Question re: ultimate park hopper ticket

[hearts8701]

i have a question regarding advance purchase of ultimate park hopper tickets
does purchasing tickets time of check in at resort qualify as advanced purchased as far as receiving the advance purchased discount?if not where do i need to purchase tickets in advance

 

[dcmbshafe]

I believe the only way you can get the advance purchase discount is to go through Central Reservations or the Walt Disney Ticket Center. You can do this online or by calling 407 WDW INFO. If you do it online, I believe you will need your reservation information so that you can pull up your profile.

 

[TammiMcMan]

In order to get the advanced purchase discount you will need to order them prior to arriving at your resort through CRO or DisneyWorld.com. The thing to consider though, is are you going to be able to enter the parks on the day you arrive and/or the day you leave. For example, you are arriving at the resort at 10am and plan to visit a park after check-in, however you have an early flight home on the day you check-out and you won't have a chance to go into the park. If you are staying for 3 nights, it would break down like this:

Pre-purchase UPH for 3 nights/4 days Adult = $232.17 however you can only use 3 days due to a late/early flight.

Wait until you check-in and drop the first/last day for a 2 night/3 day Adult = $187.44

That's a $45 savings.

For whatever reason, you have to wait until check-in to drop days and you can only drop the first/last or both days off your reservation. It can work out to be a significant savings though. I hope I explained it okay.

Tammi

 

[dcmbshafe]

I didn't notice until reading Tammi's post that this analysis is really dependent upon the number of days you need. The "spread" between the 3-day/2-night resort purchase and the 4-day/3-night advance purchase is around $45 as Tammi points out. However, the similar "spread" between 6-day/5-night resort purchase and 5-day/4-night advance purchase is only $11! Very interesting. Now, even though this still represents a savings, you might be one of those (like me ) that likes to have things taken care of ahead of time. Looking through the price list on allearsnet.com, the value of the "spread" ranges from $10-$45, so I'd encourage you to check it out for yourself to figure out what it is for your specific timeframe.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Good point! It also matters how many tickets you're talking about. With one or two, the savings might not be that important, but for a family, it can add up.

 

[hearts8701]

thanks for your help maybe if i post my dates i will understand alittle better we'll be there the 2-7 of jan.
early arrival and late departure i have some idea which passes i will need 4 nites 5 days because i have a left over ticket for 1 day for each of us
also if i purchase my uph on line which website?

 

[TammiMcMan]

First of all, that's an excellent time to go to Disney. My husband and I went at that time last year. A lot of the Christmas decorations will still be up until mid-week and they are playing holiday music in the parks. Each day that got further from New Years, the crowds just got less and less. The only thing is that they adjust the park hours accordingly and when we were there, the MK only showed Spectromagic on Tuesday and Saturday night. We were lucky with weather also. The days were very warm and we were in shorts. Once the sun goes down though, it does get quite chilly. In the evenings I wore pants and a sweater. On our final day, a cold front did move in and the day temps were only in the low 40's. Best advice, would be to pack for everything.

Now for your UPH. You can only pre-purchase them for the exact number of days as your resort stay. I did read a post on the budget board, where a DIS'er called CRO and they were able to drop either the first or last day off her tickets and still give her the pre-purchase discount. That's the first time that I've heard about this. Normally, you will have to wait until check-in. Here is the number to call (407) 939-1289. For a more accurate breakdown on your vacation, you are staying 5 nights/6 days, but only require passes for 5 days:

• 5 day Park Hopper - advance purchase price = $245
• 5 day Park Hopper plus (includes water parks, PI, *edited to Wide World of Sports) advance purchase price = $276
• 5 day UPH if they allow you to drop a day and still get discount = $276
• 5 day UPH if you are required to wait until check-in for dropping a day = $300

The park hopper and park hopper plus can be ordered on line at www.disneyworld.com, just go to the link for tickets only. If you have AAA, sometimes they are discounted even more and you can purchase them at your local office. I gave you the phone number for pre-purchasing the UPH, otherwise, you 'll need to wait until check-in. You can take a look at Deb Willis's site for a complete breakdown of all the ticket prices. http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/ticketchart.htm If the UPH and the 5 day park hopper plus are the same money, then I would definitely take the park hopper plus. If you decide not to do a park, you haven't lost a day because they never expire. With the UPH, regardless of how many days you've used, they will expire on the final day of your vacation.

Tammi

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by TammiMcMan
Now for your UPH. You can only pre-purchase them for the exact number of days as your resort stay. I did read a post on the budget board, where a DIS'er called CRO and they were able to drop either the first or last day off her tickets and still give her the pre-purchase discount. That's the first time that I've heard about this. Normally, you will have to wait until check-in.

This can be accomplished via separate reservations through CRO. In the situation described, you would need to make three separate reservations:

Arrival day
Middle days (to which the UPH would be attached)
Final night before check-out

This process can certainly be confusing. If you're past any deadlines for discount codes, it is probably impossible to re-book at this point. You will have to check-in three times at the front desk. And there's always a CHANCE that you may be asked to switch rooms mid-trip.

5 day Park Hopper plus (includes water parks, PI, DQ) advance purchase price = $276

Note that DisneyQuest is NOT a PLUS option.

Also, the UPH prices that TammiMcMan cited do not reflect the 2005 price increases. The 5 day pre-purchase goes up to $285, while the check-in price is $311.

IMO, for such a short trip, it would be overkill to purchase the UPH. Only one water park will be open, and in January you can't count on the weather allowing you to swim.

Plus options can be used for Pleasure Island and the waterparks.

The only factor that may justify the UPH would be frequent visits to DisneyQuest. But ask yourself how many times that will happen over a 5 day period.

Ticketmania sells the 5-day PHP for $270. I'd personally go that route and save over $40 per person vs the UPH.

 

[hearts8701]

thank you for the great tips they helped alot i think i'll buy my tickets now before the price increase for 2005