How do families manage the cost of tickets?

[martinoqt]

how many days during an seven day stay do people go into the parks?
going with five of us this year, possible six.
do you all go into the park evrey day, every other day,
water parks//
:earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc

[LynnTH]

We have two small kids (6 & 3). We ususally go for a week stay and go to the parks usually 4 times. Last time we did MK (twice) AK and Epcot. We did not do MGM last time. Next time we probably will go to all four and probably MK (twice). The cost of tickets day wise from 5,6 and 7 days is pretty minimal, only a couple extra dollars for each day added. We also ususally take a day or two to just stay at the hotel and go swimming and just relax. It gets tough on the kids to be on the go constantly so they need some downtime of their own.

[blessedby3]

We are going to be gone for 10 days in November including traveling time. It takes us 2 days to drive down and 2 to return. That leaves us 6 days in between. We are getting a 10 day pass and saving 5 days for next year and getting MVMCP tickets, so we will be in the parks for 5 1/2 days. We always say that we need to build in a day to rest, but when we plan the next trip we dont want to waste a day not going to the parks so we always end up exhausted at the end of our trip. At least the day we go to the MVMCP we will sleep in late and take a nap since we will be in the park later that day. :flower: We have never done the water parks since my kids dont like them very much.

[rt2dz]

For us it is a 12 day trip every year, two of those days spent traveling so 10 days in the world. We tend to go to the parks everyday, but one--usually mid-trip. That doesn't mean we necessarily spend all day at the parks each day we go, maybe only half a day, but it is hard to be there and not at least go do something.

We also buy APs so two trips fall under one AP; the AP becomes a better buy than just a basic ticket (no park hopping, no experiation added yet) at 11 days and we end up with 18-20. And then if we can sneak in an extra trip via a long weekend, all the better--not to mention the discounts and other perks.

[martinoqt]

how much do the Aps cost
do you know of any place that sell discount tickets

[dismom9761]

We did 4 days in the parks on our first trip.There are 6 of us.On our next time we are going to have 9 days of tickets.Sign up for the Mousesavers newsletter. It can help you get a better price on tickets.I started saving the day we got back for our next trip. :)

[rt2dz]

You can not get a discount AP, not even advance purchase, and the only place to buy them is through Disney. Current costs for APs run $336 for ages 9 and under & $395 for ages 10 and up, Premium (includes water parks, pleasure island, disney quest) run $438 for ages 9 & under and $515 for ages 10 & up. You can buy a voucher(s) in advance (to help off set the cost) and then just activate them when you get to the parks--they don't start "running" until you activate them. I believe, but am not sure, allearsnet.com and even mousesavers.com has a list of the other perks and a calculator if it is a good deal for you.

FYI: Costs of other tickets are:
Water Park Single Day Adult $34 & child $28
Disney Quest Single Day Adult $34 & child $28
Pleasure Island Single Day $20.95
Disney's Wide World of Sports® complex Adult $9.81 & Child $7.24
Magic Your Way varies on what you choose to have

[DebMcDonald]

We're going down in August and will have 7 days at the parks. I was originally going to get the 5 day hopper passes, but the difference between the 5 day and 7 day was extremely minimal, so we're planning on getting the 7 day pass and not having to feel the need to be there at opening and staying until closing. On some days we might just go in the evening for the end of the day festivities, and other days leave earlier and not worry about missing something.

[dzneelvr]

We go 11-12 days every other year and get the Annual passes. It's more cost effective than combo hopper passes and allows us discounts on purchases and resort rooms. For 7 days, we'd usually do MK twice, MGM Twice, AK once and EPCOT once. Plus squeeze in a trip to DTD. No water parks.
You'll find you don't hop enough during that time to pay for the privilege.

Having the Disney VISA is also a saver--last trip I saved over $400 on our resort with a special code for VISA cardholders. Plus you earn reward dollars that can be converted to "cash" good at almost anywhere in WDW.
:earsgirl: :earsboy: :earsboy: :earsgirl:

[beattyfamily]

We have 2 girls and we've been going since they were 1 and 4. We've gone 4 days up to 6 days and we have visited parks everyday with no day off except maybe sometimes our arrival day. We take full advantage of hopping and we do not go to water parks. We save Disney Quest for evenings when the parks are closed.

We feel that there's just so much to do that we can't really afford to take a day off. We do sometimes take mid-day breaks for a swim or a boat rental.

We buy for however many days we'll be there and have always used them. Now we buy APs since with DVC we get $100 off!

[LegoMom3]

how much do the Aps cost
do you know of any place that sell discount tickets


If you're not going for the AP and just want a good discount on advance-purchase MYW tickets, check out www.ticketmania.com

Especially good the longer you plan to stay!

[pooh4evr]

We were surprised at the small difference between the ticket prices - we will be ther for 8 days doing 1 at sea world, but we bought the 7 day hopper so we could come and go when we wanted to, and in case there was a day of rain or 2 year old meltdown. I think the diffenence between a 4 and 7 day pass is 3 dollars!

[happynewyorker]

I got my disney tickets from Ebay and my Universal tickets from Universal. Universal were over 150 cheaper than the disney tickets. :cool1:

[joicy]

They're the best value for the money. We'll only be staying 6 days this trip but will save the unused days on our 10 day tickets for our next trip. :)

[all4fun]

I got my disney tickets from Ebay and my Universal tickets from Universal. Universal were over 150 cheaper than the disney tickets. :cool1:

I personally wouldn't recommend buying tickets off of Ebay simply because you cannot verify if they are are still valid until you try to use them at the park. That would really be a bummer to get there and find out they don't have any valid days left on them or weren't what you thought you were paying for, IMO.

I think this is one reason why Disney is now using Biometrics on all their ticket media anyway. It will certainly elliminate a lot of "gray market" tickets (i.e. reselling on ebay, giving an unused pass to a friend, etc.)

[Amirah95]

We never fly so the cost of the tickets balances out. We only do the parks four times during a 7 night stay.

[DW2006]

with 4 kiddos (ages 7, 5, 3 and 6 months at the time of the trip) we plan to cover MK and AK those are our main goals. We will take in Epcot and maybe *a big maybe* Universal Studios (since the boys are big Marvel fans). But with our kids ages, we will be doing a 2-3 hr break mid day for lunch and chill out/nap time back at our room (on the property) then going back in the evening. We don't plan to do any waterparks. So we're making the trip work for us. We plan to go probably every other year from this point and so as they age they will get to cover more and do more.

[summersfam4]

We go for ten days arriving early and leaving late so that we get 10 full days at the world. As far as Tickets go this year we are buying a 10 day no-expiry pass with the water park/Disney quest feature. We will only visit the Parks for 2-3 days (we are only doing MK & Epcot this trip) days this trip with 2-3 water park days, and 2 universal/ISOA days, and some resort/pool/shopping days plus we travel to Tampa one day to see some friends. This way for the next 2-3 years we have our tickets paid for and we will only need to travel, eat, and shop! It will be me, DH, and 2 DD's ages 6 & 2 this trip and I'm sure we will have more than enough to do and can always change plans if needed! Have fun planning!

Kelly

[EthansMom]

We have two young kids and usually spend mornings at the parks, afternoons at the hotel pool and a few evenings at the parks.

If you can afford it and plan to take the family again in the future, you may be best off to buy 10 day non-expiring tickets and spread their use over two vacations. If you go 10 day non-expiring tickets with plusses, you could do five days at the parks, a couple days at the water parks and go to DisneyQuest for 2 separate trips.

If you go to http://www.mousesavers.com and sign up for the newsletter, the link to Ticketmania in the monthly Mousesavers newsletter offers pretty much the best ticket prices.

[poohkinandpiglet]

We went to MK for one day last August, then took our big 10 day trip in November. We chose to buy annual passes with the plan to return for another trip this October for 6 days before our annual passes expire. We are getting a better value overall using the annual pass, plus the little extras you get with the AP are also saving us a little money on MNSVSHP tickets, our purchases at World of Disney stores, and saved us money on our room at Vero Beach last year.

[Nini]

We have extended family w/us (total: 9 adults & 7 children...one family is staying off site due to a time share deal) and we are staying at POP a "Value" resort.

Dh, myself & dd3 had airfare from last year to use so we rebooked for a trip to Disney! We still even have a credit on airfare...even w/change fee (we were going to go to Bahamas last year, but hurricanes were just too frequent to chance)! We just have to pay to park at LaGuardia Airport (we hail from CT) and get over the inconvenience of driving there...it's not THAT bad.

We all purchased the meal plans and 5 day hopper tickets. We didn't bother w/the no expiration as we will definately use the 5 days! We are planning on using the free Magical Express transportation to and from the airport as we are on a "participating airline"...that will save (relative I guess) the transportation cost.

We always purchase our package from our TA who has done MANY such packages for me in the past 7 years...Cheryl is EXCELLENT!!! I just like the peace of mind of having an individual to handle any and all problems (and belive me, they DO happen!!). On that note, I just feel the need to say that one incident that pops to mind (no pun intented!) that happened at Disney was that on an older meal plan (approx. 6-7 years ago?) we checked in and proceeded to the parks and were going to eat. However, there was NO meal plan (which we purchased and I had reciepts for) on our tickets! Well, it was straight back to the hotel where we were able to contact our TA through the disney front desk and found out that the problem was NOT with our TA OR Disney, it was with the "tour package co"...basically the middleman between TA and Disney! Needless to say, everything was corrected by dinner and while we were eating dinner the Manager came up to us and gave us new tickets AND reimbursed us for the cost of the days meals!

Back to the question...

We:

1. Used prior tickets for airfare.
2. Purchased Meal Plan.
3. Stay in Value Resort
4. Save like CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!

BOL! :flower:

[deejohn]

We always go for 7 days (Sat - Sat) and fly down, but I always got a 5 day pass, because the 1st day the kids only want to use the resort pool and the last day was a travel day. We are going in Dec this year for 7 days, but I only got a 4 day plus pass. This gives us 4 Parks and 3 other attractions (water parks, etc.). You may want to use the information on this site to plan out what you want to do and then use the Magic Your Way options to pick out the best plan. I saved about $600 from prior trips!!!

[pbharris4]

We go down for 5-6 days (not including the 2 days down and back). Right now, we decided to go to 1 park this year and 2-3 next year and keep it at 3. We switch it up between all the WDW parks and Sea World and Universal (which we haven't been to yet-well I've been to the one in CA-DH/ and kids haven't been at all yet). We love the parks but don't want to do them all every year, because we will get bored and well, we don't want to spend all that $$. Our favorite time to go is late Jan. and when we go again at that time we will go to more parks because we can go on almost everything and the longest line might be 20 mins, if that. So we get more for our $$ that way and no extreme heat.