Can we just....go?

[Kim&Chris]

We haven't been to the parks since Covid, so we are so far out of the loop it isn't even funny. I almost feel like I'm starting from fresh, so to speak.

We're going to Vero Beach in May, and we would like to drive over to the parks IF we get a day with clouds or poor weather. So my question is: can we just get up in the morning and .... go? Without reservations? Can we hop to another park if we want? At any time of the day?

Also, I still have a bunch of non-expiring tickets on my magic band, so I'm not sure what rules apply to me.

Sorry, I know these are such crazy questions at this point. Thanks!

 

[scrappinginontario]

I'm hoping @lanejudy will respond here as some of your questions are not simple ones re: park tickets.

IF you purchase a new ticket for the day - yes, you can go without a park reservation. You can hop at anytime IF the ticket you purchase, you add PH to it.

BUT,

If you are using the non-expiry tickets that's where things get tricky and lanejudy will be able to help you out a bit. Those tickets have rules and she's our resident expert.

 

[hardcorestitch]

We haven't been to the parks since Covid, so we are so far out of the loop it isn't even funny. I almost feel like I'm starting from fresh, so to speak.

We're going to Vero Beach in May, and we would like to drive over to the parks IF we get a day with clouds or poor weather. So my question is: can we just get up in the morning and .... go? Without reservations? Can we hop to another park if we want? At any time of the day?

Also, I still have a bunch of non-expiring tickets on my magic band, so I'm not sure what rules apply to me.

Sorry, I know these are such crazy questions at this point. Thanks!

It depends on capacity. The park you may want to visit may hit the max allowed guests by the time you get to Orlando. Factor in traffic both directions too… and the EZ Pass. Sorry to hold the unpopular call, but I don’t recommend this. I’d fully devote your Vero Beach stay to any attractions or other activities within vicinity. If you're staying at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, I think you’ve got plenty of pixie dust in there. You can always come back soon…

 

[Tom_E_D]

We haven't been to the parks since Covid, so we are so far out of the loop it isn't even funny. I almost feel like I'm starting from fresh, so to speak.

We're going to Vero Beach in May, and we would like to drive over to the parks IF we get a day with clouds or poor weather. So my question is: can we just get up in the morning and .... go? Without reservations? Can we hop to another park if we want? At any time of the day?

Also, I still have a bunch of non-expiring tickets on my magic band, so I'm not sure what rules apply to me.

Sorry, I know these are such crazy questions at this point. Thanks!

When you say the non-expiry tickets are on your "magic band," do you mean you can see them in MDE? If so, I think you may just need to make a theme park reservation to go on a particular day. Even if you need a theme park reservation (I think you do need one, but I'm not sure), it shouldn't be hard to get one even at the last minute in May, unless perhaps if you're going on the Memorial Day weekend. You get them at this webpage: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...kets,resort,passholder&defaultSegment=tickets

The "no park hopping before 2:00 PM" rule has gone away. If your ticket allows park hopping, you can park hop at any time of the day. If you're using Disney transportation, I believe the park-to-park buses start around 10:00 AM.

To make the most of your day, you might want to look into how Lightning Lane purchases work, although it is definitely not required that you buy any.

Edit: The link in the above paragraph to the wdwinfo.com page is inserted by disboards; that page is outdated. Don't rely on it. Some things have changed since July 24, 2024 (although the basics are the same).

 

[Dave006]

I think you may just need to make a theme park reservation to go on a particular day.

Yes @Kim&Chris will need to make a park reservation for their old non expiry tickets. And they will need to enter the park they have a reservation first if they have park hopper tickets before hopping to another park.

If you're using Disney transportation, I believe the park-to-park buses start around 10:00 AM.

You are correct the Park to Park buses start at 10 AM daily.

Dave

 

[scrappinginontario]

@Tom_E_D or @Dave006, if OP has a multi-day non-expiry ticket, is there any concern that using one day of such ticket could start the clock and the rest of the days expire?

 

[lanejudy]

I still have a bunch of non-expiring tickets on my magic band, so I'm not sure what rules apply to me.

How old (when purchased)? With the official “no-expiration” add-on? Or fully unused tickets? Or much older partially-used? Since you have them on your MDE I’m thinking you may have looked into how many days remain and type of ticket (base, PH, plus).

GENERAL:

• You will need a theme park reservation. You can probably grab one the morning you go. That needs to be your first park, but assuming you have a hopper ticket you can park-hop.
• IF you have multiple different tickets — you may want to have Guest Relations prioritize the right ticket — such as if you have a mix of base and PH tickets.

@Tom_E_D or @Dave006, if OP has a multi-day non-expiry ticket, is there any concern that using one day of such ticket could start the clock and the rest of the days expire?

Depending on when the ticket was purchased, and whether the “no expiration” option was added, that could be a consideration.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It’s a long, boring drive. I agree w a pp to just enjoy your day at VB, but have fun whatever you decide to do!

 

[focusondisney]

@Tom_E_D or @Dave006, if OP has a multi-day non-expiry ticket, is there any concern that using one day of such ticket could start the clock and the rest of the days expire?

If is a true non expiration ticket, I don’t think so. We had 6 days left on a 10 day nonexpiring ticket from 2006. They were still on an old plastic card. We wanted to use a few days in December 2024. I called ticketing & they converted it to digital & put them in my MDE account. They showed as 6 days park hoppers nonexpiring. We used 4 days & the 2 remaining days continued to show as nonexpiring in MDE. We used 1 day in May of last year & have 1 day remaining.

 

[Tom_E_D]

@Tom_E_D or @Dave006, if OP has a multi-day non-expiry ticket, is there any concern that using one day of such ticket could start the clock and the rest of the days expire?

The last time I used a ticket without an expiration date was 20 years ago this month. I used up all my remaining theme park days then. I think I have some water park visits left. but I don't go to water parks and haven't tried to use them. The ticket does not show up in my MDE account. I think you should be able to use a non-expiration ticket at any time and it should never expire. I know that was how it worked at one time. The experience of @focusondisney would seem to indicate that is still the way it works. However, that doesn't mean there won't be problems using a day this year then trying to use it again much further into the future. But I think they'd be the kind of problems that can be straightened out at Guest Services. I suspect OP knows more about how their non-expiration tickets work than I do.

 

[katied]

Yes, I have some old non expiry tickets with days left… we occasionally use when we only want a day or two at the park. The key is to make theme park reservations. As long as they are already in your MDE account, you are good to go.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

As for making a reservation, is it easy to cancel if she decided not to go?

 

[katied]

As for making a reservation, is it easy to cancel if she decided not to go?

Yes, you can cancel, no problem.

 

[Kim&Chris]

How old (when purchased)? With the official “no-expiration” add-on? Or fully unused tickets? Or much older partially-used? Since you have them on your MDE I’m thinking you may have looked into how many days remain and type of ticket (base, PH, plus).

GENERAL:

• You will need a theme park reservation. You can probably grab one the morning you go. That needs to be your first park, but assuming you have a hopper ticket you can park-hop.
• IF you have multiple different tickets — you may want to have Guest Relations prioritize the right ticket — such as if you have a mix of base and PH tickets.

Depending on when the ticket was purchased, and whether the “no expiration” option was added, that could be a consideration.

The non-expiring tickets were probably purchased between 2015-2018, from Undercover Tourist.

Yes, the tickets show in MDE. When we went last, we were able to go to Guest Service and have all the plastic card tickets loaded onto our magic bands.

Thanks for the help! We will definitely make a reservation in the morning.

 

[lanejudy]

The non-expiring tickets were probably purchased between 2015-2018

This could be important so you may need to try to check the purchase:

1) tickets sold in 2015 and 2016

• did not expire until 14 days after first use
  • a no-expiration add-on was available in early 2015, I'm not sure it was still available for tickets purchased in 2016
• a fully-unused ticket purchased at this time remains valid for use but be aware a 14-day countdown will start on first use
• a partially-used ticket purchased at this time has expired unless the add-on "no expire" option was purchased and all entitlements remain valid until used

2) tickets sold in 2017 and 2018

• were only valid until Dec. 31st of the following year
• tickets sold in 2017 had to be used by 12/31/2018
• tickets sold in 2018 had to be used by 12/31/2019
• there was no "no expire" option available for these tickets
• fully unused tickets hold value towards future tickets
• partially-used tickets are no longer valid

I assume since you can see all tickets (not sure if that is multiple tickets or a single multi-day ticket) these were purchased prior to Feb. 2017.

 

[Judique]

The non-expiring tickets were probably purchased between 2015-2018, from Undercover Tourist.

Yes, the tickets show in MDE. When we went last, we were able to go to Guest Service and have all the plastic card tickets loaded onto our magic bands.

Thanks for the help! We will definitely make a reservation in the morning.

I was going to tell you to look for 'good to go' days also which don't require a reservation, but I don't see any this week. In any case all parks are available for tomorrow as of this minute. Doubt you will have any problems.

Our end of January trip was 'good to go' almost every day, so no reservations were needed.

 

[Kim&Chris]

This could be important so you may need to try to check the purchase:

1) tickets sold in 2015 and 2016

• did not expire until 14 days after first use
  • a no-expiration add-on was available in early 2015, I'm not sure it was still available for tickets purchased in 2016
• a fully-unused ticket purchased at this time remains valid for use but be aware a 14-day countdown will start on first use
• a partially-used ticket purchased at this time has expired unless the add-on "no expire" option was purchased and all entitlements remain valid until used

2) tickets sold in 2017 and 2018

• were only valid until Dec. 31st of the following year
• tickets sold in 2017 had to be used by 12/31/2018
• tickets sold in 2018 had to be used by 12/31/2019
• there was no "no expire" option available for these tickets
• fully unused tickets hold value towards future tickets
• partially-used tickets are no longer valid

I assume since you can see all tickets (not sure if that is multiple tickets or a single multi-day ticket) these were purchased prior to Feb. 2017.

Thank you! They're old. So am I. That's why I can't remember when I bought them, LOL

 

[Tom_E_D]

I was going to tell you to look for 'good to go' days also which don't require a reservation, but I don't see any this week. In any case all parks are available for tomorrow as of this minute. Doubt you will have any problems.

Our end of January trip was 'good to go' almost every day, so no reservations were needed.

I believe that good-to-go days only apply to annual passes, not to tickets that require park reservations.

 

[fatmanatee]

It depends on capacity. The park you may want to visit may hit the max allowed guests by the time you get to Orlando. Factor in traffic both directions too… and the EZ Pass. Sorry to hold the unpopular call, but I don’t recommend this. I’d fully devote your Vero Beach stay to any attractions or other activities within vicinity. If you're staying at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, I think you’ve got plenty of pixie dust in there. You can always come back soon…

Parks hitting capacity shouldn't be a concern in May and I think it's rare in general. Happened two weeks ago but that was because some group inexplicably rented out half the park.