Need helping deciding on passes!

[welovedis]

Ok, I really need some help from those who are pass experts! I am looking into a couple of options for our trip and would like some suggestions/opinions....

Our group consists of me, DH, 4 1/2 yo DS & 60+ yo DMom. DH, me & DS went to WDW for the 1st time last year, DM has never been! We arrive Friday, 9/21 and leave Sat 9/29. We are planning to stay out of the parks on arrival day, but would like to be able to to go all the rest of the days. DH says he *might* like to do a water park, but definitely wants to do DQ at least 1x.

Here are my options:
7 night/8 day Ultimate Park Hoppers
$346.65 Adults, $277.75 child
$1317.70 total

PROS-We would leave off the day of arrival, but then would have unlimited access to everything for the LOS. CONS--if we don't go to water parks, etc... nothing left over to use on next trip--at least 2 years away!

7 days PH+ passes
$308.46 Adults, $246.98 child
$1172.36 total

PROS-costs less, left-over days or + features could be used on next trip. CONS--would have to purchase additional admission to DQ ($26.13 A, $20.72 C) for each entrance there. Also would not be going into parks the day of departure so we would LOSE a day in the parks....

So what would YOU do if you were me? The budget-concious penny-pincher in me says buy the cheaper passes and then pay for DQ for DH & DS only-maybe I'll have left-over days or + features. The DIS'er who wants to have fun & just enjoy the vacation with no added costs says go for the LOS passes and forget about it!

HELP!

 

[BethR]

I would go with the "budget-concious penny-pincher" part of you! Guess that is why I am moderator of the Budget Board!
Besides the fact that unused days never expiring, using a hopper allows you to decide that perhaps you really don't WANT to go into a park 1 or 2 of your days. If your have the UMP, you feel that you MUST do something in a park every day or you are wasting your passes.
I, personally, don't want my pass to dictate how I spend my vacation.
We were in Disney for 8 days last month and only used 4 hopper days and one Plus feature. But we did Disney "stuff" every day but one. I really like to S-T-R-E-T-C-H the value of our hopper passes!
Good Luck with your decision!

 

[CarolMN]

I'd go with the "budget-conscious penny-pincher", too. In addition to all the reasons, Beth lists, your Mom and DS might need a break from the "commando corps". Eight straight days in the parks might be too much without a day off. Disney Quest & Downtown Disney could be a day all by itself, especially if you plan a nice sit down dinner at one of the restaurants. You also don't say where on site you're staying. It's nice to have time to enjoy the amenities of your resort. But whatever you decide, have a great trip!

 

[ncbyrne]

I have to agree and say go with your penny pinching plan. If you pay for your WDW hotel with your Amex card, you are entitled to a $5 discount at DQ. Check out the other.American Express discounts here on the DIS - you'll find the link on list on the right on the home page.

 

[KnightsQwn]

Aye - for the pinch...

There may be some that don't want to do a water park as wella s the other reasons...

 

[LKS]

If you all go to DisneyQuest once, your grand total comes up to 1271.47. If you love it and go twice, you were better off price-wise with the UPHs. Plus, you may want to go to the parks on Friday. In general, I like the idea of the park hoppers better, but for someone who is sure they are going to do DQ, maybe the UPHs are better. We are buying 5 day park hoppers for a trip longer than yours, but we are planning to spend 2 of those days exclusively at water parks, we are not going into parks on arrival and departure days and we do not plan for Disney Quest. It just doesn't appeal to me and I have not mentioned it's existence to husband and kids. I guess I should, they'd probably want to go. Then I'd have to change the whole plan.

 

[MelodyD]

As much as I wanted to go the penny pincher route........ I decided to go with the UPH. Yes it was a bit more but Disney Quest was my deciding factor. Our boys are 8 and 9 and them and Dad love to play video games together, I can see them wanting to do DQ more than once. You really have to decide which pro's and con's are more important. I know I did it and it took me forever to decide. I am sure I won't regret it!

Melody

 

[welovedis]

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions! Not sure which way we are going to go at this point, but I appreciate all the thoughts on this one. I guess I am still leaning towards the UPH because of the DQ admission costs. Since my DM will not do anything at the water parks, DH & DS could check them out while her & I catch some of the shows in one of the parks that they are not really interested in. I think that is why I am leaning toward the UPHs--a little more flexibility IMO.

We had UPHs (or whatever they were called) last year & we did not feel like we had to cram everything in because I was *clueless* at that point about the different passes--we had purchased a package-duh! Now that I now the difference I'm still not sure-lol!

BTW--we re staying at ASMo in (hopefully) connecting rooms, not tons on amenities--but sure was the right price

Thanks again everyone!

 

[PamCo88]

Another question to think about, will DM, you and DS all be going to DQ or could all or some of you use that time to go shopping while at DTD? I would and am going the pincher route.

ASMu 9/21-9/29 2001

See you there

 

[NancyIL]

If you join Connections, you can order the 7-day PHP passes @ $292.90/adults, $235.66/child. You can also purchase DQ tickets for $24.60/adult, $19.51/ child.

 

[MiknMinMouse]

We've done both and I lean toward the lenght of stay type pass ~ I think it was your first option. It's got the most flexibility which is priceless to us. Whenever we've bought the park hoppers there's always something left that we NEVER use because, either we've forgotten what's left (is it an option or a day) or 2 we end up getting a different type of pass on the next visit. We still have something left from our 6 day passes last year, BUT we're going to do length of stay this year so we won't be using them. I think if you're onsite, the most flexible works best, if you're offsite, the standard tickets work well.

 

[welovedis]

Thanks again for the input everyone! We are *pretty* sure we are going to do the UPH passes after all. Even though they have a little higher cost, we will have much more flexibility. I'll keep track of what we do & how we use them & that I will know for next trip what worked for us.

Thanks again