Theme park magic meets premium pricing as Epic Universe drives up Orlando travel costs
Theme park lovers eager to escape reality at Epic Universe this summer may be paying a premium to get there.
Orlando's newest and highly anticipated theme park is set to open its doors on May 22, transporting park goers to five immersive worlds. Guests can enjoy new thrilling attractions, shops, eateries and other experiences crafted with incredible detail.
Fans flocking to the new park this summer are set to drive up travel demand to Orlando, with an increase in flight capacity and ticket prices to the theme park hub compared to last year.
Here's what travelers should expect to visit Epic Universe this summer.
Airfare to Orlando during Epic Universe's opening averages $209, an increase from $179 at around the same time last year, according to travel platform Hopper. In the summer, the price goes up to $217, about 8% higher than flights last summer.
'Prices for flights to Orlando from U.S. cities for the first 10 days of Epic Universe are 17% higher than the same 10 days last year,' Hayley Berg, Hopper's chief economist, said in a statement. 'This is not surprising, as airfares to Orlando are higher for all dates in May compared to last year.'
Travelers can still score some flight deals during the peak summer season if they do a little sleuthing and are flexible with their dates. Here are some low airfares, according to Expedia.com:
New York City to Orlando for June 4-8: $238 round-trip (40% less than typical)
Los Angeles to Orlando for June 1-7: $245 round-trip (40% less than typical)
Atlanta to Orlando for June 2-6: $217 round-trip (40% less than typical)
Chicago to Orlando for June 3-11: $217 round-trip (45% less than typical)
Dallas to Orlando for June 12-17: $258 round-trip (40% less than typical)
Here are the per-night hotel rates at Universal properties for the peak summer dates of July 7-10, according to Hotels.com:
Universal's Loews Sapphire Falls Resort: $257
Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort: $177
Universal's Endless Summer Resort: Dockside Inn and Suites: $190
Universal's Endless Summer Resort: Surfside Inn and Suites: $196
Guests can purchase tickets for both single-day and multi-day admission. Single-day tickets for May are currently only available to annual passholders and guests who purchase a multi-day package, which includes one day or more at Universal's other parks and one day at Epic Universe. Single-day admission for visits beginning June 1 costs between $139 and $199, depending on the day.
Contributing: Zach Wichter, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Premium price tag: What it costs to visit Epic Universe this summer
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And time was eventually right: Ariana Grande herself announced she had wrapped filming for both of the movies with a cryptic post on January 25, 2023. 'Like a handprint on my heart,' the star captioned a post on Instagram in reference to the song 'For Good.' The post showed the silhouette of Grande as Glinda on set. Resharing Grande's post to his stories, director Jon M. Chu wrote: 'Will never forget my year with our Galinda. Can't wait for you to meet her. Thank you Ariana Grande for pouring your heart into Oz.' In another story, Chu tagged Cynthia Erivo, adding: 'One more day left. Cynthia Erivo, are you ready?' Erivo replied: 'As ready as I'll ever be!! Let's goooooo!' As of January 26, 2024, filming on both movies had wrapped. There is, indeed. On July 24, 2024, Universal put out a two-minute behind-the-scenes featurette showing viewers how the Wicked world was built brick by brick for the movie. 'We knew that we wanted Wicked to be immersive,' director Jon M. Chu says in the video. 'What does it feel like to be in Oz? To feel it in your fingertips? If you want to be inside that world, you've got to build it.' The next few clips give us an aerial view of the set, including Emerald City and Munchkinland, being built by hand as a 1:1 recreation, including the infamous yellow bricks being painted one by one. 'A lot of it is real. physical, tangible sets,' Ariana Grande adds before Chu shows the field of tulips that were planted and the train that was built for the movie. On September 25, 2024, another featurette called Celebrating Wicked was released. The video shows some behind-the-scenes footage from the movie's filming, as well as interviews with the cast and director. Universal had also put out another Wicked featurette called Wicked - Passion Project with interviews from the cast and crew about joining the project. The two-minute featurette features scenes from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's auditions and more, with commentary from director Jon M. Chu, as well as clips from the set. You can watch it below: As previously mentioned, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star as leads Glinda and Elphaba, the blonde-haired and green-skinned witches who anchor the movies' musical extravaganza. During an appearance on Amazon Music's Zach Sang Show on February 26, 2024, Grande said she has 'never wanted something as badly' as she wanted the role of Glinda, 'hunting' producer Marc Platt for the past ten years. 'Since I was 20, I was like, 'Hey, I don't know when this is happening, but when it's happening, may I please at least just audition?'" recalled Grande. "That's all I wanted, was an audition. I've never wanted anything more.' Grande revealed that 'prepping for the auditions [took] six months," involving rigorous 'voice lessons every day [and] acting lessons every day." 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Chenoweth wrote: 'I'm not sure if I've ever been this proud. From the very first day I met you (swipe to see!!), you were destined for this role. Congratulations @arianagrande! The best Glinda you will be with @cynthiaerivo by your side 💗💚 I love you!! 🧚♀️👑🪄 @wickedmovie @wicked_musical #wicked.' Chenoweth's former costar, Menzel, echoed similar sentiments when she commented on Grande and Erivo's casting news on X as well. 'Congrats to two amazing women,' Menzel wrote. 'May it change your lives for the better forever and ever as it has for us. So much love.' Joining Erivo and Grande in the Wicked movies is Bridgerton breakout star Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, the witches' love interest. On August 12, 2024, Universal gave us our first proper first-look at movie Fiyero in action with a teaser focused on the character and, yes, he has a British accent and is as charming as the musical's. The teaser gives us a glimpse at Ariana Grande's Glinda finding out Fiyero is in town reading The Shiz Gazette. 'Fiyero Spotted at Shiz,' the headline reads. 'Meet Oz's most eligible bachelor,' the screen then proclaims. 'I see that the responsibility to corrupt my fellow students falls to me,' cheeky Fiyero then proclaims before we get a teaser of his dynamic with both Glinda and Elphaba — IYKYK. The cast also includes Everything Everywhere All At Once star Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University; Broadway veteran Ethan Slater (also Grande's rumored boyfriend) as Boq, the romantic interest of Elphaba's younger sister, Nessarose; and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard. Newcomer Marissa Bode makes feature debut as Nessarose. Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang and Lockwood & Co. actor Bronwyn James also joined the roster as Pfannee and ShenShen, respectively, Elphaba and Glinda's classmates. Additional Wicked casting includes The Greatest Showman star Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, Hot Fuzz actor Colin Michael Carmichael as Professor Nikidik, and Aaron Teoh as Avaric. As mentioned, the Wicked movies will similarly follow the Broadway musical's plot, though star Cynthia Erivo previously teased that some parts will take a slight departure from the original material. 'I think it's going to be unlike anything you've ever seen before,' she told Entertainment Tonight in 2022. 'I think we're going to enjoy the magic of it. We're going to try and put our own spin on what we know already and show you a story about two women [who] are sisters." According to composer Schwartz, the upcoming Wicked movies will, indeed, include new musical material. Back in 2016, while speaking at a Behind the Music panel during Comic-Con, he predicted that there would 'probably four new songs in the movie." At the time, Playbill reported that three of the songs would be newly written, while one was cut from the original Broadway production. Be that as it may, on December 6, 2023, Schwartz shared an updated count of the new music with The Messenger: two brand-new songs, written exclusively for the film adaptations, will be featured in Wicked Part Two. 'There are some expansions of stuff in the first movie. The point being, the new songs were written because of the demand of the story, not, 'Oh, let's write a new song and stick it in just because,'' said Schwartz. "The storytelling required it, and therefore they were created — the intention was that they were organic and not imposed on the movie." 'It's been very important to us to make sure that it is the show, that it is the story that the fans love and that they're coming to expect and not disappoint them,' he continued. 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