what tickets to buy ?

[andy london]

Hi,

There are so many web sites offering many diiferent combinations.
We are going for 3 weeks in April/May and want to see many things apart from Disney.
We were thinking of a 6 day flexi (+3 of water parks etc)
I was going to buy the tickets from the official centre which seemed the cheapest of all the tickets, when I saw a new type of flexi ticket for 2005
http://www.wdwinfo.com/MagicYourWayTickets.htm
called magic your way. They only last for 14 days but seem great value.
You can update the tickets to last for ever for $10 for a 2 day up to $55 for a 7 day. You can add hopper options to allow you to go to one or more of the main 4 parks ojn the same day. You can also add magic plus options that allow you to go to the Water Parks + Disney Quest,Pleasure Island and Wide World of Sports.

We were then going to get twin tickets, one for Universal Studios/Islands of Adventures, the other for SeaWorld /Busch Gardens. Also go to Kennedy Space Centre.

Has anyone else seen these tickets/seen anything better etc.
Would anyone recomend any other good places to go.

Can anyone find any villas etc for less than £300 a week all in !!

 

[KayleeUK]

Hi Andy Welcome to the DIS

Can't help with the Disney tickets as we are going to get Annual Passes but for Universal/IOA I have brought the Universal Orlando Bonus Pass which is five consecutive days of park-to-park admission (including first day of use) to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and CityWalk for $94.95 these seem a bargain

 

[tartangirl]

Hi,

I've not got my head around the Disney tickets yet - we're going for 3 weeks in June and I was thinking of getting the 14 day unlimited ticket which I think is only available in the UK - I've seen that somewhere for £155.

For Universal I was thinking of the Annual Pass that has blackout days as we dont plan in doing Seaworld/Busch next year . This is only $109 + tax from Universal but I'm not sure if we're allowed to get it in the UK.

If you are doing both Universals, Seaworld and Busch I think you may be best getting the 5 Park Flexiticket. This is only valid for 14 days but you could plan around that.

All the different ticket option seems to be making it more confusing - my head is already starting to hurt

 

[vernon]

Often the best way to start is to do a brief itinerary of your MUST do's. While you don't need to think which park you're going to do on which day now, it's a good idea to lay out the three weeks and fill in activities. I.E.
Arrive Monday find villa, grab a pizza
Tuesday (early)morning Animal Kingdom afternoon/evening Epcot to eat and see Illuminations
Wednesday Typhoon Lagoon morning, evening Cirque du Soleil
Thurday late start morning round the pool at villa afternoon/evening Mall at the Millenium and cheesechake factory for dinner
Friday drive to BG, full day there come home late
Saturday, late start, Disney Quest at 1.00-6.00 dinner at House of Blues
etc Don't forget that driving to Tampa and the Space centre are going to make for tiring days for the driver.


While this may seem a little anal, it does help you map out/plan where you will need rest days and gives you a better idea how many "full on"days you will want to tackle. It also helps to work out how many days you need at which companies parks. WWOS is a great facility, but not really a visit unless there is something going on that you're particularly interested in. IOA is my favourite park, but doesn't have much for younger or more timid kids ( under 7 s). Depending on the groups ages, Epcot may be just a half day, or a couple of evenings to eat, a couple of rides and take in the fireworks

Do you want to visit a theme park EVERY day or would you try to space them out and mix in waterparks, shopping, pooltime or visiting the beach. I know the temptation is to make sure you do EVERYTHING, but you do have three weeks and with a little research and planning you may find you can eliminate some things, add others and work around your groups needs. Particularly with younger kids they do seem to run on adrenaline for about 5 or 6 days, then hit a wall. Without getting a few rest/easy days they can get cranky and little spoils a family holiday as much as an overly tired child who can't fully enjoy what's on offer and doesn't understand that daddy's been working hard all year and trying to give them a great time, while they steadfastly try to make the worst of a great situation. I've lost count of the amount of times I've overheard a frustrated parent telling a wailing youngster "Do you know how much money I've spent/hard I've worked/what I've sacrificed to give you a good time, you ungrateful little #$&* !!!". Most of the time it's simply the kid has had too much stimulation and not enough sleep/down time. Spacing out the highs can help avoid those crashing lows ( oh and they are PAINFUL LOL ) .

Once you've got a firm idea on how many days you need, then start looking at the cheapest way to cover your needs. IMHO less is always more. If you decide you want an extra day somewhere you can always buy a single day's ticket, however if you find you have 2 days left of your holiday, you're shattered and 7 days worth of park tickets left , you're going to struggle to enjoy the time in the parks both because you're tired and you're miffed at spending $1,000 more than you needed to.

 

[peewakio]

Vernon
I'd like to add to that but I couldn't.
Great advice