Help me decide what to buy for this 13-16 trip

[Ginaoz]

Hi

I try to go to Disney once a year(live in nor cal). I am having a hard time figuring if we should buy 2 single park tickets 3 single 2 park hopper or 3 park hopper. We arrive Sunday afternoon and plan 2 full days(half on Sunday if we buy 3 day to get early morning). Because of Halloween party, first time not attending I am having a hard time figuring out good times for each park. Normally we buy single 2 day and go first to the park that does not have magic morning. To top all off we are thinking of upgrading to annual if at all possible.

Sorry if confusing just need to figure out soon.

If we upgrade will definitely come 2 more times next year.

 

[Plip]

If I'm understanding your question correctly, you're choosing from among four options:

• 2-Day Single Park
• 2-Day Park Hopper
• 3-Day Single Park
• 3-Day Park Hopper

It seems to me you need to take the Single Park vs. Park Hopper and the 2-Day vs. 3-Day questions separately.

I think most people on here are going to tell you that Park Hopper is worth the money. And the shorter your trip, the more true that probably is (because you're not going to want to divide your time between the parks exactly into full days increments). Of course, it depends on your approach to touring the parks. You go yearly. Do you find you tend to go between parks throughout the day? Or do generally pick a park and stick with it?

I've always bought the Park Hoppers. I like the flexibility even if I don't hit both parks every day I'm there. So if it fits your budget, I'd go with Park Hoppers.

As to 2-Day vs. 3-Day, it's a $75 per ticket difference. To my way of thinking, when you consider everything you spend on travel, lodging, food, and all of the incidentals (not to mention spending your vacation days), that extra $75/ticket for several hours on Sunday afternoon and evening and that really wonderful Magic Morning hour is a bargain. You might be increasing your time in the parks by as much as 30 or 40% while only adding 10 or 20% to your budget. So I would go with the 3-Day.

If you think it's likely that you're going to upgrade to an annual pass, then it makes even more sense to go with the 3-Day Park Hopper. You can enjoy all the advantages, and you get the whole cost credited toward your pass. So it doesn't end up costing you any more total than if you upgraded from a less expensive ticket.

If your budget forces you to choose between the extra day and the Park Hopper, I would value the extra day over the Park Hopper (and I'd plan my time to spend one full day in DCA and one day plus the partial day in DL).

 

[Ginaoz]

Wow so helpful. 3 day here we go.