Originally posted by chrisnjessie
Yes, you can buy an UPH with a room only ressie for as many days as you want. You just can't purchase it in advance, it would have to be at the desk of the resort at check in.
That's not entirely correct. The UPH is designed to be a "Lenght of Stay" pass, which mirrors your stay at the resort. CMs will normally offer to drop either the arrival or departure day from the UPH, but it may take some arm twisting to get both arrival AND departure days dropped. You cannot simply pick and choose the days you want the UPH--aside from the omission of arrival/departure days as stated above.
There are some tricks you can do with having different days of your stay under different reservations, but I won't go into that since it doesn't apply to the original poster's situation.
Be aware that if you want to drop days from your UPH, you have to buy it at check-in. This means that you lose any advance purchase discounts that may apply. The 9 day UPH is $392 with the advance purchase discount. 7 days would be $356 when purchased at the resort.
The only other thing worth considering is an annual pass. If there is ANY chance of you returning in the next 366 days, this is the way to go. The Premium AP, which gives you all of the benefits of the UPH, is $520 for the year ($500 if you happen to be a Disney Club member). As you can see, when you compare the AP price to the UPH figures noted above, you'd be paying very little for any subsequent trips during the AP's life.
AP holders are also eligible for discounts on room rates, dining, shopping, recreation, etc. At the very least, you might want to call Disney reservations and see if there are any AP rates at your resort for the nights you are staying. Assuming that you will be at WDW for 8 days, an AP discount of even $10-20 per night will be substantial savings. I recently saw a post from someone staying at the Poly that saved over $120 PER NIGHT by getting an AP discount.
If there are AP rates available, you should be able to re-book your trip with the lower rates and not incur any sort of penalty. Then, you just need to make sure you have a valid AP in your hands when you check-in at the resort. They won't ask for any proof at the time of booking, but you do have to present the AP at the resort to get the discounted rates.
Good luck.
