6 Days at DLR?

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I wouldn't call it a money grab, but good business strategy. The parks are busy, and I don't think that there has been a significant or busy decline since they changed their policy. Unfortunately, people taking advantage of the system started this change (it was building up for a long time before Disney finally took action), and once it happened there was no going back.

Now, in addition to this change, the competing theme parks are changing how they sell their tickets (price depending on high/low season), and I won't be surprised if Disney follows suit. They already effected this in their signature and signature plus annual passes.

Bottom line, though, if you're not from Australia, park tickets and hoppers max out at 5 days.

 

[momto2]

Thanks for the explanation. It does make some sense. I am just used to WDW. We are visiting DLR during spring break. So I am anticipating large crowds. We booked 5 nights thinking that we would need that last day to get everything in. I have looked at Touring Plan for the week we are going (the week before Easter) and it does seem doable. So I am hoping that we can get to all that we wish to in 5 days. If not, we will still have a magical time!!

 

[sgrap]

We were at DLR in November. 4 of us had 5-day PH's and our college/military son who joined us for the weekend had a 3-day military PH. The 4 of us needed a 6th day, so were debating doing a 1-day single park ticket or a military ticket (a 3-day military ticket is cheaper than a 1-day PH, but we needed our military son with us to use them). We stopped by the GCH guest services desk to ask about where we could buy the military tickets, and she told us that you could add a 6th day to 5-day PH's for just $10-15 a person! We just needed to go to a ticket window, she said. Wow, we were quite excited, because we knew DLR had stopped doing more than 5 days about 2 years ago, and we were thrilled that they were offering this again! So we went straight to the ticket booths and told them what we wanted to do, and the CM said, "No, we no longer offer more than 5 day park hoppers." UG, we were so bummed! Talk about a bubble bursting! We kept insisting the guest services at the Grand had told us specifically, and the CM finally got a manager who said she would sell us 2 military tickets and give us 2 1-day PH's for free. We finally agreed, because it was obviously the best deal we were going to get. But lesson learned--No more 6+ day park hoppers! :-( Such a bummer because we used to go for up to 8 days, but it just doesn't make sense if you have to buy additional PH's or AP's that you will only use a few days. The only way it would make sense would be if you have someone in the military with you and you can buy multiple 3-day PH's at the military rate. They have to enter with you each day and show their military ID.

 

[Janemall]

I was able to get a 6 day pass for my cousin back in 2005. We went to the Disney Travel centre that was located in DTD and they were able to add an extra day for a much lower few than purchasing a single day ticket.

 

[mom2rtk]

I was able to get a 6 day pass for my cousin back in 2005. We went to the Disney Travel centre that was located in DTD and they were able to add an extra day for a much lower few than purchasing a single day ticket.

The change has been since then.

 

[donaldsgal]

I understand that you can't add days to a 5-day park hopper at DL (bummer rule, by the way - I like WDW's way better on this one). We are purchasing a 5-day PH and a 1-day PH since we'll actually be there 7 days. We're from Ohio, this is our first trip, and I'm not sure how often we'll go to DL. For that reason, if we decide on our off day that we want to go into the park, can we add a day to the 1-day PH? Or is adding a day to ANY ticket prohibited? Thanks!

 

[mom2rtk]

I understand that you can't add days to a 5-day park hopper at DL (bummer rule, by the way - I like WDW's way better on this one). We are purchasing a 5-day PH and a 1-day PH since we'll actually be there 7 days. We're from Ohio, this is our first trip, and I'm not sure how often we'll go to DL. For that reason, if we decide on our off day that we want to go into the park, can we add a day to the 1-day PH? Or is adding a day to ANY ticket prohibited? Thanks!

Yes, you can upgrade tickets. You just can't exceed 5 days without jumping to an AP.

Honestly though, if you're going 6 days, I would make my separate 1 day ticket a single park ticket instead of a hopper. It would be pretty easy to find one day out of 6 not to hop.

 

[Indiana Scott]

If it was an attempted money grab then it was a failure on Disney's part in our case.
We spent a 6th day during our last trip so we bought Deluxe AP's. So during our next trip we wont have to buy any tickets and that will save us (and cost Disney) more than $400.
Had the sold us 6 day hoppers, we would have spent much more.

 

[mom2rtk]

If it was an attempted money grab then it was a failure on Disney's part in our case.
We spend a 6th day during our last trip so we bought Deluxe AP's. So during our next trip we wont have to buy any tickets and that will save us (and cost Disney) more than $400.
Had the sold us 6 day hoppers, we would have spent much more.

That's precisely what we did in 2013/2014. I wish I could commit for the next 2 years and we would do the same. But it's getting harder to plan so I just can't do that again.

 

[barbaraann]

The cost of a Deluxe Ap is now $599. That's almost double the cost of a 5 day park hopper, which is now $335. Back in 2012, I knew that I was going to make 2 trips in a 12 month period, so I purchased an Annual Pass. However, at that time the Deluxe Pass was a whole lot cheaper. I actually spent 14 total days at the Disney Resort that year, so I definitely got my money's worth. However, I don't see that happening again. I most likely will only be able to swing one trip in a year's time. I just wish they would cap their park hoppers at 7 days rather that 5.

 

[mom2rtk]

The cost of a Deluxe Ap is now $599. That's almost double the cost of a 5 day park hopper, which is now $335. Back in 2012, I knew that I was going to make 2 trips in a 12 month period, so I purchased an Annual Pass. However, at that time the Deluxe Pass was a whole lot cheaper. I actually spent 14 total days at the Disney Resort that year, so I definitely got my money's worth. However, I don't see that happening again. I most likely will only be able to swing one trip in a year's time. I just wish they would cap their park hoppers at 7 days rather that 5.

I'd take $70 in savings. Plus when we did this we were able to visit the park 7 days on each trip. Plus, the AP discount on food and merchandise was really nice. I'd do it again at that price. I just can't commit to 2 years right now. And you definitely need to know you're coming back that second trip to make it pay. We're back to 5 day tickets this year and fussing about coming all that way and not being able to add a 6th day (reasonably). My apologies in advance to those of you who are hearing me fuss about it.

 

[barbaraann]

This park hopper issue has always annoyed me. I count myself lucky enough to be able to visit at all. However, I'd love to be able to make longer trips. My hotel costs are almost always covered by our Wyndham timeshare. So my basic costs are tickets, airfare, and food. Airfare is the same whether I am gone for a few days, or a few weeks. I never spend a lot on food, and/or souvenirs, so that leaves tickets. Disneyland is under construction now, so I am hoping that by the time I visit again, I can plan a nice long vacation of at least 10 days in the parks. Hopefully, by then Disneyland won't price me out. Who knows just how much Star Wars land opening will increase the prices.