Help! Staying for 17 days, but we can only get a 10 day pass... Boo! Plus MNSSHP question

[mom_of_3_mousketeers]

An annual pass would cost $749, but if you were to buy the 10 day ($400) and an additional 7 day pass ($370) to cover all 17 days, it would actually be more expensive. If you wanted park hopping with each ticket that would be an additional $69 x 2. An annual pass is automatically a park hopper. With an annual pass you would get free parking which would save you an additional $20 every day.

Parking is now up to $35 a day!!

I would totally recommend going with an AP.

 

[mom2rtk]

Parking is now up to $35 a day!!

I would totally recommend going with an AP.

Isn't that just for preferred parking?

 

[Accident]

preferred parking is $35 ($15 for annual passholders with free parking). $20 is the normal day price for a space not near the park.

The last time I did the math, not counting room, tour, food, merch, or party ticket discounts AP broke even right about 12-13 days of park tickets. Do the math, it doesn't matter if you go back, is it cheaper to get annual passes? Also how much money are you planning to spend around on merch while there? it's about 10% off just about any gift shop. Parking is free. Memory maker is included (technically it's 365 day photo pass unlimited downloads which is actually even better). You may also be able to save even more money buying a tables in wonderland card and getting a larger food discount at most table services places (and a few quicks) depending on how you plan to pay for meals.

 

[Melanie415]

We are staying 18 nights. We are doing 2 MNSSHP's, Waterparks, 2 Universal days, 1 Seaworld day, Discovery cove and a Pefectly Princess tea/day off and a Pirates adventure AM cruise. I too wish I could add on another day/night but am not counting on it.
We are staying on property 12 days.

 

[kaytieeldr]

If you have the discipline to not use your park tickets for the first two-three days, consider purchasing separate Water Parks Annual Passes for $115 each. You don't get the benefits of a park AP, but while it's more expensive than the WP&M add-on, it's substantially cheaper than the AP. It'll give you somewhere to go the first few days so you don't activate your park tickets too early, and on the non-park days.

 

[6loversofdisney]

Just wanted to pop in and say that our trips are usually 2 weeks. We did 17 day one once (our longest) and we loved every flipping second of it. Have a blast!

 

[SugarRush]

Can you not buy a ticket from a UK vendor? 14/21 day tickets are the normal here. They are hoppers and include water parks. There are a lot of vendors that email tickets rather than post so you might manage to swing it? The $-£ conversion isn't bad a the minute I believe (it sucks the other way at the minute) so it might be worth exploring. We get crazy good deals on universal too

We can buy MYW and Universal US tickets so don't see why you can't buy UK ones????

 

[Kona65]

So my long subject might have stated most of this post-- we are going to be staying off-site (my first time not on property, will be interesting to compare!) and could only get 10 day passes. We were hoping to be able to add a few days once we arrive, but from what I've read in a few other posts that is not easily done for resort guests, and near impossible for people not staying on property. Is this true?! please tell me I'm wrong!

So now I'm planning two possible trips: what to do if we can't add on days (Universal, the beach, resort touring/dining, Disney Springs, etc.) which is a complete bummer, because it means that we have to lose (or at best, reschedule) some of our ADRs I made in the parks, and figure out how to kill time elsewhere. And plus I love the parks! They're the whole reason for going to WDW! All whining aside, I have another question for you--

If we get tickets to MNSSHP, do we also need to use up one of our now-even-more-valuable days in the park tickets? Or can we show up at 4pm and enjoy the party without putting a dent in our 10-day passes?

I'm also concerned that our tickets might expire while we still have days left on them. That is, if I'm weaving non-disney-park days into our schedule, that will push our last few days in Florida outside of the 14 day window we have for using our 10 day passes. Certainly I can't be the first person to have problems like this?

I am feeling pretty frustrated that we couldn't get passes that coincide with our length of stay to begin with, and now with all the limitations it is making me freak out just a little bit.

I would love to hear your experiences, and am open to suggestions for possible solutions, outside of buying annual passes (I would LOVE to, but they are cost-prohibitive and we aren't going to be able to come back to Florida for another Disney trip anytime soon, so they would be a waste). We have considered buying separate multi-day passes in addition to the 10-day passes we already purchased, is this a better option for anyone who enjoys long stays at WDW? Please help!

Thank you!

I would consider the Annual pass for your stay. If you purchase the annual pass, also look at a possible room discount. Could save you some money.

 

[peabody58]

CAUTION: Buying an AP will result in returnitis!! You will keep looking at the perfectly good WDW Park Pass and you will find a way to make a return trip within the 365 day window! Even worse symptoms if you also have the TIW card. Oh to have such problems in the prime of your life. Enjoy your trip.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Can you not buy a ticket from a UK vendor?

They already bought the tickets.

 

[robinb]

Can you not buy a ticket from a UK vendor? 14/21 day tickets are the normal here. They are hoppers and include water parks. There are a lot of vendors that email tickets rather than post so you might manage to swing it? The $-£ conversion isn't bad a the minute I believe (it sucks the other way at the minute) so it might be worth exploring. We get crazy good deals on universal too

We can buy MYW and Universal US tickets so don't see why you can't buy UK ones????

Is that even possible? Don't they check for proof that you're from the UK?

 

[SugarRush]

Is that even possible? Don't they check for proof that you're from the UK?

I have no doubts in my mind theres a way to do it somehow. We have to put a billing address in but thats for the payment or delivery if its physical tickets. We don't have to prove residence

 

[I Love Pluto]

We get Annual Passes each year. We live in PA, so Disney is not a short trip. The amount we saved on our resort using our Passholder discount paid for our tickets! We have been purchasing Passes for about 6 or 7 years now. It has been a proven money-saver!

BUT - owning an Annual Pass does make a person want to schedule more trips!!!

 

[kittyab]

On our last trip we were there for 14 days so we got a AP. We are going back before it expires

 

[bumbershoot]

Did you know you can get free tickets to Cape Canaveral from one of your elected representatives?

Sadly this isn't done anymore.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

If you decide to forego upgrading to APs, consider doing a day at Discovery Cove. It is a very enjoyable park and daily admission includes breakfast, lunch, snacks and even beer. We didn't drink while there, as I was pregnant, but we had the most wonderful time. It was gorgeous and we loved the snorkeling lake.

In addition, you get 14 days of admission to sea world, busch gardens and aquatica included. It's not universal but for only around $300 a person, you could add the days to at least do a day at Discovery Cove (very laid back), sea world and aquatic and you can decide if it's worth driving to Tampa.

My first instinct is to add water parks and more for the most bang for your buck, but after that I would do Discovery Cove because it adds more than just Disney water parks and it includes half a day of food built in.

 

[TayjaDanger]

Great news! With all of your good points in hand, and some research into 1-day tickets to Universal and Legoland (plus uber costs) we figured out that it would be about the same to upgrade vs. entertain ourselves elsewhere for 8 days, and we decided to upgrade to APs!!!! Huzzah!

It was super cute, actually, I laid out the deets about everything, including Tables in Wonderland, in a very long email, and my bff/travel guru talked to her partner about all the pros and cons I'd emailed about and started doing their own math. Then we actually got to catch up on the phone and she was like "Ok, we'll buy two TiW cards and I'll get the spouse add-on for Jason, so we'll have 3 and then we can save...." I about died laughing before I was able to explain that we only need one TiW card. Soooo cute! But she was thinking it would still save us some money even if we bought 3 cards, so knowing that it would be $200 less than her original calculations, it was an even BETTER deal and a total no-brainer! We have ADRs for almost every day, but I really tried not to overdo it so we're not stuck rushing to ressies all the time, or shoehorned into a strict schedule (note I haven't scheduled fastpasses yet, oy!).

So anyway, we decided we could live without Universal (let's be honest, we just wanted to go for Harry Potter!) and Legoland--which were both way more expensive than they were thinking they'd be-- and we made the decision to use that $$ to ensure that our stay at WDW was as stress-free as possible, so we can just go with the flow! We'll be able to sleep in if we want, take a partial rest day, go to the parks for the morning and then head home for the afternoon, whatever we want, and not be pressured to maximize our 10 day pass in 14 days or less. See, my bestie and I are both the kind of people who, with limitations, will try EVERYTHING to get the very most out of whatever we are doing, even if it kills us. So we'd be touring the parks commando style from dawn til midnight without a break, trying to ensure that we didn't waste a single instant of our few precious days of our pass. Her partner would be back at the resort with a heat- and crowd-induced migraine and never consent to come to WDW again.
So really, upgrading is basically like telling us, it's okay to slow down and enjoy your vacation! Nowhere near as much pressure, nowhere near as much planning, nowhere near as much stress!

preferred parking is $35 ($15 for annual passholders with free parking). $20 is the normal day price for a space not near the park.
The last time I did the math, not counting room, tour, food, merch, or party ticket discounts AP broke even right about 12-13 days of park tickets. Do the math, it doesn't matter if you go back, is it cheaper to get annual passes? Also how much money are you planning to spend around on merch while there? it's about 10% off just about any gift shop. Parking is free. Memory maker is included (technically it's 365 day photo pass unlimited downloads which is actually even better). You may also be able to save even more money buying a tables in wonderland card and getting a larger food discount at most table services places (and a few quicks) depending on how you plan to pay for meals.

Yikes parking is expensive! We are ubering, so that expense is out the window-- that alone would be enough of a perk if we were going the rental route! I did the math and we are still saving a few hundred bucks by not renting a car-- which was honestly a relief for me because that means I would be doing all the driving! The free photopass is a major perk, as are the merch and dining discounts--those are the ones we'll actually USE!

We are staying 18 nights. We are doing 2 MNSSHP's, Waterparks, 2 Universal days, 1 Seaworld day, Discovery cove and a Pefectly Princess tea/day off and a Pirates adventure AM cruise. I too wish I could add on another day/night but am not counting on it.
We are staying on property 12 days.

That sounds like a really fun trip! So glad to hear that others are planning long trips, too. People here act like we're nuts that we're going to Florida for so long. By the time we make it all the way from Alaska and the west coast, we want to spend a good chunk of time on our vacation!

If you have the discipline to not use your park tickets for the first two-three days, consider purchasing separate Water Parks Annual Passes for $115 each. You don't get the benefits of a park AP, but while it's more expensive than the WP&M add-on, it's substantially cheaper than the AP. It'll give you somewhere to go the first few days so you don't activate your park tickets too early, and on the non-park days.

This was definitely an option we considered! I drew up two contingency plan calendars to try to plan out how we could entertain ourselves on our non-disney-park days, and priced out the waterpark AP's that would give us something to do on our frequent "rest" days. If we were sticking to the 10-day pass, I'd have to insist on waterparks!

Can you not buy a ticket from a UK vendor? 14/21 day tickets are the normal here. They are hoppers and include water parks. There are a lot of vendors that email tickets rather than post so you might manage to swing it? The $-£ conversion isn't bad a the minute I believe (it sucks the other way at the minute) so it might be worth exploring. We get crazy good deals on universal too

We can buy MYW and Universal US tickets so don't see why you can't buy UK ones????

That would have been so awesome! I've never heard of anyone from the US doing this, but it makes me a little crazy that we couldn't get passes that coincided with our length of stay. I suppose because at some point (someone said day 13?) it makes more sense to get APs? Or because longer stays are just not as common to people living in the US? I mean, we sure get a lot of reactions like we're insane when we say how long we're going. But when you have to fly internationally to get here, it only makes sense to stay as long as you can! And flying from Alaska, as my friends and family do, it means an overnight in Seattle, WA both coming and going, plus the long cross-country flights, and usually changing planes at least once. That's a long 2 days of travel IF everything goes as planned, nobody misses flights and there are no cancelled flights (which has happened to my poor AK family before, making them miss nearly 2 days of disney time!).

CAUTION: Buying an AP will result in returnitis!! You will keep looking at the perfectly good WDW Park Pass and you will find a way to make a return trip within the 365 day window! Even worse symptoms if you also have the TIW card. Oh to have such problems in the prime of your life. Enjoy your trip.

Don't I know it! I'm already thinking about the potential of other trips. Maybe my mom will want to go again? Wonder if any of my friends want to take their kids to WDW? Is my gf interested in going on a short trip when she's out of school in the spring? I'm hitting up everyone I know!

We get Annual Passes each year. We live in PA, so Disney is not a short trip. The amount we saved on our resort using our Passholder discount paid for our tickets! We have been purchasing Passes for about 6 or 7 years now. It has been a proven money-saver!

BUT - owning an Annual Pass does make a person want to schedule more trips!!!

So true! I'm eyeing the resort room rates and wondering just how much of a discount AP's get. Does the percentage change based on the season or is it always a flat rate? Gotta keep my eye on the specials, now!


Thank you everyone for weighing in on this, I really appreciate the help and hearing what you and your families have done helped immensely! I'm so excited for this trip, even more so since I know it's going to be much less harried than trying to "do it all" on a 10 day pass!

 

[Accident]

@TayjaDanger as long as everyone is together, you really don't need more than 1 TiW card. I have TiW and added my daughter for the miniumal fee to have her own card so we don't always have to be at WDW together to get the discount. It's paid off doing it this way...

A little AP trick not mentioned: Most gift shops have water/drinks in them. If your going to buy a bottle of water/soda anyway. Get them from the gift shop where you get 10% off (and a quick hit of A/C to cool off while waiting to pay). The temporary stands don't offer the discount on bottles of drinks. hmm, maybe I need to start an AP discount trick thread, I got lots of them.

 

[TayjaDanger]

@TayjaDanger as long as everyone is together, you really don't need more than 1 TiW card. I have TiW and added my daughter for the miniumal fee to have her own card so we don't always have to be at WDW together to get the discount. It's paid off doing it this way...

A little AP trick not mentioned: Most gift shops have water/drinks in them. If your going to buy a bottle of water/soda anyway. Get them from the gift shop where you get 10% off (and a quick hit of A/C to cool off while waiting to pay). The temporary stands don't offer the discount on bottles of drinks. hmm, maybe I need to start an AP discount trick thread, I got lots of them.

Heheh yeah, once I explained that we'd only need one card for the 3 of us, we were debating why you'd even need more than one TiW card if the discount applied to everyone at the table. My only ideas were if you wanted to dine separately, or if you had a really large group that was over the limit of one card (what is it, 9 people in a party?).

That's a good AP tip, and I think starting a thread is an excellent idea! If you start one I'll see if I can think of any good ones from when I was there last. Free valet at the resorts was probably my favorite perk of the TiW card, an inadvertent perk of an AP. Felt so classy to just hand my rental car keys over and not have to worry about parking. This is how to LIVE!

 

[Accident]

@TayjaDanger ok 1 last thing. now that you'll have AP, make sure you look for AP room discounts (and some are last minute deals you can change too at the last second before you arrive)