handful of questions

[dancer72]

It has been a while since I've been to Disney. Heading there with a school group next month (during Presidents Week) and want to make sure I know how it all works now:

- The school group bought a bunch of 3-day tickets and sent the list of ticket numbers to all who are going. Those who are staying on site are linking all those ticket numbers to their reservations and ordering bands, etc. I am not staying on site, and not ordering a band. Without a band, I am still able to enter my ticket number into Disney website for things like reservations. But is the ticket number itself good enough to get me into the parks, or do I need the physical tickets themselves (which the school must have)?

- I want to upgrade the 3-day ticket to 4 days. I called to do this and Disney said I can only do that at the park itself - is that right?

- assuming that is right, I think that means I can only make fastpass reservations in advance for 3 of the days of the trip, then make the reservations for the 4th day once I get there and upgrade - is that right?

- assuming that is right, if I am planning to go once to each of the 4 parks, I can make fastpass reservations 30 days in advance for 3 of the parks, but for the 4th park I would have to make the fastpass reservations maybe 1-3 days before entering the park. Which park requires fastpass the least and therefore should be the one I wait on?

Thanks!

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Without a MagicBand, you do need a physical ticket to enter the park. You can get a new card if you bring your current ticket number to a ticket booth or Guest Relations, or you could get your existing card from the school.

Yes, upgrades can only be done in person, and FastPass reservations can only be made for the number of ticket days you currently have. You can make the 4th day's worth after you upgrade.

Important: If your school bought any kind of special promotion ticket, like for a sports group or convention rate or whatever else, upgrading might not be possible. If they're just regular 3-day tickets, it's fine.

 

[disneyktee]

My husband went through a bit of this one day when he forgot his magic band, the ticket number is the really important thing so when you get to the park go to guest services and they'll give you a physical card to use throughout your trip as long *** you can provide that number.

As far as which park, it depends on what rides you like. Personally, I would put EPCOT on the last day because I don't like the Test Track re-design and I as nice as Soarin' is I can live without it (the lines that thing attracts are just stunning, really un-believable). MK definitely needs fast passes, AK is just better with them (since you're off site and won't have access to Extra Magic Hours getting a park opening ADR on Kilimanjaro Safaris is your best bet at really seeing animals), and in H.S. fastpasses making a tremendous difference on lines like for ToT & RR.

 

[bbjunkie]

My husband went through a bit of this one day when he forgot his magic band, the ticket number is the really important thing so when you get to the park go to guest services and they'll give you a physical card to use throughout your trip as long *** you can provide that number.

As far as which park, it depends on what rides you like. Personally, I would put EPCOT on the last day because I don't like the Test Track re-design and I as nice as Soarin' is I can live without it (the lines that thing attracts are just stunning, really un-believable). MK definitely needs fast passes, AK is just better with them (since you're off site and won't have access to Extra Magic Hours getting a park opening ADR on Kilimanjaro Safaris is your best bet at really seeing animals), and in H.S. fastpasses making a tremendous difference on lines like for ToT & RR.

Soarin' is closed anyway.

 

[sharonabe]

If you're willing to do the single rider line for Test Trak, I THINK I agree with PP to make this your 4th park for FP. You may still be able to get the TT FP+, but if not, single rider is available. With Soarin' closed, TT will be busier than usual, and even the single rider line may not move as fast as normal, but I think this is still how I'd do it.

 

[minnie mum]

Have a look at a crowd calendar (I use easywdw.com) and see which park is recommended that 4th day. Hopefully it will be AK. FPs are usually easy to get, and if not, the headliners can be done standby if you are at the park before RD and tour intelligently. Easywdw.com has a very good cheat sheet for each park to help you avoid long lines.