Long term ticket planning on STEROIDs!

[Tink-n-Belle]

Smart move!!

We did this back in 2005.

 

[Sammie]

Sorry I will have to be one that could not ever do this. I would much rather put the money in a savings account and draw interest on it, and buy tickets as I need them. We get an annual pass each year but that is about as far out as I am willing to commit.

Life is too uncertain to have that kind of money tied up in something I might not use.

Plus I definitely feel that non-expiration tickets are on their way out and when they do, not sure how they will fit in with Fastpass+. If you don't use fastpass than no problem.

I still have some River Country and Pleasure Island tickets that were never used and you see what happened there.

 

[twoj]

We also buy the 10 day park hopper , water parks -- non expiring... We enjoy the parks but spend at least a day relaxing in the hotel and doing non park activities... They last us anywhere from 4-8 trips... It's great! We also don't use a park ticket unless we go all day...

 

[elaine amj]

We faced the same decision a few weeks ago. We were in Orlando for the Disney cruise and were figuring out what to do for 1 day pre cruise and 1 day post cruise. We debated lots of options...from hanging at an offsite hotel to Sea World to Universal to Busch Gardens. At the end, DH said he would like to go to WDW.

Only problem...it killed me to pay $90+ a day. Someone here talked abt NE tix and I decided to price it out. Eventually I figured it was worth it to us....mostly as a hedge for future price increases. Figure its just as well to put my money into Disney tickets instead of some mutual fund. (MIckey Math at its best!)

We bought 10 day NE with WP& M. We expect the tix to last 5 - 10, maybe 20 yrs.

Our typical trips are long 10-12 day visits. We like free dining and typically do that. So we wouldn't use these NE tix for our regular long trips. We figure we will use them for when we are in Orlando for other reasons, like cruises, etc.

I value the parks at $45 per day and the WPs and DQ at $25 per day at the prices I paid.

Made our latest trip worth it! Did one day at MK and one day at TL.

 

[peabody58]

Sorry I will have to be one that could not ever do this. I would much rather put the money in a savings account and draw interest on it, and buy tickets as I need them. We get an annual pass each year but that is about as far out as I am willing to commit.

Life is too uncertain to have that kind of money tied up in something I might not use.

Plus I definitely feel that non-expiration tickets are on their way out and when they do, not sure how they will fit in with Fastpass+. If you don't use fastpass than no problem.

I still have some River Country and Pleasure Island tickets that were never used and you see what happened there.

No need to be sorry, you raise valid points for consideration. Life's uncertainty is a primary consideration one needs to factor into any long term financial decision. NE+ tics need to be factored into one's total financial planning strategy. I actually list my APs/NE tics in an asset bracket of my Excel spreadsheet in the vacation budget section. Is there a risk to per-purchasing park tickets - YES. Only you can properly evaluate the risk and ROI potential. For me, I felt confident that I would get a better return (financially and emotionally) by buying these NE+ tics now vs. putting the money into a savings account at 0.25% interest, or more aggressive fund that is getting 6-7% annually.

Keep those view points and perspectives coming, so others may be able to make a more informed decision as to their future purchasing decisions.

P.S .- hang on to those River County tics... a bus driver recently let slip that they were bringing RC back!

 

[disfanforlife]

I wish that I had bought more about 5 years ago! But, at this point it is too hard to predict what our vacation habits will be. On the other hand, in another five years I will probably wish I bought more at today price. I don't have any account that is making 5 -6 % interest.... I notice your siggy about being a drummer in a band. I do have a hubby in a band - but he doesn't make much from that.

 

[Ansky]

Sorry I will have to be one that could not ever do this. I would much rather put the money in a savings account and draw interest on it, and buy tickets as I need them. We get an annual pass each year but that is about as far out as I am willing to commit.

Life is too uncertain to have that kind of money tied up in something I might not use.

Plus I definitely feel that non-expiration tickets are on their way out and when they do, not sure how they will fit in with Fastpass+. If you don't use fastpass than no problem.

I still have some River Country and Pleasure Island tickets that were never used and you see what happened there.

Although I agree with what you said here I would imagine that if someone has $14,000 to spend on extra Disney tickets for the next 30 years then they probably have plenty of money and are not worried about collecting some interest on the 14 grand. For someone who is thinking of doing that that would be stretching their finances in hopes of saving money down the road, I think your points are good and there are better and safer things to do with your money. Buying 30 years worth of tickets is an interesting idea though and if you have boatloads of money would be nice to do. Then again, if you are that financially secure you probably don't need to worry about the price increase every year either....

 

[peabody58]

I notice your siggy about being a drummer in a band. I do have a hubby in a band - but he doesn't make much from that.

It's a stress reliever mainly, I name my toms for the those who aggravate me at work, and then beat on them!! I do maintian contacts with several WDW drummers who share my passion - Mo' Rockin in EPCOT for example with their Zendrum's...

As far as money - I'm lucky to cover gas!! But at 55+, it's a great rush to get the dance floor rockin' with girls younger than my daughters!! OMG - did I just say that? DW supports me and gets a thrill at my gigs. Keep supporting your DH with his drumming addiction, and you will reap the rewards for years to come.

Now back to our regularly scheduled thread.....

 

[Airb330]

So this morning I bought 2 of the '10 Day Hopper + Fun & More No Expiration' tickets from UT Mousesavers link for $1344 (ouch). Will be using our tax refund to pay for the tickets vs. putting the refund into the bank.

I am justifying this decision based on:
1) I know we will use the tickets over the next many years since we are DVC and will be returning again, and again, and again... Did I mention 'again'? Same here!
2) I won't feel like I'm being gouged every time I visit WDW (well at least on park admission). I like to have things pre-paid and out of mind. Same
3) Treating this as an investment against future price increases. I figure we'll save some money just due to the price increases alone, which always outpace inflation.
4) I get 1% cash back on the purchase!! Factored that into the 'real' per visit cost above ($33.26 per visit). We always figure out which CC is the best. Smart! We've traveled a lot of places for low-cost due to credit card spending...see Flyertalk forums for more information if you want.
5) Piece of mind knowing we have many vacation option/scenarios available, which unto itself may save money and/or improve our vacation experiences.
6) We are debt free and can afford it with tax refund. Same

Hope my rambling helps someone out in a similar position. This option obviously is not for everyone, but for us, it just made too much sense not to pursue.

We did the exact same thing a few weeks ago. Used my tax refund and earned 1,344 AA Miles (roughly $20-35 value depending on how we use them). I also needed to spend $2,000 in 4 months to earn 40,000 AA miles on the card, so it helped with that too! We figured with DVC, we'd go to the park less each visit. We hope the tickets last at least 4 trips, as our June trip of 2 nights we are only doing one park. We are even considering buying 2 more tickets if the rumors of the Non-Expiration Option end up being true!

 

[mjc2003]

I thought about doing this last year but instead opted for the PAP when that came out. With an impromptu trip coming up next month wedged between our two fall trips, we're going to have 88 park admissions (4 of us) for about $1600. That's about $18-$19 a day per person. Can't beat that, so I might have to hold out and hope they make the same offer next year as we've been making at least 2 trips a year.

 

[mort1331]

Yes - you get '20' visits with the 10 day NE plus tickets. How you use those 'visits' will determine if you can stretch the tics out for 20 days of 'visits', or only '10' days of 'visits' if you do both a park and WP the same day. This why many people get the max'd out NE tics - better long term value when used diligently.

From the UT website:

Park Hopper + Water Park Fun & More options combined on one ticket.
If you were to visit Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon then you have used 2 "Fun Visits". If you visit a Theme Park and then a Water Park (both on the same day or not), that would be 1 "Day" and 1 "Fun Visit" used up.
Unused "days" and unused "Fun Visits" never expire.
Days do not have to be used consecutively.

PS - thanks for the great reply's so far, I was so sure this thread would get flamed or go south. Almost makes me want to go stock up on more tics, but DW has told me no more Disney purchases!! Kudo's to all of you who were able to pre-purchase your tics back when cost was lower.

Thanks for the clarity,, THis does make it more tempting now. We normally go down on package deals, but looking at these savings over the long term i think I might have to reconsider.
With 2 trips in the next year, one with free dining since its just my oldest dd and one with the whole family, might buy the NE tixs now before the price increase.

 

[disfanforlife]

It's a stress reliever mainly, I name my toms for the those who aggravate me at work, and then beat on them!! I do maintian contacts with several WDW drummers who share my passion - Mo' Rockin in EPCOT for example with their Zendrum's...

As far as money - I'm lucky to cover gas!! But at 55+, it's a great rush to get the dance floor rockin' with girls younger than my daughters!! OMG - did I just say that? DW supports me and gets a thrill at my gigs. Keep supporting your DH with his drumming addiction, and you will reap the rewards for years to come.

Now back to our regularly scheduled thread.....

Awesome! My DH also uses his music as a stress reliever and I do support him. I love watching him when he plays out. I think he would say the same thing about the girls dancing and just the feeling overall you get playing in front of a crowd instead of jamming at home. He is not a drummer as his usual instrument though - he is a guitar player. But, he has a whole music room set up in our house with drums too...We were in EPCOT and saw the British Invasion band - they were great!

 

[bman388]

We bought 4 adult 10 day PH + Water Park fun and more NE passes for about 2700. We plan on going to parks generally twice per trip (2 parks each day) and one water park day. So these should last our family for the next 5-7 trips. Nice just getting that cost out of the way so now all we need to worry about each trip is food and plane tickets! (And whatever else the mouse gets out of me)!

Here are the specifics of the passes from UT..


Admission to one or more of the following theme parks for each day of the ticket - 10 "Days" (hopping allowed between the four parks listed immediately below):

Magic Kingdom®
Epcot®
Disney's Hollywood Studios™
Disney's Animal Kingdom®
(you could visit all 4 main parks in one day and you would have used only one day)



Choose a visit to one of the following for each of your 10 "Fun Visits":

Blizzard Beach
Typhoon Lagoon
Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course (tee time reservations are required and subject to availability)
DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive Theme Park
ESPN Wide World of Sports® Complex (Some events require an additional admission charge; includes 30 minutes of game access at The PlayStation Pavilion on days when it is operating)
Disney's Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course (Valid for one miniature golf course visit per day before 4:00 p.m.)
Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course (Valid for one miniature golf course visit per day before 4:00 p.m.)

Key Points:
Park Hopper + Water Park Fun & More options combined on one ticket.
If you were to visit Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon then you have used 2 "Fun Visits". If you visit a Theme Park and then a Water Park (both on the same day or not), that would be 1 "Day" and 1 "Fun Visit" used up.
Unused "days" and unused "Fun Visits" never expire.
Days do not have to be used consecutively.
Water Parks are subject to seasonal closure.
Parking is not included, but the FastPass is; all Disney tickets sold include it.
On the back of your ticket(s) it will say "W/10 FUN VISITS", because there is not enough room to print "Water Park Fun & More".

 

[elaine amj]

We did the exact same thing a few weeks ago. Used my tax refund and earned 1,344 AA Miles (roughly $20-35 value depending on how we use them). I also needed to spend $2,000 in 4 months to earn 40,000 AA miles on the card, so it helped with that too! We figured with DVC, we'd go to the park less each visit. We hope the tickets last at least 4 trips, as our June trip of 2 nights we are only doing one park. We are even considering buying 2 more tickets if the rumors of the Non-Expiration Option end up being true!

LOL - that's a big part of the reason DH agreed to buy our NE tickets. We wanted to apply for a CC but it had a $5K spend needed in 3 months. We had another CC spend to meet and knew we couldn;'t do it. Then I came across the idea of buying NE tickets and that ended up covering $2600 of the spend and we can cover the balance easily.

Thanks for the clarity,, THis does make it more tempting now. We normally go down on package deals, but looking at these savings over the long term i think I might have to reconsider.
With 2 trips in the next year, one with free dining since its just my oldest dd and one with the whole family, might buy the NE tixs now before the price increase.

I priced out using it for our regular long trips. But if the free dining discount continues to be offered, that's a much bigger savings for us (family of 4 in a value) so the package deals will continue to work out better. For short mini trips though, these NE tickets will be worth their weight in gold!

 

[gojoe]

We still have 5 water park days or DQ left from a couple of years ago. Great Deal. This year we bought a Premium Annual Pass (DVC Special). It has totally change my planning. I've always felt I needed to spend the whole day at a park. The day we flew in and the day we flew out we would not go to a park (or water park).

I just feel free. We are planning on doing Halloween Horror Nights at Univeral, now I can spend the morning at a park and not feel like a wasted a park day.
I know I'll end up doing the math after the year to see which is a better deal.
We'll see. We'll have to factor in the AP discounts and our next trip we won't be staying on property and the free parking is a nice perk too.

But the 10 day no exp is the best deal.

 

[mort1331]

If my dd is 6 now and we get a NE ticket now, she uses a few days each year, but then still has time on the ticket when she is ten, what happens?

 

[disfanforlife]

If my dd is 6 now and we get a NE ticket now, she uses a few days each year, but then still has time on the ticket when she is ten, what happens?

You can take it to guest service and they will upgrade it for you at no charge. I did this for my son.