Fifth park (half) day or rest day?

[CeruleanMoon]

We haven't bought our tickets yet but have been planning on getting 4 non-hoppers in order to visit each park once. I see that UT offers a fifth day ticket though at quite a discount once you buy 4. I'm not sure if it's worth getting this "extra" park ticket. Seems like an amazing deal, even if we just went to a park for a half day. Not sure when it would be best to use it though, or if it's worth doing at all.

Arrival and departure days - both are busy weekend days with events scheduled (Star Wars half marathon and Dapper Day) Right now plan was to relax at resort on arrival afternoon/night and maybe Disney Springs on departure day. I have no idea yet when actual arrival and departure times will be, so I've been trying to keep those days flexible.

We have one rest day scheduled for the middle of our stay. Plan was to have nothing planned except a breakfast at Boma. So we could try to hit a park that afternoon. That defeats the purpose of "rest day" though. Plan was to swim and do resort activities at AKL (with DS who will be 10.)

I've tried not to over schedule us because we are not go-go-go people, but on the other hand, having an "extra" ticket means we could hit a favorite park twice, even if to just do non-ride stuff like Mark Twain riverboat or wander the world showcase for a few hours. We are not Disney regulars, so there's already no way we are going to be able to do everything in 4 days as it is. I'm sure we'd find something to do.

Thoughts? Could use some opinions to help me decide.

Here's a funny question - could you use 2 non-hopper park tickets to visit two parks on the same day? So you'd use up one ticket for one park, and then another ticket for the other park? Doubt we'd do this, but I'm curious now.

 

[scrapquitler]

We haven't bought our tickets yet but have been planning on getting 4 non-hoppers in order to visit each park once. I see that UT offers a fifth day ticket though at quite a discount once you buy 4. I'm not sure if it's worth getting this "extra" park ticket. Seems like an amazing deal, even if we just went to a park for a half day. Not sure when it would be best to use it though, or if it's worth doing at all.

Arrival and departure days - both are busy weekend days with events scheduled (Star Wars half marathon and Dapper Day) Right now plan was to relax at resort on arrival afternoon/night and maybe Disney Springs on departure day. I have no idea yet when actual arrival and departure times will be, so I've been trying to keep those days flexible.

We have one rest day scheduled for the middle of our stay. Plan was to have nothing planned except a breakfast at Boma. So we could try to hit a park that afternoon. That defeats the purpose of "rest day" though. Plan was to swim and do resort activities at AKL (with DS who will be 10.)

I've tried not to over schedule us because we are not go-go-go people, but on the other hand, having an "extra" ticket means we could hit a favorite park twice, even if to just do non-ride stuff like Mark Twain riverboat or wander the world showcase for a few hours. We are not Disney regulars, so there's already no way we are going to be able to do everything in 4 days as it is. I'm sure we'd find something to do.

Thoughts? Could use some opinions to help me decide.

Here's a funny question - could you use 2 non-hopper park tickets to visit two parks on the same day? So you'd use up one ticket for one park, and then another ticket for the other park? Doubt we'd do this, but I'm curious now.

You may NOT use a second park 'day' ticket to hop. The tapstiles will not allow it.

My family has tried to have a rest day with no park. We get too antsy to ever actually do it, so we always go to a park every day, even if it's just for a couple of hours. In your situation, I would use the extra day to go back to whatever park my family felt they needed or wanted a bit more time in (and for us, that would most likely be MK, but possibly Epcot).

You don't have to decide now. You can add the extra day to your ticket while you are on your trip.

 

[agavegirl1]

When adding a day is cheap, we do it. I can be at the pool, while my laundry is drying, and before you know it, I am on my phone looking at crowd calendars or wait times or something and think an afternoon at a park sounds mighty fine.

 

[mamamelody2]

With a 10 year old, I think you will want more time in MK. Disney tickets are always much cheaper after a certain number of days. For instance, it is only an additional $20 to go from a 4 to 5 day ticket. After 7 days, it's only $10 per additional day.
ANYWAY, I would say for only another $20 or so per person, I would absolutely add that 5th day so you can spend more time in your favorite park.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Sometimes your feet need a break, and your kids need to calm down because WDW is very stimulating. My family really enjoys pool time. Living in NJ, we only get to swim about 3 months of the year so Florida pools are a treat.

I like to plan a big dinner on a rest day. Somewhere that takes a while like Ohana or a character dinner. I’d keep the breakfast on the late side and do a lot of swimming in the afternoon, then have dinner at a relaxed pace.

 

[pitpat]

another MK day (even partial) helps with many things. 3 extra FPs and easier to plan than just one day.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I agree with an extra day. You can do a dinner/rides/nighttime entertainment. There's so much to see and do at MK if you know you have more time then it won't be as much a rush on your full day! We originally were going to have multiple rest days and ended up adding park day tickets which I didn't regret in the least!

 

[CeruleanMoon]

Thanks guys! You've given me some stuff to think about. Given the price, it might be worth buying even if we don't use it.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We take a down day for Disney Springs, pools, and resort hopping over the holidays. With that being said, the $20 may be well spent in your case to grab an extra half day in a park if you need it.

 

[AngieInOH]

No brainer..... get the extra day. 4 days in the parks is not enough!! We did 8 days last time and that didn't seem like enough!!