upgrade to 7 days, or to deluxe AP?

[Kitty-chan]

I need some advice on DL tickets, and am hoping somebody here can help me out.

I'm planning to be at DL in August for 7 days. The second day of my stay is a Saturday, which is blacked out for Deluxe AP holders. So, I'm planning to buy a 5-day Park Hopper, and upgrade it either to a 7-day hopper or a deluxe AP once I'm past the blacked-out Saturday.

How much does it cost to add days to a park hopper? Given that 5-day adult hoppers are currently pricing at $179 for adults (advance purchase through DL web site), will adding two days to a hopper be cheaper than buying a deluxe AP? If there's not much price difference I'll go with the AP, since we're planning to eat a few meals on-site; if it's a lot cheaper to add days to the hopper, I'll do that, since we don't need the parking or hotel discount, and aren't talking about eating on property very often.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[samkj]

The 7 day advance price is $199 and the Deluxe AP is $229, but since you'll be upgrading at the park you may have to pay the full price of $239. In this case it makes sense to upgrade to the AP.

Besides the AP gives you an excuse to visit again!

 

[Mom2micayla]

It looks like a 7 day hopper is $199 with advance purchase, an AP is $229. Disney charges the difference between the hoppers when you upgrade, so you'd be paying either $20 for the hopper, or $50 for the AP. If you're not planning on eating in the park much or returning again within the next year, I'd skip the AP. Especially if you don't do you EE on Sat. AP holders aren't eligible for EE.

 

[Kitty-chan]

Hmm, I don't see a 7-day hopper on the DL web site. Where is it available for sale in advance? Buying 7-day hoppers up front might make the most sense for me.

If I didn't live so darn far from Anaheim, I'd definitely go for that AP. According to Mapquest, my house is 2977.89 miles from DL.

 

[Mom2micayla]

Yeah, it's not listed on their main site. I got the price off of www.getawaytoday.com But they tack on additional fees.

Anyway, you can call Disney travel directly and purchase a 7 day hopper without the fees. 714-781-4400. I think that makes the most sense for you since you're not planning on eating in the park much or coming back in the next year.

 

[scanmom]

you can use an AP on a blackout day...if it is the 1st day that you use it. If you are activating the AP on a blackout day, you can use it on that day. I would go for the AP. We got AP's, and we live in Oklahoma!!! We used them for the 3rd week of March 2004, then use them for the 2nd week of March 2005. So, we got 2 trips out of them!!!

 

[Kitty-chan]

you can use an AP on a blackout day...if it is the 1st day that you use it. If you are activating the AP on a blackout day, you can use it on that day. I would go for the AP. We got AP's, and we live in Oklahoma!!! We used them for the 3rd week of March 2004, then use them for the 2nd week of March 2005. So, we got 2 trips out of them!!!

Good point! Sadly, the blackout day is the second day of my stay. So, if I decide to go for the AP, I'll need to do the upgrade either on the blackout day or later during the trip.

I'm a really bad Disney junkie . . . we've got a trip to DL in August, then a week at WDW in December. I wish Disney would have some sort of super-ultra-AP that would be good at all the parks, or at least all the US parks! But given that we've got two Disney trips planned this year already, I doubt we'd manage to get back to DL before the APs ran out. But I really can't complain . . . two Disney trips a year should be plenty for us!

The AP is tempting though . . . I travel a good bit on business, and you never know, I could end up in Southern California and tack on an extra day to swing by Anaheim.