Adding a Day at the ticket booth? The madness intensifies...

[ironband74]

OK, so this trip is getting out of hand a little (in a good way). I'm surprising the family with the room at the DLH (they think we're going to Del Sol). Also surprising my wife with a spa evening on our arrival day at Tenaya to include a stone massage and pedicure. And surprising them both with Magic Bands for Christmas. And I'm starting to get a little too excited here...

Anyway, The current plan is to get to the hotel around 3pm for check-in, get settled, get dinner at DTD, and then send my DW off to the spa at 6 to be pampered while DS and I wander the hotel grounds and DTD and maybe hit the pool/spa to chill before turning in early to prep for EE the next day.

However...if we manage to get into town early (and that's a big if depending on us leaving on time and traffic cooperating etc), I'm thinking about seeing if we can add a day to our currently 4-day tickets and hit the parks for a partial day. The hope is that as hotel guests we might be able to get a last minute reservation, and since the cost differential between 4 and 5 days is pretty small...well...what better way to get ready to enjoy the parks than to enjoy the parks?

Our tickets are from UT. Assuming reservations are available for hotel guests on Jan 2, would Disney allow us to upgrade from 4-5 days at the booth? Do they offer this service at the hotel at all? Will doing so risk losing the week's reservations? Anything else I should know before I attempt such a maneuver? Is it more of a hassle than it is worth?

Thanks in advance...

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

You need reservations for your ticket type and park preference to be available for all your dates because when you upgrade, you lose all your reservations, and Disney will not guarantee that you can rebook them. Honestly, I would go with plan A. I've been enjoying reading about your snowballing trip.

 

[Chickinvic]

Stick with the original plan. Sounds like your arrival day will be busy enough anyways. You don't want to risk losing your current reservations.

 

[ironband74]

There is a part of me that says "Stick to the plan." That part of me appreciates the validation. There is wisdom in resting up prior to the grand adventure that awaits...

 

[irlandaise]

IB74, if the entire DL trip was a surprise, then I could see getting the fam into the park ASAP. They'd be going crazy when they find out their real destination and desperate to actually be in the park.

But since they already know they're going to DL and the big surprise is the hotel, I vote for taking that day to bathe in the happiness of that surprise. There's a lot to explore at the DLH and GCH.

 

[Nonsuch]

You might want to ask about upgrading your tickets when you check-in at DLH
Hotel registration does sell park tickets, and ticket upgrades seems like a service they should provide

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I would stick to the original plan so your wife can enjoy her massage, you can explore the hotel and grounds, and hit the hay early for a super productive rope drop!

 

[Curiousporpoise]

OK, so this trip is getting out of hand a little (in a good way). I'm surprising the family with the room at the DLH (they think we're going to Del Sol). Also surprising my wife with a spa evening on our arrival day at Tenaya to include a stone massage and pedicure. And surprising them both with Magic Bands for Christmas. And I'm starting to get a little too excited here...

Anyway, The current plan is to get to the hotel around 3pm for check-in, get settled, get dinner at DTD, and then send my DW off to the spa at 6 to be pampered while DS and I wander the hotel grounds and DTD and maybe hit the pool/spa to chill before turning in early to prep for EE the next day.

However...if we manage to get into town early (and that's a big if depending on us leaving on time and traffic cooperating etc), I'm thinking about seeing if we can add a day to our currently 4-day tickets and hit the parks for a partial day. The hope is that as hotel guests we might be able to get a last minute reservation, and since the cost differential between 4 and 5 days is pretty small...well...what better way to get ready to enjoy the parks than to enjoy the parks?

Our tickets are from UT. Assuming reservations are available for hotel guests on Jan 2, would Disney allow us to upgrade from 4-5 days at the booth? Do they offer this service at the hotel at all? Will doing so risk losing the week's reservations? Anything else I should know before I attempt such a maneuver? Is it more of a hassle than it is worth?

Thanks in advance...

I would call and add the additional day before you get there. The difference to add a 5th day was $20 the last time I did it. They usually aak you to buy a new ticket for the 5 days, and then refund your previous ticket. Totally worth it. You’re also staying on property so they have a different pool of availability that you are looking at. Have fun!

 

[Pluto468]

I'm always one to add an extra day to hit the parks on arrival day, but I think your current plan sounds more relaxing, especially if you're planning on EE the following morning.

There will be so much to see in DTD, and you and DS could look at the GCH decorations while your wife enjoys her spa time.
Don't forget all the time you'll want to admire your light up head-board once you get to your DLH room

I think if you wanted to add that arrival day it could work if you were getting there actually early, like 10 or 11am, because you'd have time to do some park time, then relax at the hotel before DTD and the spa, and still get to bed early for EE. If you did want to do it I'd call ahead and see if it's possible to add the ticket ahead of time instead of doing it on the day of.

 

[ironband74]

I think we'll play it by ear. When we came in April we got to Anaheim just before 2. If we get in really early, we'll go check in at the hotel and ask if we can add a day on without jeopardizing our plans. If we can, great, if not, hey, there's a pool and plenty of other stuff to enjoy. We'll see how it goes, but it will probably be a plan A scenario. - thank you everyone for your input and suggestions!

 

[Tom_E_D]

As someone who didn't realize, until I read this thread, that adding a day to your tickets meant losing your park reservations, let me ask an ancillary question. Does upgrading from base tickets to park hoppers mean losing the park reservations made with the base tickets? Is that treated the same or differently?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

As someone who didn't realize, until I read this thread, that adding a day to your tickets meant losing your park reservations, let me ask an ancillary question. Does upgrading from base tickets to park hoppers mean losing the park reservations made with the base tickets? Is that treated the same or differently?

Yes. Any upgrades require losing the old reservations and getting new ones. It’s pretty frustrating.

 

[Tom_E_D]

Yes. Any upgrades require losing the old reservations and getting new ones. It’s pretty frustrating.

Ugh. Thanks for the warning.

 

[LisL]

I am chuckling, because this sounds so much like me. But, as I mentioned in another post, I stayed the the DLH after many many trips staying offsite and I left a little sad that I had not spent more time exploring and enjoying the hotel. Have a dole whip (with rum!) and relax on the first night.

 

[SL6827]

Unreal!!!!

 

[katyringo]

I'm just going to echo others. Stick with plan A. We did a splurge at DLH abs actually gave ourselves a full day at the hotel and I am so glad we did! Spend some time soaking it in!

 

[ComeToSocialize]

I think your plan with the spa for your wife sounds like a great plan.

That being said, I’ve done this exact thing where we were checking into GCH at about 430pm so we decided not to buy park tickets for arrival day. Once we got there though, my family said it felt like such a waste to be there and not go in so we went in anyways and then had to upgrade our tickets. This was pre-reservations though.

 

[Pluto468]

Are you there yet, ironband74? I've been wondering how your trip is going!

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[ironband74]

Are you there yet, ironband74? I've been wondering how your trip is going!

​

Next week... we are driving down on the 2nd. Don't worry, full reports will be made!

 

[Pluto468]

Next week... we are driving down on the 2nd. Don't worry, full reports will be made!

Oh, for some reason you were going this week.