ticket question

[mjc2003]

I know this has been addressed before, but I'll ask again. We are going for 9 days in November. We were going to get 10 day park hoppers, non-expiring. However, my wife thinks the "non-expiring" option is not worth the cost. She thinks this makes more sense if we are going to make 3-4 shorter trips, but for a longer trip we would use up 6-7 days of the 10 days anyway.

So, if we are not doing AP's, what is the best ticket to buy? I see the differences from 6-7-8 days is nominal. I guess my question really is, when is the non-expiring option worth the cost?

Thanks.

 

[DisneyOHFan]

We always purchase the non-expiring, but we only use 3-4 days at a time, so it does pay off for us. That way, we have them for 3 trips. If you are going to use the majority of the days, then I don't think it is worth it.

 

[vicki_c]

Buying NE only makes sense if you are taking a future trip that uses up exactly the number of days you have left over (or multiple trips that use up exactly that number of days). Because if you have to add any more days for future trips - and you can't "add", you can only buy new tickets - you will have lost any savings.

 

[mdsd8700]

We always purchase the non-expiring, but we only use 3-4 days at a time, so it does pay off for us. That way, we have them for 3 trips.

This is exactly what we do as well. Plus we have been switching up with DLR for the last 4 trips so our 10 non-expiring are really lasting us a long time!!

Even if you use up 7 of the days, you will still have 3 left and they never expire. I know there is a large cost involved with the upgrade $226 per ticket with tax, however on three left over days that is $75 for each additional day ($56 if you have 4 days left over). A 3 day base ticket currently costs $238 so basically at current costs (and 3 days left on your tickets) it is almost a wash. However if you get the extra 3 days now, there is no price increase. So you will have essentially locked in the price for your next 3 park visits. That is not a bad deal if you don't mind parting with the cash up front, which can be painful

Whatever you decide make sure to get your tickets from Undercover Tourist they are always cheaper. If you sign up for Mousesavers monthly newsletter you can even get a slightly better rate.

Also remember that you can add the no expiring option on after you have already used the tickets. However you will pay the upgrade amount based on the amount of days you originally purchased (10) and not what is left (3).

Good Luck with your decision and enjoy your trip!

 

[mkarizona]

As PP points out, you don't break even unless you have at least 3 days left on your 10 day ticket.

 

[cvjw]

I only buy the 10 day non-expiring tickets with the water park option. You get 10 days of water park admission for about $50 extra (the price of a 1 day ticket to BB or TL), that never expire. I don't think I would buy the 10 day non-expiring ticket and then use 7 days on one trip. For that long of a trip, I would just buy the expiring ticket. I find the non-expiring 10 day tickets work best for multiple 3 or 4 day trips.

 

[gatch1818]

Isnt the right question to ask yourself before buying NE tix...? How often or when is my next trip? I might be confused here! I just checked WDW main page for PP, a 7day ph/wp/NE goes for $497 before taxes? Isnt the AP for DVC members $399? I dont do water parks, so I cant say the "value" there, but if your plans bring you back within a year isnt it smarter to have the AP? I dont really understand paying the much higher cost for NE passes?

 

[vicki_c]

Isnt the right question to ask yourself before buying NE tix...? How often or when is my next trip? I might be confused here! I just checked WDW main page for PP, a 7day ph/wp/NE goes for $497 before taxes? Isnt the AP for DVC members $399? I dont do water parks, so I cant say the "value" there, but if your plans bring you back within a year isnt it smarter to have the AP? I dont really understand paying the much higher cost for NE passes?

The OP already said they weren't getting APs, so I assume they know they won't be returning within the time frame to make an AP work.

 

[mjc2003]

Yes, sorry; the AP would make the most sense if we were going to revisit WDW next year, but we cannot. We won't be back until 2013; at that time we will plan around two longer trips utilizing one AP.

Thanks all for the answers. I did not know you could add on to a ticket, that makes this decision even harder. So I can get the 10 day NE, use 6-7 days and then add on some days when we come back in 2013? I don't have to buy a new 3-4 day pass to complete that 2013 trip? Sorry....didn't sleep a lot last night, my brain isn't working too well this morning.

 

[vicki_c]

Yes, sorry; the AP would make the most sense if we were going to revisit WDW next year, but we cannot. We won't be back until 2013; at that time we will plan around two longer trips utilizing one AP.

Thanks all for the answers. I did not know you could add on to a ticket, that makes this decision even harder. So I can get the 10 day NE, use 6-7 days and then add on some days when we come back in 2013? I don't have to buy a new 3-4 day pass to complete that 2013 trip? Sorry....didn't sleep a lot last night, my brain isn't working too well this morning.

You cannot ADD to the ticket later - that's what I said in my post. After 14 days, you cannot add anything, you can only purchase new additional tickets - which is why the NE often doesn't make sense, since the ticket prices are so heavily front-loaded.

 

[WRWDisney]

What I would recommend is buying a seven day ticket and then wait and see. If you will be there for 9 days, see if you need more days. Remember, you can always add more days, add the water parks and more option and add the non-expiring (NE) on. If you look likely to use more than six days, then don't add on the water park option nor the NE option. If it looks to be less, then max out the ticket to 10 days, add the water park option and the NE option.

 

[mjc2003]

You cannot ADD to the ticket later - that's what I said in my post. After 14 days, you cannot add anything, you can only purchase new additional tickets - which is why the NE often doesn't make sense, since the ticket prices are so heavily front-loaded.

Thank you---now it makes sense. I was misreading one of the other posts.

 

[mjc2003]

What I would recommend is buying a seven day ticket and then wait and see. If you will be there for 9 days, see if you need more days. Remember, you can always add more days, add the water parks and more option and add the non-expiring (NE) on. If you look likely to use more than six days, then don't add on the water park option nor the NE option. If it looks to be less, then max out the ticket to 10 days, add the water park option and the NE option.

Sounds like a plan. I see the difference between the 6 and 7 day pass is like $7, so there is no reason not to add the extra day. We definitely will use it; we have a bunch of people traveling with us who have never been to WDW so I suspect they'll be eager to see everything.

 

[disfanforlife]

We bought the 10 day non expiring passes twice. Two trips two years apart we went were for five days each so that worked out perfectly. Then we went for a week the next year so I didn't use them. Last year five days again so we used the first five days on our second set. This year we are going for a week so I am buying 6 or 7 day tickets. If you don't mind holding on to them and buying other tickets in between for a better deal I think they are fine. I wish that I could time our trips to come twice in one year and buy an AP but I havnet been able to do that yet.

 

[mjc2003]

We bought the 10 day non expiring passes twice. Two trips two years apart we went were for five days each so that worked out perfectly. Then we went for a week the next year so I didn't use them. Last year five days again so we used the first five days on our second set. This year we are going for a week so I am buying 6 or 7 day tickets. If you don't mind holding on to them and buying other tickets in between for a better deal I think they are fine. I wish that I could time our trips to come twice in one year and buy an AP but I havnet been able to do that yet.

This is sort of playing into my dilemma as well. We are going this year for 9 days, and will probably spend 6-7 days in the parks. We will not be going to WDW next year (even if we change our minds and do go, it would only be a quick 4-5 day trip, but the chances are about 5%).
So, I am already thinking towards 2013 and 2014; we want to stay BCV during F&W, so I think we will go early November 2013 and buy an AP, and late Oct 2014 on the same AP. If this works out, it would mean any NE ticket I buy now wouldn't be used until 2015 and beyond...and it's giving me a headache trying to think THAT far out...but I DO know I don't want the extra $800 for 4 tickets tied up for 3-4 years.

 

[mdsd8700]

I did not know you could add on to a ticket, that makes this decision even harder. So I can get the 10 day NE, use 6-7 days and then add on some days when we come back in 2013? I don't have to buy a new 3-4 day pass to complete that 2013 trip?

Sorry I think this was my bad about letting you think you could add the "NE" part when you return. I should have clarified that you didn't have to do it when you purchased the tickets but would have to do it within 14 days of the first use. Vicki_C already told you this, but I want to apologize for not being more clear when I made the original post. She is also correct that they are heavily front loaded and would work best if your next trip was a short one.

It is a lot of money to tie up as you point. You definately have to be okay with putting the money out for "eventual use later". It doesn't work for every family, but it works great for us. I am going to finish up a set from 2006 this year and still have WP days from a set in 2004! I actually bought another set last year before another price increase and the wont' be used until at least 2013 and beyond. APs just don't work for us as we switch between DLR and WDW.

Good luck with your decision and hope you get some sleep tonight!!

 

[kmccl]

Before we joined DVC we would go down and hit a park each day and stay all day. Now we go down for 6 nights (generally) and will hit maybe 3 parks and 1 or 2 waterparks. We have learned to slow down and enjoy the hotels and pools, so we are not always in a rush to get out to the parks each day. So I guess it depends on your habits. We are buying the 10 day NE passes (will cost me about 3000, ouch!). But unless our habits change, we will be able to get at least 3 years and maybe 4 if we do it right out of the passes. My kids like the waterparks and the indoor park (forget the name) at DT disney as much as the parks. Seems to our family that this is the best option. I guess you have to look at your normal habits when there to see what works best. Good Luck!