Kids play and stay free question. Help please!

[JimboJones123]

We are planning on getting APs in July when we visit.

I will be in town for a 4 night trip by myself the first week of May.

If I book the kids play free package for one adult and 2 kids (stay by myself) for 4 nights and purchase 10 day tickets, save them, can I upgrade them in July for the APs? Thus I would save the $254 per kid when I go to purchase APs.

Since I will need a hotel the four nights anyways, and want to stay on property in May, would this work? I don't need park tickets in May, but I would just keep them for the upgrade in July, just like the free dining for APers, right?


Or are these tickets not upgradable?

 

[vicki_c]

Those tickets would be upgradeable, so that's not a problem. It just seems questionable to me that you wouldn't actually have any kids but would be booking an offer that includes kids tickets. Just not sure if that would work or not (and I personally don't think it's ethical, but not even considering that).

(Also - an afterthought - I don't know if the kids free tickets could be 10 day tickets if you're only staying for 4 - but I haven't paid that much attention to that offer. I thought you could only get free ticket days equal to the hotel nights you are staying, and would have to pay for additional days, but again, don't know that. You might try your question on the rates/codes boards on the Resort boards.)

 

[JimboJones123]

No, I was able to book the 10 day ticket on a four night stay. Ethically, is it really any different than APs taking advantage of the free dining by using their tix for an AP renewal? I don't see the difference. It would save me $500 in the long run. I would still be investing well over $6000 at Disney for the year.

As far as the kids not being in the room, does it really matter? Seriously. I will be using the room for a personal matter as I help family move to the Orlando area. We won't be at the parks, but it would provide me an opportunity to take advantage of a discount offer that I wouldn't be able to use for my 2 week July trip.

 

[vicki_c]

Ethically because you're booking to get kids tickets for a trip where they won't be there - nothing related to the upgrade thing. I just said I didn't know if it would work or not - maybe because they are kids it would.

Other times people reported that during free dining they had to show everyone on the reservation at the desk so people weren't booking phantom guests to get more dining credits. Not the same, but just trying to think of any complications you might have.

 

[Marionnette]

We are planning on getting APs in July when we visit.

I will be in town for a 4 night trip by myself the first week of May.

If I book the kids play free package for one adult and 2 kids (stay by myself) for 4 nights and purchase 10 day tickets, save them, can I upgrade them in July for the APs? Thus I would save the $254 per kid when I go to purchase APs.

Since I will need a hotel the four nights anyways, and want to stay on property in May, would this work? I don't need park tickets in May, but I would just keep them for the upgrade in July, just like the free dining for APers, right?


Or are these tickets not upgradable?

They will be regular tickets and they will be upgradeable.

But why stop at two phantom children when the room's maximum occupancy is 4 people? You would then have a spare ticket to use the following year.

Or better yet, get two room with one phantom adult and 6 phantom children. Then you would have 4 extra children's tickets to use for upgrades in later years. Think of all the money you would save!

It's abuses like the one that you are proposing that makes Disney withdraw deals or restrict them heavily. The whole reason for the kids stay and play free deal being offered now is because Disney wants families to visit now. Not in July when they don't need to discount heavily to draw families to the parks.

If enough phantom children end up visiting Disney this spring, I can foresee Disney keeping the offer but changing the children's tickets to promotional tickets which are only good during the guest's stay at the resort. Disney people do read the disboards and they are aware of the things that are discussed here. It wouldn't be the first loophole that they closed after it was discovered and chatted about in these forums.