How my family of 3 spent $2,855 for a single day at Universal Hollywood — and what we’ll do differently next time

My family frequently visits the two Universal theme parks near our home in Orlando. However, they do not yet have the highly interactive Super Nintendo World land that’s available at Universal Hollywood. This was a major draw for my video-game-obsessed son.

The park also has other experiences not found in Florida, including a thrilling “Jurassic World” attraction, the Studio Tour tram experience, and a splashy “WaterWorld” show.

For our trip, we bought three one-day tickets at $249 each, which included admittance to the California parks and Universal Express skip-the-line passes.

One-day tickets with skip-the-line passes have variable pricing, but at the time of writing, they were $209 to $319 a person in California but $313 to $489 at Universal Orlando.

So, although traveling to California was pricier than visiting the parks closer to home, Universal Hollywood’s more appealing pricing helped offset some of those added expenses.

To save money, we flew the discount carrier Frontier to California and used reward miles to fly home with Delta for under $20.

We arrived in Hollywood the day before our park visit and stayed at the Sheraton Universal Hotel. This was a pricier lodging choice at $396.27 for the night, but its proximity allowed us to arrive at Universal early the next morning, so we were willing to splurge.

The next evening, after spending a long day at the theme park, we moved to a cheaper hotel in Hollywood. At $145.20 a night, this hotel was a much better deal. However, the hassle of moving hotels, especially after an exhausting day, wasn’t worth the cost savings.

Our first hotel also had a free shuttle to Universal, so had we simply stayed there for a second night I wouldn’t have spent so much on ground transportation and parking.

Since the main purpose of our visit was to experience Super Nintendo World, we made sure to secure a spot at the land’s restaurant, Toadstool Café.

Here, we spent $71.40 on unique food items like Mario- and Luigi-inspired burgers and themed spaghetti, plus cute appetizers and drinks.

The restaurant featured immersive décor, and the food was very Instagram-worthy. Given the quality of the meal, the pricing felt fair.

For the remainder of the day, we snacked on oversized pretzels, Butterbeers (and regular beers) in the park’s Wizarding World, plus other treats that left us full and our wallets only a little lighter.

Our family spent a lot of money on souvenirs. We bought three Power-Up Bands for $42 each — they connect to themed games throughout Super Nintendo World.

Although pricey, these bands were necessary to allow us to fully enjoy this land’s interactive features and engage in friendly competition throughout the day.

In terms of souvenirs, I wish we hadn’t bought the interactive wand from the “Harry Potter”-themed Wizarding World, which cost almost $65.

My son was selected to take part in a ceremony at the park’s wand shop, Ollivanders, and although the show was cute, we felt compelled to buy the wand that “chose him.”

However, he’s not really a fan of the “Harry Potter” series, and this souvenir was quickly forgotten.

Beyond magic wands and interactive bracelets, we spent an additional $110.28 on souvenirs. However, most of these served a more practical purpose.

When we traveled to California, we were in the process of selling our home. With numerous showings and open houses scheduled, we needed to be out of our home for several days.

Instead of staying in a hotel close to home, one reason we chose to visit Hollywood was because my son was nervous about moving. I felt that taking him to this “dream” locale would be a welcome distraction.

Before leaving Universal Hollywood, we allowed him to pick out several souvenirs that he could use to decorate his room at our new home.

The Piranha Plant lamp and posters he selected helped him to personalize and, ultimately, embrace his new space, making these items an enduring and worthwhile investment.