Universal Orlando follows Disney in breaking $100 ticket barrier

As expected, once Disney broke the $100 barrier for ticket prices, Universal Orlando followed, on Thursday hiking a one-day, one-park ticket price to $102 from $96. A two-park ticket is now $147, an $11 increase.

On Sunday Walt Disney World rolled out a $6 increase that puts Magic Kingdom admission at $105, and other prices such as annual passes at the world's most popular tourist destination also spiked.

Industry experts say other theme parks feel pressure to raise their prices to show they are just as valuable as Disney, so Tuesday's price increase at Universal came as no surprise.

"The minute you stop keeping up with the Disney prices, you automatically tell the general public, 'Hey, we're not as good as Disney,' " University of South Carolina hospitality professor Scott Smith told the Orlando Sentinel.

At the moment, SeaWorld admission is $95, as are one-day tickets to Busch Gardens in Tampa, and they both have Florida resident deals, such as Busch Gardens offering a free pass to Adventure Island with the purchase of a $95 Fun Card at BuschGardens.com. That deal ends Sunday.

Disney spokesman Bryan Malenius said visitors can save money by purchasing multiday tickets or annual passes instead of one-day tickets.

"There is strong demand for attractions and entertainment," Malenius said. "We continually add new experiences, and many of our guests prefer multiday tickets and annual passes, which provide great value and additional savings."

Florida residents still have deals at most theme parks to bring their per-day cost down. The Discover Disney deal right now costs $139 for three days or $159 for four days. You have to use that pass by June 5.

Price doesn't seem to be having an impact on attendance. Earlier this month, Walt Disney Co. reported that park attendance rose a record 7 percent in the last three months of 2014, and Disney resort hotels also jumped 8 percent to a rate of 89 percent.

On Tuesday, Universal's parent company Comcast reported that its theme parks revenue rose an astounding 17 percent to $2.6 billion for the year. The company's investment at its Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando and very strong attendance for its Halloween Horror Nights attractions in Los Angeles and Florida made its theme parks one of the big drivers of company profits.