Join package or wing it?

[Verstehen]

Okay m'dears, I need your advice.

My mom, her partner, my sister (19), and myself are all going to Port Orleans for a week in late December. The three of them are in a package, which includes 7 nights in the room, hopper tickets (5 days, I believe), and 7 days of DDP (1 counter service, 1 full service, 1 snack). I asked my mom to call the travel agent (AAA) and see how much it would be to add me. She said that it would be $700. She also said the agent suggested I not be added to the package, and instead just add myself to the room and pay for my meals out of pocket. She suggested this because as a Florida resident, I already have an annual pass.

My initial plan was to join the package, use my annual pass as my park ticket, and then sell the Key to the Kingdom afterward for the 5 day park hopper, which after meals and room checkout will be all that's left.

So my question for you is, which should I do? Can I sell the days on eBay or something afterward, or will they expire when the room key expires (they won't have been used for the pass at all, and they will not have a fingerprint attached to them, so I thought they should be fine)? I was planning to do this because I assumed that after the sale, it would be cheaper overall because of the meal plan. Can anyone help break down the price for me, or suggest how much I'll get for the tickets? I was really looking forward to not having to budget for food and just throw myself into the package and be done with it.

If it helps, I like to be a bit adventurous when I order and go for things that may otherwise not be so cheap, and one of the reasons I was looking forward to the DDP was the freedom to do that without much worry, since it's the same price no matter what I order.

Thanks anyone who can help! Please let me know if anything doesn't make sense.

 

[vicki_c]

Unused tickets do not expire. And are transferable. Whether you would get full gate price is debateable - anyone buying your tickets is taking a big risk that they won't be valid, so if I was doing that (which I never would) I would be looking for a substantial discount. I would keep the ticket and use it for your next AP renewal.

If you do that approach, in addition to paying out of pocket for your meals, it will also cost $15/night to add you to the room once they are checked in. That's probably included in the $700 quote from the TA, but you will have to pay it regardless.

Another approach is to reduce the tickets on the package to only 1 day, add you with the DDP, then the rest of the party can just add the additional days they need once they are there, and you can keep your ticket as a 1 day, and again, use it when renewing your AP. Then you would be out less $$ and it wouldn't cost anyone else anymore than now.

 

[Verstehen]

How would I transfer them to my next AP pass? I'm also not sure if I will renew it, since I might not be in the area for another year after that (my current pass expires in October). The ticket included in the package isn't a Florida resident ticket.

I do know about the $15 per day, which would be included in the package if I join.

I did mention the reducing tickets to 1 day thing, but as that makes everyone else wait and hope the prices don't go up, and it makes them doadditional work, I don't think it would be fair to them.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

Another approach is to reduce the tickets on the package to only 1 day, add you with the DDP, then the rest of the party can just add the additional days they need once they are there, and you can keep your ticket as a 1 day, and again, use it when renewing your AP. Then you would be out less $$ and it wouldn't cost anyone else anymore than now.

I would do this one... When you arrive at your hotel, ask the Concierge desk to remove your one day ticket from your KTTW. When we did this last year, they were reluctant to do it because once the ticket has been issued as a paper ticket, they aren't able to reissue it as easily if it is lost. I insisted I wanted it off because we didn't want to accidentally use our KTTW instead of our annual pass one day and waste the ticket. As soon as the separate ticket was issued, I took a picture of the back of it so I would have the numbers and put the ticket in my suitcase so I wouldn't lose it.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

How would I transfer them to my next AP pass? I'm also not sure if I will renew it, since I might not be in the area for another year after that (my current pass expires in October). The ticket included in the package isn't a Florida resident ticket.

I do know about the $15 per day, which would be included in the package if I join.

I did mention the reducing tickets to 1 day thing, but as that makes everyone else wait and hope the prices don't go up, and it makes them doadditional work, I don't think it would be fair to them.

So I assume you are buying another AP in October when your current one expires?

With either the five or single day ticket, you can still have the ticket removed from the KTTW. I would either keep it for another trip, use it towards an annual pass next time, or sell it.

The way to use the ticket towards an upgrade is to:
1. Use the ticket to get into the park your first day. That will make it so when you go to trade it in, you get current price for the ticket, not the price you paid. Since ticket prices rarely go down, you'll get a little extra.
2. Go to Guest Relations and ask to upgrade your ticket to an Annual Pass. They will charge you the difference between the gate price of the ticket you have and the cost of whatever annual pass you are buying.

Keep in mind that you won't be able to combine two tickets, just upgrade one. So if you always travel on a package, that might not be the best plan for you.


Another option is to see if you can rebook their trip under your annual pass if they didn't get a discount. As an Annual Passholder, you might be able to get a discount on the room. You should be allowed to book an AP package that allows you to get room and dining plan without paying for tickets. Then the rest of your travel party would be able to buy tickets now (and can use the Undercover Tourist discount) to lock in the current price and not have to worry about price increases.

 

[Verstehen]

I would do this one... When you arrive at your hotel, ask the Concierge desk to remove your one day ticket from your KTTW. When we did this last year, they were reluctant to do it because once the ticket has been issued as a paper ticket, they aren't able to reissue it as easily if it is lost. I insisted I wanted it off because we didn't want to accidentally use our KTTW instead of our annual pass one day and waste the ticket. As soon as the separate ticket was issued, I took a picture of the back of it so I would have the numbers and put the ticket in my suitcase so I wouldn't lose it.

Wait, so I can remove my ticket from my KTTW? Something to consider...

Is there another resource I could sell the ticket through that would be more secure for the buyer?

 

[Verstehen]

When are they traveling? Prices usually don't go up again until August.

December.

 

[Suz D]

When the AP rates come out for that time frame I would cancel the whole reservation and book it at the AP rate with dining. You would need to book the room for 4 people in your name. The room is discounted and the dining plan costs the same. No tickets are required (not even just a 1 day pass). The package has to be paid 45 days in advance. You can put the total on 4 different cards, just divide the total by 4 and each pay 1/4th with their own card.

Then when you get there, the other three people in your party can go to the desk at your hotel and get their passes. That's what we did twice last year and it did save us quite a bit because the AP room rate was wonderful!

 

[Verstehen]

When the AP rates come out for that time frame I would cancel the whole reservation and book it at the AP rate with dining. You would need to book the room for 4 people in your name. The room is discounted and the dining plan costs the same. No tickets are required (not even just a 1 day pass). The package has to be paid 45 days in advance. You can put the total on 4 different cards, just divide the total by 4 and each pay 1/4th with their own card.

Then when you get there, the other three people in your party can go to the desk at your hotel and get their passes. That's what we did twice last year and it did save us quite a bit because the AP room rate was wonderful!

That's actually the plan provided French Quarter is available when the rates come out. I will remind my mom of this, but in case that's not what happens, I still want to get an idea of what I should do, especially since the vacation falls during the busiest time. But thanks!

One question though. Will it still be cheaper overall with the AP plan, even if the ticket prices go up in August? Maybe they should still buy their tickets separately ahead of time...

Edit: Oh, but by the time AP rates come out it will already be past the price raise day. Arg, it's all so confusing!

 

[Verstehen]

Ok, so after looking at eBay, let's say I could sell it for between 2-4 hundred bucks. That leaves about $400, minus $105 for the room, would leave $42 per day for food. I highly doubt I'd spend less than that if I wasn't on the plan, especially considering it includes soft drinks and dessert. Seems like it would be worth it to add myself and either wait to renew my pass til December OR sell the days. Thoughts?

 

[tlbwriter]

My mom, her partner, my sister (19), and myself are all going to Port Orleans for a week in late December. The three of them are in a package, which includes 7 nights in the room, hopper tickets (5 days, I believe), and 7 days of DDP (1 counter service, 1 full service, 1 snack). I asked my mom to call the travel agent (AAA) and see how much it would be to add me. She said that it would be $700. She also said the agent suggested I not be added to the package, and instead just add myself to the room and pay for my meals out of pocket.

Am I missing something? I thought you couldn't be added to the room without being added to the package.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

You might want to mention to your traveling companions that it is only $10 more to get 7 day tickets instead of 5 day tickets. Even if they only use the ticket those days to go into a park for a meal or fireworks, they'd probably get their money's worth.

 

[SaraJayne]

Everyone staying in the same room has to be on the same package. So it won't work the way you're thinking.

 

[Verstehen]

Am I missing something? I thought you couldn't be added to the room without being added to the package.

I can if I arrive the day of with my family and go, "Hey, please let me stay here. Have a credit card." I can't, however, join the meal plan or ticket plan without being added to the package.

 

[SaraJayne]

I can if I arrive the day of with my family and go, "Hey, please let me stay here. Have a credit card." I can't, however, join the meal plan or ticket plan without being added to the package.

Nope, you can't, unless you are staying in a different room. EVERYONE in the room has to be on the SAME package.

 

[Verstehen]

Nope, you can't, unless you are staying in a different room. EVERYONE in the room has to be on the SAME package.

When I called Disney, I was told otherwise...?

 

[vicki_c]

SaraJayne is wrong in this case. You can add people to your room AFTER arrival and check-in, and not be required to purchase them the same tickets and dining plan. You cannot do that in advance though.

 

[SaraJayne]

SaraJayne is wrong in this case. You can add people to your room AFTER arrival and check-in, and not be required to purchase them the same tickets and dining plan. You cannot do that in advance though.

Huh. Well, if that is the case, I'll just add people to my room after check in, then we don't need to be on the same plan.

I bet this is one of those things you'd get 3 different answers by asking 3 different CM's.

 

[Verstehen]

Good to know! It still seems like it would be worth it price-wise to join the plan though. I'd have to get basically nothing for the tickets in order for it to be worth it (and I have plenty of family members who'd buy it if eBay won't).

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Huh. Well, if that is the case, I'll just add people to my room after check in, then we don't need to be on the same plan.

I bet this is one of those things you'd get 3 different answers by asking 3 different CM's.

Vicki_c is correct. But, this only works if the extra person doesn't need ME. A guest must be on the reservation to have access to ME. So, in this case where the OP is a Florida resident and will drive herself to WDW and meet up with her family there, then yes, she can be added after the rest of her family checks in. She can pay the extra-adult fee at that time. But she can't add the DDP, which is the sticking point here.

I am leery of selling tickets on Ebay -- I would never ever buy any there -- and I would be concerned about doing so. The buyer could be unscrupulous and claim the ticket didn't didn't work and that they had to buy another ticket, file a Paypal claim and get refunded. I'm not sure how you could prove that it was a valid ticket.

I tried it and you *can* book an AP package room+dine even if there are no discounted AP rates out yet. You can use the WDW Passholder site (at the bottom, click to see more about the Dining Plans and a "book now" button comes up) or call. Then, you could book the room+dine now and your family could buy their tickets from Undercover Tourist (at a discount) and everyone gets the best deal. When AP rates are released for POFQ, you could call and have the new rate applied.