How to add a day before resort stay (updated with travel craziness)?

[disndatworld]

We have 2 separate room reservations beginning on the 9th of January. It turns out we'll be in the area a couple of days early, and I'm looking for a way to gain park entry on the 8th (the day before our resort-stay begins). The resort stay is a "package deal" so it's stay + tix (hoppers).

Our best case scenario is gain entry on the 8th (1 day early) and not add additional days - allow us a day off
Our next best is add a day to the beginning
Ideally I don't want to have to do a 1-day ticket as we've already "paid the hopper premium", etc. but I"m just not sure if this is an option at this point.

I don't think adding a resort day is going to make sense - we already have our place for the earlier dates in question.

thanks in advance

*** UPDATE ***
After contacting Guest Services they've said my only option is paying for a 1-day park pass. Now I'm not saying they don't know what they're talking about, but I am here because I am guessing others have thought of inventive ways of saving in this scenario.

 

[Upatnoon]

Eliminate the package?
Get a resort-only reservation for those days that you want.
Buy a ticket that covers the days that you want.

Because you have a package, you may have saved money over doing these as separate deals.

If it isn't worth killing the package, perhaps just buy the 1-day ticket or do something else, like visit Disney Springs, do a resort tour, have a nice meal at one of the resort restaurants.

Are you planning enough trips to consider an annual pass? It includes hopping, you can go whenever and you can get AP discounts on rooms.

 

[lanejudy]

Package tickets cannot be used prior to check-in day for the package. As PP suggests, drop the tickets from your package and buy separately with the earlier start date for the total # of park days. That’s assuming the valid length will still cover all dates you want to be in a park. The “perk” of package tickets is they remain valid for length of stay.

 

[Tom_E_D]

We have 2 separate room reservations beginning on the 9th of January. It turns out we'll be in the area a couple of days early, and I'm looking for a way to gain park entry on the 8th (the day before our resort-stay begins). The resort stay is a "package deal" so it's stay + tix (hoppers).

Our best case scenario is gain entry on the 8th (1 day early) and not add additional days - allow us a day off
Our next best is add a day to the beginning
Ideally I don't want to have to do a 1-day ticket as we've already "paid the hopper premium", etc. but I"m just not sure if this is an option at this point.

I don't think adding a resort day is going to make sense - we already have our place for the earlier dates in question.

thanks in advance

*** UPDATE ***
After contacting Guest Services they've said my only option is paying for a 1-day park pass. Now I'm not saying they don't know what they're talking about, but I am here because I am guessing others have thought of inventive ways of saving in this scenario.

If your trip was in two months rather than two weeks, I'd say consider changing your reservation to room-only (by canceling the package and rebooking, if necessary) and buying tickets separately. However, you're already past the date for canceling a package and getting a full refund. So, I doubt that would work out. The cancellation fee may be more than you'd save on the tickets. Also, if you got your rooms with one of the discounts that Disney was offering for dates beginning on or after January 9, you might not be able to rebook those rooms with that discount anyway. I know those discounts were generally all taken, at least at the value resorts, by the time I looked to book in November.

If you're sure you're coming back to WDW in the future and know when, I guess you could try to move your package to the date of your next trip rather than cancel it. That could save you the cancellation fee. Then, you could book a room-only and buy tickets separately. But even that assumes you could get the rooms you want for the days you want next month. And it would mean laying out a lot of money before you even take the first trip.

 

[Marthasor]

The only way to do this at this point and not lose your deposits or any room discounts you have is to modify your existing packages to "Basic Packages" (room with no tickets with package terms and conditions) and then buy your tickets separately. You may be charged a $50 change fee, per package at his point, however. Plus, if you booked your packages prior to any ticket price increases, you will lose that ticket discount and will have to pay prevailing rates for your tickets. If that is not cost effective, I would seriously consider just leaving things, as is, and finding something else to do on your pre-package days.

 

[disndatworld]

Thank you, all, for your replies.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Disney used to be able to do this, but that ended some time ago. In your shoes, consider non-theme park options. Like Disney Springs or one of the other fine Orlando entertainment options. If you have a car, and want an inexpensive, fun option, consider a visit to Silver Springs State Park, do the glass-bottom boat tour, and maybe detour through Ocala.

 

[disndatworld]

I'm adding some craziness for those who have ever encountered tragedy & travel issues...

I was to leave on this Sunday, and a young dear friend of ours passed away. I agreed to perform the funeral, and am truly honored to be able. Still, it complicated our travels as the funeral is the same day/time as we were to depart.

When we looked to rebook for 4 of us, the fare differences were 1 seat at $170, 1 seat at $220 and 2 seats at $610. I would have to pay $1,610 for a one-way change for 4 tickets when those 4 tickets originally cost ~$800 both ways. Truly, we blew our budget, but "c'est la vie". That was last night. This morning, the airline offered the option to change flights at no addition fare cost due to a large snow event that will hit at the time of our original flight, and with Southwest offering its own like version of pixie dust, I was able to get the full amount refunded, and remain on the same rescheduled flight for the next day.

We are truly thankful. The flights were otherwise full, we would not have been able to get a flight on the following day had we not "purchased" them outright, and with that the trip would have been canceled. The trip was in lieu of gifts to one another at Christmas, so the whole thing just feels like a great big blessing.