What types of tickets/passes should I get?

[sgrap]

I am in a conundrum trying to figure out the best way to get tickets for our trip in August. Situation: we are from the Pacific Northwest and usually only visit when it's non-peak season and not too hot, and we always get 5 day hopper passes and plan our trip months ahead of time . . . *but* our daughter just decided to go to college in southern CA instead of the NW like she planned, so we are driving her to college in August. I lucked out and found 3 nights in a DVC room for the weekend. Then I looked at ticket prices for 2-3 days, good gravy! Not that much less than 5 days! With the $99 AP promotion, I am wondering if it would be better to buy 1 AP and then the $99 tickets, or ??? We would only have 3 people entering the parks. The Flex Pass isn't ideal for how we usually go because of only 2 reservation days, but with our daughter going to college nearby, perhaps we will make more frequent shorter trips? Can I upgrade to another AP mid-year if I decide another pass would be better? Also, I'm concerned about standing in line at the ticket booths each morning during our precious early morning time. Has anyone done this yet? And how much ahead of time do I need to purchase the Flexpass? I've seen various reports on hear about whether the start date of the year is the date purchased or the date used in the park. I'm also concerned about extreme heat that might be felt in August and how badly we handle it, so I'm not sure buying way ahead of time would be the best idea for us.

Also, do college students in So Cal qualify for the Southern California resident AP? College daughter won't be with us for our Disney days, so we wouldn't be able to get the $99 tickets through her, but I'm just curious in general if she would qualify for a Southern CA AP for herself.

Thank you for any input!

 

[smartlabelprint]

She would only be able to buy 1 $99 sIngle day ticket.
I’d get the flex pass.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... Also, do college students in So Cal qualify for the Southern California resident AP?..

She would have to show proof of residency, so if this is her first year and she will have just moved here, then I don't think so. We've had threads on this in the past, and I think the consensus was "no," if the student lived in a dorm. If the student lived in an apartment or house off campus and had a CA DL and could show a So CA utility bill or something like that from the off campus address (within the required zip codes), then Disney would accept it.

 

[sgrap]

She would only be able to buy 1 $99 sIngle day ticket.
I’d get the flex pass.

The college daughter wouldn't be with us for the Disney part of the trip (we have to drop her off first), so that question was just in general. I'll edit my question so that is more clear. Thanks!

 

[sgrap]

She would have to qualify for residency like anyone else, so if this is her first year and she will have just moved here, then I don't think so. We've had threads on this in the past, and I think the consensus was "no."

Thanks, I will try to search for those. That makes sense--she'll still have permanent residency here, but spending 9+ months a year there I thought might qualify.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thanks, I will try to search for those. That makes sense--she'll still have permanent residency here, but spending 9+ months a year there I thought might qualify.

I edited my post above to be a bit more clear. The older threads are hard to find using our search function! Just to be safe, I would call Guest Services to find out what the current requirements are for getting a SoCal AP, just so you know. And don't forget to check LMT for ticket prices, too -- they usually have the lowest price on multi-day tickets and their tickets can be upgraded to passes at the booth.

 

[sgrap]

I edited my post above to be a bit more clear. The older threads are hard to find using our search function!

Got it, thanks! Yes, my search wasn't turning up much, and what I found gave contradicting info within the same thread (from 2010 at that! ;-) ) .

 

[MillauFr]

I would get the Flex Pass.