Orlando room rates rise for first time in two years

The real question is: will this last. This has been a large investment for Universal, but will this uptick last?

It will go down from where it is now but if Universal can pull more Disney guests for at least one day of their Disney trip
I think this will work out well for them.Plus the Harry Potter demographic is now 18-24 If Universal can make inroads on getting them in the park it will pay for years to come (so they can pay for this expansion) plus the mandatory (by rumored contract with JK) upgrades and new attractions.Will keep the Potter fans coming plus pull the Disney goers for at least a day.
The main thing is how long we will have a down economy.

So my answer to your question is the uptick will last as long as overall visits to Orlando do not nosedive .

We noticed this when booking a trip for our annual January trip... Hotels were up all over the place.

For the same price, we decided to go to Hawaii.... And no, I am not joking. The rates were VERY comparable after flight, hotel, rental and park tickets. So why not, something different. They can keep Harry Potter :)

The Harry Potter demo is way beyond 18-24. Are you kidding? That's the reason the franchise is so successful. The appeal is insanely broad.

Jeff said:
The Harry Potter demo is way beyond 18-24. Are you kidding? That's the reason the franchise is so successful. The appeal is insanely broad.

I'm with Jeff. I'm 45 and I love 'em. The books more than the movies, true.

My wife (who is someone beyond the 18-24 demo, but I won't say by just how much) made it absolutely clear that she wanted her February Orlando trip with the kids to be Universal-based, rather than Disney. When we got each book, she always had first dibs.

I'm glad that I have a best friend and an Aunt who live in Orlando. No high hotel prices for meeeee....

:)

And just think. With all of the money you save not having to pay for a hotel room, you can treat yourself with a fast pass. :)

According to the article the average room rate last month was $91.

Hell, that's basically a one day ticket and parking at WDW.

I thought fastpass was free with admission, sws. 8P

I hope Universal does well with Potter (thought I think they're going to have problems soon with no controlling expectations of this being a new park, not a mini-land). Disney needs that kick in the pants: we could have gotten several new rides but Team Disney Orlando just sat on their hands and at the last minute imported an old parade, ok'd some fireworks, some cover bands, and a really really bad ToT overlay.

This coming summer (or hopefully fall) when I go down again I'm definitely going to Potterland for a day. Hell, just seeing the airport gift shop got me excited!

Mole, are you forgetting the Fantasyland overhaul? It looks like it is going to be pretty cool.

...Although Disney should have figured this stuff out sooner and already had this revamp done by now, in my opinion.

One omnimover and a few meet and greets...I absolutely love going to parks and doing nothing but take pictures and take in the atmosphere, but color me unimpressed on the "attractions" (including the M&Gs).

I do think Universal will run into some problems with not having controlled the "Potter theme park" angle, but I don't think it will be bad enough to negatively impact the growth they are already seeing. There is definitely some increased optimism down here in the area about the economy. However, in the larger picture things don't look as bright a few months out. The possibility for a double dip recession around the fall season is looking stronger.

This talk about people hearing that TWWoHP is a separate park, and then being upset that it isn't...I'm not convinced. Most people are savey enough to do a little research. I'm sure that while they are in Citywalk, they know which direction to go in order to get to TWWoHP Theme park.

I seem to recall hearing in the ads that TWWoHP was a theme park within a theme park.

Is there anywhere on the net where I can read about how upset people are that WWoHP is inside of USIOA?

Well, a few die-hard HP fans complain that the area is too small and there isn't enough to do, but these are people that aren't going out into the rest of IoA, and thats their fault, regardless of the marketing. IoA as a whole is a fun place to go.

That one review said it was a 3 hour at best park, but this was from an adult who sent his daughter away to grandma's for a week so that he and his wife could sit in silence to read the final HP book. Even if Disney had done the original concept that JK wanted, I don't think it would have been more than a 3 hour park.

This talk about people hearing that TWWoHP is a separate park, and then being upset that it isn't...I'm not convinced.

The word-of-mouth I'm hearing is that everyone loves it.

sent his daughter away to grandma's for a week

Not exactly a fast reader.

I know! I read that interview and was like "Wow, even with work, I've read novels longer than HP in just a couple days."