Ticket, FP+, MB questions

[kkbrig]

My husband has a meeting at the JW Marriott in a couple of weeks. For various reasons, I thought I was not going to be able to join him, but now some plans have changed and I can. I say this to explain why I have done NO planning for this at all! I am usually a major planner and so I am kind of freaked out! My did a 10 day WDW trip with PH, free dining, and stayed at POR 8 years ago, so I thought I would be able to jump right in, but now there's MB and FP+ to confuse me. Ayiyi!! I will be bringing 2 of my 4 kids with us, DD 11 and DD 13. I am not sure yet if DH will join us for any of our time at the parks due to his meeting, but I feel pretty confident doing this on my own. Being down two kids will feel like a vacation in itself! Ha!

Clearly my first step needs to be to get some tickets into my hand so I can try to get some FP, if any are even still available. Secondly, I really want the MB!! They sound awesome!

First step- tickets. Length? We arrive Tuesday night. We will have all day W, Th, F, Sat, and then our flight does not leave until 6:30pm on Sunday so we have most of the day on Sunday. My original thought was to buy a 3 day ticket and enjoy some down time at the swanky resort and it's pools and lazy river. But getting back on these boards, I'm catching the fever and want more, MORE, MORE WDW! Plus my girls think we should buy 5 day tickets. I was then swayed to a 4 day ticket, thinking we would take one day off and stay at the resort. Now I've about decided to make it a 5 day! Mostly because it's only $4-$10 more for that 5th day and that would allow us to do 1 or 2 half days if we wanted. Opinions? I know that I have read advice saying to buy the lowest day amount that you think you will want and then add extra days once you are at the park if you want them. But I am unclear about how much they will charge me for that upgrade. Is it the same difference ($10.65) that it would be from a Disney prepurchased 4 day to a Disney repurchased 5 day, even if I do not purchase my original ticket from Disney? To complicate things- We have now decided to add MNSSHP on to Friday night, so hopefully spending the whole day Friday at MK and then the party that night will help us get through all the attractions at MK.

Now, tickets- source: since time is of the essence here for FP purposes, I would need to either buy them from AAA office (then I would have real tickets in hand), pay for the 2 day express ship (+$16) from UT for a real ticket, or do the free UT download (in which case I need to exchange it for an RFID ticket once at the park). The prices are pretty similar, with the download the cheapest, the 2 day shipped tix $4 more, and the AAA $6 more. I am planning to do the AAA option so I will have them today and will not have to spend time exchanging them during that precious early morning time at the park. But could be swayed to the download if you guys say that it's actually not at hassle to exchange.

Next, MB! Since we will not be staying on property, it looks like we have to pay for these. What an extra perk for staying OP!! Darn it. Oh well. Next time. I love the idea of not fishing for our tickets or wearing them around our necks, but more so I love the idea that the ride photos will all be automatically linked to us! Not to mention that they are cute and a nice souvenir. So question 1- is it true that the ride photos will not be linked to us automatically if we just have a ticket but they will be if we have a MB? Question 2- when is the best time to buy these? It looks like I can order them ahead of time from Disney for $20 each, and I like the idea of having them linked before we get there and using them the whole time. But, I am under the impression that there are many more choices of bands while at the park? So that I might want to buy them once we are there?? I would love to get a MNSSHP one, but I don't want to wait 3 days into our 5 day trip to get one. If we wait to get them at the park, where can we get them? I think HS will be our first park on Wed.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Robo]

5-day tickets. The 5th day costs just $10 more than a 4-day ticket.
Buy as e-tickets or print from UT or buy directly from Disney.
You can pick up hard plastic tickets at any Guest Relations of ticket booth outside any of the parks, at TTC, or at two locations at DTD/Disney Springs.
If your AAA office has the tickets that you WANT (some may, some may not) you can buy there.

Basic MB's ordered from disneystore.com cost $12.95 each.
With a MB, ride photos (and videos) are automatically connected to you when you ride
the (very few, actually) rides that offer them.

MBs are NOT required to book or use FP+, so when (or if) you order them doesn't matter
to FP+.

 

[Robo]

I know that I have read advice saying to buy the lowest day amount that you think you will want and then add extra days once you are at the park if you want them. But I am unclear about how much they will charge me for that upgrade. Is it the same difference ($10.65) that it would be from a Disney prepurchased 4 day to a Disney repurchased 5 day, even if I do not purchase my original ticket from Disney? To complicate things- We have now decided to add MNSSHP on to Friday night, so hopefully spending the whole day Friday at MK and then the party that night will help us get through all the attractions at MK.

Upgrading will cost identical to buying in advance.

HOWEVER that "wait and see" advice is no longer wise, due to not being able to make advance FP+ reservations
on the days for which you do not already have tickets.

 

[kkbrig]

Thanks. I did not notice those cheaper ones when I scrolled down on the disney store site. Good to know there is a lesser priced option. Robo- I had thought of that too with the FP which is why I was surprised that my initial search on this subject seemed to yield a lot of wait and see advice.

The MB's are auto connected to the ride photos, how about the regular tickets? Any advantage to just doing the cards and not the MB's?

 

[Robo]

Thanks. I did not notice those cheaper ones when I scrolled down on the disney store site. Good to know there is a lesser priced option. Robo- I had thought of that too with the FP which is why I was surprised that my initial search on this subject seemed to yield a lot of wait and see advice.

The MB's are auto connected to the ride photos, how about the regular tickets? Any advantage to just doing the cards and not the MB's?

Must have MB for ride photos and videos to "auto-connect"

 

[MischaOz]

If you have a Disney Store nearby you can also buy your tickets there, then you'll have them in hand right away.