7 day unused Park Hopper Plus vs. 10 day MYW with all options

[LSUDis]

Okay, I've gone around and around this idea in my mind, and now I have decided to rely on the experts.

I have 4 Park Hopper Pluses (7 day) (2 ad; 2 chl) completely unused, which were bought last Nov. for this summer.

If I decide against a package, would you trade these tickets in at check-in for a 10 day MYW with no exp., Park Hopping, and plus features? I think that the difference may be about $300 more. (I bought the original tickets online from Disney if that makes a difference.)
I'm thinking about a future trip and having the some days paid for already.

Thanks for taking the time to think about this!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

If you're talking about paying an extra $75 per ticket to upgrade to 3 extra days, one extra plus and the added benefit of visiting DQ, then I think that it's well-worth doing the upgrade.

 

[LSUDis]

That's what I was thinking, but most people seem to say to hang on to the old Park Hoppers for some reason. I thought that there was something that I was missing in this equation that other people have figured out.

 

[Rash]

Click on the link in my signature for a spreadsheet that may help you.

 

[LSUDis]

Thanks, Rash, but I don't have Excel on my home computer. I'll try it at work Monday (before clock-in, of course).

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I tried your spreadsheet, Rash, but there are still a few things on it that do not make sense to me. Please explain the flaw in my logic here:

I have a 5-day PHP w/4 pluses with a value of $279. If I want a total of 10 park days, I can either:

• Use the 5-day PHP and buy a 5-day MYW Hopper (non-expiry) at the gate for $280.10
• Use the 5-day PHP and buy a 5-day MYW Hopper (non-expiry) in advance from Disney for $272.64
• Keep the 5-day PHP and purchase a 5-day MYW Hopper (non-expiry) at a cost of $260 from a ticketbroker OR
• Trade in the 5-day PHP on a 10-day MYW Premium Pass (non-expiry) at the gate for a cost of $414.29

In any case, I end up with 10 park days and between 4 and 5 "pluses".
Option "A" costs me $559.10 -- a "per day" cost of $55.91
Option "B" costs me $551.64 -- a "per day" cost of $55.16
Option "C" costs me $539.00 -- a "per day" cost of $53.90
Option "D" costs me $414.29 -- a "per day" cost of $41.43

To me, it looks like D is the best deal by far, yet when I plug these values into your spreadsheet, the calculations show a "per day" cost under fields 1 thru 3 based on the purchase of 15 days of admission. So, for Option #1, it has me keeping my PHP and buying a 10-day MYW Premium (non-expiry) at the gate. #2 has me buying a 10-day MYW Premium (non-expiry) in advance from Disney. #3 has me buying a 10-day MYW Premium (non-expiry) at a ticket broker. Only #4 gives me 10 days of park admissions.

What am I missing here? Because, in my estimate trading in the PHP would be more economical than keeping it. Your spreadsheet recommends otherwise and I'm just not grasping the logic.

 

[seashoreCM]

Are you planning for future vacations as well, or just one upcoming 10 day vacation?

If this vacation is 10 days you do not need non-expiration whereas trading up the old passes requires non-expiration on the new passes.

If you want to end up with 10 days of admission, whether or not all to be taken during the same vacation, the possibilities are limited to two.

The worse choice is to use the 5 or 7 day hopper (or a remnant thereof) as is and buy an MYW for the rest of the same vacation. There is only one other choice, trading up.

In most cases you will never achieve the lower cost per day figures unless you end up with several more days then you need for the moment, which in turn means having yet another trip in the back of your mind.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/dispass.htm

 

[LSUDis]

Thanks, seashoreCM, for your concise analysis.

One question, though, don't I have to upgrade to a ticket with the same characteristics of the old one...including no exp.?

 

[seashoreCM]

don't I have to upgrade to a ticket with the same characteristics of the old one...including no exp.?

Yes. That is one of the reasons why trading up is not that great a deal for many folks, although trading up is usually better than using the old ticket as is and also buying a new ticket during the same vacation.

 

[Rash]

I tried your spreadsheet, Rash, but there are still a few things on it that do not make sense to me. Please explain the flaw in my logic here:

I have a 5-day PHP w/4 pluses with a value of $279. If I want a total of 10 park days, I can either:

• Use the 5-day PHP and buy a 5-day MYW Hopper (non-expiry) at the gate for $280.10
• Use the 5-day PHP and buy a 5-day MYW Hopper (non-expiry) in advance from Disney for $272.64
• Keep the 5-day PHP and purchase a 5-day MYW Hopper (non-expiry) at a cost of $260 from a ticketbroker OR
• Trade in the 5-day PHP on a 10-day MYW Premium Pass (non-expiry) at the gate for a cost of $414.29

In any case, I end up with 10 park days and between 4 and 5 "pluses".
Option "A" costs me $559.10 -- a "per day" cost of $55.91
Option "B" costs me $551.64 -- a "per day" cost of $55.16
Option "C" costs me $539.00 -- a "per day" cost of $53.90
Option "D" costs me $414.29 -- a "per day" cost of $41.43

To me, it looks like D is the best deal by far, yet when I plug these values into your spreadsheet, the calculations show a "per day" cost under fields 1 thru 3 based on the purchase of 15 days of admission. So, for Option #1, it has me keeping my PHP and buying a 10-day MYW Premium (non-expiry) at the gate. #2 has me buying a 10-day MYW Premium (non-expiry) in advance from Disney. #3 has me buying a 10-day MYW Premium (non-expiry) at a ticket broker. Only #4 gives me 10 days of park admissions.

What am I missing here? Because, in my estimate trading in the PHP would be more economical than keeping it. Your spreadsheet recommends otherwise and I'm just not grasping the logic.

The problem is that in Option A,B,C you are purchasing a 5 day MYW, and in Option D you are purchasing a 10 day MYW. The spreadsheet will only compare options based on the same length MYW tix.

However, if you are going to buy a 10 day MYW premium ticket, your best bet is Option 3 - use the park hoppers AND buy a 10 day premium. Put the numbers in again, being sure to put in a desired 10 day MYW Premium ticket. Option 3 comes out to 35.93 per day. So if you can afford a 10 day MYW premium, and you will use the remaining days on a later trip, your best bet is to use the 5 day PH AND buy the 10 day MYW.

If you don't want more than 10 days total, crediting your 5 day PH for the 10 day MYW is your best bet, as you've already determined in you post. Again, better still is to use the PHs AND buy the 10 day MYW non-expire.

Hope that helps.

One more thing: I agree with seashoreCM - as a general rule, if you want a ticket with the exact number of days as your current vacation, trading up usually is your best bet. If your willing to spend more to get more days for future vacations, using your current tickets and buying the longest day MYW you can afford is usually your best bet. I say usually because it can vary depending on how old your park hoppers are, how many plusses remain, whether you want plusses or not, etc. I'm not big on general rules, so I created the spreadsheet - numbers don't lie!

 

[danny1649]

MYW to day tickets with hopper option,no expiration and 5 plus visits on each 10 day tickets each ticket was $377.00 +$27.53 tax+$3.00 shipping for a total of $806.06 for two tickets.

 

[eeyore0062]

Actually, as long as your tickets are UNUSED, they may be upgraded to any other ticket of greater or equal value, so if you upgrade the 7 day PH+ to a 10 day MYW ticket w/ everything but the no expiration, you should come out ok.

If you have used even one day or plus on the old, the tickets MUST have all of the same entitlements as the original.

Hope that helps!

 

[MJK]

We traded unused 5 day Parkhopper Plus tickets for 6 day MYW hopper tickets with the plus feature and did not have to add the non expire option.

 

[Rash]

We traded unused 5 day Parkhopper Plus tickets for 6 day MYW hopper tickets with the plus feature and did not have to add the non expire option.

This is exactly why the spreadsheet lets you figure any scenario you want. There have been many posts that indicate an upgrade or credit that should not have been allowed by the quoted rules. Although I wouldn't count on that happening, at least you can figure all scenarios and be well informed when faced with the actual purchase.

 

[LSUDis]

This has been some REALLY great info., guys. Thanks so much.

What I understand now is that I can upgrade 4-7 day Park Hopper Pluses to 4-10 day MYW with no exp. and park hopping, but w/o the plus features for about $110.00 total [353.06/ad; 312.05/ch=1331.26-1,221 (cost of the 4 PHP)= 110.26].

So, I can add on 3 days each to four tickets (for a future trip) for $9.16 per day per person.

Now, do I want to give up the 5 pluses?........the story continues.