WDW Ticket question

Piglet

<font color=blue>Can't beat <font color=red>Family
Joined
Aug 18, 1999
I'm booking a 8 night/7 day trip for 2019 and ideally I would like to have 5 base tickets and 2 park hoppers for each person - just to save on costs and because mostly we stick to one park (we go in January and hours are shorter), but would like to park hop for just 2 or 3 days.

First Question -- I know that I could break down the package -- do just the room rate, dining and tickets all separately. For example: Get the 5 day base tickets and then purchase 2 park hoppers separate (or 4 day base/3 park hopper) I've checked undercover tourist and the WDW website and I do realize that would cost a lot more money to do -- so probably not the best way to do that. Though if someone would do this with a direct WDW package/purchase -- would this mess up the dining plan purchased or is it tied into the nights purchased at the resort and not the tickets or package?

Second Question -- Could I purchase 10 day tickets for each, and use 2 days off of the tickets in one day going to 2 different parks? How does that work if someone tries to do that?

I'm thinking that it would be just as economical to bite the bullet and purchase all 7 days as park hopper. Am I correct?

We are definitely on a budget and would like to get what we want at the cheapest way possible. Any other suggestions are welcome. TIA
 
I'm booking a 8 night/7 day trip for 2019 and ideally I would like to have 5 base tickets and 2 park hoppers for each person - just to save on costs and because mostly we stick to one park (we go in January and hours are shorter), but would like to park hop for just 2 or 3 days.

First Question -- I know that I could break down the package -- do just the room rate, dining and tickets all separately. For example: Get the 5 day base tickets and then purchase 2 park hoppers separate (or 4 day base/3 park hopper) I've checked undercover tourist and the WDW website and I do realize that would cost a lot more money to do -- so probably not the best way to do that. Though if someone would do this with a direct WDW package/purchase -- would this mess up the dining plan purchased or is it tied into the nights purchased at the resort and not the tickets or package?

Second Question -- Could I purchase 10 day tickets for each, and use 2 days off of the tickets in one day going to 2 different parks? How does that work if someone tries to do that?

I'm thinking that it would be just as economical to bite the bullet and purchase all 7 days as park hopper. Am I correct?

We are definitely on a budget and would like to get what we want at the cheapest way possible. Any other suggestions are welcome. TIA
You definitely cannot use two days of entry in the same day.
Denise
 
Those are some interesting and good questions...

One of the things we have found when working on plans and trying to get the best fit without too much expense, it always ends up cheaper / better value, getting what you want as opposed to sacrificing too much. When we try to squeeze as much value out of the tickets and go under budget, we always ended up wanting to add more days and it became cost prohibitive. We left 'wanting more'... and when you are spending $1000's and $1000's that would bother me. However, I also know that DW is a once in a lifetime experience for many so I understand that my position is coming from somewhat of a financial privilege.

If it were me, I would try to work on getting a full hopper ticket, when you have it you will use it. Being able to pop into a park and just look around for an hour or two knowing it doesn't take anything away from your plans is a really relaxing experience!

We now have AP's so its a none issue, but previously we would also try and get a week or so tickets and then add a MNSSH or a Xmas show, as that would in theory give you another day in the parks after 4pm etc..

Hopefully you guys can find something that works!
 
Those are some interesting and good questions...

One of the things we have found when working on plans and trying to get the best fit without too much expense, it always ends up cheaper / better value, getting what you want as opposed to sacrificing too much. When we try to squeeze as much value out of the tickets and go under budget, we always ended up wanting to add more days and it became cost prohibitive. We left 'wanting more'... and when you are spending $1000's and $1000's that would bother me. However, I also know that DW is a once in a lifetime experience for many so I understand that my position is coming from somewhat of a financial privilege.

If it were me, I would try to work on getting a full hopper ticket, when you have it you will use it. Being able to pop into a park and just look around for an hour or two knowing it doesn't take anything away from your plans is a really relaxing experience!

We now have AP's so its a none issue, but previously we would also try and get a week or so tickets and then add a MNSSH or a Xmas show, as that would in theory give you another day in the parks after 4pm etc..

Hopefully you guys can find something that works!
Thanks for your reply - I'm thinking I'm far enough out to be able to save the extra for the park hoppers. I definitely want this trip to be special as we are celebrating a lot this trip and not going to be able to go back for a while.
 


No problem, I think that is a very sound and positive plan.

When you have a park hopper, what my family loves is being able to go into a park, let's say Hollywood studios, have a lot of fun but then come back and rest for a while and then perhaps pop into MK for some cheeky rides on Space mountain or to see the fireworks. Having that flexibility to do it, even if its for 60 mins or so makes all the difference for us. Takes away a lot of anxiety from my wife just in case something doesn't work out, rides are closed, one park is just massively packed, rides break down etc... And having that flexibility to be able to think and react on the fly is worth it to us. I know not everyone is like that, but given my own family, this is perfect!

Have a great time planning!
 
I'm booking a 8 night/7 day trip for 2019 and ideally I would like to have 5 base tickets and 2 park hoppers for each person - just to save on costs and because mostly we stick to one park (we go in January and hours are shorter), but would like to park hop for just 2 or 3 days.

First Question -- I know that I could break down the package -- do just the room rate, dining and tickets all separately. For example: Get the 5 day base tickets and then purchase 2 park hoppers separate (or 4 day base/3 park hopper) I've checked undercover tourist and the WDW website and I do realize that would cost a lot more money to do -- so probably not the best way to do that. Though if someone would do this with a direct WDW package/purchase -- would this mess up the dining plan purchased or is it tied into the nights purchased at the resort and not the tickets or package?

Second Question -- Could I purchase 10 day tickets for each, and use 2 days off of the tickets in one day going to 2 different parks? How does that work if someone tries to do that?

I'm thinking that it would be just as economical to bite the bullet and purchase all 7 days as park hopper. Am I correct?

We are definitely on a budget and would like to get what we want at the cheapest way possible. Any other suggestions are welcome. TIA
Park hopping is all or none. IOW, you cannot get hopping for just a few days on your park pass. You either have it for all of the days or none of the days.

Disney front-loaded the cost of the tickets so that the first three days are the most expensive and then it gets cheaper to add on additional days. However, the cost of "hopping" does not increase with more days. So buying 4-day base and 3-day hoppers would not be economical.

In addition, MDE will choose one ticket to use up first before accessing a second ticket under your name. Usually it is the oldest ticket in the group. So if you have one 4-day base ticket and one 3-day hopper attached to your name in MDE, the software will look at both and prioritize one to deduct a day from the first time you enter a park. And it will not switch back and forth from one day to the next. You're just asking for headaches if you even attempt this.

And using a 10-day base ticket to hop is not going to work, either. Disney figured out that loophole even before they introduced MYW tickets back in 2005. A 10-day base ticket is good for 10 separate days of theme park admission over a 14-day period and does not permit you to enter a second theme park on the same day by deducting another entitlement from the pass.
 
The price of adding park hopper is the same no matter how many days are on the ticket so just get the 7 day ticket with park hopper.

No you cannot buy a 10 day base ticket and use it at more than one park per day.

There is such a thing as a ticketless package where you get a room and dining plan but you must call and ask them for it specifically.

My opinion? Stop making it so difficult on yourself. Book the vacation package that includes everything you want including the park hopper add on because you're really not going to save much if any money in the end by attempting to book things separately.
 


Five day adult base: $420.68 plus two day hopper: $291.81
Four day base: $404.70 plus three day hopper: $394.05
Seven day hopper: $441.98
$712.49 vs. $798.75 vs. $441.98.
Paying $270 to $350 MORE completely contradicts the goal of saving on costs. Completely. Makes zero sense.
 
I'm thinking that it would be just as economical to bite the bullet and purchase all 7 days as park hopper. Am I correct?

We are definitely on a budget and would like to get what we want at the cheapest way possible. Any other suggestions are welcome. TIA


You are correct. Buy your ticket as a park hopper. You may consider buying less days and upgrading if you do indeed go to parks for all seven days.

My suggestion would be to ditch the dining plan completely and do a room only reservation. Then you can save a bit on tickets by buying from Undercover Tourist. Since you are looking to get your vacation the 'cheapest way possible', it would make sense to pay out of pocket for dining. This way you can look for room only discounts, buy slightly discounted tickets and try to get gift cards on discount for dining. Disney gift cards can be purchased at Target for 5% off with a redcard. Costco sells Landry's gift cards at 20% off - Yak and Yeti, Rainforest Café, Trex. Do a cost analysis of your dining and then you can decide what is best for your budget. You've made quite a few trips - at this point you know where and what you will probably eat.
 
Keep in mind you can buy a base ticket and add the hopper option once you're there if you feel you need it. When I was going on a budget we just had base tickets and planned to spend all of our time in one park each day. There was only one day that we thought we might like the hop, but decided not to because it just didn't make sense to pay for hopping for one day. There's plenty to see/do in each park to spend a full day there.
 

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