What theme park package should I buy?

[Fatima1922]

My daughter and I are going to Disney for a full week in August. We are staying part of our vaca at Animal Kingdom and then part of our vacation at Old Key West. We haven't vacationed at Disney since she was under 3 so we kept it basic with a 7 day pass (no park hopper or water park). She is almost 8 years old and I have no idea what type of ticket to buy. I have heard great things about the waterpark so I think we want to do that. Not sure if the park hopper is necessary. Any suggestion would be helpful.

 

[lizard1]

I don't have any great advice to give you, but keep in mind that you can always add on to your tickets, but you can't take away. Not sure if you will use a park hopper? Buy a base ticket and then if there is a day you want to hop, stop by guest relations before leaving the first park and add that option to your ticket. Keep in mind that you will still pay the same no matter how many times you use the hopping option, though.

 

[RomeGal]

Here are my thoughts... 7 days is enough time to really plan to go to each park for a whole day, and 3 of them (theoretically) for 2 days, even.

I find that Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are both doable in one day. I could spend 7 whole days in Epcot, but that's another post - you can probably hit almost everything in 2 days there.

Like PP said, just get the 7 day base. If, 3 days in, you find yourself wanting to hop, just go add that at guest services, it takes 5 minutes, and you at least got 3 days of base prices... I have found that we don't need the hopping though. It takes a long time to hop (which is a time suck for me...) unless you are just jumping on the monorail or you have dining reservations in other parks.

As for the water park, a one day admission is cheaper than adding the water park fun & more option. So, if you have a day that you just want to hang at the water park, you can purchase a one day admission there. I always think we will have time/want to spend a day at the water park but my kids are JUST FINE with the cool pool at the resorts.

Have fun!

 

[leebee]

Figure out how many theme park days you want. Is one day per park enough, or do you want a 5th day so you can go back to MK (or wherever)? Will you want to take a day off (we usually do), and if so, will it really be non-park or will you go to HS for Fantasmic after kicking back by the pool and relaxing all day (or skip the park totally and maybe play mini golf and then have the evening at Downtown Disney)? If you are looking for a down day, is going to a water park your idea of fun and will it be a relaxing time, or will it be as stressful as going to a theme park? Are you crazy about virtual gaming and dying to go to Disney Quest? Only you can answer these questions, but remember that if you are only interested in the water park, it's cheaper to buy a day ticket for the water park than to add on the waterpark and fun option.

Park hopping will depend on how you want to use your FP+ options. Now that there is the option for 4 and more, I would skip hopping and stay in one park. That's our plan for October (at this point). I'm going to save that $60 per person and use it to buy good things to eat at the Food and Wine Fest!

For our October trip, we arrive around noon on a Saturday and leave the resort by 10am on Thursday. I have purchased 5 day tickets, so we can go into a theme park on Saturday evening for awhile. We will go to one park per day, Sunday-Wednesday, and hope we don't wear ourselves out by not having a "down" day. I am hoping to squeeze in a visit to JellyRolls if they are open, as we are going to Disney to celebrate my DD's 21st birthday. As I said above, we are not going to hop or do a water park, as we aren't there long enough.

Try to think about what you want to do, and how long you will hold up in the Florida sun. Most people walk 6-10 miles in a theme park, but don't forget that you'll also spend time standing in one place in line, which is also tiring. These are things I think people forget to consider when buying park tickets. And remember- you can always add a day or hopping or water park admission, but you can't un-do them from your tickets once they are purchased!

 

[got2sammies]

Think about it like this.. Are you planning on going to the parks all seven days?Or you might want to just take a day and relax at the hotel and enjoy the resort in the middle of your stay to give your feet a break and plan a dinner show for early evening.
Its HOT in august. If your plan is to take breaks in the afternoon and return later in the day then park hopping might not be for you. (unless you do one park in the morning and one in the evening). For us Park hopping is just not our style too much travel time.

 

[Fatima1922]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I really have no idea how to even start my plans. Didn't think about staying at the hotel and taking a break. I have one daughter who if not entertained, I become her entertainment. I feel comfortable eliminating the park hopper. I would like to do at least one water park but I don't know if I wanted to do both. Didn't realize I could just buy tickets for one day. We arrive after 2pm on a Friday and leave at around 11am in the next Friday. I would like the option of visiting a park our first night, if we are up to it. We are leaving very early in the morning to catch our flight

I want to plan smart, taking advantage of a much as I can without fully getting exhausted. I don't want to come home wanting a vacation from my vacation!

 

[mrsmomo]

Understandable. I think the biggest thing to remember is that you will not fit everything you want to do all in this one trip!

Also August in Florida can be quite rainy. You are going to want to prepare for the fact that your plans may get rained out and you will have to improvise.

My suggestion would be to do one park a day for the first four and then decide what else to do and what else you need. Everyone tours differently and enjoys different amounts of time at all the parks. Test the waters and then regroup and set up your end of the week plans!