Have to buy park tickets?

[adventure_woman]

If I want to add the DDP onto my resort only reservation, do I have to also buy park tickets?

 

[MamaDrama]

The only way you can get the DDP is by getting a package that includes park tickets. You cannot add DDP to a room only reservation.

 

[Faldred]

There are three ways to get the dining plan (barring special exceptions generally not available to the public, if any):

1) Book a room + tickets + dining plan resort package.

2) As an annual pass holder (AP holder must be present at check in), book a room + dining plan ticketless package, subject to the normal package rules.

3) Add dining to a DVC resort stay, if you are staying on points. No ticket purchase is required.

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes. It must be a package reservation (room plus tickets) to add a dining plan. If you are an annual passholder you can buy a ticketless package. If you are a DVC member booking on points, that's the only way by which you would not need a package at all.

 

[Melanie B]

Yes you'll have to buy park tickets. A good portion of Disney restaurant are in the parks themselves so if you want to go to one of them you'll need to have a ticket for each member of the party to enter the park.

Also don't forget that if you are planning to do breakfast at MK and dinner at Epcot you will use 2 park tickets unless you have the park hopper option added.

 

[adventure_woman]

I'm debating - because I already have 2 1-day park tickets that I wanted to use. Hmm...maybe I'll just upgrade one of them to an AP when I get there...

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Also don't forget that if you are planning to do breakfast at MK and dinner at Epcot you will use 2 park tickets unless you have the park hopper option added.

Clarification:
The only way to do MK in the am and Epcot in the pm is to have a park hopper, or have 2 completely separate tickets. You can't use 2 days off the same ticket on the same day.

 

[vicki_c]

Yes you'll have to buy park tickets. A good portion of Disney restaurant are in the parks themselves so if you want to go to one of them you'll need to have a ticket for each member of the party to enter the park.

Also don't forget that if you are planning to do breakfast at MK and dinner at Epcot you will use 2 park tickets unless you have the park hopper option added.

That's a confusing statement I think - correct you need a ticket with hopping to visit 2 parks in one day. But using 2 park tickets - well that would work if you actually had 2 entirely separate park tickets (as in different pieces of ticket media), but to most people that statement suggests hat you could use 2 days from one ticket, and that's not possible.

 

[TDC Nala]

You don't need to buy length of stay tickets for a dining plan. You'd need to add at least a one-day base ticket to get the plan. How many days were you considering going to the parks, just two?

 

[adventure_woman]

We are going to be staying 10 days total. I wanted to get the 10 day water parks and more ticket. BUT, I already have 2 1 day 1 park tickets, which I wanted to use first and then just upgrade those tickets.

 

[TDC Nala]

Well, if you really want a dining plan you need to buy at least 1 day tickets. You can buy those, use them for your first day, then upgrade your 1 day tickets to 9 day tickets. Assuming you want to use the 1 day tickets for the adults, you can upgrade the child's 1 day package ticket to a 10 day ticket.

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

I have nothing to add to the conversation - I just noticed that you're from Kalamazoo! I grew up in Mattawan! Hi neighbor!

 

[Faldred]

We are going to be staying 10 days total. I wanted to get the 10 day water parks and more ticket. BUT, I already have 2 1 day 1 park tickets, which I wanted to use first and then just upgrade those tickets.

If you were planning on going back in less than a year, I'd easily suggest upgrading those 1-day tickets to annual passes, and then booking an AP package for your dining plan.

If you're not, the math is a bit fuzzier, but leans toward using tickets. The alternate approach would be to upgrade 1 person to an AP, book the ticketless package, and allow the other to upgrade the existing ticket. This would cost a little bit more (closer to even if you're including park hopping), but the extra cost might be offset if you plan on taking advantage of any AP discounts or perks.

If going with an AP, since you wanted the water park & more option, you would probably want the premium annual pass. Unless all you wanted was water parks (and not Disney Quest, for example), in which case there's basically a water park AP that's about $32 less than the upgrade from AP to PAP.

 

[adventure_woman]

Question - if I do decide to upgrade my current 1day1park ticket to an AP when I get to the parks, will I have a problem at check-in if I do not have my AP at that time (if I added the DDP onto my current ressie)? I bought the ticket a couple of years ago, so I want to use it first then upgrade, so I can get the current price of admission credited toward it. BUT, I would be checking in first to the resort, THEN going to the park.

 

[vicki_c]

Question - if I do decide to upgrade my current 1day1park ticket to an AP when I get to the parks, will I have a problem at check-in if I do not have my AP at that time (if I added the DDP onto my current ressie)? I bought the ticket a couple of years ago, so I want to use it first then upgrade, so I can get the current price of admission credited toward it. BUT, I would be checking in first to the resort, THEN going to the park.

By all reports no, you won't have any trouble. If they do ask you to show your AP, just explain that you are getting it that day when you go to the parks and they will most likely require that you come back later to show it to them.