First trip home...what type of park ticket do we buy?

[tksbaskets]

Hello,
First trip HOME next Thursday.

Every other trip we have gotten a package deal with park hopper tickets and our room at POR. Now we have to decide what type of ticket to get....GASP....another decision

We plan on relaxing at BWV the day we arrive, park hopping 4 days, and one day at a water park. The park days may not be consecutive. Can we still use park hopper passes if there is a day's gap in between times of use?

I'm actually thinking of an annual pass for me as DSis and I are going in April to watch DS march in the band at WDW. I'm thinking his park entry in April will be part of the band package price. Our next family DVC trip will be to DL in August so I can't see buying passes for all.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[iwannbindisnee]

Hello,
First trip HOME next Thursday.

Every other trip we have gotten a package deal with park hopper tickets and our room at POR. Now we have to decide what type of ticket to get....GASP....another decision

We plan on relaxing at BWV the day we arrive, park hopping 4 days, and one day at a water park. The park days may not be consecutive. Can we still use park hopper passes if there is a day's gap in between times of use?

I'm actually thinking of an annual pass for me as DSis and I are going in April to watch DS march in the band at WDW. I'm thinking his park entry in April will be part of the band package price. Our next family DVC trip will be to DL in August so I can't see buying passes for all.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Congrats & Welcome Home! We will be going on our first trip next Jan! You get about $100 discount on an AP, as a DVC member, so that definitely may be the way to go for you. But the water park would not be included in that unless you get the premium pass, which runs about $559 (-$100 discount =$459) vs. the regular AP which runs $434 (-$100 = $334). So unless you plan on going to Pleasure Island or the water parks in the 2nd trip, the premium might not be the way to go. You can get a one day water park pass.
If you get a 4 day park hopper pass, you have 14 days fromthe first day used before it expires, so that sounds liek it would work for the other people in yoru family. Hope this info helps! Deb

 

[lisareniff]

We get the 10 non-expiring park hoppers and use the days as needed. We go for longer once a year trips and can get about 2 trips for each 10 day ticket.

I'm always tempted to get the AP's for the perceived flexibility and DDE, but every time I sit down and run the numbers the non-expiring park hoppers win.

 

[tksbaskets]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like the 10-day non expiring park hoppers may be the way to go.
Thanks for both your responses.
Teresa

 

[ngoodyear]

We recently joined and will make our first trip home in December. Can we purchase park hopper tickets at our home resort when we arrive?

 

[iwannbindisnee]

There might be one way where the AP may work for you vs. 10 day non-expiry park hopper--If your two visits will be within 12 months and you will use the entire 10 days between the 2 visits. (basically meaning that it will "expire" after your two visits b/c you used it up!)Because I believe the 10 day hopper non-expiry will be about $410 (w/tax)-(that price is thorugh Mousesavers website & their affiliates, it would be even more if you bought through Disney) & the AP(w/ tax) will be about $355. If you won't use all 10 days within the 12 month period of the AP, then the non-expiry is the way to go. (hope that made sense!) Just a thought while you are doing your planning! Have a great trip!! Deb

 

[iwannbindisnee]

We recently joined and will make our first trip home in December. Can we purchase park hopper tickets at our home resort when we arrive?

You can buy tickets at the concierge desk of a resort. However, I believe they would the "gate" prices which are full price. You can either order tickets ahead of time through Disney or go to a legitimate ticket broker, in order to get a slight price decrease. See Disney's website for advanced ticket sale prices.

 

[lisareniff]

If you are going to go in the parks more then 8 days in a year then the Annual Pass is the better purchase over the 10 day no expiration Park Hopper (no water parks). One year I purchased an AP for myself since we were close to break even point, got an AP discount on a room for the weekend and the DDE card. The rest of my family did the hoppers that trip.

We ususally average 5 days in the parks on our trips. Sometimes more but sometimes kids get sick, etc. and it is less.

Edit to add: However if you plan on having 7 or more park days on one trip (within 14 days) and only once in a year then the Park Hopper that expires is the better choice.

 

[tksbaskets]

WOW, you all know your stuff. More to contemplate...
Teresa

 

[Caskbill]

Just to clarify, when users are saying Park-Hopper passes, they're not talking about the old Park-Hopper tickets of the past.

All WDW tickets are now the MYW (Magic Your Way) tickets. So what people are saying is to purchase the MYW tickets and add the optional Park-Hopping option. The Park-Hopping option is the same price, no matter how many days you purchase for the original MYW ticket. Also, the non-Expiring option mentioned is just another option that is added to a MYW ticket, if desired.

If you only do one park on a single day, then park-hopping is not required. Park-hopping is only needed if you want to go to two or more parks on the same day, such as AK in the morning/afternoon, and then to Epcot for the evening. Thus if you just want to do AK on day #1, Epcot on day #2, MK on day #3, etc., then park-hopping is not required.

DVC-discounts are only available for AP's and PAP's. I believe it's still $100 on an AP and $125 on a PAP. The discount is only available to persons living at the same address as the DVC owner.

 

[tksbaskets]

Just to clarify, when users are saying Park-Hopper passes, they're not talking about the old Park-Hopper tickets of the past.

All WDW tickets are now the MYW (Magic Your Way) tickets. So what people are saying is to purchase the MYW tickets and add the optional Park-Hopping option. The Park-Hopping option is the same price, no matter how many days you purchase for the original MYW ticket. Also, the non-Expiring option mentioned is just another option that is added to a MYW ticket, if desired.

If you only do one park on a single day, then park-hopping is not required. Park-hopping is only needed if you want to go to two or more parks on the same day, such as AK in the morning/afternoon, and then to Epcot for the evening. Thus if you just want to do AK on day #1, Epcot on day #2, MK on day #3, etc., then park-hopping is not required.

DVC-discounts are only available for AP's and PAP's. I believe it's still $100 on an AP and $125 on a PAP. The discount is only available to persons living at the same address as the DVC owner.

WOW. I continue to be astounded and grateful of the advise to be found on the DIS boards. Everyone is so nice and helpful and with moderators like Caskbill I feel confident I will be making an informed decision with my purchase

Thanks all!

 

[spaddy]

Also, at Under Cover Tourist the Non expiring 10 day hopper with Water parks is $453 and you get 6 visits to the water parks. I thought $40 more for 6 visits was a pretty good deal and you can use them later if you decide to get a regular AP.