10 day non-expiring ticket - is this my best option for multiple short stays?

[AmyAnne]

For the next few years, I am pretty certain that our WDW plans will include 1 or 2 trips a year for 2 or 3 park days per trip. I am running the numbers to figure out our best park ticket options. The annual pass and length-of-stay tickets both would be more expensive per day than the 10 day non-expiring ticket - I think, but please correct me if wrong. Also, any other options I am overlooking?

 

[Marionnette]

For the next few years, I am pretty certain that our WDW plans will include 1 or 2 trips a year for 2 or 3 park days per trip. I am running the numbers to figure out our best park ticket options. The annual pass and length-of-stay tickets both would be more expensive per day than the 10 day non-expiring ticket - I think, but please correct me if wrong. Also, any other options I am overlooking?

Don't look at the cost per day. Look at the overall total OOP cost for each ticket scenario.

• 10-day MYW Base (no-expiry) $707.16
• Annual Pass $648.59
• 1 5-day MYW Base (no-expiry) + 1 2-day MYW Base (expiry) $462.21 + $195.96 = $658.17

Then look at how many trips you will get from each.

• You'll get 5 or more 1-2 day visits with the 10-day no-expiry pass.
• You'll get up to 366 visits within a year with the AP, but then it will expire.
• You will get up to 4 1-2 day visits with the 3rd option.

And finally, ask yourself if you want to tie up cash in tickets that you won't fully use for many years. Spending $$$$ right now for no-expiry passes is quite a investment. Even though they will always be valid for admission to the parks, you just never know whether life will keep you from getting back to use the pass completely. My older son still has days left on a 10-day no-expiry pass. He first used it in 2005. He hasn't been back to Disney since 2008.

There is no "best fit" for everyone.

 

[lpizzuro123]

We usually do the 10 day non-exp. We do go down at least once a year but have some friends and family that live in Florida so we do some visiting and some park time.

It is great to have the tickets in your drawer at home and realize if want to head down for a few days you can take advantage of the parks. We love the parks but also like visiting all the resorts for some food and fun (not the pool) and we always head to DTD. If we are down in the fall or winter we head to MNSSHP or MVMCP so we would not use a ticket for that day anyway.

Our 10 day also included the water parks so sometimes we will just head to a water park and then maybe dinner at a Disney resort or DTD.

It all depends on how your tour. Yes the initial outlay of money is a lot but it is great to have the tickets on hand and the price of the tickets is always increasing.

Linda

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Yes this is what I do. An added benefit is if we don't feel like going back to the parks after one park day we don't have to. As someone else said it is a lot of money upfront. That is ok if you are sure you and your family will eventually use them all. I will purchase 1-2 day tickets for family members that do not plan on coming back.

 

[mdsd8700]

Agree not the best fit for everyone and it does tie up the cash upfront but this is the only way we have purchased Disney tickets for as long as I can remember. When possible I would purchase them when we had some extra money and tucked them away for future use. We currently have 2 sets of NE tickets that we can use. It actually has saved us money (in the long run) by purchasing at the "old" prices as the tickets go up each year.

Also it makes our trips seem less expensive because when the trip rolls around we don't need to buy tickets.

Agree that you will need to make sure you are going back to Disney in the future so you can use them.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We have found the 10 day no expire to be the best option for us. It usually takes us 7-8 years to use up the tickets. What you also have to factor in is that in 7-8 years the ticket prices increase 7-8 times - Disney always raises the price during the summer every year. So if you bought your tickets 7-8 years ago it was cost effective. And you are paying less per day than the average person.

I just looked at our tickets which are 7 day non exp hopper and more tickets we bought in 2000 for $316 a piece. Today those same tickets are $618. So you can see how much of a price increase there will be in a 14 year period. and we still have one day left on these tickets.

So if you are planning short trips the 10 day non expire is a good deal.

 

[2TxAgs]

Another factor to consider is whether you like to take advantage of other Disney discounts which may require purchasing park passes. In other words, you may save hundreds$$ by using the free dining plan, but that plan (currently) requires you to buy a 2 day park pass. So, you now have even more invested in park passes in addition to your 10 day non-expiring pass.

If you stay offsite, or don't travel during free dining, then this is not a concern.

 

[madelyn]

We have purchased the non-expiring hoppers with water parks in the past. Think we purchased a 7 day and then a 10 day. In between we have purchased 4 day base tickets, Y.E.S. tickets and military tickets when going with a friend who could get them. But now that the 10 day non-expiring hopper is over $700, I can't see spending that kind of cash - $3,600 - for my family of 5 all at one time. Especially since I don't know how our traveling habits will change with my older son starting college in a couple of years. The last few trips we have used about 4 days off our tickets so using the Undercovertourist prices, a 4 day basic ticket would be about $72/a day and a 10 day non-expiring hopper would be about $67/day. Yes, the prices will continue to keep going up so when we use the last half of our non expiring ticket, the price per day will be less than if we bought new tickets, but unless we were only going to use 1 or 2 days off the ticket at a time, I think buying tickets as we need them will be our plan of action for the near future.

 

[ldo]

if you can afford the upfront costs, the 10 day PH with WP&M can save a lot of $ in the long run. I would use those tickets when you just want 1 or 2 days max in the parks. Plus, you can go to WP or DQ to stretch your vacation. We have done many 4-5 day trips with 1 marathon multi-park day and 1 DQ or WP day and the others were resort day. On trips where you would go 3+ days, you might just get a base ticket. With the 10day NE, we have taken advantage of free dining and saved our 10 day NE. WE have also used 1day from NE and then also done SeaWorld or Univ.