How do I upgrade my ticket to a Magic Key Pass in this scenario?

[deejdigsdis]

I bought a 5-day Park Hopper in preparation for a family Girls' Trip in September. I recently decided to pull out of the trip since I have a 5 year old unvaccinated daughter. Planned on using our 5 day Park Hoppers next year.

DS21 has a test/assessment in SoCal in Sept. Decided to tag along and take DS18 and DS15 and hit up DL. We are all vaccinated so I don't have the same concerns I have with taking my daughter at this time. Planned to get a 2 day Park Hopper, but haven't bought my ticket yet.

Magic Key news dropped. Quickly did the math. My 5 day hopper ($415) and my still-as-yet-unpurchased 2 day hopper ($290) total $705.

Makes sense to upgrade to the Enchant Key.

I'm out of state, so this is inconvenient and stressful given the reservation system and need to upgrade at the ticket booth. What is the best way to go about the upgrade?

Use my 5 day hopper and reserve 5 consecutive days, even though the trip planned with my boys is only 2 days...upgrade the morning of my first day...then cancel the 3 days I had reserved and don't need?

I just want to make sure I can actually get in, so it seems like I should reserve my needed days first, rather than take the chance of just showing up.

None of the dates I actually need, or dates I would cancel, are block out dates.

Is there something else I should be thinking about here? Things are getting too complicated.

ETA: Doing some more thinking. I guess I wouldn't need to reserve all 5 days. I can just reserve the 2 days I need, right? I forget about the time limit you have to use hoppers since I always just go on consecutive days.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

You don’t need to make reservations for all 5 days. Just reserve the two days you are going to go and then upgrade on your last day.

 

[deejdigsdis]

You don’t need to make reservations for all 5 days. Just reserve the two days you are going to go and then upgrade on your last day.

Thanks for the reply.

What is the reasoning behind upgrading on the last day? I see that recommended a lot. I remember upgrading my park hopper on the last day years ago, after using my Magic Morning, but what is the reasoning these days?

I would rather upgrade first thing on my first day to get the food discounts, plus my Good Neighbor hotel needs to see the pass when I check in. I will be solo on my first day since the boys are going to Knott's, then they will join me on a 1 day park hopper for my second day.

 

[Evita_W]

Thanks for the reply.

What is the reasoning behind upgrading on the last day? I see that recommended a lot. I remember upgrading my park hopper on the last day years ago, after using my Magic Morning, but what is the reasoning these days?

I would rather upgrade first thing on my first day to get the food discounts, plus my Good Neighbor hotel needs to see the pass when I check in. I will be solo on my first day since the boys are going to Knott's, then they will join me on a 1 day park hopper for my second day.

If none of the days are blacked out, I would upgrade on the first day. The advantage to upgrading on the last day is if you could use your ticket on any days that are blackout days. Just remember the new ticket price must be at least $1 higher than what you paid for your tickets, unless Disney has changed that as well.

 

[deejdigsdis]

If none of the days are blacked out, I would upgrade on the first day. The advantage to upgrading on the last day is if you could use your ticket on any days that are blackout days. Just remember the new ticket price must be at least $1 higher than what you paid for your tickets, unless Disney has changed that as well.

Thank you! I am so glad I didn't buy my 2 day Park Hopper yet, and just have my 5 day Park Hopper to deal with for the upgrade.

 

[Kenshin21]

Upgrading on your last day is to ensure you have a reservation for the 2nd day. If you upgrade on the first day you might lose the reservation for the 2nd day

 

[deejdigsdis]

Upgrading on your last day is to ensure you have a reservation for the 2nd day. If you upgrade on the first day you might lose the reservation for the 2nd day

Ah, OK. Makes sense. Hadn't thought about that. Sure wish this could be taken care of online ahead of time.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Upgrading on your last day is to ensure you have a reservation for the 2nd day. If you upgrade on the first day you might lose the reservation for the 2nd day

Yes, I was about to post something similar. When you upgrade, your reservations don't transfer to the new ticket type/annual pass. If you upgrade on your first day and reservations are not available for subsequent days for some reason, you may not be able to make reservations on your new pass for the days you want.

 

[Kenshin21]

We also don’t know the reservation availability after the 25th. Worst case it could be very limited as pass holders can reserve 90 days in advance. If you can ensure a reservation for the 2nd day when you’re there on the first, you can upgrade then make a reservation for the 2nd day and start taking advantage of the discounts.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Thanks for the reply.

What is the reasoning behind upgrading on the last day? I see that recommended a lot. I remember upgrading my park hopper on the last day years ago, after using my Magic Morning, but what is the reasoning these days?

I would rather upgrade first thing on my first day to get the food discounts, plus my Good Neighbor hotel needs to see the pass when I check in. I will be solo on my first day since the boys are going to Knott's, then they will join me on a 1 day park hopper for my second day.

As others have said, upgrading on your last day will guarantee your reservations. Even better would be upgrading before you leave on your last day, as they haven’t yet clarified whether or not they will honor your reservation for that day if you upgrade and want to re-enter the parks. Back in 2019, I upgraded our tickets to a Flex pass a few weeks after they first started selling them and learned the hard way that I had to make a reservation when I wanted to re-enter the parks an hour later. There were still reservations left, but the reservation system was down and the ticket CMs were no help getting me back into the park to my family. It was incredibly stressful.

 

[deejdigsdis]

We also don’t know the reservation availability after the 25th. Worst case it could be very limited as pass holders can reserve 90 days in advance. If you can ensure a reservation for the 2nd day when you’re there on the first, you can upgrade then make a reservation for the 2nd day and start taking advantage of the discounts.

Great point, thank you.