1 and 2 day ticket prices - OUCH!

[limabeanmom2003]

I have the opportunity to go to WDW for a quick weekend and spend 1 or 2 days at the parks. I have already booked my room, but I am contemplating cancelling because of the outrageous prices for 1 and 2 day park tickets. $67 for 1 day, $133 for 2 day! Not to flame Disney alone, Universal and Sea World are just as expensive, or close to it. Am I crazy to even think about paying those prices? I would also be paying for a child ticket too. He just turned 3, so he isn't free anymore. Anyone else out there think this is just crazy?

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

Any chance that you will be returning for another trip? Buy a 6-day or more with the no-expiration option and it works out to a lot less per day.

ie. the 7 day base ticket works out to around $29 per day before tax.

Rationalization, yes......

 

[VacationDad]

Just to clarify, with Seaworld you get to re-enter the park for free for 7 consecutive days from the time you first use your tickets.

I feel your pain. Add an $18 double stroller rental and meals and souvenirs and if it was any other place besides Disney World I would ask to be checked into a mental hospital.

 

[bicker]

Disney really loves guests to stay the week, and/or come back and visit again soon, so they're deliberately making longer duration ticket prices lower per day as an incentive.

 

[hooksenemy]

We are going DCL in May - we only have 1 day this year for WDW we prefer a hopper for MK (daytime) Epcot (night)

We also couldn't believe the prices for one day with hopper option - we are a family of 4 travelling with a family of 5 -

We are doing a little finagle like so -
We have friends going in March they are a family of 4 traveling with grandparents - we are paying for an extra day to be added to their passes and the no expiration it should save us some cash -

"for the record I know it is not LEGALLY DISNEY" but come on $75/day

It would be good if WDW had a special DCL - park pass rate - for those of us with only 1-2 days prior to sailing or 1-2 days after sailing - they would make some cash on that idea IMO.

 

[bartleby1]

We are going DCL in May - we only have 1 day this year for WDW we prefer a hopper for MK (daytime) Epcot (night)

We also couldn't believe the prices for one day with hopper option - we are a family of 4 travelling with a family of 5 -

We are doing a little finagle like so -
We have friends going in March they are a family of 4 traveling with grandparents - we are paying for an extra day to be added to their passes and the no expiration it should save us some cash -

"for the record I know it is not LEGALLY DISNEY" but come on $75/day

It would be good if WDW had a special DCL - park pass rate - for those of us with only 1-2 days prior to sailing or 1-2 days after sailing - they would make some cash on that idea IMO.

The problem with this is that they now require a finger scan with the ticket so you can't use someone else's ticket anymore. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you are planning on doing, I don't believe it will work under the new system.

To the OP, I would look into buying a longer no expiration ticket for future use if you can possibly afford it. I would hate to pay those 1 day prices too!

 

[ratfam]

hooksenemy, I am not 100% sure how this works, because we are going in 6 weeks for our first trip in three years, but friends who went last year said that once you use the ticket it is somehow identified to you, like through a thumb print or something? You might want to check on this to make sure you won't have a problem using your friends' tickets.

 

[Amy&Dan]

You can definitely NOT use a ticket that has been used by someone else. Your name is on the ticket and they use a finger scan. I cannot for 100% sure say that I saw a family being turned away as they tried to use somebody else's ticket, but I am pretty sure I did. It was getting into MK in January and several cm's including a "plain clothes" manager looking type had them off to the side. I head the woman say "but they didn't use this part of the ticket and won't be back". I went on in but it sure looked like they weren't going to get in.

To the OP I feel your pain. We are going for 9 days in April and then are planning two days before our Disney Cruise in September. I had really wanted to save money by buying a non park hopping, 9 day ticket for our April trip. Now I am just going to buy AP's because it works out cheaper in the long run. As someone else said, Disney wants you to stay longer. If you look at the difference between a two day ticket and say a 7 day one, its not that much. They are charging you a base price and then wanting you there the add'l days to spend $$ on food, souveneirs and lodging. Its almost like getting free food and drinks at the casinos in Vegas, they are making money off of your gambling. Disney makes theirs off your sleeping and eating!

 

[r5moores]

Unfortunately its not going to work the way you want it to. Let me explain why. Starting last year Disney starting imposing the finger scan for all tickets. In the past people would not sign their tickets on the area for a signature and they would "share" tickets. Mind you even though your not "supposed" to share it never bothered me. I didnt do it but I didnt flame anybody for doing it. I figured the ticket was paid for only one person could get in with it during a day so I didnt care if Aunt Sue bought it and used it for three days and then cousin Becky used it for the remaining two. I mean five days were paid for and five days were used. Nobody snuck somebody in. Big deal. Now what they do is scan your finger and NO it DOESNT take your finger print. It basically recognizes the structure of your finger ....basically your bone structure. What will happen is your friends will use it the first time and MAY get away without signing it but I can almost guarantee you that at some point in their trip the scan wont work and they will then be asked to SIGN the ticket and show id. So when you get it and the scan will DEF not work because they've already scanned somebody elses bone structure in you will then be asked for ID which will not match the id or name that is already on the card. Like I said I could care less who uses it because the tickets paid for for a specific amount of days and only one person can use it for the day so its not like anybody is sharing a ticket to get more then one person in a day on the one day.

I just thought I'd pass the info on to you so you are shocked/surprised if/when you go to use the tickets and they cant be used.

Good luck

 

[hooksenemy]

For our AP we had our finger print done, I was not aware of the changing of the system to all passes! If that is the case, it must take forever to get into the parks on crowded day

Obviously if they fingerprint everyone for every ticket we cannot move forward with our plan however I need to confirm this.

Here is the thing about staying longer etc... I am staying longer I am going on "DISNEY" cruise - no perks or discounts for that! While I know it is cheaper in the long run to buy a 7 day I don't want to do it especially since in all liklihood we will not be there in the next year or so and I could use that money elsewhere. Disney doesn't pay interest where as the bank does so we need to keep that money where it is most lucrative for us!

I know we are in the same boat as many, we are just trying to "HAVE IT ALL!

Also, to be honest, I would pay the $63 for Sea World because we haven't been there with the kids yet and they will love it, however we are travelling with friends of our kids and they will be doing WDW and I think to not do it with them on our first day of vacation together would be unfair to them!

So it looks like "only if they fingerprint" - I need to pick up a few more nursing visits and make more cash before May! Thanks for the feedback.

I am one unhappy DISer tonight , I thought I was all set!

 

[limabeanmom2003]

Any chance that you will be returning for another trip? Buy a 6-day or more with the no-expiration option and it works out to a lot less per day.

ie. the 7 day base ticket works out to around $29 per day before tax.

Rationalization, yes......

It certainly makes sense to do this, especially since we will be going in May '07, however, I hate to spend the $ on the tickets right now. I am trying to do this trip for as little as possible. Also, if I purchase the tickets now to be used for our May '07 trip, then I rule out taking advantage of any special deals they might offer then (we did the 7 for 5 last time we were there). Gee...I remember when it cost $25 to get in! I totally understand Disney's reasons for the prices they set, but it stinks for people who just want a little weekend getaway.

 

[bartleby1]

Awww.. so sorry to be the bearer of bad news, hooksenemy. It does stink, especially when you think you have it all planned out. They really should have a special ticket for cruise goers that want to do a few park days. With the cost of their cruises, they should give you some kind of break!

Well, just think, as much as it hurts to find this out tonight, think of how you would have felt if you found out at the gate! Now that would REALLY be awful!

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Obviously if they fingerprint everyone for every ticket we cannot move forward with our plan however I need to confirm this.

Disney has been doing biometric scans on all new ticket media since January 2005 and they recently added biometric scans to those returning with older ticket media.

Your plan to add a day on somebody else's tickets will not gain you admission to WDW. You will, in all likelihood, be left standing at the gate.

 

[momrek06]

The problem with this is that they now require a finger scan with the ticket so you can't use someone else's ticket anymore. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you are planning on doing, I don't believe it will work under the new system.

To the OP, I would look into buying a longer no expiration ticket for future use if you can possibly afford it. I would hate to pay those 1 day prices too!

YUP, I was just going to say the SAME THING. The CM's stand right there and monitor it very closely and if the SCAN does not spit that card back out, well you have to step aside and then I do not know what happens after that...so make sure you have the proper tickets. They are so cracking down on that swapping of tickets hence this finger scan thingy!

 

[Stitch1404]

Do they sometimes override the finger scan? Last trip my ticket wouldn't work, I tried it a few times and eventually the CM just pressed some button and let me in. Well when I got into the park and was putting my pass back into my wallet, I realized why...I had my sister's pass. She had mine and got in on the first try. Doesn't this probably happen all the time? It seems like there must be some way for the CM's to override the finger scan. I am not saying that if a whole family's tickets weren't working they would do it, but just for one person.

 

[bamajill]

I was so disgusted with Disney prices this year that I decided to give Universal a try.

My family of FIVE can do five days at Universal for right at $300.00

The same days at Disney (with hoppers) would be over $1000.00

We are going in November and can't wait to see how we like Universal/IOA.

 

[plutolovr]

My family of FIVE can do five days at Universal for right at $300.00

The same days at Disney (with hoppers) would be over $1000.00

So for your $300 you get to go to 2 parks, whereas with Disney hoppers you get 4 parks. I don't see the comparison.

To me trying to compare Universal to Disney is comparing apples to oranges. JMO.

 

[hooksenemy]

Thanks for all the helpful feedback.

We skipped last year, didn't really keep up on updates to be honest but obviously I feel I should have

I am not by any means in a position where I "can't" afford the price hike! I do feel I should however be offered a better deal than $60+/day we are spending plenty of cash on DCL and the WDW hotel prior to our cruise we should have be offered a better rate. Just for the record I think my pass and DH will be close to $80/day because we need the hopper option.

No dilemma's just less money to spend in the spa onboard the Magic

One way or another WDW loses money from me, I can't do it all so I won't but a little extra money from me, in my opinion is better than no extra money from me!

After talking to DH what we tentatively decided was this:
skip the massage on Cataway Cay ($278 + tip) to cover the cost of the passes to WDW for one day! we don't eat in the parks so all in all, disney loses on a family like ours!

Also, how does this work for passes purchased in the disney stores. They don't have a picture they are not assigned a finger code do they do it while they pass through for the first time?

We purchased a 5 day pass for a friend for helping us out this year and it was her pass we were adding an extra day on - I purchased, she is using, it doesn't have her name but her finger print isn't encoded either, I don't remember how we got our passes encoded 2 years ago, someone remind me, I will be able to tell her.

How about the added time in line, anyone have experience?

 

[marybet]

We had old tickets that we used in January and it was the first time we did the finger scan. It doesn't take that much longer, once you get the hang of where to put your fingers. We went to all four parks that day and had no problems and the best thing is you don't have to get your hand stamped when you leave.

I was wondering if the same person had to use them if the ticket hadn't been used in several months or a year. We took the whole family in 2003 and bought 5 day hoppers and only used 3 days each. I still have two tickets with 1 day each on them, my DH and I have used them and never had a problem. Guess we won't be able to do that anymore.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We bought PAPs in Jan 05. We came back on NYE 05 and stayed through Jan 9. Unfortunately I bought our PAPs on Jan 7 05, so we needed two extra days each. We won't be back to WDW until Nov, so no point in getting more PAPs (we try to get three or four trips out of each pass). So I bit the bullet and got three, adult, non-hopping two day passes, about $399. Almost what I paid for a PAP with the DVC discount.

The really bad thing was, we didn't go to the parks for the first two days of our PAP in Jan 05. We could have bought them on Jan 9 05 and used them through to the end of this Jan 06 trip. Oh, well.

Even worse. On our last day in Jan 06, we headed to MK about 9:30, did a few attractions, ate lunch at 12 noon and headed home at 1:30. That was about $17 an hour. But we had fun and a great lunch.