No one seems to know

[John Dobbertin]

I'll try to post this thought one more time and hopefully someone will have the correct answers. I have checked all the websites I know that I thought would have the correct info. I have called WDW directly and they do not have the info -- & I'm not joking here. The new ticket prices. I understand base-price +options. I also understand Park-Hoppers as we have known them are gone after Jan 1 (nevermind the WDW Official Site still says you can buy them at the front-gate after Jan 1 -- check it out). To give you an example: 7-Day "Magic Your Way with Park Hopping Option" after Jan 2 officially quoted on phone by WDW CM: adult: $234; child $195 plus taxes. Does anyone else out there come up with this number? Just curious. Also, does anyone know if select travel agents, AAA, Disney Stores will have the "Magic Your Way" tickets for sale on Jan 2? We will be at WDW in early January. I am trying to figure out whether it is better to purchase the Park-Hopper we know, or wait for the Park-Hopper no one knows.

 

[buzz2400]

I just priced a 7 day ticket. These prices all include taxes.
7 day base ticket 211.94
add park hopper 37.28
add plus days (five of them) 47.93
add no expiration 58.58.

if you buy these in advance the above total would be 344.

I don't know where you would buy them in January. If you are staying on site I would think you could get them the hotel or at the gate.

 

[KathyTX]

A 7 day Magic Your Way would be $199 (adult) or $160 (child), adding the PH option would be $35, so your $234 and $195 totals look correct.
When you add the 6.5% sales tax, your prices for the 7 day MYW/PH become:

Adult: $249.21
Child: $207.67

There's not a direct comparison to today's tickets, since there's not a 7 day park hopper. But these prices are really close to today's 5 day park hoppers: adult $244.95 and child $195.96 (based on the advance purchase price.)

So if you know you want seven days admission, you want to be able to hop, and you don't care that they expire 14 days after first use, it looks like the MYW ticket will be a good savings for you.

As far as who will have them for sale on Day 1 (1/2/2005), beats me. I would expect WDW and the Disney store kiosks to be all set, but I don't know if travel agents and AAA will be ready immediately.

 

[Dagny]

I come to the same conclusion: 7 day pass with park hopping, no expiration and and plus features - $344, including tax. Just comparing apples to apples, an adult 7 day Park Hopper PLUS is currently $336.56 if purchased in advance

 

[John Dobbertin]

A 7 day Magic Your Way would be $199 (adult) or $160 (child), adding the PH option would be $35, so your $234 and $195 totals look correct.
When you add the 6.5% sales tax, your prices for the 7 day MYW/PH become:

Adult: $249.21
Child: $207.67

There's not a direct comparison to today's tickets, since there's not a 7 day park hopper. But these prices are really close to today's 5 day park hoppers: adult $244.95 and child $195.96 (based on the advance purchase price.)

So if you know you want seven days admission, you want to be able to hop, and you don't care that they expire 14 days after first use, it looks like the MYW ticket will be a good savings for you.

As far as who will have them for sale on Day 1 (1/2/2005), beats me. I would expect WDW and the Disney store kiosks to be all set, but I don't know if travel agents and AAA will be ready immediately.

Hello Kathy TX -- Thanks for confirming the basic numbers. I am wondering what the lines will be like at the front-gate box-offices at the parks. There is a lot of "explaining" to do with each ticket sale. In your official capacity as a Moderator do you know if WDW has given any thought to maybe opening more box-offices until folks have some understanding of how these new ticket deals are going to work? I can tell you the CMs I'm talking with are all but beside themselves over this switch.

 

[KathyTX]

John, I don't have any "official" info.

I do know that early January is a pretty slow time, and that Disney's awfully good at predicting crowd attendance patterns and how long different transactions should take, so I would expect that they will quickly find a way to make the wait times to purchase tickets tolerable.

I would probably try NOT to be in line to buy the new tickets on January 2, unless I had time to kill. Just in case of confusion.

If I were traveling in January and uncertain about whether I were going to buy the MYW tickets, I might go ahead and purchase Park Hoppers now (through the mail or a Disney Store.) Then you could keep and use those, OR you could trade them in toward the MYW tickets if you choose to go that route. Disney's been very consistent about allowing you to trade tickets in and get the value you paid applied toward the new ticket...

(Just make sure that the PH ticket you purchase has a lower $ value than the one you might want to trade it in toward...)

Where's Golden Oldie? THAT'S the reliable authority on ticketing questions around here!

 

[John Dobbertin]

John, I don't have any "official" info.

I do know that early January is a pretty slow time, and that Disney's awfully good at predicting crowd attendance patterns and how long different transactions should take, so I would expect that they will quickly find a way to make the wait times to purchase tickets tolerable.

I would probably try NOT to be in line to buy the new tickets on January 2, unless I had time to kill. Just in case of confusion.

If I were traveling in January and uncertain about whether I were going to buy the MYW tickets, I might go ahead and purchase Park Hoppers now (through the mail or a Disney Store.) Then you could keep and use those, OR you could trade them in toward the MYW tickets if you choose to go that route. Disney's been very consistent about allowing you to trade tickets in and get the value you paid applied toward the new ticket...

(Just make sure that the PH ticket you purchase has a lower $ value than the one you might want to trade it in toward...)

Where's Golden Oldie? THAT'S the reliable authority on ticketing questions around here!

Thanks again. IMO it looks like the new 7-day park hopper will work well for our children & grandkids -- & it comes in for less than the present PH even purchased at the front-gate. We arrive several days before they do, so we can "do-the-lines" if that's what happens & pick up the tickets. The CMs I talked with were not at all certain the Disney Stores would have the MYWs in early January. It makes me wonder about the entire "roll-out" program for the MYWs. We were at WDW in early Dec & saw them filming MYW ads. Wondering if this was a WDW rush-deal. One CM I talked with will go to the training class for MYW 27 Dec.

 

[Carrieberry]

Just wanted to say that I was in The Disney Store on Monday and asked about the new tickets. I asked if they woud be carrying the new tickets when they become available on January 2nd and she replied, "Yes, we should have them." I am still trying to decide on which to buy. We would be able to bump our days from 5-to 7 days for about the same cost but I am worried about getting them for the advance purchase price so close to our trip 1/21.

 

[LibertyBelle]

. Disney's been very consistent about allowing you to trade tickets in and get the value you paid applied toward the new ticket...

(Just make sure that the PH ticket you purchase has a lower $ value than the one you might want to trade it in toward...)

Here are the upgrade/trade in rules of the old ticket media... If the ticket has not been used at all you can trade it in for any ticket of equal or greater value, with any options that you like.

If the ticket is the old tickets (pre-1994) that needed to be stamped they can not be upgraded, they can only be traded for what is left on them and changed into a ticket with a magnetic strip.

If the ticket has been used your new ticket MUST have no expiration option on it (because your original ticket was used and no expiration was on it)... if you only went to say MK you would only be required to get the base ticket with no expiration... if you went, to say MK and Epcot on the original ticket in the same day (park hopping) then you would be required to get No Expiration and Park Hopping on the ticket you are trading for since both of those options had been used on the original ticket. If you used any plus features on the original ticket then you would be required to purchase the Plus pack as well since you had used it already on the original ticket. Does that all make sense? No expiration must be purchased when trading/upgrading a used old ticket to MYW regardless... the other options would depend on what you had used from the original ticket...

 

[John Dobbertin]

Here are the upgrade/trade in rules of the old ticket media... If the ticket has not been used at all you can trade it in for any ticket of equal or greater value, with any options that you like.

If the ticket is the old tickets (pre-1994) that needed to be stamped they can not be upgraded, they can only be traded for what is left on them and changed into a ticket with a magnetic strip.

If the ticket has been used your new ticket MUST have no expiration option on it (because your original ticket was used and no expiration was on it)... if you only went to say MK you would only be required to get the base ticket with no expiration... if you went, to say MK and Epcot on the original ticket in the same day (park hopping) then you would be required to get No Expiration and Park Hopping on the ticket you are trading for since both of those options had been used on the original ticket. If you used any plus features on the original ticket then you would be required to purchase the Plus pack as well since you had used it already on the original ticket. Does that all make sense? No expiration must be purchased when trading/upgrading a used old ticket to MYW regardless... the other options would depend on what you had used from the original ticket...

It's all interesting. When you are sitting down studying "the rules" they do make sense. Now, try explaining all of that to someone standing in line outside the front-gate box-offices while they're hanging on to their kids. My guess: The lines at the front-gate box-offices will be out to the parking lots. Good luck.

 

[LibertyBelle]

Your telling me...Even when I think I have it, I don't think it makes sense when trying to explain them outloud