Park Hopper tickets?

[Alannah]

Hi there...I've been poking around on this site for a few months now and have only recently joined! My family of 5 (DS14, DS9 and DD9) is planning a first time vacation to Disney for January. Already have flights booked for Jan 28 - Feb 8. And rooms at Port Orleans. I've been immersed in Disney for the last 4 months since we made the big decision to finally do it after 12 years talking about it! Figured we better do it now or we wouldn't have kids to take with us!

My question is this...I'm trying to determine best tickets to buy. Are the park hopper plus tickets good for the number of days *plus* extra water park days (ie 7 day park hopper - actually good for 11 days if 4 days are used in water park?). I can't seem to find a clear answer on that.

And is the ultimate park hopper the only ticket you can use to scan purchases at the park to go back to your room? or can you use a room key card or something similar?

Thanks so much to all of you for the wonderful information I've gleaned so far. What a fantastic trip to be planning.

 

[mejaie]

You are right the plus days can really cover extra days, where you don't go to one of the 4 major parks. I have been told that when you check in they will take the PHP passes I already have and give me a new one that I will be able to swipe. Our passes are not Ultimate.

Have fun and yes it is very distracting, trying not to leave things out.

 

[chico]

Alannah,

Any guest of a Disney resort has charge privileges on their room key card, amounts differ with resort type.

You can also have any purchase sent back to your resort - doesn't have to be charged to the room card- could be cash, travellers cheque, or credit card as well.

You'll find that bit of Disney thoughtfulness wayyy too easy to use

Welcome to the Dis, and have a blast planning your trip!!

 

[dhluvsDisney]

On the room key question, if you are staying at a Disney resort on site, your room key allows you to charge purchases in the parks and Downtown Disney directly to your room. They also have free package delivery if you don't want to drag around purchases, or surprise someone with a gift (like a Bday present).

Linda

 

[langin]

Hello there,

We are a family of 5 also planning a long awaited trip to WDW in August 2005. My boys will then be 12 1/2 and and 9 (twins, you also?).

It is so difficult for canadians to plan because it can be so expensive and then there is so much info online that I sometimes don't know which way to go! Are you flying from Halifax, we're in Moncton.

Anyways, I like to see East coasters on this web site so I know it is possible!!!!

Best of Luck, look forward to hearing about your trip

 

[Alannah]

Hi Yourself!
Yes. It's an incredibly expensive trip which is why it's taken us all this time and even now I sometimes (brief moments) wonder if I'm nuts! But we're having a lot of fun planning and I'm glad I booked the tickets to solidify the dates and make it all more real. We're flying out of Halifax with Westjet and managed to get all tickets for 1957.00 including taxes etc. I think it's pretty good. I didn't want to risk waiting too long to book the flight in hopes of a bigger sale but from what I've been seeing, these prices are good too. We're still trying to decide if we want to stay at Port Orleans the whole time or if we want to splurge on a couple of nights at Animal Kingdom at the beginning and finish off with one at the Poly. It's fun to think about but we'll probably keep our heads and stay with PO. Or maybe we'll end up in Fort Wilderness cabins. Who knows. But we are making extensive plans and have purchased the Passporter and Unofficial Guide to Disney (both excellent resources). Hope you're having fun with your planning! What a coincidence with our kids' ages!

 

[East Coaster]

Also an East Coaster, just wondering where you purchased your Passporter. Checked around Moncton and can't find one. I'm not a big fan of ordering on the internet.

We are also planning a one time, get there before the kids move out, (I have a ds 15, and a dd 11) vacation.

Our trip is April 27 - May 12.

 

[bcv2005]

Hello, Alannah and langin!

I'm a "misplaced" Maritimer - originally from NS now living in Ottawa - and we are planning our long-awaited family trip for Feb 4-12/05. My parents, who still live in NS, are flying to meet us in Montreal for the flight down to Orlando with me, DH, and 4 kids - 2 stepsons, 12 and 10, DD, 6, and DS, almost 2. I've been planning this for a YEAR and can't believe I'm now down to only 118 days, yippeeee! Hubby considers me obsessed.

I have been to WDW before, as a teenager with my folks and then as an adult on business trips - all of which was a blast but nothing will compare to the trip with the kids, I'm sure. Yep, it'll cost a small fortune, but oh so worth it!

Have fun with your planning - you can never do too much IMHO - and hope your dream vacations will be as perfect as I'm hoping ours will be!

 

[Alannah]

Hi there...I ordered the Passporter from Amazon.ca. I use them alot and I usually have the item within a week of ordering and no charge for shipping if over 39.00. Also, prices are very good and usually discounted on most books.

 

[Alannah]

I know what you mean about being obsessed. I've been completely immersed for the last 6 months (and off and on for the last 5 years!). It's nice to see the trip finally taking shape. You're going to be there the same time we are! And you have a lot of people and ages to accommodate! Have you decided where you're going to stay yet?

Happy planning & dreaming to us all!

 

[langin]

Hi everyone,

Where is everyone staying? I would love to stay on site but the good deals are tempting me, anyone ever do Skyauctions.com?

I am not sure about these, scared to get scammed and lose $$$.

We just bought a new home 4 weeks ago and pretty much drained all our accounts, including my US funds account so I have to start saving from scratch and on top of that I am looking for a new job...

Anyways, I am anxious to hear about everyone's trips and get some advice and tips.

 

[CdnDisneyer]

Hello Langin,

Just thought I'd let you know that we tried SkyAuction for the first time this past summer and it worked out great. Had no problems and got a wonderful two bedroom condo just outside of Disney. We were even able to book an extra day while we were down there with no problems.

The only thing I would recommend though is do a little bit of research on the properties that you'll bid on. Some are better than others. Check out this Disboard and also tripadvisor.com. I spent hours researching but came out with our best (and most economical vacation yet at Disney).

Have fun planning!

 

[SplashMom]

Hi there!
Another Nova Scotian here. We planned for approximately a year before our first trip in March 2004. It was so fabulous that we are going back again in March 2005 (combining March break with Easter). We are flying out of Halifax ($1700 Cdn for 4/taxes in) on Continental. The prices this year are much better than last year. We bought early and there were quite a few deals.

Last year we stayed at Pop Century and it was a great choice. You are on-site with excellent transportation--no need to rent a car. All disney on-site guests can send packages back to their rooms rather than carry them throughout the day. The price was great (Canadian at par deal) and we are hoping for the same type of deal this year. It can get quite pricey if you don't regularly check for deals. This board is the best source for getting deals and information! If you check daily (which is easy once you are hooked!), you will get the answers to any questions. I have purchased some of the guidebooks through Chapters.ca and have found them very helpful. Happy planning!

 

[Dreamin' Disney]

Alannah...

The 7 day Park Hopper Plus ticket will give you seven days of park hopping - access to come and go at MK, MGM, Epcot and AK for 7 days. It will also give you 4 plus features - admission to BB, TL and PI - but I don't think you can use the plus feature to go to BB four times.

If you are staying on site, then you will have room charging privileges regardless of what type of ticket you buy.

The ultimate park hopper passes give you unlimited visits to all the parks, water parks, etc. But you have to include your checkin and checkout day in your pass - so this is not a good deal if you are arriving late and leaving early.

Depending on how many days you will be there, you may want to just buy a 5 day Park Hopper Plus which gives you two plus features and then you have the option of taking a day or two off to relax by your resort or go to one of the shopping malls or Seaworld or Universal.

 

[pattiken]

Alannah, We just returned from a stay at POR for 7 days and loved the resort. For a moderate it is wonderful. The kids loved the pool area and there is a great variety in food court. IF you stay there make sure you request AB section so you get to use the trundle bed because the mansion section does not have these beds.
Also to everyone our dollar is doing fantastic!! Make sure you buy your american $ soon.

 

[Mortlives]

Originally posted by Dreamin' Disney
Alannah...

but I don't think you can use the plus feature to go to BB four times.

Yes, you can. Although, you can't use 4 plus features on the same ticket so 4 of you can go at the same time. But if you want to go 4 separate days, you can, or you can mix and match.

Kungaloosh!
Morticia.

 

[Alannah]

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful and informative replies. And thanks Pattiken for thumbs up on the PO resort. It's so difficult to choose when we've not seen any of them. Now we're getting caught up in whether we should get a Fort Wilderness cabin or not! I like the idea of the kitchen but the transportation seems to be an issue from what I've read and we would rather not drive anywhere. We're going for 10 nites so the kitchen could save us a chunk of money. And on and on we go...endlessly "tweaking" our plans! I'm going to be so lost when this is all over. It's like planning a big wedding! For a whole year every spare moment is spent researching and planning and then it's all over! Oops. I'm getting ahead of myself. We've still got 108 days to go before we even leave!

 

[chico]

Just do what the rest of us do when we return from our WDW trips.....

Start planning the next one!!!