Tickets: Should we buy now?

[westjones]

I have been thinking over this new ticket system. It just doesn't really work well for our family. We like to take a 3 or 4 night Disney Cruise and then go 1 or 2 days to the parks once a year. We always hop when we go to the parks.

I just called AAA and they are selling adult park hopper tickets:

4 Day $214 ($53.50 per day)

5 Day $243 ($48.60 per day)

I am thinking it might be better to buy the 5 day tickets for each of us now before they disappear. The thing is, we won't use it until spring break 2006 (we are going in 2 weeks, but I already have tickets for that trip); and then we will only be using 1 or 2 days (after our cruise).

Is anyone else doing this? Buying tickets now for the future?

I just hate to put out the money now for something we won't use for 15 months, but they won't be around when we are ready to go.

DJ

 

[Missy1961]

I was thinking about the same thing. We need the experts to figure this out!

 

[Brian Noble]

If you normally only go 1-2 days each visit, definitely buy tickets now, as the new system is heavily biased against you. Buy 7-day PHPs from one of the ticket brokers---they are the lowest per-day cost. For example, ticketmania will sell you a 7-day PHP for $330, tax and shipping included. That's $47.15 per day, even if you just throw the plusses away. If you ever visit a waterpark, then you've saved even more. If you sign up for the mousesavers newsletter *right now*, you'll be able to save a bit more on those tickets.

 

[lark]

From what I can tell, if you were to purchase the Magic Your Way equivalent of a 4 day hopper, it would cost about $250. The Magic Your Way equivalent of a 5 day hopper would be about $270. In other words, these are the prices for 4 or 5 day tickets that will never expire and allow you hop parks.

So it sounds as though purchasing the old hopper tickets through AAA now gives you a slightly better deal.

The caveat, though, is whether you really need the extra features of the park hopper. Are you planning to hop parks? If not, you can deduct $37 from the price of the Magic Your Way tickets. It sounds as though you do care if the tickets expire in 14 days, though, so you can't deduct the cost of that.

Bottom line is that if you want 4 days of park hopping, it would probably be smarter to buy the park hopper now. For a 5 day, it's not as clear, but if you want park hopping and no expire, then buy the park hoppers now.

One option to think about though -- if you're buying tickets for the future, the absolute best deal is to buy the magic your way 7-day ticket, with park hopping privileges, and the no expire option. You can get that for about $300.

That's just over 40 dollars a day, as compared to what you're talking about spending -- closer to $50 a day for the 4 and 5 day tickets.

We always buy tickets in advance, because we know we'll use them eventually. We get what we can afford; usually 5 day hoppers, which sometimes take us several years to use up. With this new system, it seems like $300 is a pretty good investment for a never expire 7-day ticket. There's no feeling better than going through the turnstyle on a ticket that was bought and paid for many years ago for $40, and being able to hop when single day tickets are up around $60. Economists will tell you about opportunity costs and the like, but I still don't care -- I like the feeling.

 

[genetic jackhammer]

I have a similar situation. We are going to Disney in May and have 1 day left over on a previous Park Hopper, therefore we only need to pick up a 4 day Park Hopper. With the new ticket system, it is cheaper for me to pick up a current 4 day Park Hopper before 1/5/05. Also AAA charges $214 for the adult 4 Day Hopper, but if you buy your tix through the Disney web site, the advance price for an adult 4 day Park Hopper is $202 so you save a little more. Similar savings for childrens 4 day park Hoppers too if you buy in advance from Disney vs. AAA, I just don't remember the price but its about a $10 difference.

 

[westjones]

One option to think about though -- if you're buying tickets for the future, the absolute best deal is to buy the magic your way 7-day ticket, with park hopping privileges, and the no expire option. You can get that for about $300.

I looked at this from the Mousesaver newsletter and it does look like a good option. It said it tooks 8-12 days to ship, so I think I will wait until we return from our upcoming trip to order it (and it gives me time to think it over some more).

Thanks for the tip. The 7 day tickets only come to a little less per day than the 5 day from AAA, but we may use the pluses and there are 4 of those. We have never been to the waterparks before, but it might be fun. And it would be like going for free.

Thanks again for the advice!
DJ

 

[mommyrom]

I have a similar situation. We are going to Disney in May and have 1 day left over on a previous Park Hopper, therefore we only need to pick up a 4 day Park Hopper. With the new ticket system, it is cheaper for me to pick up a current 4 day Park Hopper before 1/5/05. Also AAA charges $214 for the adult 4 Day Hopper, but if you buy your tix through the Disney web site, the advance price for an adult 4 day Park Hopper is $202 so you save a little more. Similar savings for childrens 4 day park Hoppers too if you buy in advance from Disney vs. AAA, I just don't remember the price but its about a $10 difference.

We are in the EXACT same boat...Going next May, one day left on old hoppers and not sure WHAT tickets to buy WHEN...Also will need 5 additional days for upcoming trip! No answers/opinions for you on final decision yet, but just wanted to let you know that we bought our hoppers in Sept. 2003 at The Disney Store and their price matched buying from WDW, only we did not have to pay the additional shipping charge for them to have them mailed from WDW. Just a bit of FYI that may help you out! By the way, where will you be staying? Just curious if you care to share!

 

[shelbyjosh]

We look at tickets like an investment. We will always use them, even if it is 2 years from now. But, we are saving money since the rates go up every year. We are going in March and we need to get 2 kids tix. I think I will go with the 10 day MYW with all options. It will be around $350 and the current 7 day PHP goes for $250-260. So I will get an extra 3 days and 1 plus feature for $100 extra.

 

[Wishing on a star]

So, All tickets sold now will still be good when we go in May, right???

I am thinking that it would be best to buy either single passes, or three day passes, NOW to avoid a price increase...

What about the two day 'convention' tickets'???