LOS ANGELES — Only a few weeks before the opening of its much-anticipated Harry Potter attraction, Universal Studios Hollywood is performing a shrinking spell on visitors’ wallets.
Earlier this month, the park quietly raised prices up to 20 percent, pushing its highest-priced daily ticket beyond that of its sister parks in Orlando, Fla.
“The Harry Potter attraction is expensive, and it’s the perfect excuse to raise prices because they know they are going to have the crowds regardless,” said David Koenig, a theme park expert and author of several books about Disneyland.
But Universal Studios Hollywood is not alone. Disneyland adopted a new set of ticket prices in February that raised its highest daily ticket by about 20 percent. And both parks have instituted pricing systems that base ticket costs on daily demand.
The moves shouldn’t come as a surprise because both Southern California parks are preparing to open what may be their most popular attractions in years.
Universal Studios officially unveiled the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on Thursday. And Disneyland has begun construction of a 14-acre expansion based on the “Star Wars” movie franchise.
Less than two months after launching the new online pricing program, Universal Studios increased the price of all tickets, even the cheapest tickets for the low-demand days rose to $90 from $75.
On peak-demand days, a daily ticket now costs $115, up from the previous highest tier price of $95.
A daily ticket purchased at the gate costs $115 regardless of the day.
A daily ticket to either Universal Studios Orlando or Universal’s Islands of Adventure is $105.
The tiered-pricing programs allow parks to raise daily prices.
