[00:00:06] Speaker A: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Mouse Ears podcast, where we talk about all things travel, but mostly Disney, brought to you by fairytale journeys. Travel.
Hello, everybody. Welcome in to the Mouse Ears podcast. You know, I actually wanted to start off by the old famous saying from Jurassic park. Welcome to Jurassic park.
However, we're not in Jurassic park, so that's not gonna work. Welcome to the Mouse Ears podcast, a podcast of all things travel, but mostly Disney. Except tonight, we're not talking about Disney at all. But that's okay. You got me. My name is Kelton. I'm one of your hosts for tonight. With me, two special people, we've got Brooks. Brooks. Good evening.
[00:00:56] Speaker B: Good evening. Happy to be here. And glad that we're not in Jurassic park. Or mainly glad I'm not the guy using the bathroom at Jurassic park.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: The lawyer, the port lawyer. He was just there to try to save the company.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: That's all I know. But they spared no expense.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: They spared. We spared no expense.
That's my best Jon Hammond that I can come up with along with Brooks. You got me. You got Brooks. Steph is taking a well needed vacation. Her and Mike are out traveling, so safe travels to them.
To be honest, I don't remember when we will see or hear Steph again. So I guess when she comes back, she comes back. But tonight, we also have somebody else special with us, you know, and lover, we've got Jennifer Turlington. Jen, welcome back. Back to the podcast.
[00:01:50] Speaker C: Thank you so much. It's great to be here.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: A round of applause, everybody. Golf club. Golf club.
Well, being from. We were just talking about our hometowns and Brooks being from Augusta, which nobody knows, they had no golf courses whatsoever. Not a home of anything.
[00:02:09] Speaker C: No, nothing.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: Very, very bland town. No music at all.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Nothing.
[00:02:16] Speaker C: It's just a barren wasteland of nothingness.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: Depends on where you go in Augusta.
I don't. I don't like it, but some people call this call Augusta disgusta lacklusta.
[00:02:30] Speaker C: Oh, I hadn't heard that.
[00:02:32] Speaker B: I don't. I don't believe that. But that's, like a local thing. But I digress.
[00:02:38] Speaker A: Well, if you're from Augusta, Georgia, we love you, too.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:02:42] Speaker A: So before you know, tonight's topic, like I said, we're not talking about Disney. If you listened to our episode last week, we did a package breakdown for Disney or Walt Disney World, per se. This week, we're talking about the theme park up the road, the home of Jurassic park, the home of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando. I'm excited. You know, it's all it's it's fun to talk about Universal. We don't get to do it very often. It's been a number of years since I've been back. And plus, next summer, 2025, epic Universe opening up. So that's gonna be really cool.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: So excited about that. So I can't wait.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: I cannot wait. I'm still wondering, maybe they'll let us set up a table and just podcast live for hours just right in front of the park.
[00:03:39] Speaker C: I think that they should.
[00:03:41] Speaker A: I think they should. I think, you know, a very, you know, a small. Just a Honda or, you know, gas powered generator. Very quiet. Nothing won't disturb it too much.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: So I would just be happy to podcast from either Stella Luna or Terra Nova.
[00:03:57] Speaker C: I was going to say one of the resorts. Yeah, that might be an idea, guys.
[00:04:02] Speaker A: If we can get lucky enough, get the hotel that's actually connected to the park. I don't remember the name, and if I did, I'd probably pronounce it incorrectly anyway.
But the one that's in. That's in the back of the park of a celestial park. So it should be a pretty fun time. If you haven't, I'm gonna say, if you haven't watched the video that universal released for the super Nintendo world, go back and watch it. You know, Super Mario land, donkey Kong country. It's gonna be. We still got more lands to go, so I'm looking forward to.
Excuse me. To see what. What epic universe is gonna bring. However, it's our favorite segment. We got new news.
Brooks.
Take it away, my friend.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: Welcome to the new news. I am your host, Brooks, coming with you live this week from Nolan's or so I wish, folks, we finally have an opening date for Tiana's bayou adventure in Magic Kingdom.
And I was wrong with that date. I was thinking it was going to open, like, in August. I remember on June 28, 2024. This long awaited ride is opening back up this summer with a whole new storyline, characters, animatronics, music, and more.
But Disney did not just announce the opening date for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which did y'all notice a little bit of the mistake that Disney made because they were supposed to announce it? It was supposed to be a big announcement at American Idol.
[00:05:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: And then someone accidentally posted it on social media and then deleted it. But Cat was out of the bag at that point. Everyone knew.
But Disney also announced, uh, preview dates. So, first off, Disney announced annual passholder previews on select dates in June. That's June 13, the 14th, the 16th, the 17th, the 18th, and the 20th. So no June 15 or June 19. Park reservations for those dates for the annual passholders have already been taken.
[00:06:40] Speaker A: Oh yeah, they're gone.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: Yeah, by 10:00 a.m. of that announcement, they were all gone.
But if anyone is interested, there are still few little tricks of the trade that annual pass holders can use to join the queues. If you're interested, let us know. Maybe we'll talk about that later time, maybe post that in the Facebook group.
But also, DVC members can register to ride Tiana's Bayou Adventure on June 12 from one to 04:00 p.m. and June 19 from nine to 12:00 p.m. registration opens today, May 16 at 10:00 a.m. estimated and that registration will be found in the members email. Pre registration is required as the event is expected to sell out.
Finally, D 23, the official Disney Fan Club, is treating its gold members to an exclusive event at Tianas Bayou adventure. The separately ticketed experience allows skold members to enjoy unlimited rides on the attraction until 09:30 p.m. estimated. The event features live jazz performances and special snacks. Attendees will also receive entry into Magic Kingdom and a D 23 exclusive Tiana's Bayou Adventure commemorative pinnae. Tickets go on sale today, May 16 at 01:00 p.m. eastern Standard time. For $67 a person, you must have a D 23 gold membership in order to purchase those tickets.
Guys, it's coming.
So if you can't go to any of those previews is still, it still opens up June 28.
Again, I was shocked that was going to be that early.
[00:08:34] Speaker A: I had a feeling, but, you know, I wasn't sure if they would make it. So, yeah, still pretty cool trying to beat that, that late summer rush that they'll get in July.
[00:08:45] Speaker B: Yep.
But then also, speaking of tickets going on sale, tickets for Mickey's not so scary Halloween party went on sale to the general public and Wednesday, May 15. So it opened up to people that already had Parker already had hotel reservations on May the 8th and now it's open to general public yesterday. As of this recording, may the 15th. Contact your fairytale journeys they trout very fairy tale journeys agent to book your tickets before they sell out. Because tickets were selling out last year. As the closer it gets to Halloween, the harder those tickets are going to get. So you want to go closer to Halloween?
Get your tickets now.
[00:09:39] Speaker C: Yeah, usually the first few nights will sell out, too. Yeah, sometimes.
[00:09:44] Speaker A: Actually, I think, I think last year it, I think every event sold out I think party did.
[00:09:51] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:09:52] Speaker A: So it's gonna happen.
[00:09:54] Speaker B: Yeah. But as we're talking about Universal, Universal released a new video highlighting its brand new land at Hollywood studios, Florida, DreamWorks Land, opening June 14.
So two weeks before Tiana's Bayou adventure, the new video showed quick looks at trolls Land, Shrekland, and kung fu Panda land.
We'll provide a link to the video on the Mouse Ears podcast Facebook group. If you haven't had a chance to look at it, I would highly suggest looking.
They just, they highlighted, like, some of the special treats. And also, apparently there's a, in Shrekland, there's a slide going through the outhouse. I mean, mean, who doesn't want to, whose outhouse doesn't include a slide?
Yeah, but I mean, maybe if you're in Branchville, South Carolina, you may have a outhouse. As we were talking about hometowns, that's, that's my wife Kelsey's hometown that I kid. They do not, people do not have outhouses back there.
But it is a small town.
But that, although this doesn't cover all the new news, we hope you enjoyed this segment of the podcast. Again, there's, if we wanted to cover all the news that comes out through all the parks, we, we wouldn't have time to cover our topics. But if you're fan and want to be informed of more news, follow our Facebook group and our TikTok page for more. And with that, we go back to the studio. Kelton, Jennifer, thank you, Brooks.
[00:11:47] Speaker A: And welcome back from your short not trip to nolans.
[00:11:51] Speaker B: Oh, thank you. It was, it was hot there.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Now, that's awesome. So, like we had talked about, tonight's episode is on kind of a breakdown of what universal offers for their packages, and they actually have quite a few different things that you can do much more than what Disney does, to be honest, because they've kind of, they've got things tailored to different things. So it's, it's a pretty good. I will say, you know, I say it every time we talk about universal.
I am universal strong. What they are doing with the lack of space, they're a lot like those that don't know. They're a lot like Disneyland. They're landlocked. They really can't do very much, but they are just, they are swinging with what they have, and they are coming out on top. So very happy with what universal has been doing.
So we're going to go ahead and kind of break down what everything is. It's going to be, it's going to kind of follow the same structure as last episodes was. So we'll just start out with something simple. You know, what's involved in a package, what makes a package?
How do we create that and kind of like what Disney was. It's your hotel reservation and it's your park ticket.
Pretty simple. I mean, there's, there's really no other way to go about, you know, to go about that. But diving into for. Because I got all of us on here really are, you know, southerners. So we're going like the meat and potatoes. You don't pull out the casserole, the hot dish type of thing. We're gonna go heavy first. So let's, let's go ahead. We'll do a. I'll go over just a real quick bullet points of what packages are out there that universal Orlando offers, and then we'll just pick them and break everything down and I, you know, get to the spices of all the packages and all that good stuff. So universal offers, they've got just your simple, create your own package. For our Harry Potter fans out there listening to the podcast, they have a wizarding world of Harry Potter exclusive vacation package that is more tailored to the either hogsmeade or I, Diagon Alley. So that really is very specific then, for everybody who likes to have the willy scared out of you, they've got a Halloween horror nights hotel and ticket package for you as well. Of course, that's more of, you know, your, your September, I guess this year it's August, September, and October.
I know that Brooks and step will 100% be booking through that package if they go.
Me, not so much.
[00:15:00] Speaker C: Yeah, count me in on that.
[00:15:02] Speaker A: Oh, gen two. Well, yeah, I just. I'll be there somewhere, just not inside universal Orlando, I'll tell you that much.
And then on top of that, you've got it. We've got a premier vacation package. This is more tailored to your premier resorts. And those are your Lowe's royal Pacific, hard rock, and Lowe's Portofino Bay hotel resorts. So. And they are as close as you can get to the theme park. So they're good hotel. And so we'll dive into those as well. And then, of course, for all you annual pass holders, youre different tiers for that. I've got a package just for you guys as well.
So we'll go ahead and dive in. Who, uh, you know, who wants to take you could pick one. We can just. We don't have to go down the line.
It doesn't really matter to me who wants to go first. Anybody?
[00:16:05] Speaker B: I'll go, I'll go, I'll go first.
So, I mean, I'll take the one that, you know, I feel like y'all, y'all all want to pick, but maybe a little scared too.
So I'll, I'll go. I'll start off with the, with the Halloween horror nights package. So this package really, if you're looking to again, go to Halloween horror nights, this is, and playing a whole vacation around that time, this really would be.
[00:16:45] Speaker A: The.
[00:16:47] Speaker B: Package for you. So this package would include just in the base, just at the basics, the, your hotel accommodations, so you can choose to stay at any of Universal's wonderful hotels.
And then with that you can get a three.
Three park, which is the part to park to park? Well, yeah, it's three part to park, to park. Four day tickets. So with that, you can go to Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure, and Universal Volcano Bay if it's open.
And then also you would get one night admission to Halloween horror night. So that would be included in with your stay.
So with that package, though, you, you can book that package between now and November 2, and you will be able to go from August 29 to November 3.
And depending on how long you stay, you can potentially save even more. They, they can say, they say stay, scream, and save.
[00:18:21] Speaker A: Up.
[00:18:21] Speaker B: And it is, again, you get your park tickets and you get your ticket to Halloween horror night. So you don't have to worry about getting that extra wish. That is a set just like Nikki. It's not so scary. Is a separate ticketed event. There are a lot more things that you can add on, which I think we're going to get on to the extras later. But that is basically the basics. What's included in that package?
So who would like to go next?
[00:18:56] Speaker C: I would like to talk about my favorite, and that's premier.
I love the premier packages.
[00:19:05] Speaker B: It's a good one.
[00:19:07] Speaker C: It is. And I think that the value that it provides, yes, on the surface it looks like you're spending more money, but when you actually break it down because you get express pass, it is an incredible value. And the one thing that I really love about Universal is express pass, because there's no scheduling, there's no being on your app. You just walk up to the line and scan your keycard for your room and just walk on. Um, it's, it's amazing.
[00:19:47] Speaker A: It is, it is slick and it wipes the court of Genie. Plus, I mean, there it nothing and that, and I think that's why separately, the express pass has such a heavy price tag.
[00:20:06] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:20:06] Speaker A: Because of what I mean. But they also. I'm. So we can do it. We don't have to do, you know, because there's a breakdown of the express passes. We'll do it. We'll do it when we. I think we have that at the end. I'll save it for the end. Yeah, go ahead.
[00:20:23] Speaker C: So the vacation package is four nights at one of the premier resorts.
My, just for the location wise, hard rock is going to be closest to the parks. It is maybe a ten minute walk, and they have actually a really nice butterfly garden that you can walk through on the way. Very nice.
I love portofino, but hard rock is the closest. And when I stayed there with the kids, man, it was just so easy. Ticket around from there.
But it's four nights of hotel accommodation, three park, four day park to park tickets.
You get the early park admission because you're on property.
Get free express Unlimited. There is a difference between the regular express pass and the unlimited. The unlimited, you can go on the same attraction as many times as you want, whereas a regular express pass, you're limited to once per per day.
[00:21:38] Speaker B: And I would say that's what the, I feel like the true value of that premier package really comes. Really staying at premier resort.
[00:21:47] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:21:47] Speaker B: You, you initially see that price difference. You're like, ooh, I don't know. But when you get that express unlimited along with it, it really just bumps up that bang for your buck.
[00:22:04] Speaker C: Yeah, I think my kids did.
Was it green guts five times, something like that. Like just off it and back on and back on. And then we left and went to Nocturne Alley for a little while and came back over and went on it again and again.
[00:22:26] Speaker A: Has a very long line, you know. So if you're going through some of those busy seasons. Yeah. It, you know, to get the most out of it, you know.
[00:22:35] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:22:36] Speaker A: You may have to look into the premiere. It's a great package. I'm with you on that one.
[00:22:39] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:22:40] Speaker B: Because correct me if I'm wrong, I think the only ride you can't use it on is Hagrid's.
[00:22:45] Speaker C: That is correct.
[00:22:47] Speaker B: I think every other ride, including velocicoaster, you can use the express.
I've never seen.
[00:22:55] Speaker C: I haven't done velocicoaster, so I haven't done it yet.
[00:23:01] Speaker B: I remember seeing it on the list when researching. Yeah, Hagrid's is the only one not.
[00:23:09] Speaker C: I almost got on velocicoaster until it went flying above me upside down at a thousand miles an hour. And I was like, we're good. I'm gonna go sit with the dinosaurs.
Wow.
[00:23:20] Speaker B: 1000 miles an hour.
[00:23:21] Speaker C: That's like, it really. It looked like a thousand miles an hour.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: Coaster tycoon. When you could adjust the speed and send people flying, that's awesome.
[00:23:34] Speaker C: And then something that I think not a lot of people touch on, but the premier package also comes with priority seating, you know, at restaurants, and it's. That's something that, you know, is really. That's a. That's a great value to be able to do that.
[00:23:58] Speaker A: Universal has quality restaurants, too. I mean, there's a couple in there that have, like, actually won awards.
[00:24:05] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:24:06] Speaker A: So don't sleep on the restaurants for Universal, too.
[00:24:10] Speaker C: Yeah.
Yeah. So I. I love the premier packages.
I love anything that has to do with premiere. I mean, universal. I honestly, I think I like the universal resorts better than Disney.
I know.
[00:24:31] Speaker A: Oh, dear.
[00:24:32] Speaker C: I know, I know. Bring out the boxing gloves. But I mean, each Disney resort I love in its own way, but I think overall, with what universal resorts offer and the things that you can do, you know, you can stay at Cabana Bay, but then you can go over and use the amenities at the premier resorts.
There's just a lot, and they're really nice. If you have not seen club level at Portofino, you are missing out. I have.
I think I have a bunch of videos that we could probably put up, but it's amazing. It's just never ending.
[00:25:15] Speaker A: That is really cool. I will say, you know, they're.
Their premier resorts are definitely. It's all.
[00:25:25] Speaker B: Both.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: Both Disney and Universal are very different when it comes to their. Their hotels, but, yeah, their premier resorts are of. And they're in the premiere for a reason. They are quality. And the thing if you're not into, you know, the crazy theming that we know can do, you know, then I would. That's definitely a place I would look.
[00:25:50] Speaker C: Yeah, they're.
[00:25:51] Speaker A: They're very luxurious, very, you know, think the grand Floridian, but without going back to the, you know, when the Ford Model T was running around on dirt roads, so.
Might be a little too far back, but, you know, maybe.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: So.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: Maybe the fifties. We'll go the fifties. Sixties.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: I say, now, have you seen this thing with the moving pictures?
[00:26:14] Speaker A: Say, if you don't have to stand out front and crank it in the rain to get it. To go, get it going, then, you know, are you really at. Are you really living? So.
No, it's, you know, have you. Have you stayed at all three premier resorts.
[00:26:30] Speaker C: I have not yet. So I. So yet.
[00:26:35] Speaker A: Key. We have one booked.
[00:26:38] Speaker C: I may have one booked for the end of the summer, but.
So we're. We want to go Labor Day, and I have nothing stayed at Royal Pacific yet. And I was like, hey, let's do this. And then Disney announced food and wine is opening right before then. So now I'm like, I have to go to food and wine festival. So now we're like, do we do universal or do we do Disney?
[00:27:13] Speaker A: Well, you're an annual pass holder, aren't you? For.
[00:27:17] Speaker C: I am, and I will be for universal by the end of the year.
[00:27:25] Speaker A: Interesting.
[00:27:26] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:27:27] Speaker B: I'm trying to talk Kelsey into that one.
[00:27:30] Speaker A: Yeah, well, see, universal has the ability. You. You can be an out, like, the three of us are an out of state resident and still buy any of the categories for their annual pass. I think that's great. So Disney needs to get on that train. I don't. I don't want to have to, you know, spend $35,000 into DVC to buy the second tier annual pass down, because that makes no financial sense. I mean, that's not Disney mathing, so.
[00:28:03] Speaker B: But.
[00:28:05] Speaker A: Well, if you. If you spend the $35,000, then, yeah, then you can go to Disney pretty much for free whenever you want for the next 83 years.
Maybe it's not 83. It's 60, 62 years, I think, is what DBC is, but not.
[00:28:23] Speaker B: Or you could take that money and try to become a club 33 member.
[00:28:27] Speaker C: See, I like this plan.
[00:28:31] Speaker B: But then I think I looked it up one time. Club 33, I think, cost like 35,000 a year. Then it's like, get on the wait list. Yeah. And then once you remember, it's like six. It's like 15 or 17,000 a year.
[00:28:47] Speaker A: Only half the cost. Not too bad. Pocket change, right?
[00:28:50] Speaker C: So, yeah, it's just. We'll just go out to the money tree and just pull that off, or we'll write a check. How's that?
[00:29:01] Speaker A: Oh, you're right.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: But, Jen, did you have anything else to say about the premier packages?
[00:29:08] Speaker C: No, that's. That's about it. I. It's. I think that if you can get over, and I really don't even think it's a sticker shock with the price, but when you break it down for what you get, I mean, to me, it's. If you're not going to be doing one of the other packages, it's a no brainer.
[00:29:32] Speaker A: Well, it. Because the last thing, I think, the last thing any. Any of us would want to hear from. From a client is saying, well, we didn't get to do everything, but because we chose to, to save money and stay at, you know, Cabana Bay, endless summer with nothing wrong with those. But now, then, at the same time, if you're gonna go through summertime, it gets busy. I mean, you're looking like velocity coaster would. It's probably gonna be a four out, three to four hour wait. I mean, in the summertime, it's still a newer attraction.
[00:30:11] Speaker C: And something that I tell my clients when they're going is that, you know, like, we were talking about the scope and how Disney is so big, you know, just in terms of land mass, and that universal is landlocked. Well, universal can't go out, so they went up. So you are out there in that Florida summer heat and humidity, climbing up and down stairs. Now, they do have elevators that you can use, but you're going up and down a lot of stairs. And I.
[00:30:49] Speaker A: You.
[00:30:49] Speaker C: You know, that's something, I think, to consider in your plans. You know, how do you want to spend all day? Waiting on stairs and going up a few steps and waiting on stairs and going up some more? Or do you just want to get through the lines?
[00:31:09] Speaker A: Well, in all of the attractions, I mean, you think you'd spoken about gringotts from green gods or forbidden journey over in Hogwarts in the castle. You know, all of those attractions and more have outside cues, and sometimes you get them with fan and misters, and sometimes you don't. So it. Sometimes it does. It does pay to have, you know, the luxuries of the premier resorts. Plus, you know, just the quality in itself. It's.
[00:31:50] Speaker B: Yeah, they are luxurious.
[00:31:52] Speaker A: I've stayed at Royal Pacific. Now, this was many eons ago when Florida, when universal was still giving no teacher discounts, the teachers. And we went over and stayed, and that's where we stayed. And, well, it was the only three resorts at the time.
[00:32:10] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:11] Speaker A: Or else you stayed at the, you know, the Holiday Inn across the street. But I remember staying. It's. It is a very, very nice hotel.
So there's plenty of YouTube videos out there. I. I'm with you on that.
[00:32:26] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:27] Speaker A: So.
Well, very good. Um, Brooks, do you mind if I talk about Harry Potter?
I can go ahead. Got the thumbs up.
So we'll dive in just real quick here on the wizarding world of Harry Potter exclusive vacation package. Now, this one you can have up to. You got five hotel accommodations, which does even include the two resorts that are opening out by Epic Universe, the Stella Nova and Terra Luna. But with this package, you're gonna get two.
I hate it. I don't like how they do this, but it. It's a two park, park to park promo ticket for four days.
So what's nice about this is the fact that, you know, you get the early park admission just like every other I really. Resort on the universal property is getting to go in an hour early to either Hogsmeade or to Diagon Alley to get in those attractions, getting land before the general population for the day. So that's always good.
You can either have a. Included is either a breakfast at the Lakey cauldron or breakfast at the three broomsticks. You get one of the other, so you get a breakfast added in. So that's really, that's nice on top of it.
But then you also get a couple of other, you know, add ons. You get one photography studio session that does include a commemorative eight dvd photo album and then an exclusive designed eight by ten photo print. So that's included with the package. And then, and I'm gonna butcher this name here, but you get a pretty much an ice cream flight from Florians fortiscu, maybe. I don't know.
[00:34:35] Speaker C: I think you were really close.
[00:34:37] Speaker A: I probably was.
[00:34:38] Speaker C: I think you're very close.
[00:34:42] Speaker A: But I. You pretty much get a.
An ice cream flight, four flavors of your choosing from honeydukes. So that's kind of something nice. So if you're a big Harry Potter fan, strongly suggest, you know, you maybe check out this package, because the fact that you get, you know, four days worth of park to park tickets. So it only includes islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando. So you would have to, if you wanted to do, well, not Cabana Bay. Oh, my God. Oh, my goodness. Volcano.
[00:35:18] Speaker C: Volcano Bay.
[00:35:19] Speaker A: Yes. Thank you. If you wanted to do Volcano Bay, you would have to purchase those tickets separately, which, you know, can be done by, you know, your fairytale journeys travel agent or, you know, any travel agent that you may be working with. You can also do the. Do that at the vacation planning center at any of the resorts that you're staying at as long as you're on Universal Orlando properties. So that's kind of a reason why we tend, we do tend to talk about staying on the property. It's because you get that extra hour in Harry Potter. So if you think about it, park opens up at nine. You can start riding the attractions in Diagon Alley and hogs, meet an hour early. So you can. You can be done with the Harry Potter areas, you know, by park open. Then you can focus your attention on all of the other areas of either universal or islands. So for my Harry Potter people out there. I know I have. I know there's some. I have friends that would be like, hey, let's go, you know, get your wands and get your robes. If you don't know about the interact interaction stuff with the wands, you got to get your. Your magic wands. Like, I've got. No, I don't. Kenny took it. I had a little Mickey Mouse wand. It's not that. It's. It lights up. It's from the glow with the show stuff back, you know, ten years ago.
But if you're one of those, you know that you've got your. You got your robes, you got your wand. Like, you can go and do, you know, interact. They got a bunch of different things you can do spells with. It's actually pretty. So, Jen, I know. I'm assuming you are a Harry Potter.
[00:37:16] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:37:17] Speaker A: Brooks, what about you, my friend?
[00:37:21] Speaker B: I am house hufflepuff.
[00:37:24] Speaker A: I was going to say, Jen. What? Where do you reside?
[00:37:28] Speaker C: Gryffindor.
[00:37:29] Speaker A: See? So I think I do, too.
[00:37:31] Speaker B: Have y'all taken the test on Pottermore?
[00:37:34] Speaker C: Mm hmm.
[00:37:35] Speaker A: I need to. It's. I haven't done it. So while we're. While we are recording, I have.
[00:37:42] Speaker B: I'm house Hufflepuff with tendency of Gryffindor.
So I think my wife was raving claw with tendencies of slow slytherin.
[00:37:55] Speaker A: So we're gonna have to have a chat with Kelsey.
Like, I'm not real sure on that.
[00:38:03] Speaker B: Not all slytherins are evil.
[00:38:07] Speaker A: No, no. Okay. I'll get. I'll give you that.
[00:38:10] Speaker B: Yeah, so, I mean, sniffress. Snape.
[00:38:14] Speaker A: Snape.
[00:38:15] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:38:16] Speaker A: Nape.
[00:38:17] Speaker B: Which get into a little bit of Harry Potter, and we'll go back.
Did y'all read the books as well?
[00:38:25] Speaker A: Oh, yes, absolutely.
[00:38:26] Speaker B: Okay. Okay. Okay, good.
Towards the end, did you feel a lot more for Snape than you did for Dumbledore?
[00:38:36] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:38:36] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:38:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
Like, as you're reading it, you're just like. Okay. It's like death's just like. Dobby, of course, is number one.
[00:38:46] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:38:47] Speaker B: And then.
[00:38:48] Speaker C: That was hard.
[00:38:49] Speaker B: Yeah. And. And then Snape. And then I feel like just way down here was dumbledore towards the end of the books?
[00:38:58] Speaker A: Well, you know, I think it was still sad, but.
[00:39:01] Speaker B: It was still sad.
[00:39:02] Speaker A: Yes, but look at what I mean.
[00:39:04] Speaker B: I mean, you.
[00:39:05] Speaker A: You had through. Yeah.
[00:39:07] Speaker B: You had dobby. You had Snape. Oh, man. Sirius Black. Oh, Remus.
[00:39:13] Speaker C: I sobbed at that one, George.
[00:39:16] Speaker A: I pretty sure I sobbed at George. That's hard.
I mean, like the wheeze you. How can you, how can you kill off a twin? You can't.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: So here's, here's a little bit of like little lore with Harry Potter after. And I think like all this was on Pottermore, I think it's called something else now. I think it's Potter more anymore.
But aft, like after the battle of Hogwarts, I think Fred actually like dyed his hair because, yeah, whenever he looked in the mirror, all he saw was George.
[00:40:02] Speaker A: I actually think I remember reading that somewhere. That's pretty cool.
[00:40:06] Speaker C: So it was rebranded to Wizarding world.
[00:40:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
So job, Jen, that's awesome.
[00:40:15] Speaker B: That's what I thought it was. But I've been, I have known to say stuff wrong in the past. So we are not all perfect.
[00:40:26] Speaker A: No. And that's okay.
[00:40:30] Speaker B: But we do have another package real quick to talk about.
[00:40:33] Speaker A: You're going to talk about the annual pass.
[00:40:35] Speaker B: Yes. So with this, if you're on the fence of getting annual pass and you're like, you know what, I kind of want to pull the trigger on that annual pass, but I also want to book a trip at the same time.
This is the package for you. So with this package, you get a vacation package and an annual pass. And it's the preferred annual pass. So we talked about the different stages of annual passes. You have this seasonal, you have the power, you have the preferred, and then you have the premier. So it's the third, it's a third stage annual pass. So with this package, you get a four night hotel accommodations, which as you purchase this package, you will get your annual pass discount with it.
You will get the preferred annual pass with a park to park to park.
And then also because you're staying on property, you will also get that early park admission.
We did. And then also with this, the annual pass of flex payments. So Universal also offers this to where you can pay half of the annual pass up front and then you have twelve months to pay off the rest.
[00:42:10] Speaker A: Let's go universal.
[00:42:13] Speaker B: Yeah, because Disney, I think the payment plan is only offered to Florida residents.
[00:42:19] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:42:20] Speaker B: So there's another thing that universal does, but the flex payment option is not available with the pack, with the vacation package for your annual pass.
But again, the value for the deal. So I mean, you can you get your hotel, hotel with the, um, discount already included and then you, you get your annual pass and then you're good.
[00:42:53] Speaker A: I mean, why, if you're already on the fence with it. Why not purchase the annual pass and try it out the very first time you pick it up? I mean, you check, you go, you check in, you know, to enter hotel here and you, you know, you're ready. You pick. You go to the planning center that's in the lobby, you pick up that annual pass and you're good. The next morning you are.
[00:43:19] Speaker B: Get your lanyard.
[00:43:20] Speaker A: Yep, got. You. Got to have your lanyard.
[00:43:22] Speaker C: Gotta have the lanyards.
[00:43:24] Speaker A: We can get our FTG lanyards. I actually do have to get some of those now that I think of that, but. Yeah. Well, then the next morning, you know, your first park day on your. Your universal Orlando annual pass, and you're sitting there going five times on Gringotts before the park even opens.
So.
[00:43:46] Speaker C: That sounds like a plan.
[00:43:48] Speaker B: Sounds like a good plan.
[00:43:50] Speaker C: Yeah. I'm liking this now.
[00:43:53] Speaker A: I just need the money to do it.
[00:43:56] Speaker B: Come on, it's cheaper than you think.
[00:44:00] Speaker A: Well, when you have twelve months to pay for it, of course.
[00:44:02] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:44:03] Speaker A: We are in a world of financing.
[00:44:05] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:44:05] Speaker A: So just. I'll just slap it on a credit card and I'll cry about later.
So I can. I can take the. You know, the last package, which is pretty much. It's your basic. You can kind of create it however you would like to.
So with this one, you can get a five night hotel accommodation, which, you know, includes a. The original ones, plus the Stella Nova and Terra Luna. I'm wondering how they're gonna do this when epic universe opens up. So that should be pretty interesting.
But with the create your own vacation package, this one, volcano Bay, is included. So you get a three park play four day base promo ticket, like I said, which includes universal Studios, islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay. So you pretty much get one park per day for each one of those. So not too shabby there. Also included is the early park admission to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. And. And also an extra hour in volcano Bay as well for this one, so.
[00:45:23] Speaker B: And one thing we. And one thing I feel like, you know, we. We mentioned the early parking missions. All of these also include the complimentary transportation from your hotel to the parks. Mean, I need it if you stay at hard, hard rock, because you can just walk. But all the others, you can take a bus or a boat.
[00:45:49] Speaker A: You know, I'm thinking about it. I don't.
Can you take a bus from Portofino and Royal Pacific?
[00:46:01] Speaker B: You can take a boat.
[00:46:04] Speaker A: Taxi is. I don't know if they do buses. So, Jen, when you go at the end of summer, you'll have to report back to kind of let us know if they are offering busses. I know, I do know. Like your sapphire falls. Yes, Sapphire Falls, which is in a whole league of its own.
I think it's the premier value, I think is the resort category. Off top my head. But they've got the water taxi along with the bus system, so universal is taking, taking a page right out of Disney's book with their bus system. So they've really, they've really done well. And everything is within, I think everything's within like a five to seven minute drive from Citywalk. So they're really, they're, they're really doing a good job there. So that's kind of the breakdown of what you can get for your vacation packages. But, like, how I wanted to talk in the beginning, what are some extras, some add ons that people can add on to their vacation package. And I touched on this briefly earlier, but if you're not staying at a premier resort category, you can always add on the Universal Express passes if you want the photo package. A lot of cool photos out there in islands of adventure, you can do the, my universal photos. And we cannot forget to mention the good old fashioned vip experiences.
So some, I mean, you think it, like, you really think about you. If you want to break everything down, the vip experiences are not a bad price.
[00:48:01] Speaker C: No, they, and if I honestly, if I have a family that financially can't swing a premier for, you know, a long stay, they could stay at Cabana Bay and still have access to the premier resorts for their amenities, you know, or they can go over to dockside or, you know, surfside and, and just do a vip tour and still have, be able to get on everything. And it's very cost effective.
[00:48:38] Speaker A: And, and there are, that's, there are ways to, you know, to get around everything, you know, when it comes, if you're gonna, if you're gonna spend that time in the parks, you know, then maybe it's not a bad idea, you know, to do that vip experience because, I mean, you get all that extras.
[00:48:59] Speaker B: It's worth it.
[00:49:00] Speaker A: Well worth it.
[00:49:03] Speaker B: Yes.
Yeah. And again, it's.
And then also, if you're staying at any of those and it's around Halloween horror night and you want to add a Halloween horror night ticket, you can add that on with any of the packages or any of these specials that the Halloween horror nights does provide because there are vip tours with that. Some of those can get kind of pricey, especially if you do the ultra, like the big vip tour where you took.
Where you get, like, move to the front of the line to all the haunted houses.
[00:49:49] Speaker A: But that's the way to do all the houses, you know, because that's what Peter Brookhart was telling us when we had him on in October of last year. You know, if you're going down one time for the year, this is your one time for Halloween horror nights for that year. You know, it may not be a bad thing to look into when you talk about, you know, value of things. Things. Because on an. He said on an out, what, on an average night, you're getting maybe three.
[00:50:16] Speaker B: Or four houses on the busier nights. Yes. I think if you. If you're able to go kind of during the week, I think you can. I think he was saying, if he was saying you could get some more, but on the busy nights, like, you're getting maybe two houses.
[00:50:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:50:35] Speaker B: So.
[00:50:38] Speaker A: Be the two best houses either.
[00:50:41] Speaker B: But, like, also you can do. So they have.
I think it's, like, behind the screen vip tours that I think that's, like. Yeah, but they have. They have, like, during the day where you can go in and see all the houses with a lot, like, lights on and everything. See how, like.
And then, because I have a friend that he's. He's doing it all up this year. Like, he's doing the vip tours and then he's doing the behind the screens tour and then going again the next. That same night.
[00:51:19] Speaker C: Oh, wow.
[00:51:21] Speaker B: So. But kind of you. You can learn how, like, some of the. How they do some of the effects on the houses, and then you can go back in and, like, oh, yeah, that's how they do that. And that's how they do that. So.
[00:51:35] Speaker A: So I did look it up, as it's called, the. The unmasking.
[00:51:39] Speaker B: Unmasking.
[00:51:40] Speaker A: The unmasking the horror tour. It's a guided, informational walking tour through some of the universe Orlando haunted houses during Halloween horror nights.
And on average, you can get. You walk through about 300 houses with the lights on.
[00:51:54] Speaker B: Mm hmm.
[00:51:55] Speaker A: So if that's your thing, go for it.
Absolutely.
[00:52:01] Speaker C: It actually sounds really cool because they do so much work.
[00:52:08] Speaker B: And your cash count and Margaritaville.
[00:52:13] Speaker A: You will not see me inside Universal Orlando during Halloween horror nights. It's just not gonna happen, you know?
[00:52:21] Speaker B: Come on.
[00:52:22] Speaker A: Nope, nope. No, no.
[00:52:27] Speaker C: I would say we'd hold your hand, but I am not to be trusted in haunted houses. I will leave you.
[00:52:34] Speaker A: I don't even trust my own wife to do it. You know, she will go with you guys, Kenny and I will stay out. We'll party on city walk.
So, so we are kind of, you know, creeping up on the end here. So just kind of the last thing, something we like to, you know, we touched on last week as well.
What are some reasons that, you know, why book with a travel agent? I've heard people say, well, travel agents are a dying breed. We have the Internet now, and I'll be honest with you. Yes. Okay. That might be true. However, if you haven't been to universal in ten years, what do you know about it? Anything? Did you know they were building a third theme park? I mean, it's like there, there's a lot that's well worth it. And I do, I have a very small handful of clients that, you know, do like to go, but don't like the price gouging that the parks do and this and that. So if you, you know, if you don't want to give universal or Disney or a cruise line or anything like that, you, you know, all your money, you know, we do this, that there's no charge to you as a client to have you guys, you know, use a travel agent. Those companies pay us, so we're making whatever percentage it is, you know, so it's the company that pays us, not you guys. So you guys are using us for kind of, you know, some knowledge. And, you know, there's also other things of price monitoring, too. So when I know, because I just did this for a couple of Disney clients going in September, they're going right around, right in the middle of, actually a week after, I think we get back for food and wine. But, you know, price monitoring. You don't have to sit there when a new package or sitting there guessing, hey, when is, you know, like, I'm going in December, too. So we're looking. Okay, when are, when is Disney gonna drop the, the winter discounts? Well, you can kind of just sit there and wait and, you know, maybe you'll get a call from your trip, your travel agent saying, hey, I just saved you a couple hundred bucks. Now you can go use that, you know, put fuel in your car because it's $3 a gallon now. And all of this, you know, or $3. It's 305 here at the gas station by my house. Yeah, yeah. I know the east coast a little is a little expensive, but, yeah, nothing.
[00:55:23] Speaker B: Like the west coast.
[00:55:24] Speaker A: But that, now, that's true. But I mean, here now also, if I drive like an hour north, I can just stop at somebody's, you know, oil well, and they've got a gas tank out there on the farm. Just, you know, that's farm math. You just pump it for free. If it comes out of the gas tank on the farm, it's free there.
So that it's, you know, it is well worth because then, you know, you have, like I was on a phone call actually I hung up like two minutes before we jumped on to record with a client that, you know, they're looking at maybe changing hotels and wanted to see what a price option was.
But when I told them that it was, you know, it was an extra twelve hundred dollars to bump up for because they've got a group of four rooms going, you know, and it's kind of their, this is their first time going, you know, especially with, with their first child and they haven't been in a whole lot of years. I'm like, y'all, it's worth it to kind of spend that much money for you guys. You know, you're only doing three parks and so it's good to have a tr, you know, to use a travel agent at the same time. And Jen, I know you had talked about, you've booked quite a, you know, a handful of, of universal packages. So it pays to have, you know, to have somebody on your side who may know, we're thinking to, you know, about where may be going. Yeah, we are farmers. That's right.
[00:56:55] Speaker C: I, yeah, we, the thing that I like to tell people is you're paying for a travel agent anyways.
You might as well utilize us. You know, this is what we do. This is what we love to do. And you know, like you said, saving people money. I mean that's one of the things that I personally, I specialize in. It's working with large families and trying to get them the most bang for their buck while making sure they get to do all of the things that they want to do or as many as they can do.
[00:57:37] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:57:39] Speaker C: But they're paying for us anyways.
Utilize us and let us take the pressure off. You know, yes, you have the Internet but you don't know if all of that stuff is accurate and you know, and who wants to spend all of that time looking through stuff that you just, you don't know if it's true.
[00:58:03] Speaker A: Or not and that's, that's exactly, that's exactly it. And you know, if you are one of those hands, I've got two or three clients that are very hands on people except they like to book through me because especially with Disney, you know, if you don't know uh, well, all three of us are travel agents with fairy tale journeys. Travel, who sponsors the podcast. Um, so. And FTJ is a platinum agency with Disney. And that's the reason they book through me is because. And they do everything themselves. They do their own, you know, dining plan. If they're doing that. They do all of those. They book their own genie pluses. Honestly, they are the best clients in the world. However, there have been a handful of times that call me and say, hey, you know, this is an issue. Well, we have the platinum and diamond, you know, phone line. So I call in. The message always says, you know, agents are busy booking with other, you know, advisors, this and that. Your wait time is five minutes, and then 10 seconds later it rings.
So it's very quick to get through. And so, you know, if you are a very hands on person, you know, it's nice to have that travel agent in your back pocket if you may need them, and maybe, maybe you won't.
[00:59:33] Speaker C: Yeah, I tell people, you know, especially my first time clients, but even my repeat clients know I will be as involved as you need me to be. If you just want to use me to book. So I'm an extra set of eyes and I'm there and I can take care of you if anything comes up.
That's fine. Handle all your own planning. That's fine.
If you want me to handle everything, and all you have to do is pack a bag and get on a plane or in the car and go, I will do that, too. Whatever. You know, I tell people this is their vacation.
So, you know, you tell me what you want it to look like, and then that's what we do, and we make it happen.
[01:00:18] Speaker A: And you're also supporting small businesses, too. So, you know, we do. You got to go out and you got to support your small businesses. That's what's going to keep this country running. So.
But any, any final thoughts about our universal Orlando packages or Universal Orlando in general?
[01:00:40] Speaker C: I have a quick tip for Universal Orlando.
[01:00:45] Speaker B: We love our.
[01:00:45] Speaker C: Okay, so you know how I said that? And the premier resorts are just a quick boat ride away in the water taxi because everything is so close. If you are going in the middle of summer and you are just blazing hot, bring your bathing suit or wear it under your clothes, take a midday break, head over to hard rock.
Now, this is only if you're staying at, you know, not one of the.
I don't know, because I really like, like, prime value. Yeah, like one of the values.
[01:01:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:01:31] Speaker C: But if you are at, you know, Cabana Bay, Sapphire Falls, any of that, you can get a day pass to use a pool. So take that midday break, go and hang out at the pool at Hard Rock or at Portofino, and then you can head back into the park so you can experience another pool. But it's a very easy way to go and rest. And you can also use a QR code that's on the chair at the pool to order food.
[01:02:02] Speaker A: So nice.
[01:02:05] Speaker C: Yeah, and the pool. And the pools there, they also. They supply swim diapers, so that's nice, too. You don't have to pack those.
So that's my little.
[01:02:16] Speaker A: Yeah, that might be worth packing a small, little bag and putting it in one of the lockers at the front of the park.
[01:02:24] Speaker C: Yeah. So it's a nice midday break, and then you're not, you know, you get to experience something a little bit different. So you can still have some pool time in the middle of your day. Yeah.
[01:02:39] Speaker A: Not have to go all the way back to the back. That's great.
Brooks, any last items for the people?
[01:02:49] Speaker B: I would just say two things. Number one, you know, after listening to this, just a question to the audience. When is your next universal trip?
This makes me want to go.
And then also, I just wanted to say real quick, y'all heard me talk about the Roosevelt's shirt brand, that the. I just. I would be remiss to say one of the co founders, Stephen Gerhart, unexpectedly passed away earlier this week.
He was the one that really headed up the Roosevelt's Insiders Facebook page, which is a huge community.
Again, I've talked about my love for Roosevelt. So on this podcast. So just wanted to say, Arthur, some prayers are with the Roosevelt's family and the Gerhardt family. So I would. I would have been remiss if I didn't mention that.
[01:03:51] Speaker A: No, absolutely. That. Yeah, that's gonna be a hard. Gonna be a hard hit on the Roosevelt company for sure.
[01:03:59] Speaker B: So.
[01:03:59] Speaker A: So.
[01:04:00] Speaker B: But to quote Sandlot's legends never die.
[01:04:05] Speaker A: Legends never die.
[01:04:07] Speaker B: So, Kelton, do you have anything to add or last minute tips?
[01:04:12] Speaker A: Honestly, just. Just do it. I mean, that's really what it comes down. You know, a little. Just book it, Logan. Just book it.
[01:04:19] Speaker B: Like, can we make that into a shirt? Just book it.
[01:04:24] Speaker C: I think we can.
[01:04:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:04:26] Speaker A: I think that'd be great.
[01:04:27] Speaker C: I think that'd be great.
[01:04:28] Speaker A: You know, if, you know, universals, they're really building it for all ages, even though with all the big attractions, there are things for young kids to do, as we did talk about in the news. That the fact that DreamWorks land is opening up on June 14, so there is good, they're, they're doing what they can to make it a full family theme park. So don't sleep on universal. Like, that is probably the one thing I will tell my people. Don't sleep on them. You know, they got a lot of great attractions for, for your thrill seekers, quality restaurants.
I think even their, their express passes are better than Disney's. And the hoteling I, you know, on itself.
So it don't sleep on Universal.
[01:05:21] Speaker B: I agree.
[01:05:22] Speaker A: Yeah, that's what I have. So, yeah. On that note, that just about does it for this week's I episode of the Mouse Ears podcast. Join us next week for a good one. We've got special guests from the running Ohana, Jordan Curry and Robbie Clark coming in to discuss run disney, so that's going to be a great episode. We know Brooks just got back from his trip, so I know we're all looking forward to that one as well.
As a reminder, don't forget to join the Mouse Tears podcast. Facebook group followed us along on TikTok as well for any and all episode and or news details, especially with the releasing of Tiana's Bayou adventure opening day. If you're interested in having a fairy tale journeys agent book your next trip, make sure to visit
[email protected] and make sure to let them know that the podcast had said sent you. Lastly, if you've enjoyed listening to us, we would love for you to leave us a review at wherever you listen until the next episode. Thank you, everyone and good night.
[01:06:36] Speaker B: Bye.
