Add a day - before or after entering

[allie_to_you]

My DH & I will be heading to Disney World in just under a month. We currently have 7 day park hopper passes that we purchased months ago. We will need to add an additional day once we arrive, but someone had mentioned doing it after we entered the park as opposed to before we went through the turnstiles

Does it really make a difference? If so, why?

 

[hakepb]

Are you entering on the 1st day of your FP+ reservations or a day early?

Price wise, entering the park first should ensure you only pay the extra day cost.

I'm wondering if entering a day early would drop off some FP+ reservations.

 

[Ronda93]

This may only matter if you are upgrading to an AP, but once the ticket is used it is valued at the full/gate price. If you purchased through a discounter (UCT, TicketsAtWork) and tried to use it as an upgrade, it would only fetch the discounted price until it is used.

Someone will come along and confirm, but for bumping 7 to 8 days, I think either will work.

 

[allie_to_you]

Yes, we are tacking on an extra park day at the start of our trip. We could enter the park using one of the park hopper days we have already purchased and then go to guest services to have them add an additional day on to our tickets, but wasn't sure if there was any benefit to doing this as opposed to just stopping at one of the ticket counters prior to entering the park

We purchased the tickets from the Disney website earlier this year, prior to the rate increase

 

[ghtx]

I think because the tickets were purchased directly from Disney, that it won't make a difference whether you do the upgrade before or after you first use the tickets. But, to be safe, you might as well upgrade them after you've used them.

Alternatively, you could upgrade them NOW (i.e. before you leave for your trip, online), so that you will be able to make one more day of FP reservations.

 

[allie_to_you]

you could upgrade them NOW (i.e. before you leave for your trip, online), so that you will be able to make one more day of FP reservations.

I was going to try to do that, but when I called Disney, they said we'd have to wait to upgrade them once we arrived at the park since the tickets weren't purchased as part of a package and I couldn't find any place online to upgrade existing park tickets

 

[POOHsie]

Yes, we are tacking on an extra park day at the start of our trip. We could enter the park using one of the park hopper days we have already purchased and then go to guest services to have them add an additional day on to our tickets, but wasn't sure if there was any benefit to doing this as opposed to just stopping at one of the ticket counters prior to entering the park

We purchased the tickets from the Disney website earlier this year, prior to the rate increase

Tickets purchased directly from Disney aren't qualified for price-bridging like package tickets and third party tickets. Whether or not you enter a theme park first, your tickets will be valued at the price you paid for them. You'll owe the price increase and the cost to add a day. Best recommendation by DisBoard members, including myself, would be to purchase future tickets from UndercoverTourist, MapleLeaf Tickets or AAA. You'll get a discount ticket price, and the tickets will be brought up to current price just by entering a theme park before upgrading.

7 Day Magic Your Way Base / with PH -- Previous $368 -- Current $384 -- Difference $16
Add one day to 7-day MYW ticket -- Current $10
Cost $16 + $10 = $26 + $1.69 (6.5% tax) = Total $27.69

 

[Robo]

I was going to try to do that, but when I called Disney, they said we'd have to wait to upgrade them once we arrived at the park since the tickets weren't purchased as part of a package and I couldn't find any place online to upgrade existing park tickets

That's correct.

 

[allie_to_you]

7 Day Magic Your Way Base / with PH -- Previous $368 -- Current $384 -- Difference $16
Add one day to 7-day MYW ticket -- Current $10
Cost $16 + $10 = $26 + $1.69 (6.5% tax) = Total $27.69

Thanks, this has been the most helpful, seeing the price breakdown to add an extra day. After seeing this though, we may not add the extra day after all since this is definitely more than I planned to spend just for a few hours in the park. It sucks that Disney is that greedy that tickets purchased through them aren't eligible for the price bridging. The only reason we purchased through them is because the price difference between them and other companies was so small, it didn't seem to matter. It will for future visits though.

Thanks again!

 

[POOHsie]

Thanks, this has been the most helpful, seeing the price breakdown to add an extra day. After seeing this though, we may not add the extra day after all since this is definitely more than I planned to spend just for a few hours in the park. It sucks that Disney is that greedy that tickets purchased through them aren't eligible for the price bridging. The only reason we purchased through them is because the price difference between them and other companies was so small, it didn't seem to matter. It will for future visits though.

Thanks again!

UCT tickets include tax and free shipping in their individual ticket pricing. Other ticket vendors don't let you know that tax/shipping may be extra until you check-out. So be careful when comparing small cost differences. When you add tax and/or shipping, the price can be very different. The Disney website now shows tax with their pricing, but that is relatively new. They didn't used to show the tax in their pricing, and one would come away thinking their price was comparable to others.

Now you've learned some about Disney tickets, and your future ticket purchases will be wiser. I've purchased from UCT many times, as others have, and they give A+ service and quick shipping. You knew adding a day would cost $10. The unexpected cost is the $16 for the price increase. IMO, since you'll already be in WDW, already paid for flight and hotel and meals, why not bite the bullet and add the extra day. It is so worth it to be in the parks!

Here's a nice explanation of price-bridging from Cheshire Figment, our ticketing specialist. It's an older post but still helpful. His ticket sticky, "Everything about WDW Tickets," although from 2013, is very informative.
Price-bridging: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=48592501&postcount=22
"Everything about WDW Tickets": http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1452684