Family of 3 spent $2,855 for a day at Universal Studios – Cost Breakdown

• We flew to California to visit Universal Hollywood despite living near the company’s parks in Florida.
• Tickets, flights, hotels, food and other expenses totaled $2,855.22 for just one day at the park.
• While this was an expensive experience, there is very little I would do differently next time.

Last year, I took my family of three from Orlando to Southern California for a road trip Universal Studios Hollywood.

For our day visit to the park, we spent:

• Flights: $665.73 for flights from Florida including baggage fees
• Accommodation: $541.47 for two nights split between two hotels
• Ground transport: $337.55 for sharing, a rental car and gas
• Parking fees: $89.10
• Park tickets: $747 for three tickets that included Universal Express skip-the-line passes
• Food purchased on site: $160.57
• souvenirs: $313.80

All in all, our Universal Hollywood getaway cost my family $2,855.22.

While that number seems high—especially considering we live just miles from the Universal Florida theme parks—there’s very little I’d change about how we spent our money.

Here’s a breakdown of the spend that was worth it and what we’d do differently next time.