July 15-22 Trip to SSR--Park Ticket Question

[bmray]

We will be at SSR (DH, 12 year old DD, and myself) once again. Although we wanted AK Savanah View and then a trip to Vero Beach, we couldn't get reservations. Oh, well....we always enjoy WDW and SSR.

Can anyone give advice on ticket packages? We have purchased ultimate park hopper season passes before, because we could usually get two weeks out of our points and wanted the flexibility of going from park to park. We also want the ability to go to a water park at least one day.

However, now that we are spoiled iwth a 1 BR it is harder and harder to make our 200 pts go very far. We have also encountered difficulty getting reservations during spring break and Christmas. Given that we teach and our dd can't miss school, we are limited in the times we travel.

I appreciate any suggestions on ticket info or food package options.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

This is a hard question to answer, because the right ticket for one person may not be the right ticket for someone else. You need to consider how you like to do the parks, then do the math to see which tickets make the most sense.

Since you mention water parks, let me mention one strategy. It isn't cost effective to add the Water Park Fun & More option to a ticket if you only plan to visit one WPF&M option. A separate one-day water park ticket is a better deal.

However, if you know you'll want to do one or two days at a water park every trip, you can make the WPF&M options on a non-expiring MYW ticket last you for many years.

A non-expiring MYW ticket with park hopping and WPF&M is a steep price to pay. But remember that the WPF&M options are non-expiring, too -- even after you've used all the theme park days. So, if you lay out the cash for this expensive ticket on a trip, the theme park days will last you one or two trips, but you'll have WPF&M admissions left for many trips.

We personally like to go to the parks every day, and visit the water parks and Pleasure Island several times each trip. We're comfortable in a studio, so our points stretch to allow us to go for 12 days every year (2 weeks minus the last two expensive weekend nights). We go the beginning of August one year (and purchase a premium annual pass), then go the last two weeks of July the next year, and use the same pass. We're able to get 24 park days out of the one pass, so it more than pays for itself.

Many people don't like to do the theme parks every day. They can make a 10-day ticket last for several trips. So, the non-expiring option works best for them.

A non-expiring ticket isn't always the best bet, though. If you're not able to get two full trips out of a single ticket, you really need to look at the math closely.

 

[hlyntunstl]

If you're considering another annual pass, you may want to go with the park hopper only option and buy the water park and PI tickets separately. With DVC and an AP, you get a discount on water park tickets ($4/person last I checked), a discount or buy-one/get one for PI (I forget who has that one) and since the PAP is close to $100 more per ticket, you may come out ahead.

As BirdsOfPreyDave suggests, do the math on all of the options and see which works best for you.

For dining, I'll be trying a combo of DDP with a DDE card (available for AP holders) but won't be able to give a review of that plan until my August trip.

Good luck!!