Ticket Dilemma - April 2026

[ray3127]

Family of 4 (2 adults / 2 kids) are booked for a split stay in April.

Sat - Tues at Cabana Bay, planning to hit Volcano Bay & Epic
Tues - Fri at Hard Rock, planning to hit IOA / Studios

We booked the hotels back in July at an AP rate. The AP rate was an incredible savings, and even moreso now (prices have spiked a lot that week).

The plan was to buy whatever combination made the most sense; either all 4 APs, or simply 1 AP and 3 individual tickets. But, if I understand things correctly:
- Current APs don't include Volcano Bay.
- It remains to be seen whether or not they'll roll out an AP that includes Epic.

I realize that I should just wait it out at this point, but we are DVC and used to having things locked down way in advance!

Worst case: things stay the same as they are right now, right? If that's the case, I'll have to (1) buy a 2-park AP, (2) buy "fill-in" tickets for VB/Epic for the AP-holder, and (3) buy the other 3 people 4-park-hoppers.... right?

Surely, there will be some resolution that addresses at least one of the two issues above?

 

[georgina]

Family of 4 (2 adults / 2 kids) are booked for a split stay in April.

Sat - Tues at Cabana Bay, planning to hit Volcano Bay & Epic
Tues - Fri at Hard Rock, planning to hit IOA / Studios

We booked the hotels back in July at an AP rate. The AP rate was an incredible savings, and even moreso now (prices have spiked a lot that week).

The plan was to buy whatever combination made the most sense; either all 4 APs, or simply 1 AP and 3 individual tickets. But, if I understand things correctly:
- Current APs don't include Volcano Bay.
- It remains to be seen whether or not they'll roll out an AP that includes Epic.

I realize that I should just wait it out at this point, but we are DVC and used to having things locked down way in advance!

Worst case: things stay the same as they are right now, right? If that's the case, I'll have to (1) buy a 2-park AP, (2) buy "fill-in" tickets for VB/Epic for the AP-holder, and (3) buy the other 3 people 4-park-hoppers.... right?

Surely, there will be some resolution that addresses at least one of the two issues above?

No one can say for sure what is going to happen, although a lot of people are not expecting APs to include Epic for a while.

I did not even know they were no longer selling the 3 park APs that included Volcano Bay! Are you planning to go more than once? A 1 day VB ticket may be more cost effective than a multiday that includes it. It is very easy to go over from CB though, I used to have the 3 park AP and loved going for a few hours.

I assume you are aware of the blockout dates in early April for the 2 lower level AP's.

We are all navigating this mess together. Those of us with AP's are not happy that the new tickets allow hopping between all the parks.

 

[ray3127]

No one can say for sure what is going to happen, although a lot of people are not expecting APs to include Epic for a while.

I did not even know they were no longer selling the 3 park APs that included Volcano Bay! Are you planning to go more than once? A 1 day VB ticket may be more cost effective than a multiday that includes it. It is very easy to go over from CB though, I used to have the 3 park AP and loved going for a few hours.

I assume you are aware of the blockout dates in early April for the 2 lower level AP's.

We are all navigating this mess together. Those of us with AP's are not happy that the new tickets allow hopping between all the parks.

Thank you for the reply. Sound pretty terrible right now.

Hah! Sure didn't know about the blockout dates.

So, the Seasonal and Power Passes are actually useless to me as tickets, because we are going early April. Wife's a teacher, our dates are locked to her spring break.

They aren't even selling Premier right now, which is the minimum we'd need.

How's this for an absolute worst case:
- Buy FOUR 4-park hoppers to actually use.
- Buy a Seasonal AP, just for the hotel discount (and then discounts/perks on site, too).

The AP hotel rates saved us over $1,200 when booking, so it would still be a good deal.

However: I've read that they sometimes don't even check to see if you even have an annual pass? Is that right? Could we just buy four regular tickets ahead of time, then buy an AP once we're there if needed?