Regular tickets won't expire until 14 days after their first use, no matter how long it takes you to get around to that first use. We had a ticket for DH that we saved for over a year before using it, and I know other people who have saved tickets even longer for one reason or another. No-expiration tickets won't expire until all of the days are used, no matter how long that takes you.
I would recommend buying only the minimum number of days you're absolutely sure you'll need, for now. If you end up needing *fewer* days than you think you'll need, then you'll have some wasted money or else need to add on the non-expiration option, which is expensive -- but if you find that you need *more* days, those are very cheap and easy to add. Days 6-7 are fairly inexpensive, and days 8-10 are extremely cheap, IIRC. We upgraded a 7-day ticket to an 8-day for just $2, and it only took a couple of minutes at the guest relations window.
I'm not planning on going to WDW for at least 5 months, but would like to purchase the passes now. I plan on purchasing a 5-day pass with the 'hopper' option. Nothing special or extraordinary. If I do, do they expire prior to using them?
