Need advice re: passes

[MouseGirl]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice regarding our family's upcoming trip to WDW in March 2005. I see that there are some pretty good discounts on passes through companies such as Ticketmania and Discount Orlando Vacations.

Here's my dilemma - I'm torn between purchasing passes from one of these companies now while the Cdn dollar is doing so well, or holding off and waiting to see if Disney comes out with any Canadian specials on passes for next spring (they had the buy one 7-day pass, get the second for 1/2 price when we visited WDW in 2002).

I'd greatly appreciate any advice from fellow Canadian DIS'ers!

Thanks very much,
MouseGirl

 

[SplashMom]

Hi there! Our family is also going in March 2005 and I am doing the same thing. I have decided to wait until the end of October and see if Disney will offer any deals. Last year, we booked the the at par deal when it was announced around mid-October. The fall special had to be booked by October 10 so I have my fingers crossed that something special will be announced in the next week or so! I check often but if anyone hears anything, please post here!

 

[Sandyincanada]

They had a par deal for Hoppers last year?? I just called the Disney store today and asked them if any deals were upcoming. She said that she hasn't heard anything yet, to wait until Nov and she told me that they did NOT offer it last year. Where was the deal offered, through the store or website?

thanks

 

[talicskai]

For several years Disney offered the buy one 7 day hopper ~ get the next one half off. It had an expiry date of May 31st and was good forever, like the regular park hoppers. Last year, they offered Canadian dollars at par on the hotels and you had to stay at least 3 nights and purchase the ultimate park hopper tickets for every person in the room. They did this to rope people into stay onsite rather than offsite. Do not count on them bringing back the offer that was originally out. They will probably tie it into their hotels again ~ if they offer anything. I am a TA (15 years now) and we sold a ton of the buy one get one half off tickets and many of our clients shared them because there was no way of WDW telling who had used the days. If they tie it in with their Ulimate Park Hoppers then only the people purchasing them can use them because they expire on the day of check-out.

I would love it if they would come out again because we have a large clientele of families who only want to do 1-2 days at WDW.
Last years offer did not help them and they were unable to share the passes. I am sure that WDW wanted to eliminate that.

Keep your fingers crossed. I would be one happy camper if it happened!

 

[Amberle3]

talicskai, did Ontario get different deals on passes than other parts of the country?

The pass deals we've sold were the buy one, get one at half price deals, except that the passes did have an absolute expiry date unlike like regular passes. We had to make sure to explain this to clients so that they didn't think they were purchasing regular passes. When Disney comes out with a Canadian special on passes, there's always a catch like that.

We also had to make it clear to clients that although we have no control over what they do with the passes, they very clearly say "non transferable" on them and therefore, according to Disney's rules, they cannot be shared. If they wanted to do it they were welcome to, as long as they knew it was not something the agency recommended.

 

[talicskai]

No it was the same passes but everyone shared them anyway. My extended family included. I'm sure WDW realized it was happening with thousands of people. We talked to many families and friends at Vistana from Canada and they were all doing the same thing. I don't understand why Disney really cares. If you pay for the passes why does it matter who uses the days? Of course, it is the same as airline tickets etc. Non-tranfersable. However, they had no way of tracking who bought the tickets and who used them. But with the deal now tied into their hotel stays, only those guests can use them.
It a shame because Disney is extremely expensive and the average family can hardly afford to go anymore.
While it was not something our agency promoted, we have a large clientele that pretty much know each other and would arrange this on their own. They would start to tell me about it and I would say "I hear nothing, I see nothing"

 

[hockey mom]

The specials here in Ontario have always had an expiration date also. I remember in 97 it was "CDN at par", and then every year after that until last year it was "buy one get one half price". I also think the days of those specials are gone.

 

[chico]

MouseGirl,

We're planning an April '05 visit, and I have just purchased our tickets online while the dollar is doing so well.

While not an expert in any way, I can not see Disney offering the "buy one get second at half price" or "Canadian at par" deals for Canadians this winter due to the strength of our dollar.

I'd very much love to be wrong!! - but with the rise in our dollar of late, a WDW vacation is becoming cheaper all the time.

I'd purchase your park tickets ahead of time with the discounts from Ticketmania or Discount Orlando Vacations while the dollar is strong (or wait till the new year when the 'experts' predict the Loonie will be over 80 cents.

If the Loonie suddenly tanks, Disney would be faced with many Canadians who could not afford to visit and would probably then consider offering the "at-par" or "buy one get one 1/2 price" deals.

I'll still be watching for AP discounts for our room though


Happy Planning!!


-Reid

 

[abbyndrewmom]

I did the Cdn at Par last year and it worked out great for my family. We always stay on site and usually only stay for a 3-4 days as we have family in Floridia we visit at the same time. The 7 day passes that expired never appealed to us as we could not use all the days in our vacation time.

I am also a TA and sold quite a few of the cdn at par packages to families like mine who did not necessarily want to spend 7 days in WDW. Upon my return last year I was emailed a survey pertaining to the Cdn Special. i also just read a article in a trade magazine with a WDW executive that hinted at a Canadian Special similiar to last years. So I am pretty optomistic that something similiar will be available this year.

Unfortunately we will not be taking advantage of it this year as we are taking a non-disney caribbean cruise instead.

 

[disney funseeker]

I would be more inclined to purchase tickets now while our dollar is doing well and while Ticketmania has good prices with free shipping to Cdns.

Chico, I'd have to agree with your line of thinking.
In fact, even though we don't have a Disney vacation planned we will be purchasing some passes because we know we will be going again one day. Also in case admission prices go up, we'll have our tickets already.

The Fairytale pkg was so good last year, I wonder if anything like that will come out.

 

[MouseGirl]

Thanks very much for the advice, everyone. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and purcahse our tickets through Ticket Mania over the next little while (will keep my eye on the Canadian dollar

MouseGirl

 

[MikeJ]

I just checked TicketMania and they were quoting a price for the 7-day hopper plus which was $5 better than the price at the local CAA. We're looking to get our passes for December and will probably get them from TicketMania - after all, for the four of us it's a $20 difference, enough for a hot dog and a coke for me.

- Mike