AP as are most of the people on this board that stay on-site for HHN...There is tremendous value to staying on site

Also, I pulled the Holiday Inn rates from a non-peak time...Endless Summer is going to be even more cheap

Where do you stay? Howard Johnson?

Usually Embassy Suites, which both are also five minutes from the park. They're usually in the $100-$130 range but have the whole comp drinks thing. Although I have stayed at hotels for stupid low rates before. A few years back I had $30 a night at one of the hotels on Universal Blvd. It was clean and functional, so no complaints.
I am excited to see what Universal's new hotel's offerings are.

 

[shiekra38]

Usually Embassy Suites, which both are also five minutes from the park. They're usually in the $100-$130 range but have the whole comp drinks thing. Although I have stayed at hotels for stupid low rates before. A few years back I had $30 a night at one of the hotels on Universal Blvd. It was clean and functional, so no complaints.
I am excited to see what Universal's new hotel's offerings are.

For my stay, Embassy is priced at $125 on the low end (furthest away from Universal btw) and $186 on the high end

I would be asking myself serious questions about staying anywhere for $30 a night

 

[MakoMania]

I'm not to judge what you spend your money on as if you have loads then why not, but $30 per night is still $420 over a 2 week vacation. That's not an insignificant amount for most people.

 

[shiekra38]

I'm not to judge what you spend your money on as if you have loads then why not, but $30 per night is still $420 over a 2 week vacation. That's not an insignificant amount for most people.

So what are you suggesting? Free