By now we’ve all seen Halloween merchandise start to creep into stores and online. But, Disney Villain merchandise is ghoulishly great any time of year. Disney has released some new Villains merchandise at Walt Disney World and online. So let’s celebrate being bad with a look at some of the new merchandise and a selection of some of the best Walt Disney World attractions for fans of Villains.
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom we spotted three new pieces of Disney Villain merchandise.
Disney Villains Clue Game – $44.99
Disney Villains Button-Up Shirt – $59.99
Disney Villains Socks Set – $34.99* (The price was not available from our field team – this is an estimate based on other sock sets we’ve seen at Disney.)
Disney Villains Clue GameDisney Villains Clue GameDisney Villains Clue Game – BackDisney Villains Button-Up ShirtDisney Villains Button-Up Shirt – BackDisney Villains Socks SetDisney Villain Socks Set – Back
On shopDisney online I found some new Disney Villain merchandise, ranging from apparel to figurines.
Maleficent and Goons Figure at shopDisneyMaleficent Mug with Lid at shopDisneyPoor Unfortunate Souls Figure at shopDisneyAriel and Ursula Singing Ornament at shopDisneyEvil Queen Athletic Shirt at shopDisneyMaleficent Athletic Shirt at shopDisney
Best Walt Disney World Attractions for Disney Villains Fans
Peter Pan’s Flight at Magic Kingdom, because Captain Hook
Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Magic Kingdom, Ursula looks amazing
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom, Emperor Zurg is such a dimwitted villain
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom, The Evil Queen is the original Disney Villain
Festival of the Lion King at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a unique tribute to Scar with the “Be Prepared” performance
Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Darth Vader may not be a Disney villain but he certainly is the greatest dark lord of them all
What’s your favorite new Disney Villain merchandise? What Walt Disney World attractions would you add to our list?
From our friends at touringplans.com Filed Under: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Halloween, Merchandise, disney board game, disney socks, disney villains
Effective August 18, 2020, Universal Orlando Resort updated its theme park tickets from a tiered “seasons” to a “date-based variable” pricing model. This new system changes prices for all ticket options depending on which dates guests visit the parks. For those familiar with Walt Disney World’s current ticket system, this will seem familiar. In this article, we will cover what this means for your future vacation, how this compares to prior pricing, and how the tickets compare to Disney’s equivalent offerings.
All prices listed in this article are adult tickets.
The Old Way
Previously, Universal’s 1-day tickets were offered in three pricing tiers based on a seasonal ticket calendar: Value (only good on Value days), Regular (good on Value and Regular days), and Anytime (good for any day). Multiday tickets were offered at one price regardless of when one visits; no matter if the calendar said a 1-day ticket was $126.74 at Value or $148.04 at Anytime the 2-day ticket was still priced at $250.27. Adding on additional days, park-to-park hopping, and Volcano Bay increased the cost at a set rate.
Previous ticket options, with tax, from Touring Plans’ Universal Orlando ticket site.
The last ticket price increase was February 26, 2020, with an increase of $5 for 1-day tickets.
The New 1-Day Ticket
The new system follows Disney’s lead by creating a date-based ticketing system where pricing varies based on which date you start visiting. Here are the 1-day adult ticket prices, without tax, for the rest of 2020 at Universal Orlando.
Ticket pricing now ranges from $109 ($116.09 with tax) to $139 ($148.04 with tax) per adult. This means on several days Universal has dropped single-day tickets up to $10 per adult. But how many days did they actually lower prices, how many days remained the same, and how many increased?
The above custom calendar color codes the pricing changes: red for days more expensive, blue days that remained roughly the same (within $1), and green for days where admission prices dropped. Universal is clearly attempting to attract guests with lower prices during the week through the month of September. As we get into October and November we see no prices have dropped and, in fact, a majority of days we see price increases. In December a majority of days’ pricing remains the same.
With date-based pricing, Universal has the option of adjusting these dates as they see demand pick up or wane; the pricing is accurate as of August 18, 2020. It is possible Universal will lower prices if demand remains soft during the week. Pricing is likely to remain the same over the major Fall US Holidays: Labor Day Weekend, Columbus Day Weekend, Thanksgiving Weekend, and the week of and after Christmas up to New Year’s Eve.
The exception to this rule is Volcano Bay, which offers a flat $80.00 per adult plus tax ticket.
Multiday Tickets
Universal now decides the cost of a multiday ticket based on a per-day cost listed on their calendar. This price is calculated similarly to how Disney finds prices its multiday tickets:
Taking the average of 1-day ticket prices over the valid window for the ticket
Subtracting a set multiday discount
Multiplying by the number of days on the multiday ticket
Number of Days
Number of Days Ticket is Valid
Discount
Park-to-Park Add On
Volcano Bay Add On
2
5
3%
$60 per ticket
$40 per ticket
3
6
30%
$60 per ticket
$38 per ticket
4
7
45%
$65 per ticket
$47 per ticket
5
8
55%
$70 per ticket
$60 per ticket
Adding on Park-to-Park and Volcano Bay options are flat rate additions.
Ticket selection site on UniversalOrlando.com. I have selected one Park-to-Park ticket for 3 days.Selecting my start date for my tickets. Per the chart above my 3-day tickets have a window of those 3 days plus an additional 3 days.
Using this on the Universal Orlando ticket site is easy: Pick the number of days you will visit the parks, chose Park-to-Park tickets or Single Park Per Day tickets, add the number of tickets you are purchasing, and then select the ticket window start date. The start date lists a price and the subtotal is calculated.
Universal versus Disney
How do Universal’s new tickets compare to equivalent Disney tickets? I compared two different ticket lengths that are popular at both resorts, the 2-day and 4-day tickets. To keep things comparable I will only be pricing out one park per day tickets with no add ons. Due to Universal and Disney’s different ticket windows, I chose to compare weekends instead of strict dates.
The below table compares rough vacation dates over several popular travel weekends. To find these prices I attempted to find the lowest price for each ticket that also included the Saturday and Sunday of that weekend. For example, the WDW 4-day ticket in September choice is September 17 – 23 while the November date is November 27 – December 3.
Rough Dates
WDW 2-Day
UOR 2-Day
WDW 4-Day
UOR 4-Day
Third Weekend September
$238.14 plus tax
$186.99 plus tax
$410.79 plus tax
$254.99 plus tax
Second Weekend October
$253.24 plus tax
$196.99 plus tax
$448.04 plus tax
$276.99 plus tax
Fourth Weekend November
$266.39 plus tax
$196.99 plus tax
$459.64 plus tax
$276.99 plus tax
Fourth Weekend December
$299.99 plus tax
$197.99 plus tax
$520.04 plus tax
$277.99 plus tax
Unsurprisingly, Walt Disney World tickets are averaging $50-$240 more than the equivalent Universal tickets. Surprisingly the tickets remain competitive in September and October for 2-day tickets, while Universal is willing to undersell Disney on 4-day tickets. What is most interesting is the November and December holiday pricing at Disney shows strong demand while Universal’s prices remain the same from October.
Saving Money
The single biggest savings for tickets is the promotional 2-Day, Park-to-Park ticket with an additional free 2 days. Not only does this promotional ticket offer four days for the price of 2 days, it also uses the old flat pricing model. Even if you do not use the full 4 days, this promotional ticket is a better option than the current 2-day, 3-day, and 4-day tickets.
Tickets & Dates
Price
Savings
2-Day, Park-to-Park + 2 Days Free
$278.99 plus tax
–
2-Day, Park-to-Park (August 31 – September 4)
$278.99 plus tax
$0
2-Day, Park-to-Park (October 8 – 12)
$305.99 plus tax
$27
4-Day, Park-to-Park (October 8 – 14)
$341.99 plus tax
$63
The 2 free days deal saves $30 per ticket over Columbus Day Weekend 2020, and if you are visiting for 4 days it will save you $63 per ticket before tax. This ticket promo ends September 30, 2020, so purchase these now for use through December 17, 2021.
By moving your ticket window start date to a cheaper day you can save money.
Our next money-saving tip is to look at several date ranges for tickets. Say you wish to visit Universal on September 15-17, selecting a start date of September 15 the ticket is $309.99. By selecting a cheaper start date that still includes your visit dates you can save several dollars per ticket. Changing your start date to September 13 reduces the ticket cost to $302.99, saving $7 per ticket.
The incredible Florida resident deal.
If you live in Florida and are visiting Universal Orlando more than one day this year, you definitely need to purchase the 2-Park, 1-Day Promotional Ticket. Visit Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure every day till December 24, 2020, for the price of a 1-day ticket. Tickets are $164.00 per adult plus tax for the two dry parks and $193.00 per adult plus tax with Volcano Bay.
That’s the lowdown on Universal Orlando’s ticket changes. Have any thoughts or questions? Leave them in the comments below!
The creativity around mouse ears headbands continues to amaze. There’s some great new mouse ears headbands available at Walt Disney World as well as at shopDisney online. Here are some of the latest and greatest we’ve found.
Minnie Mouse Ears Metallic Lilac at Disney SpringsMinnie Mouse Ears Metallic Lilac at Disney SpringsMinnie Mouse Hockey Mouse Ears – Canada Pavilion
Minnie Mouse Hockey Mouse Ears – Canada PavilionNightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington Mouse EarsNightmare Before Christmas Mouse Ears by Loungefly
The Minnie Mouse Hockey Ears we found at the Canada Pavilion at EPCOT have great details! The bow and headband are made with hockey jersey fabric. There are two hockey sticks crossing each other on top of the bow, and the ears themselves resemble hockey pucks.
You can check out more new mouse ears that we’ve spotted at Walt Disney World and shopDisney online in this post.
Do you have a favorite pair of mouse ears? Which do you like best?
Remember March? Goodness that feels so so long ago. Well, back in March, Disney had announced that they were going to be sharing a sneak preview of the upcoming live action version of the film Mulan in the parks. Then, of course, COVID happened, which also meant that the debut of Mulan was put on hold.
Now, with Mulan about to hit Disney+, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will officially be showing a preview of the upcoming film. Beginning on August 21 and for a limited time, Guests can catch the sneak peek as part of the Walt Disney Presents attraction. As part of this experience, Guests will also also be able to see a display featuring an original witch costume used in the production of the film, along with an authentic replica of a warrior costume and sword.
Acclaimed filmmaker Niki Caro brings the epic tale of China’s legendary warrior to life in Disney’s Mulan, in which a fearless young woman risks everything out of love for her family and her country to become one of the greatest warriors China has ever known.
You can begin streaming Mulan on September 4, exclusively on Disney+ for an additional fee with Premier Access.
Sometimes it is great to see things from your childhood come back. Other times it’s a reminder how long ago your childhood actual was. At Disney Springs our team spotted new Koosh Ball key chains featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Stitch, and the beloved Orange Bird. Each one features the full body of the character as a rubber figure at the top of the key chain, and a rubbery, springy Koosh ball at the bottom. The 90s vibes are so strong. Each one is $14.99.
Disney Koosh Ball Key Chains at Disney SpringsMickey Mouse Koosh Ball Key ChainMinnie Mouse Koosh Ball Key ChainOrange Bird Koosh Ball Key ChainStitch Koosh Ball Key Chain
For those that need some big sparkle in their life there’s reversible sequin key chains at Disney Springs. Each one is a Mickey Mouse head icon, or a Minnie Mouse icon with sequins that are one color on one side and another color on the other side. Reversible sequins have been very trendy on apparel and housewares for about a year or so. These key chains are also $14.99.
Mickey and Minnie Reversible Sequins Key Chains at Disney SpringsMickey and Minnie Reversible Sequins Key Chains at Disney SpringsMickey and Minnie Reversible Sequins Key Chains at Disney Springs
Which do you like better, the Koosh Ball or the reversible sequins keychains?
