more questions for first time dvc'r

[Tonydana]

ok, have yet more questions.. thanks to all who have been helping..

1. as a first time dvc'r, our first stay will be at ssr in nov. where/when is the best/cheapest place to get tickets.. i believe we want the ultimate park hopper.. we want to go back and forth to different parks in the same day and also do a water park one day..

2. as with regular resorts - can we fax in our request a few days before to hopefully be met..

3. do we need passes to do the richard petty driving exp??

more later i'm sure.. thanks again..

dana

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Tonydana
ok, have yet more questions.. thanks to all who have been helping..

1. as a first time dvc'r, our first stay will be at ssr in nov. where/when is the best/cheapest place to get tickets.. i believe we want the ultimate park hopper.. we want to go back and forth to different parks in the same day and also do a water park one day..

If you are sure you want the UPH passes, the best place to buy them is at the resort at check in. Since you are a DVC member, you will receive a 10% discount on those particular passes. The discount is off the gate price. You cannot buy UPH passes in advance when you are staying on points.

2. as with regular resorts - can we fax in our request a few days before to hopefully be met..

Faxing would be a waste of time as the DVC room assigners do not look at them. They go by what is on the reservation. Call MS and have your requests noted on your reservation. Be sure to have them listed in the order of importance to you - most list their smoking/non-smoking preference first.

3. do we need passes to do the richard petty driving exp??

more later i'm sure.. thanks again..

dana

You don't need park admission (Of course you already know the Richard Petty experience isn't free, but the charge is a "stand-alone" thing). RP isn't inside a park.

Best wishes -

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by Tonydana
1. as a first time dvc'r, our first stay will be at ssr in nov. where/when is the best/cheapest place to get tickets.. i believe we want the ultimate park hopper.. we want to go back and forth to different parks in the same day and also do a water park one day..

You don't necessarily need the UPH. All passes classified as "Hoppers" allow you to move from one park to another on the same day. Additionally, the Park Hopper PLUS passes include "Plus Options" which give you single-day admission to either the waterparks or Pleasure Island.

Example: If you're staying for 6 days, I would recommend either a 5-day or 6-day Park Hopper PLUS. That will give you 5 or 6 days at the 4 main theme parks, along with 2 or 3 visits to the water parks.

There are also annual passes to consider if you will be back sometime in the next 365 days.

If you post more details about your travel plans for the next year, myself or someone else will give you very specific recommendations that may help you save money.

2. as with regular resorts - can we fax in our request a few days before to hopefully be met..

As Carol said, make sure that your requests are listed on your reservation.

It's been said here that you should try and keep your requests as limited as possible, and I think there's some logic to that. If the room assigner sees your reservation with a half-dozen requests listed (non-smoking, non-handicapped, high floor, water view, near elevator, facing Epcot, etc.) there are only a VERY small number of rooms that would meet that request. If a room is not available that meets your requests, it's possible that your ressie could get shuffled to the bottom of the stack while they hand out rooms to people with requests that they CAN meet.

If you're a DVC member, remember you've got a LOT of years to experience all of the different views and locations available.

 

[Tonydana]

thanks for all the help.. here is our schedule..

arrive sunday 11/7 around 2 pm @ mco and leave monday 11/15 for flight back to boston @ 7:35.. so we do not want passes for sunday, 11/7 or monday 11/15.. also, monday 11/8 hubby has the richard petty driving exp.. and we have to be at the track for 12:30 pm, so as long as we don't need passes to get in here, we are pretty sure we do not want any tickets for this day either.. we would need tickets for tues - sun..

also, the tickets that we can purchase at the resort - are they attached to the room keys and can we charge on them too..

thanks again..

dana

 

[tjkraz]

OK. Sounds like you want passes for about 6 days. I wouldn't recommend the UPH because you'll end up paying for days (and probably features) you won't use.

Here are a few options to consider:

6 Day Park Hopper Plus - Gives you 6 days to hop between the 4 main theme parks and two PLUS options. Each plus option is good for one VISIT (note visit, not day) to a water park or Pleasure Island.

This ticket will cost you about $300 per adult if you purchase before arriving at Disney.

You could also consider a 5 Day Park Hopper Plus. You indicated that you have 6 days on which you want to use the theme parks. With a 5 Day PHP, you would get 5 days at the four main theme parks and ONE visit to a PLUS park. With this ticket, you could visit MK, EP, AK and MGM on 5 days, and then on the 6th day just go to either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon.

The 5 Day PHP is about $270.

Finally, not to confuse you, but you could also consider an Annual Pass. The AP will give you unlimited admission for a full year. So, if there's any chance of you taking another week long trip by November '05, you can actually get two (or more) trips under the same pass.

The standard Annual Pass just gives you admission to the four main parks. It costs about $403 for the full year.

The Premium Annual Pass gives you unlimited admission to the four main parks, the water parks, PI and DisneyQuest. The PAP price jumps up to $531.

Still with me?

With regard to putting park passes on your room key--it can be done, but it will cost you. Disney now has a two-tiered pricing scheme. If you buy your pass at the resort, they CAN put it on your room key, but it will cost you about $25 more PER TICKET than buying your passes in advance. You can buy Hopper passes in advance from the Disney Store, Disney.com, or even a lot of reputable third-party Internet vendors like Ticketmania.com.

If you decide to go the Annual Pass route, disregard eveything in the paragraph above. APs cannot be purchased in advance, you can only get them at WDW, there is only one fixed price, and the AP cannot be attached to your room key.

Really, if you're a DVC member and plan to be back in the next year, the AP is probably the way to go. In fact, if you were to buy the AP, you could still pop into the parks on your arrival day and the day of the Petty Experience, and it won't cost you anything extra. APs truly give you the ability to come and go as you please without worrying about getting your money's worth each time you set foot in the park.

Check this page for ticket pricing info:

http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/ticketchart.htm

...and this page for info on the additional benefits AP holders receive:

http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/apass.htm

 

[dianeschlicht]

If you decide to go the Annual Pass route, disregard eveything in the paragraph above. APs cannot be purchased in advance, you can only get them at WDW, there is only one fixed price, and the AP cannot be attached to your room key.

Not true. The DS at MOA still has annual Pass vouchers they sell ahead of time. There is no discount, and you still have to activate them by going to the customer service center at one of the parks, so no real advantage to purchasing them that way except to have the expense at a different time. We buy one voucher one month and another the next etc, to spread it out a bit.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by dianeschlicht
Not true. The DS at MOA still has annual Pass vouchers they sell ahead of time.

Yep, you're absolutely right. Nice catch. I meant to stress that there is no savings for purchasing in advance, but it's certainly an option.

On a side note, the last time we went to buy AP vouchers at the DS, the first CM I spoke to said "I don't think we sell those." When I pressed further, another CM came over and opened a drawer that must have had 200 AP vouchers. The second CM then took over the transaction and questioned whether there were any discounts (back in the Disney Club days). Again, I had to force the issue in order for her to keep looking for the right bar code for the AP discount.

You'd have thought that experience would have stuck in my mind better.

Thanks, Diane!

 

[crisi]

The front desk also has no problem dropping the first and last day from your UPH. They will still be a couple bucks a day more expensive than hoppers bought through a broker, but they can be keyed to your room and are really easy to replace if lost. We find these things worth the few bucks - other people like the risk management of hoppers - if they get sick and decide not to do a park one day, they can save the day, with UPHs they are gone (my risk managment works the other direction - I'm more likely to forget which "safe place" I stuck those half used hoppers in).

UPHs include DisneyQuest - Hoppers (IIRC) don't include it as a plus feature. Which may make UPHs more cost effective if you do DQ.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by crisi
The front desk also has no problem dropping the first and last day from your UPH.

True. But OP didn't want passes for the first TWO days, as well as the departure day.

 

[poohj80]

Originally posted by Tonydana
also, monday 11/8 hubby has the richard petty driving exp.. and we have to be at the track for 12:30 pm, so as long as we don't need passes to get in here, we are pretty sure we do not want any tickets for this day either..

I wouldn't be so sure - there would be plenty of time both before and after the driving experience (depending on which experience your husband is doing) to enjoy a park or two unless you were planning on writing the whole day off any way.

 

[crisi]

It really depends on what is most important to you.

I'd get the UPH, even missing the day. Gives me the freedom to book at dinner PS in Epcot, or see Fantasmic that evening. To me, the freedom is worth the extra cost. And I LOVE having everything on my room key.

But on a strict budget, I'd go for hoppers. Cheaper. And I can always make the driving day the dinner at a resort day and then head to PI.

 

[SoCalKDG]

If you know you will be back in less than a year, then buy an AP. Otherwise follow this advice.

Your a DVC member now, you are going back, so you might as well buy the 7 day hopper plus(you get 4 plusses). Go to the parks 4 days and 2 days of water parks, still leaves you with 3 days for parks and 2 days for water parks the next time you vacation(free trip next time).

I bought these last week for under $300 from Hotwire savings club. They also sell food vouchers as well.