Can anyone CONFIRM elimination of non-expiring tickets tomorrow?

[sdsatl]

On he subject of why they stopped selling, I've heard from multiple sources that at least one driving reason for stopping selling them is all the confusion and hassle. Too many people purchased the option without ever understanding its use or limitations, like you couldn't add on days later on, that you were spending hundreds of $$ to save $10-20, etc.

I did so much research before buying mine. Like, I can't remember how I learned about the option, but I crunched the numbers and read helpful posts about it. So when I finally called Disney, after literally years of considering no expiration tickets and several price increases, I knew exactly what I was getting. And the CM still broke it down for me like I was a child (and really almost sold me on APs for four people). I'm just really surprised only offering it by phone and in person didn't eliminate that problem; you really have to know what you're asking for, I would think. But apparently not.

Hopefully by the time we run out of visits, we'll be residents and passholders (husband's dream is to live in FL... something about less taxes blah blah blah).

 

[lauradis]

Wasn't it nice when every ticket purchased was non expiry, no additional charge?

Remember pre fast pass days too,

 

[larryz]

On he subject of why they stopped selling, I've heard from multiple sources that at least one driving reason for stopping selling them is all the confusion and hassle. Too many people purchased the option without ever understanding its use or limitations, like you couldn't add on days later on, that you were spending hundreds of $$ to save $10-20, etc.

Happy 17,000th post!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

On he subject of why they stopped selling, I've heard from multiple sources that at least one driving reason for stopping selling them is all the confusion and hassle. Too many people purchased the option without ever understanding its use or limitations, like you couldn't add on days later on, that you were spending hundreds of $$ to save $10-20, etc.

It's just too bad that they couldn't see the real problem. The real problem is them, and the way it's explained. Fix THAT and you fix many of the problems. I'm sure Disney CMs still see hundreds of problems caused by guests not reading; this is just one of them, but it's a problem that *can* be helped by better wording. It's too bad Disney couldn't figure out how to explain it better, and instead just got rid of it instead.

I understand the premise of the NE ticket (my grandparents have them) but my point is that any sort of savings you get by buying NE tickets is wiped out by the fact that you're essentially paying double the price up front. Yes, you can make it worth your while by taking multiple short trips but unless you live one state away like Georgia then the added transportation cost of taking multiple short trips versus one long trip also wipes out the savings. But that's just my opinion...

The concept is that if that is how you already travel, them the ME to were the best option. They are no good for my family; we got for LONG trips. Sometimes more than one in a year (and that's when we get an AP), sometimes not. We don't jump in and out a little bit at a time (though it's possible that the NE tix could have been relevant for us in the semi-near future, since we always keep Universal APs but want to spend less time actually at WDW). The NE tickets weren't good for us, so we weren't going to change our plans to MAKE them good for us.

But there were plenty of people who already travel like that, and having the NE tickets made it financially better for them.

 

[Minniekins]

They will be fully usable, (they are "real" Disney tickets, and there are literally thousands (tens of thousands?) of yet-to-be-used NE "days" still in the hands of guests)
and there's a (my estimate) 85%+ likelihood that new NE tickets will still be upgradable.

Robo this is great news...I knew they would be usable but what kind of upgrades do you think will be allowed...in your opinion? If I bought a 6dy PH WP non-exp ticket, used it and tried to bridge and make a 10 day, do you THiNK this might still happen? I guess I figured if they no longer offered the product I'd be out of luck. I probably still won't risk it , it's not that much of a savings , and 2+ years ago! when they still DID offer it, a cast member gave me a horrible time adding the days on. It may not be worth the hassle...but I'd LOVE to know what actually ends up happening. I would consider grabbing a couple of lesser day non exp's once stock starts to dwindle. I did buy a 10 day for each family member last night.

Adding Park Hopping to a No Expiration ticket should not be a problem at all, since that is just adding an option that is currently offered and it's always been the same price regardless of whether it was a No Expiration ticket or not. Price Bridging should not be an issue in this case either, so they should just end up charging the $64 for the option. Same applies to adding WPFM. It might be more complicated for them to do it.

The bigger question is when upgrading the No Expiration ticket to an AP. Price Bridging basically would bring the value up to the current value before determining the difference to charge for the AP. But since it is no longer an option there isn't a current value. My guess is that internally there is still a value that would make it so the price difference in adding the PH/WPFM options would still be the same, and all they'd need to do that is "freeze" the value of the No Expiration option at its last value. But that's a guess on my part.

Hmm, I really wasn't worried about this before I bought one of the tickets I got from UCT today. Now I'm starting to get worried about whether or not they'll do the upgrade. Even considering calling Disney directly to see if the are still upgradeable but realize they probably won't know the real answer! I bought a 6 day hopper WPFM
non expire ticket, (saving $73!), specifically to upgrade to a regular AP. Now I'm wondering if I should be changing that to a different ticket that's not non expire(and that won't save $73) Now I'm not sure what to about this. I'm afraid it may be too long before we hear from someone here who is able(or not) to do the upgrade, and will be too late to contact UCT to switch for a different ticket. Maybe I should do it right away? DD24 definitely needs to convert to an AP to cover her Sept trip and our Dec trip, and to buy her TIW. Ugh, I was so happy to see they added the that ticket back in this afternoon as it wasn't available earlier when other non expires were back on UT but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have bought this ticket. Maybe I should call UT and see if I can refund that ticket and buy a new one that is the highest savings but not non expiring? They have some that save $45. Hmmm.

 

[Robo]

Even considering calling Disney directly to see if the are still upgradeable but realize they probably won't know the real answer!

Call 5 different times.
Get 5 different answers.

 

[amie416]

I bought 6-day NE tickets from UT several months ago for this trip and I was hoping to add more days at the park this Wednesday, so the timing of this change is really disappointing. I might still ask if here's a way to make them 10-day NE tickets, but I'm not holding my breath...

 

[rcraw45425]

Ah, the good old days.


Make that 3. I remember...

I remember those days as well........

 

[DVCWishes]

NE ticket use isn't limited to only short trips, we can vacation at WDW for 10 days and only enter a park twice.

 

[siskaren]

NE ticket use isn't limited to only short trips, we can vacation at WDW for 10 days and only enter a park twice.

But you're then only getting 2 days' use out of the ticket, which is basically the same thing as a short trip.

 

[DVCWishes]

But you're then only getting 2 days' use out of the ticket, which is basically the same thing as a short trip.

But we can use the same ticket for 5 visits, 2 X 5 = 10 day non-expiring ticket.

 

[bjakmom]

I will really miss the non-expiring tickets, I have always had an AP and purchased the NE tickets for the rest of my family.

I actually think the reason they want to eliminate the NE tickets is so they don't have to track them on MDEx. In the beginning, MDEx listed how many days were left on your tickets, now it does not. I've had some difficulty this past year at GS with them figuring out the # of days currently on some my tickets, perhaps switching to the MB/MDEx system made this more difficult. It takes more time on my part to keep careful records of my days and when days were used so I don't 'loose' days in their system like I have before, but it is worth it to me.
On one 7 day trip many years ago, DGrD came down with stomach flu at the end of our first day, which kept us out of the parks for 2 days, then one day in the park and that night DNeph got it, another 2 days out of the parks. If I had purchased a 7 day ticket that trip, I would have lost use of those 4 days for all 3 of us - that's 12 park tickets! No wonder Disney wants to do away with NE! Now everyone just has the # of days they purchase in their MDEx account for that trip- then they go out of the system - much easier and more lucrative for WDW.

 

[Brian Noble]

Call 5 different times.
Get 5 different answers.

...to a yes/no question.

But we can use the same ticket for 5 visits, 2 X 5 = 10 day non-expiring ticket.

Right. But Disney has been very open about the fact that one of their top-line goals is to capture as much of any vacationer's time (and money) as they possibly can. That's why FP+ exists (and ME, DDP, etc.), and it's why expiring MYW tickets are priced the way they are. From where I sit, it seems clear that Disney is no longer interested in offering a discount to the infrequent visitor who only visits the parks for a few days per trip to Orlando, even if they pre-pay it.

 

[siskaren]

But we can use the same ticket for 5 visits, 2 X 5 = 10 day non-expiring ticket.

True, but my understanding is that's really the only way that buying NE makes sense - by stretching it out over at least 3 trips.

 

[Mome Rath]

Yeah, NE was indeed a loophole, and I do think it was for that reason they discontinued them, not because of confusion. I've used the NE options to save money for years.

 

[supersnoop]

I blame the discontinuation of no-expiration tickets on Sarbanes Oxley revenue recognition rules. When they sell a ticket, they get the money, but they have to carry the ticket as a liability on their books until it's used. For no-expiration tickets, they have to track each aspect of the ticket and recognize the revenue in fractions.

 

[mm1971]

Bought 2 NE 10 day NE WPF tix last week when it was all but confirmed they are going away. I plan to use them in the future for short trips, most likely long weekends and special events like MNSSHP and F&W. We'll purchase tickets with our package if we plan longer trips and keep these just for those special trips. We still have a few days left on NE tickets that were purchased in 2006. We have used them on 3 trips so far. Saved from having to buy 1 or 2 day tickets (the most expensive) in the past. Sorry to see them go, but certainly understand why Disney would want to do away with them.

 

[tlmadden73]

The NE option was nice but you really shouldn't buy it unless you are getting the full 10 days. You paid a premium for it (as you should). It all comes down to math and if you have the money to throw down a lot of cash at one time to pre-buy the tickets and if you plan on making at least 3-4 trips with your 10 days.

I bought 10-day NE hopper tickets last August for my wife and I (son was 2).
Why?
1) I knew we would be doing only 2-3 park days off-site because of the age of my child (we did 2 days (AK and MK)).
2) I like the flexibility it gives you .. planned a day off but want to go to a park? Go ahead! Planned 3 park days but decided you just need a pool day? No wasted ticket!
3) I live within a 9 hour drive of Orlando and could see doing other short trips (we are doing one in August before my son turns 3)
4) I like the concept of pre-buying the tickets and knowing next time we want to go .. a good chunk of the vacation is already paid for.
5) Doing the math .. the cost of the ticket was around $75/day (with hopper option) .. so unless I was buying a 5 day ticket every time I go .. I was saving $15/20 per day per ticket.
6) If the ticket prices go up (like they just did) .. I am now saving even more money each year.

I also just bought my son a child's 10-day no expiration ticket for future trips in the next 6 years. Again .. even if we don't go again until he is 5 or 6 .. the tickets are already paid for.

The no-expiration option is nice ... but don't blame them for getting rid of them.

 

[staceyeileen]

Confirmation in an email sent to travel agents:

The following changes recently went into effect for Walt Disney World® Resort Theme Park ticket offerings:

• The No Expiration Option will no longer be offered as a theme park ticket option.
• Guests using a 1-day Water Park ticket will now be able to visit both Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park on the same day if they wish when both Water Parks are open. (This does not apply to the Water Park Fun & More Option. The Water Park Fun & More Option is unchanged.)

 

[doconeill]

Confirmation in an email sent to travel agents:

I guess the 1-day water park exception is what in the rumors was called a "Water Park Hopper"...