Park tickets question

[ClaraOswald]

We'll be making our first ever DVC stay in January. BRV for 6 nights. We haven't been to WDW since 2012 so I'm having to re-learn a lot of things.

When is the best time to purchase our tickets? Do I have to do anything special since we're staying using DVC points or do I just buy tickets normally? Thinking I'll probably compare prices on the WDW official site vs. www.getawaytoday.com (which is where we got our disneyland tickets the last 2 times.) But I have no idea when I should plan to buy the tickets exactly. (For Disneyland, I purchase way in advance to get current pricing....as long as they don't expire too soon.)

If I purchase tickets without Genie+, is it correct that I can only add it later on the day of our visit once we've been scanned in? We aren't sure if we'll want/need it since we will hopefully qualify for DAS like we do at DLR.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I don't think you have to buy length-of-stay tickets any particular time. Right now the stupid park reservations are still in effect for APs and CMs, but I think they're being phased out for 2024. The dining plan can be purchased on the DVC site for stays after January 9th,, I believe it is, and has to be paid for in advance. Other than trying to book dining reservations 60 days out and matching it to planned DAS/park reservations (if needed by then,) I think you can wait until at least the 60 days before your trip.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I don't think we'll do any dining reservations at all. So the only thing I'll need to book would be DAS. Park reservations will be phased out before we arrive, which is nice because we may not know which park we actually want to do each day until we get there. (If we have advanced DAS we can't use, we don't mind.)

I like to purchase tickets early for Disneyland but I just wasn't sure if it was okay to do that for WDW too. Also not sure if there are other sites besides getaway today I should be checking.

 

[PolyRob]

We'll be making our first ever DVC stay in January. BRV for 6 nights. We haven't been to WDW since 2012 so I'm having to re-learn a lot of things.

When is the best time to purchase our tickets? Do I have to do anything special since we're staying using DVC points or do I just buy tickets normally? Thinking I'll probably compare prices on the WDW official site vs. www.getawaytoday.com (which is where we got our disneyland tickets the last 2 times.) But I have no idea when I should plan to buy the tickets exactly. (For Disneyland, I purchase way in advance to get current pricing....as long as they don't expire too soon.)

If I purchase tickets without Genie+, is it correct that I can only add it later on the day of our visit once we've been scanned in? We aren't sure if we'll want/need it since we will hopefully qualify for DAS like we do at DLR.

WDW is the same as DL for pricing... you can buy today and lock in current prices before they go up. Theme Park reservations are no longer required for multi-day tickets starting 1/9/24. If your trip is after that you are fine.

Multi-day tickets have different expirations. If you're buying a ticket for each day of your trip you will be fine, but if you only want 2 day tickets over the 6 days you may run into a problem. For example, a 2 day ticket can only be used over a 4 day span unless it's purchased as part of a package (which is a moot point for DVC points).

Genie+ is no longer sold bundled with WDW tickets. You can purchase it starting 12am the day of your park visit. You will need to purchase it every day you want to use it. You do not need to scan into the park first. You should actually buy it early and start planning your Lightning Lanes, Virtual Queues, etc before entering the park.

Since you mentioned DAS you will want to ensure they are purchased and linked to My Disney Experience at least 30 days prior to your arrival so you can pre-register at home and select your advanced DAS reservations.

 

[PolyRob]

I don't think we'll do any dining reservations at all. So the only thing I'll need to book would be DAS. Park reservations will be phased out before we arrive, which is nice because we may not know which park we actually want to do each day until we get there. (If we have advanced DAS we can't use, we don't mind.)

I like to purchase tickets early for Disneyland but I just wasn't sure if it was okay to do that for WDW too. Also not sure if there are other sites besides getaway today I should be checking.

Early is not a problem at WDW. WDW actually releases things much further out than DL. We were previously on the 180 days in advance system prior to 2020.

Undercover Tourist is another popular reseller. I've personally used it numerous times. It actually has a nice refund policy where you can return up to the day before with a 5% restocking fee. I've also used Park Savers in the past. Not sure about that one more recently though.

 

[MonaMN]

We have also used Boardwalk Ticketing - they were the cheapest option for our 2022 WDW trip.

 

[CarolynFH]

I agree with others - buy your tickets whenever you’re ready, and compare prices between several authorized resellers and Disney (make sure you’re comparing all prices either before or after tax - some sites include it at the start, some not until you’re almost ready to check out). Somewhere on the internet is a price comparison tool that covers several resellers, but I don’t have the link.

And the first 7 posts of this thread are kept up to date, thus reliable information about Genie+ at WDW: https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...lightning-lane-please-read-posts-1-7.3856734/.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Thanks, all! I'll check out those other sites and that link above.

I remember reading that they might change things in the new year where you can reserve your Genie + return times in advance like you could with the last version of FP. But I guess if you can't purchase G+ until the day-of that wouldn't be possible. I only worry that they will change things up after we've purchased our tickets and then we wouldn't get a chance for advanced reservations or whatever.

We're doing 5-day hoppers and it will be 5 consecutive days so it looks like buying tickets shouldn't be much different than Disneyland (except the price, of course!)

 

[PolyRob]

Thanks, all! I'll check out those other sites and that link above.

I remember reading that they might change things in the new year where you can reserve your Genie + return times in advance like you could with the last version of FP. But I guess if you can't purchase G+ until the day-of that wouldn't be possible. I only worry that they will change things up after we've purchased our tickets and then we wouldn't get a chance for advanced reservations or whatever.

We're doing 5-day hoppers and it will be 5 consecutive days so it looks like buying tickets shouldn't be much different than Disneyland (except the price, of course!)

I understand your concern! I know there have been reports that D'Amaro says guests are asking for it and Disney is working on it...

If that's the case I would confirm the refund policy from the reseller. Typically if tickets aren't used yet you can modify or refund your tickets. I would hope if a new ticket type is released you can return or upgrade to that.

I would also check the price difference from the reseller vs Disney direct. If you can get discounted Disney gift cards and save the same value that may be the easiest route.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I might check with Getaway today and see what they say about changing tickets. We have had really good experiences with them...especially during Covid-times when we had to reschedule a bunch.