A month after Universal Studios said it would implement a surge pricing structure for pre-order tickets that offers discounts for customers visiting on off-peak days. The Comcast-owned company essentially undid any goodwill it had created by instituting an across-the-board increase to ticket prices. 

Comcast-owned Universal Studios Hollywood raised ticket prices 20% over the weekend, The Los Angeles Times reports, with new ticket prices ranging from $90 for low-demand days to $115 for on peak-demand.

One possible reason for the increase? The soon-to-open Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction, Robert Niles, editor of the Theme Park Insider site tells the L.A. Times.

“A lot of people suspected that a price increase was going to come before April 7,” he says, noting that prices changes before large attraction openings are fairly common.

When a similar Harry Potter attraction opened at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in 2010, the park increased the price for a two-day, two-park pass by 36% to $135, according to the L.A. Times.

Likewise, Disney parks increased daily ticket prices 9% in the months leading up to the opening of its Cars Land expansion in 2012.

“It’s going to be a net plus for the theme park,” Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati, tells the L.A. Times, noting that attendance is expected to increase despite the price change. ”They might lose a few people at the low end of the pay scale, but they will more than make up for it.”

A spokesperson for Universal says the parks’ prices are “consistent with our tremendous product offerings,” noting that the price structure unveiled in February still offers visitors choice.

Universal Studios raises ticket prices just before it opens new Harry Potter attraction [Los Angeles Times]

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