Buying Some Tickets Now, Adding More Later?

[Bubblegum1286]

So. Ticket price hikes. My husband's a travel consultant for a group touring company, and his ticket brokers are warning him that it's right around the corner. Could be as much as a 30% increase. (This is what he's hearing, don't shoot me if the details aren't what you've heard- it's just a rumor).

Anyway-

We have a Star Wars nut who is dying to visit SWL, so we recently began planning a WDW trip for September 2017.

I'm kind of considering buying tickets now before the prices go up, but we aren't deep enough in the planning stages to have dates locked down. It's kind of a debate in our house right now. I want at least 6 park days (maybe 7), DH thinks 5 is sufficient since kids are still young (and we make a DLR or WDW trip every two years, so it's not a once in a lifetime trip).

Instead of feeling pressured to lock into the exact dates of a trip still 18 months away, DH suggested last night that we just buy 5 tickets for now, before the price goes up, and when/if we decide to add another day or two to the trip, we can buy more before we leave.

Can this be done? Can we buy tickets now and then buy more later to add to the same trip? If we end up buying them now through maybe UT, could they successfully be combined with more tickets from UT in the future? What problems might you foresee with this? I know if we end up adding on only more PH day, it won't be as cheap as 3 day+ ticket, so there's one thing I thought of. But with this trip still being so far in the future, we can only for sure guarantee taking off for 5 in-park days. We frankly may not be able to do more than that, so I don't want to buy 6 or 7 day tickets and not use them all.

Thoughts please?

Kat

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Remember, there isn't much difference in price on multi day tickets. It's only $10 plus tax to add a day once you reach a 4+ day ticket.

I would assume if you bought a one day tix now, for example, you would pay whatever the price difference is when you upgrade.

 

[DreamIsaWish]

Since there's lots of speculation about the next set of tickets being a completely different structure (i.e. tiering) I don't think anyone can make a good guess about what you'll be able to do (even if you can do it now).

But, if we were to assume the same structure and rules, then you can't upgrade through UT or any other reseller. You'd have to buy fresh tickets through them, which would be way more expensive than adding on days now (you'd have to start over with $100+ for one-day tickets).

What you can do today is upgrade in the parks after you've used the first day. You pay the differential in effect at that time. But that ability could go away at any time. Disneyland used to allow that type of upgrade but hasn't allowed it for 5 or so years now. (Last time I tried at Disneyland they wanted me to pay the differential between what I paid for the ticket and the new price, not the current differential which was a huge difference.) If you're hedging bets, go with the slightly longer ticket and go for a few hours on arrival or departure day. I'm not counting on any of the rules staying the same (they might, of course, but if I'm going to hedge then I don't want to get partway and lose the benefit of my hedge).

 

[jknewberry]

We are planning a trip for 7 of us in a little more than a year (youngest won't be quite 3 so buying 6 tickets). I am pretty well set on 5 days- we are driving down (18 hours!) and between that and pulling the kids from school and DH taking time from work, 5 days is about all we can do. We will have a day off in the middle of our trip to go see a Tigers Spring Training game.

I am on the verge of buying tickets now- I know what we want, I don't need park hopper or water parks upgrades, just waiting until DH says go ahead (likely not until April since we aren't booking our hotel til then) and/or the price increase is happening. I am counting on Undercover Tourist to give us the heads up and I will just jump on them that day.

That being said, I looked at the previous increase and IF this increase is along those lines, waiting will only cost us about $36 total. I am not sure if it will be more like your husband heard, and I am not sure about what happens if the way the tickets are structured changes.

I don't think that you can "add days", but I could be wrong, and in our case if we do lengthen our trip enough to need another day, we will just head over to Kennedy Space Center, check out Legoland or Seaworld, or spend a day checking out the resorts.

Kelly

 

[Marionnette]

So. Ticket price hikes. My husband's a travel consultant for a group touring company, and his ticket brokers are warning him that it's right around the corner. Could be as much as a 30% increase. (This is what he's hearing, don't shoot me if the details aren't what you've heard- it's just a rumor).

Anyway-

We have a Star Wars nut who is dying to visit SWL, so we recently began planning a WDW trip for September 2017.

I'm kind of considering buying tickets now before the prices go up, but we aren't deep enough in the planning stages to have dates locked down. It's kind of a debate in our house right now. I want at least 6 park days (maybe 7), DH thinks 5 is sufficient since kids are still young (and we make a DLR or WDW trip every two years, so it's not a once in a lifetime trip).

Instead of feeling pressured to lock into the exact dates of a trip still 18 months away, DH suggested last night that we just buy 5 tickets for now, before the price goes up, and when/if we decide to add another day or two to the trip, we can buy more before we leave.

Can this be done? Can we buy tickets now and then buy more later to add to the same trip? If we end up buying them now through maybe UT, could they successfully be combined with more tickets from UT in the future? What problems might you foresee with this? I know if we end up adding on only more PH day, it won't be as cheap as 3 day+ ticket, so there's one thing I thought of. But with this trip still being so far in the future, we can only for sure guarantee taking off for 5 in-park days. We frankly may not be able to do more than that, so I don't want to buy 6 or 7 day tickets and not use them all.
y
Thoughts please?

Kat

"Instead of feeling pressured to lock into the exact dates of a trip still 18 months away, DH suggested last night that we just buy 5 tickets for now, before the price goes up, and when/if we decide to add another day or two to the trip, we can buy more before we leave."
​

Here's the problem as I see it:
It's quite possible that Disney will change their ticket structure to the surge pricing (tiered) system with the next price increase. Whenever they do that, doing any kind of upgrade on older tickets is no longer possible.

• Think about it. When MYW was introduced in 2005, you were no longer able to upgrade PH and PHPs. You could only use them for the entitlements that were on the ticket.
• When the no-expiry option was eliminated, it was no longer a possibility to add days to those tickets because a "no-expiry" ticket was no longer available to purchase and hence, had no price.

If you were to buy 5-day passes now, you would be locked into only 5 days at the parks. The cost difference between a 5-day ticket and a 7-day ticket is about $25. For a family of 4, that's an extra $100 and nothing to sneeze at. But let's suppose that tickets go up 5% in price (not an unlikely possibility). Suddenly, that ticket that once cost $325 now costs $341..just $5 short of what you would pay for a 7-day ticket now.

So, it comes down to what kind of gambler you are. Are you someone who will bet on the ticket structure not changing (even though they have already done this for APs)? Or that you will be able to upgrade a MYW ticket when you go in 2017? Or that price increase(s) between now and when you have your dates nailed down will not be large enough to make an impact on your plan?

 

[Bubblegum1286]

So there's a possibility with the tiered system that tickets purchased now won't be accepted? Or are you saying if we buy 5 day tickets now and then get there and want another day, we won't be able to upgrade to a 6 day ticket?

 

[Bubblegum1286]

Okay, sorry- kids were running around when I read your post before. I re-read it without distraction and I get what you're saying.

e parks. The cost difference between a 5-day ticket and a 7-day ticket is about $25. For a family of 4, that's an extra $100 and nothing to sneeze at. But let's suppose that tickets go up 5% in price (not an unlikely possibility). Suddenly, that ticket that once cost $325 now costs $341..just $5 short of what you would pay for a 7-day ticket now.​

So, it comes down to what kind of gambler you are. Are you someone who will bet on the ticket structure not changing (even though they have already done this for APs)? Or that you will be able to upgrade a MYW ticket when you go in 2017? Or that price increase(s) between now and when you have your dates nailed down will not be large enough to make an impact on your plan?

So basically, I think if we want to buy tickets ahead of time, we need to KNOW for sure how long we're planning on spending there and stick to that. Or don't do it at all.

 

[Judique]

So. Ticket price hikes. My husband's a travel consultant for a group touring company, and his ticket brokers are warning him that it's right around the corner. Could be as much as a 30% increase. (This is what he's hearing, don't shoot me if the details aren't what you've heard- it's just a rumor).

Anyway-

We have a Star Wars nut who is dying to visit SWL, so we recently began planning a WDW trip for September 2017.

I'm kind of considering buying tickets now before the prices go up, but we aren't deep enough in the planning stages to have dates locked down. It's kind of a debate in our house right now. I want at least 6 park days (maybe 7), DH thinks 5 is sufficient since kids are still young (and we make a DLR or WDW trip every two years, so it's not a once in a lifetime trip).

Instead of feeling pressured to lock into the exact dates of a trip still 18 months away, DH suggested last night that we just buy 5 tickets for now, before the price goes up, and when/if we decide to add another day or two to the trip, we can buy more before we leave.

Can this be done? Can we buy tickets now and then buy more later to add to the same trip? If we end up buying them now through maybe UT, could they successfully be combined with more tickets from UT in the future? What problems might you foresee with this? I know if we end up adding on only more PH day, it won't be as cheap as 3 day+ ticket, so there's one thing I thought of. But with this trip still being so far in the future, we can only for sure guarantee taking off for 5 in-park days. We frankly may not be able to do more than that, so I don't want to buy 6 or 7 day tickets and not use them all.

Thoughts please?

Kat

If you are going, buy the tickets now. And, since you are waffling between 5 and 7 day, buy a six day ticket.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Delphinidae]

If the tickets are changed to a different structure altogether, and I bought tickets before that change, do you think they would still be accepted AFTER the change?

 

[Marionnette]

Okay, sorry- kids were running around when I read your post before. I re-read it without distraction and I get what you're saying.


So basically, I think if we want to buy tickets ahead of time, we need to KNOW for sure how long we're planning on spending there and stick to that. Or don't do it at all.

Actually, I was recommending the opposite...buy the 7-day tickets now because the chances are pretty good that a 5-day ticket will cost close to that amount after the price hike.

If the tickets are changed to a different structure altogether, and I bought tickets before that change, do you think they would still be accepted AFTER the change?

I think that your tickets will always be valid for the entitlements for which they were sold and for the terms under which they were sold. IOW, a 5-day ticket which is good ANY DAY at any of the 4 theme parks will be valid for admission on any day at the current theme parks. If Disney adds a 5th gate, it's possible that MYW tickets would not be valid for admission at that 5th park.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

Actually, I was recommending the opposite...buy the 7-day tickets now because the chances are pretty good that a 5-day ticket will cost close to that amount after the price hike.


I think that your tickets will always be valid for the entitlements for which they were sold and for the terms under which they were sold. IOW, a 5-day ticket which is good ANY DAY at any of the 4 theme parks will be valid for admission on any day at the current theme parks. If Disney adds a 5th gate, it's possible that MYW tickets would not be valid for admission at that 5th park.

Gotcha. WDW tickets don't expire, correct? I mean, you can buy a year or in my case 18 months in advance and they'll be good?