Maximizing Value of Volunteer Voucher

[Eeee-va]

My plan is to just use the GAD vouchers and spend one full day in DL.
Before we leave I will purchase 3 day park hoppers at my Credit Union at $134.10 each.
**Adults get in for the price of Kids on 3-Day, 4-Day, and 5-Day tickets Expire 5/12/10**

We usually spend 4 days in the parks.

I'm not upgrading to an AP this time, my AAA card and Disney Visa gets just as many discount perks as the AP.
We've been staying at Hojo's and the kids prefer it over GCH so I don't need the hotel discounts an Ap gets.

That's a great plan; it's cheaper for you to do that than to upgrade to a 4-day hopper.

That said, how busy is it going to be when you go, do you think? I am not normally in favor of "paying for Fastpasses" but in some seasons it might make sense.

The price difference for 3-day and 4-day hoppers is low. I don't know if you get a deal through your Credit Union for 4-day, but even if you don't, a 4-day hopper online is $161, so you're saving no more than $27/ticket for buying the 3-day. So if it's going to be quite busy when you go, it might be worth it to buy ONE 4-day hopper and get the Fastpass option for your party with your "extra" voucher.

That option SHOULD give you between 4 and 8 FPs for each member of your party, up to 6 people. The number I have heard reported for this promotion is 6, but I know during the similar birthday promotion, it could range between 4 to 8. Half the FPs would be for the busier rides, like Space Mountain, and half would be for the rides with less thrills (Buzz, Autopia) or Big Thunder Mountain.

So if you are going during a super-busy time, you might consider "paying" $27 for a few FPs. (I'm on the borderline myself, as long story short, I should be able to save $20 on admission, or get the FPs for my party.)

 

[joeysmommy]

That's a great plan; it's cheaper for you to do that than to upgrade to a 4-day hopper.

That said, how busy is it going to be when you go, do you think? I am not normally in favor of "paying for Fastpasses" but in some seasons it might make sense.

The price difference for 3-day and 4-day hoppers is low. I don't know if you get a deal through your Credit Union for 4-day, but even if you don't, a 4-day hopper online is $161, so you're saving no more than $27/ticket for buying the 3-day. So if it's going to be quite busy when you go, it might be worth it to buy ONE 4-day hopper and get the Fastpass option for your party with your "extra" voucher.

That option SHOULD give you between 4 and 8 FPs for each member of your party, up to 6 people. The number I have heard reported for this promotion is 6, but I know during the similar birthday promotion, it could range between 4 to 8. Half the FPs would be for the busier rides, like Space Mountain, and half would be for the rides with less thrills (Buzz, Autopia) or Big Thunder Mountain.

So if you are going during a super-busy time, you might consider "paying" $27 for a few FPs. (I'm on the borderline myself, as long story short, I should be able to save $20 on admission, or get the FPs for my party.)

Hi Eee-va-

We actually go in September but the park hopper discounts are comparable to what they show now. Last year we got the buy 3 days get 5 deal.
I take the kids out of school to avoid the crowds and we stay during the week. We try to plan our trip so we're there for at least 1 weekend night to see fireworks etc.

I do like your FP option though, something to consider.

See, now you're tempting me to get a 4 day park hopper instesad of 3 day when you put it like that ($27 more per park hopper).
Although that also means more $ more food and more $ for hotel.

I used to buy AP's for all 4 of us, then I started buying 1 AP for discounts on DLR hotels and food and 3 park hoppers.
Now I'm down to 4 park hoppers for the 4 of us.

Works best for us.
Thanks for the suggestion!

Natalie

 

[Eeee-va]

Hi Eee-va-

We actually go in September but the park hopper discounts are comparable to what they show now. Last year we got the buy 3 days get 5 deal.
I take the kids out of school to avoid the crowds and we stay during the week. We try to plan our trip so we're there for at least 1 weekend night to see fireworks etc.

I do like your FP option though, something to consider.

See, now you're tempting me to get a 4 day park hopper instesad of 3 day when you put it like that ($27 more per park hopper).
Although that also means more $ more food and more $ for hotel.

I used to buy AP's for all 4 of us, then I started buying 1 AP for discounts on DLR hotels and food and 3 park hoppers.
Now I'm down to 4 park hoppers for the 4 of us.

Works best for us.
Thanks for the suggestion!

Natalie

Weekdays are just great! You could use your FPs for the weekend, or just save some money and not get them at all. Going on weekdays in the off-season, I'm not sure the FPs will have any value but unless the weekend day rains they might be of at least a little use.

Disney always tries to make it look more attractive to stay an extra day by charging lower and lower rates to add on days (up to 6). As long as your party isn't TOO big, I think it often makes sense to pay for an extra day, even if that means visiting just for 4 hours on your arrival or departure date. On the Disney website, to upgrade a regular (online price) adult hopper from 3 days to 4 days is no more than $15, and I consider 4 hours in the parks (especially in the morning of departure) to be worth that price. Obviously that doesn't work for everyone but I like it.

(The $27 amount was taking your credit union's promotional price and comparing to the adults play for the kids price promotional price, though now I know that's not true in your case. But if your credit union gives you a similar discount for 4-day hoppers too, then the per-ticket upgrade price may be even lower. Not that I am an enabler or anything. )

 

[07pilot4me]

you can purchase FP's??? how much are they? (i am assuming that these are the ones that give you 4-6 at a time per ticket)

Weekdays are just great! You could use your FPs for the weekend, or just save some money and not get them at all. Going on weekdays in the off-season, I'm not sure the FPs will have any value but unless the weekend day rains they might be of at least a little use.


( )

 

[Eeee-va]

you can purchase FP's??? how much are they? (i am assuming that these are the ones that give you 4-6 at a time per ticket)

You can never outright purchase FPs (well, not legally ).

But if you volunteer you can exchange your volunteer voucher for FPs, provided you have valid park admission for the day.

In joeysmommy's case, she can save something (I'll say $27) by buying a 3-day hopper and then using her volunteer voucher for Day 4.

So if she were to buy a 4-day hopper instead, and then use the volunteer voucher for FPs, it would cost her $27 more. So, she is IN EFFECT purchasing FPs by spending $27 more on park admission. She's technically not buying them, but if she spends that extra $27 on park admission, then she will be able to claim them for free.

So no, it's certainly not purchasing them directly from Disney, but it is spending more money on tickets in order to get FPs, so in that sense, they do cost money.

 

[Gisele]

OMG! My head is spinning. lol .....

 

[Eeee-va]

Long story short, if you're planning to buy hoppers, you have a few choices.

1) Use your Give a Day, Get a Day voucher to get into one park free for one day, and buy one fewer day on your hopper. (So, 1 day in one park, and then a 4-day hopper.) (Savings = small)

2) Buy a hopper for every day of your visit and use your Give a Day, Get a Day voucher for Fastpasses. (You lose the small savings in option 1, so in that sense you are paying money to get those FPs.)

Or I think you could buy a hopper for every day of your visit and use your Give a Day, Get a Day voucher for the Mickey ear figurine instead.

 

[CelticBelle]

dont forget...you can always donate your ticket to a charity!

Just wanted to remind everyone of that last, less chosen option.

 

[MamaDrama]

Will I be able to use my voucher to upgrade to a SoCal AP?

 

[Mom2Joce]

I've read through the thread and I think I understand everything...it's pretty much understood that the:

BEST value is if you were going for a day or 2.

Next would be either to upgrade your hopper or buy one less day and use your free day.

Next would be to "buy" your fast passes...I'm still not sure how many you get???

Next would be to get a trinket.

How am I doing?

And of course you can always donate your voucher to charity!

 

[Eeee-va]

I believe you can upgrade your voucher ticket to an AP of any sort (provided you live in the right place; I could not get a Southern California AP ).

I've read through the thread and I think I understand everything...it's pretty much understood that the:

BEST value is if you were going for a day or 2.

Next would be either to upgrade your hopper or buy one less day and use your free day.

Next would be to "buy" your fast passes...I'm still not sure how many you get???

Next would be to get a trinket.

How am I doing?

And of course you can always donate your voucher to charity!

That's basically it as I understand it, anyway!

Depending on what you want, the best deal is either using the voucher to get in for one day (or maybe upgrading to a 2-day ticket?), or upgrading to an AP. Those are the only two ways that no value is really lost, because you get full credit for the $72 voucher that is conserved when you upgrade.

Upgrading to a park hopper, you lose some value because you can't upgrade online and there are much better deals online.

I have heard you get 6 Fastpasses for each person in your party (3 for more top tier rides and 3 for less E-ticket rides, excepting Big Thunder Mountain Railroad). But if it is like the birthday promotion, the number you receive might vary based on how busy the park is, giving you 8 total FPs for a NOT busy day and perhaps 4 total FPs for a crowded day. I haven't heard anything more on this.

There are some days where "buying" FPs makes basically no sense at all, as the FP line isn't any shorter than the standby line. And some people just don't need that many FPs. So for some, the figurine is a better deal, I suppose--just depends on what you like.

 

[Mom2Joce]

I believe you can upgrade your voucher ticket to an AP of any sort (provided you live in the right place; I could not get a Southern California AP ).



That's basically it as I understand it, anyway!

Depending on what you want, the best deal is either using the voucher to get in for one day (or maybe upgrading to a 2-day ticket?), or upgrading to an AP. Those are the only two ways that no value is really lost, because you get full credit for the $72 voucher that is conserved when you upgrade.

Upgrading to a park hopper, you lose some value because you can't upgrade online and there are much better deals online.

I have heard you get 6 Fastpasses for each person in your party (3 for more top tier rides and 3 for less E-ticket rides, excepting Big Thunder Mountain Railroad). But if it is like the birthday promotion, the number you receive might vary based on how busy the park is, giving you 8 total FPs for a NOT busy day and perhaps 4 total FPs for a crowded day. I haven't heard anything more on this.

There are some days where "buying" FPs makes basically no sense at all, as the FP line isn't any shorter than the standby line. And some people just don't need that many FPs. So for some, the figurine is a better deal, I suppose--just depends on what you like.

Thanks a bunch, I think I'm getting it. I also remembered where going through April doesn't present much savings (for PH anyway). We're going in May and I saw one post where upgrading the PH was a little better

So upgrading to a DAP at the park is how much? Same as online?

 

[Mom2Joce]

Let's see if what I'm planning is correct:

~I'm getting my GAD voucher.
~Get to the parks and purchase a Deluxe Park Hopper for 299.00 AND present my voucher at this time getting 72.00 off (yes, I've made sure my trip is NOT during blackout days)
~Pay 299.00-72.00=227.00

We were going to get a 5-day PH for our trip anyway and right now online they are 209.00 (only a 18.00 difference and allows us to come back in the fall...I'm LOVIN' the Hojo price and going for the first time in May)

The only thing would be if Disney puts out a summer promo come April. But I'm not buying until I get to the parks so I can take that into consideration if/when that happens.

Does it make sense?? Am I missing something?

 

[samkj]

Yep that sounds right. Just make sure to present your voucher first and say you want to upgrade it.

 

[Mom2Joce]

Yep that sounds right. Just make sure to present your voucher first and say you want to upgrade it.

Yes, that's what I planned to do...purchase the DAP at the gate/ticket booths (I can do that right?) and right then and there use the GAD voucher which would take the 72.00 right off the DAP price. I'm going to do that for my daughter and myself. My 3 year old doesn't qualify for the GAD and his hopper is likely to be less anyway.

Thanks for your help!

 

[lulubelle]

My birthday was in Novemeber and I still have my $72 gift card.
My Deluxe AP expires in April.
Can I use both my volunteer voucher ($72) and my birthday giftcard ($72) to renew my AP? Or is it one or the other?
Does anyone know?

 

[Eeee-va]

Yes, that's what I planned to do...purchase the DAP at the gate/ticket booths (I can do that right?) and right then and there use the GAD voucher which would take the 72.00 right off the DAP price. I'm going to do that for my daughter and myself. My 3 year old doesn't qualify for the GAD and his hopper is likely to be less anyway.

Thanks for your help!

That should work great!

One other option is to upgrade to a hopper at the ticket booths (so you can get Magic Morning) and then update the hopper to an AP later. That's up to you. You wouldn't get your AP discounts until you upgrade, and you will have to go to the trouble of upgrading later during your trip. But Magic Mornings are nice too, and you would not lose any money (you get credited for the full price of your hopper and can put that toward your AP).

Have a great trip!

 

[Disney Dreams]

I just have to say that this thread is making my brain hurt.

I think we have managed to complicate ssomething that is not meant to be so.

Okay, back to the word problems.......

 

[cats mom]

My birthday was in Novemeber and I still have my $72 gift card.
My Deluxe AP expires in April.
Can I use both my volunteer voucher ($72) and my birthday giftcard ($72) to renew my AP? Or is it one or the other?
Does anyone know?

I'd love to know the answer to this as well.

I still have $$ left on my birthday card too, although not the full amount. Last time I used mine the CM reminded me that it was only good for a year (I thought I had read that they didn't expire) but I didn't ask about any other rules.

My guess: they probably won't let us combine them.

 

[bjakmom]

I have an upgrade question: going to stop at DL for two days on my way from conference in San Diego to Santa Barbara to visit DS at college. If I use my GAD voucher to enter on my first day at DL and upgrade it to a 2 day PH mid day, can I then hop over to DCA for the rest of the day? and I'm assuming the 2nd day I can easily PH between the two. yes?