Give up and give in??

[TexasErin]

I have been holding off on getting any tickets for our June trip because I wanted to buy the believe key. But I am afraid if I wait too long that I won’t be able to get park reservations, as well as the fact that we have friends coming with us who only need five day hoppers for their family. I’m afraid if we keep delaying we could screw up plans to get reservations together. Since I am hoping to get three trips out of an annual pass, or dream key, I hate to buy multi day tickets and spend more in the long run.
What would you do? For our family of four, I would need to buy each of us five-day hoppers and four-day hoppers for our long 10-day trip this summer….and yes, I know that is a long time for a Disneyland trip. And then try to upgrade out passes in June if they are offering the believe keys again? We have GCV booked for most of our days, but was really wanting to book Disneyland Hotel for the dates that we couldn’t get Grand Californian with a potential AP discount. Plus I wanted discounts for food and merchandise.

 

[Simba001]

We are in a similar situation. We purchased 5 day Hoppers for Fall 2021 Dapper Day weekend. Once the Magic Keys were announced we then planned to upgrade to Believe Keys when we were there . Then reading the difficulty people were having making reservations with the Keys ( at that time) we decided to hold off upgrading. We instead purchased two additional sets of 5 Day Hoppers for future trips (for my self and hubby). We are now booked for Spring 2022 Dapper Days and will use one set of our 5 Day Hoppers. We are also planning on attending the D23 Expo in September and could use our final set of 5 Day Hoppers we have purchased. But that then brings up Fall 2022 Dapper Day weekend in November.... Will the Believe Magic Key become available again? If it does and we wait until we are there in September to upgrade will we have trouble getting park reservations less than 60 days away? Purchasing an additional 5 Day Hopper may be the best way to go..... but I keep thinking of the good old AP days and all the money we would have saved purchasing an AP and just being able to go when we wanted without the stress of not knowing if we can make a Park Reservation..... Plus, now we hold off on booking our flights until we know for sure we have park reservations.

At this point in time when the Park Hopper window opens to make Park Reservations for Fall Dapper Days (in July) if there is no news of the Believe Key becoming available again, we will probably just go ahead and purchase another 5 Day Hopper....

Once the Park Reservation window opens that allows you to book for your June trip, if the Believe Keys are not available to purchase, I would probably go ahead and purchase your Hoppers needed for your June trip and reserve your park days. If the Believe Key happens to become available to purchase when you are there in June, then apply one of your Hoppers towards it for future visits.

 

[Epicnemesis]

If you are staying on site reservations shouldn’t be an issue no matter what you choose.

You can always buy your tickets and then upgrade to an AP when you are there. You can also upgrade your AP as well. So you could in theory upgrade your 5 day ticket to an enchanted key and then upgrade the enchanted key to believe down the road assuming those go on sale again.

 

[Simba001]

If you are staying on site reservations shouldn’t be an issue no matter what you choose.

You can always buy your tickets and then upgrade to an AP when you are there. You can also upgrade your AP as well. So you could in theory upgrade your 5 day ticket to an enchanted key and then upgrade the enchanted key to believe down the road assuming those go on sale again.

I’ve read conflicting information regarding having a Magic Key and having a Disney Hotel reservation. Is it a guarantee that if you have a Magic Key AND are staying on site that you can access the Disney Hotel Guests ‘bucket’ to make your Park Reservation (If the day(s) are available and are not one of your blocked days of your type of Key)?

 

[DLgal]

I’ve read conflicting information regarding having a Magic Key and having a Disney Hotel reservation. Is it a guarantee that if you have a Magic Key AND are staying on site that you can access the Disney Hotel Guests ‘bucket’ to make your Park Reservation (If the day(s) are available and are not one of your blocked days of your type of Key)?

Yes.

 

[Simba001]

Yes.

Thank you

 

[TexasErin]

We are in a similar situation. We purchased 5 day Hoppers for Fall 2021 Dapper Day weekend. Once the Magic Keys were announced we then planned to upgrade to Believe Keys when we were there . Then reading the difficulty people were having making reservations with the Keys ( at that time) we decided to hold off upgrading. We instead purchased two additional sets of 5 Day Hoppers for future trips (for my self and hubby). We are now booked for Spring 2022 Dapper Days and will use one set of our 5 Day Hoppers. We are also planning on attending the D23 Expo in September and could use our final set of 5 Day Hoppers we have purchased. But that then brings up Fall 2022 Dapper Day weekend in November.... Will the Believe Magic Key become available again? If it does and we wait until we are there in September to upgrade will we have trouble getting park reservations less than 60 days away? Purchasing an additional 5 Day Hopper may be the best way to go..... but I keep thinking of the good old AP days and all the money we would have saved purchasing an AP and just being able to go when we wanted without the stress of not knowing if we can make a Park Reservation..... Plus, now we hold off on booking our flights until we know for sure we have park reservations.

At this point in time when the Park Hopper window opens to make Park Reservations for Fall Dapper Days (in July) if there is no news of the Believe Key becoming available again, we will probably just go ahead and purchase another 5 Day Hopper....

Once the Park Reservation window opens that allows you to book for your June trip, if the Believe Keys are not available to purchase, I would probably go ahead and purchase your Hoppers needed for your June trip and reserve your park days. If the Believe Key happens to become available to purchase when you are there in June, then apply one of your Hoppers towards it for future visits.

It sounds like we are in the same predicament. It makes it so hard to plan.

I think you are right and that we will wait to purchase anything until we are within the reservation window. I sent an email to Ken Potrock and someone from guest relations called me this afternoon. She was very friendly and tried to help me weigh my options, but basically said that trying to not be overly crowded given the COVID situation/uncertainties is the reason for not selling the top two tier keys right now. She said the situation could change tomorrow or six months from now….who knows? Good luck on what you decide.

If you are staying on site reservations shouldn’t be an issue no matter what you choose.

You can always buy your tickets and then upgrade to an AP when you are there. You can also upgrade your AP as well. So you could in theory upgrade your 5 day ticket to an enchanted key and then upgrade the enchanted key to believe down the road assuming those go on sale again.

This is where I was even more confused after my phone call. I asked some questions about upgrading an enchant key and/or a multiday ticket. When she would say ”pass,” I never knew if she was talking about a key or a multi day ticket. If I were to buy an Enchant key for one of the four of us, it would give us the 10% discount on food/merchandise and would not be blocked for four of our nine days so we would still need to buy a 5-day ticket. Could we apply the value of both of those to a believe key if it is available when we’re there? I didn’t understand her answer at all. Could that be because the price of the 5-day ticket and enchant key actually cost more together than just getting a Believe key? And would I want to do this for all four of us? I mean I know only one person needs the key to get the discount on food/merchandise when we’re together. The days that an Enchant key aren’t blocked are the first four days of our nine-day planned park days so we would need either a 5-day ticket for the last half of our trip which probably causes even more issues with trying to apply the value to upgrade as I have read that you want to wait until the last day of a ticket to upgrade.

No vacation should be this hard. I’m so lost and confused. Even keeping track of three DVC contracts with two different UYs isn’t this confusing. Buying a Universal Orlando annual pass, getting a sweet AP discount on Hard Rock Hotel, and getting free Express pass sounds so much better right now. Curse you DVC for enticing us to lock ourselves in, great California weather, and the charm of Disneyland for causing me so many headaches! If we weren’t traveling with friends I would seriously try to sway the family to U.

 

[Simba001]

It sounds like we are in the same predicament. It makes it so hard to plan.

I think you are right and that we will wait to purchase anything until we are within the reservation window. I sent an email to Ken Potrock and someone from guest relations called me this afternoon. She was very friendly and tried to help me weigh my options, but basically said that trying to not be overly crowded given the COVID situation/uncertainties is the reason for not selling the top two tier keys right now. She said the situation could change tomorrow or six months from now….who knows? Good luck on what you decide.



This is where I was even more confused after my phone call. I asked some questions about upgrading an enchant key and/or a multiday ticket. When she would say ”pass,” I never knew if she was talking about a key or a multi day ticket. If I were to buy an Enchant key for one of the four of us, it would give us the 10% discount on food/merchandise and would not be blocked for four of our nine days so we would still need to buy a 5-day ticket. Could we apply the value of both of those to a believe key if it is available when we’re there? I didn’t understand her answer at all. Could that be because the price of the 5-day ticket and enchant key actually cost more together than just getting a Believe key? And would I want to do this for all four of us? I mean I know only one person needs the key to get the discount on food/merchandise when we’re together. The days that an Enchant key aren’t blocked are the first four days of our nine-day planned park days so we would need either a 5-day ticket for the last half of our trip which probably causes even more issues with trying to apply the value to upgrade as I have read that you want to wait until the last day of a ticket to upgrade.

No vacation should be this hard. I’m so lost and confused. Even keeping track of three DVC contracts with two different UYs isn’t this confusing. Buying a Universal Orlando annual pass, getting a sweet AP discount on Hard Rock Hotel, and getting free Express pass sounds so much better right now. Curse you DVC for enticing us to lock ourselves in, great California weather, and the charm of Disneyland for causing me so many headaches! If we weren’t traveling with friends I would seriously try to sway the family to U.

Enjoy your trip whichever tickets/hoppers/Keys you end up with.

 

[bsmcneil]

No vacation should be this hard. I’m so lost and confused. Even keeping track of three DVC contracts with two different UYs isn’t this confusing. Buying a Universal Orlando annual pass, getting a sweet AP discount on Hard Rock Hotel, and getting free Express pass sounds so much better right now. Curse you DVC for enticing us to lock ourselves in, great California weather, and the charm of Disneyland for causing me so many headaches! If we weren’t traveling with friends I would seriously try to sway the family to U.

To be fair, it doesn't sound like Disney is making it "this hard" nor is it going to a Disney Park that is hard. It's that you want to pay particular ways and get particularly financial advantages (and that is often complicated with any company). If you just bought the tickets you needed for the trip, you wouldn't face difficulty at all, would you?

 

[TexasErin]

To be fair, it doesn't sound like Disney is making it "this hard" nor is it going to a Disney Park that is hard. It's that you want to pay particular ways and get particularly financial advantages (and that is often complicated with any company). If you just bought the tickets you needed for the trip, you wouldn't face difficulty at all, would you?

Yeah, I guess you’re right. And if they had 10-day tickets, it would also be easier. But I know lots of people don’t like as many days in the park as we do.

 

[TexasErin]

Enjoy your trip whichever tickets/hoppers/Keys you end up with.

Same to you. Keep us posted with what you decide.

 

[Epicnemesis]

It sounds like we are in the same predicament. It makes it so hard to plan.

I think you are right and that we will wait to purchase anything until we are within the reservation window. I sent an email to Ken Potrock and someone from guest relations called me this afternoon. She was very friendly and tried to help me weigh my options, but basically said that trying to not be overly crowded given the COVID situation/uncertainties is the reason for not selling the top two tier keys right now. She said the situation could change tomorrow or six months from now….who knows? Good luck on what you decide.



This is where I was even more confused after my phone call. I asked some questions about upgrading an enchant key and/or a multiday ticket. When she would say ”pass,” I never knew if she was talking about a key or a multi day ticket. If I were to buy an Enchant key for one of the four of us, it would give us the 10% discount on food/merchandise and would not be blocked for four of our nine days so we would still need to buy a 5-day ticket. Could we apply the value of both of those to a believe key if it is available when we’re there? I didn’t understand her answer at all. Could that be because the price of the 5-day ticket and enchant key actually cost more together than just getting a Believe key? And would I want to do this for all four of us? I mean I know only one person needs the key to get the discount on food/merchandise when we’re together. The days that an Enchant key aren’t blocked are the first four days of our nine-day planned park days so we would need either a 5-day ticket for the last half of our trip which probably causes even more issues with trying to apply the value to upgrade as I have read that you want to wait until the last day of a ticket to upgrade.

No vacation should be this hard. I’m so lost and confused. Even keeping track of three DVC contracts with two different UYs isn’t this confusing. Buying a Universal Orlando annual pass, getting a sweet AP discount on Hard Rock Hotel, and getting free Express pass sounds so much better right now. Curse you DVC for enticing us to lock ourselves in, great California weather, and the charm of Disneyland for causing me so many headaches! If we weren’t traveling with friends I would seriously try to sway the family to U.

I haven’t stayed on-site so not sure how that works but my understanding is your reservation allows access to a hotel reservation bucket that is usually widely available. My understanding is that bucket doesn’t care if you are using a single day ticket or an annual pass.

As for the second question, not sure why the cast member couldn’t articulate it clearly. You can’t combine tickets to contribute to a pass.

so you can buy a 5 day ticket, convert that to an enchant key, then a few months down the line convert that into a dream key. But you can’t take a 5 day, buy an enchant and say “fuse these to a dream key please”
In your case you would either have to buy a 5 day ticket to go with the enchant or roll the dice, buy the enchant and hope the hotel bucket maintains capacity for those final 4 days assuming they aren’t blacked out.

 

[TexasErin]

I haven’t stayed on-site so not sure how that works but my understanding is your reservation allows access to a hotel reservation bucket that is usually widely available. My understanding is that bucket doesn’t care if you are using a single day ticket or an annual pass.

As for the second question, not sure why the cast member couldn’t articulate it clearly. You can’t combine tickets to contribute to a pass.

so you can buy a 5 day ticket, convert that to an enchant key, then a few months down the line convert that into a dream key. But you can’t take a 5 day, buy an enchant and say “fuse these to a dream key please”
In your case you would either have to buy a 5 day ticket to go with the enchant or roll the dice, buy the enchant and hope the hotel bucket maintains capacity for those final 4 days assuming they aren’t blacked out.

The last five days of our trip are blocked out with an Enchant key. It sounds like the best thing to do is wait to do anything until park reservations open up. If the Believe key hasn’t gone back on sale yet, then get each of us 5-day tickets? Then if the Believe key is available when we are there, use our five day tIckets to upgrade to the Believe key? If there is never a Believe key available, then buy either the Enchant key when we’re there for the first four days if there are any unblocked days that would coincide with future trip plans. or if the Enchant key would not have any unblocked days for a planned fall trip or planned 2023 trip, then just get four-day tickets for each of us so we would have two sets of multi day tickets for our long summer 2022 trip and two sets of multi day tickets for our long summer 2023 trip.

Am I missing anything?

 

[DLgal]

The last five days of our trip are blocked out with an Enchant key. It sounds like the best thing to do is wait to do anything until park reservations open up. If the Believe key hasn’t gone back on sale yet, then get each of us 5-day tickets? Then if the Believe key is available when we are there, use our five day tIckets to upgrade to the Believe key? If there is never a Believe key available, then buy either the Enchant key when we’re there for the first four days if there are any unblocked days that would coincide with future trip plans. or if the Enchant key would not have any unblocked days for a planned fall trip or planned 2023 trip, then just get four-day tickets for each of us so we would have two sets of multi day tickets for our long summer 2022 trip and two sets of multi day tickets for our long summer 2023 trip.

Am I missing anything?

Go on a shorter trip? Or just less park days and find some other local attractions to do? I would not pay for 2 sets of day tickets to DL, personally. That's ridiculous, considering the cost of annual passes. Nor would I buy an Enchant key and then additional park tickets on top of that. I'd much rather just go to the beach, or just enjoy the resort every other day.

The discounts are not significant enough to justify buying an AP when half your trip is blacked out.

 

[gelatoni fan]

I also think that it's not worth it to pay for 2 sets of day tickets to Disneyland. Although if you actually do the math, a 4 day park hopper + a 5 day park hopper costs less than a Believe Key. You mentioned fall 2022 and summer 2023 but are your dates on that set? Are you able to get those covered by the enchant key?

If you could move up your June 2022 trip a week, you may be able to get a lot more days available on the Enchant Key. Then, you could decide if you'd want to go in the parks on a 3 day hopper for the weekend or someplace else. I'd also lean towards advising a shorter trip for June if you're already going for three trips in a year.