HELP!Park Tickets/Passes

[disneydave2003]

Hi-I've been reading this board for a few weeks now and I decided to join. THis is my first post so please bare with me. My girlfriend and I are planning on a trip to WDW in either March or maybe the fall. We are not sure which time is best to go, I haven't been there since grammar school with it was only the MK and Epcot. We plan to visit MK, Epcot, Studios, waterparks and Pleasure Island. What would you suggest for tickets? Buy them included with the hotel, buy annual pass, or buy passes from disney store. We will be going for either 7 or 10 days. What do you suggest.

tx, disneydave2003

P.S
Where's the best place that I can find info on parks such as attractions, operating hours, parades, etc., can you suggest any guides or sites?

 

[InstImpres]

I have never used it before but on the Paramount site there is a 20 day passport. It can be used for any 10 days but expires at the end of the 20th. The cost for days 8-10 are only a total of $35 more than a 7 day hopper.

 

[Pirate Mickey]

Welcome to the boards!

That's a loaded set of questions. I'll let you know what we've done.

Deciding between March and the fall might depend on how long you can wait to go. This can be a killer. Once we decide to go, we need to go right away.

That being said, we prefer to go in the fall. Actually my favorite time is right after Thanksgiving. You get the value rates on hotels and the crowds are smaller. If you want to go in March you will need to check on Spring Break dates to try and avoid some of the larger crowds. We've gone at Easter week and it was very crowded. We still had a blast though.

Buying tickets will again depend on your length of stay. I think if you are staying for more than 8 days then the annual pass gives you a cheaper per day rate over the park hopper passes.

We did one of the package deals on our first trip but have purchased our passes separately every time since then. You can find some deals on hotels without the packages.

I hope this helps. I feel as if I've rambled and only barely touched to surface on answering your question.

 

[2vets]

Hi-

IMO, if you are planning a 7-day trip (at least), at least one of you may want to buy an Annual Pass (AP) - ESPECIALLY if you are planning to stay on-site. An AP can save you big bucks on the Disney resorts. Since you want to do the water parks and PI, you may want to buy a Premium AP. If you don't want to stay on-site, an AP may not be the best choice, costwise...so you may have a few decisions to make first!! Up-to-date prices and lots of other info on Disney can be found at www.wdwig.com - you will be able to research costs/comparisons, etc. Guidebooks I like are The Unofficial Guide to Disney World (a little negative, but tells it like it is about crowds) and WDW for Couples.

Best of luck, and have a great time planning!!

 

[cinmell]

We always stay at WDW for 10 days. In September we bought the annual pass becuse it worked out to be cheaper than the unlimited pass or whatever it's called now. Also, the ap can give you access to discounted resort rooms and some restaurants discounts. Here is a link to the AP section of Deb's page, I think you will find it useful. http://www.wdwig.com/apass.htm

We got the AP that did not include admission to the water parks or PI because we knew we wouldn't be going to those places with our daughter who is 2 years old. If you opt for the AP, make sure you get the right one, that is that has admission to the water parks and PI. I don't know if you have a disney club card but if you do you can use it to get a small discount on your purchase of the AP's.

 

[QuickGold]

To help you decide what passes to buy, you might want to look at http://www.mgmstudios.org/tickettobuy.html

 

[disneydave2003]

Thanks for all of the links, I'm going to start checking them out.

disneydave

 

[tjkraz]

Dave,

One other comment about the Annual pass that I don't think was mentioned in this particular thread. Give the AP even more consideration if there is a CHANCE that you will want to return within the calendar year. Many people get double the usage out of their AP by scheduling "annual" trips about 50 weeks apart. For example, if you end up going the third week in September this year, you could plan a return visit next year during the first or second week of Sept.

If you do go the AP route, make sure you educate yourself about the different activation processes. I'm not an AP holder myself, so I can't give you all of the details. But based upon what I have seen, the AP "year" will either begin on the day you PURCHASE the pass or the date you first USE the pass. I believe it depends upon where you buy the pass.

 

[cinmell]

disneydave2003, I was just looking at Deb's site information on old park hopper passes I have just found and there is a huge amount of information pertaining to the various types of tickets, prices and what to consider before buying the passses and I remembered this post. Here is the link, I hope it helps.

http://www.wdwig.com/ticket.htm

 

[cdpa4d]

I personally like www.wdisneyw.com for Disney information. It gives several great tips for saving money to any other questions you may have.
ADP

 

[WebmasterJohn]

Hi Dave

Welcome to the DIS!!

We have lots of information to help you plan your trip including ticket prices, up-to-the-minute park hours and e-ride nght info.

Start at the homepage - www.wdwinfo.com - and then use the menu along the top to ge to the info you want. For example for park hours click on 'Theme Parks' and then park hours from that page.

Good luck and have fun!!
John