Which ticket options?

[Doogan]

I'm wondering whether to get the "Never Expires" option or not when I purchase tickets next time. We generally don't go to the parks every day on our trip because we have small kids. We also like the water park option but do not use all of them up on a single trip and I like the idea of having those water park days forever. So my question is, do you think buying extra days to get the price/day down and getting the "never expires" option is a better deal than just getting tickets for the time we'll be there? I was thinking of getting like a 10 day pass (that's the longest I saw on the site) and using 1/2 this trip and 1/2 next trip.

 

[brentalex]

If you can get two trips out of the tickets, without needing to buy extra days for the second trip, then it is worth the money. The tickets will go up in price in the future, so you will save money. But if you need to buy 1 or 2 extra days for the second trip, it may not necessarily be worth it. That may depend on how much the tickets go up between the two trips.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Also, if you like to do the water parks, it is worth it to get the NE option because the WPF&M entries do not expire until used, even if you have used all of the Major park days.

 

[John E.]

It makes a lot of sense to buy for two trips, as long as you can put the money up now.
For example, I am buying a 10-day Hopper ticket (inc water parks), never expire option.
5 days cost $370, but if you go for the 10 days, its $500 - or just $130 more! So I get the next trip paid for for just $130 - thats 1/3rd of the cost. Plus, you know the prices go up every year so you are saving even more.

I always recommend to buy the 10-day NE option as long as you know you are going back at some point. Hey, maybe thats just the incentive you need to make sure you absolutely go back!

 

[WillCAD]

With all of the options available in so many combinations, the best way to answer your question is to do the math.

Add up the cost of tickets for just this trip, without the no-expiry option.

Then add up the cost of tickets that would cover two trips, with the no-expiry option.

Then compare the totals.

You can do this twice, once with and once without the water parks add-on.

Another combo you can try is the cost of this year's tickets, with water parks and with no-expiry, plus next years tickets without water parks and no-expiry; then compare that to the cost of this year with water parks and next year with water parks but without the no-expiry.

Lay it out on a sheet of lined paper and compare the total costs of the various combinations.