Explanation of Walt Disney World® Tickets
If you are looking to save money on your Walt Disney World® vacation package, the easiest way is to understand how Walt Disney World® sets up their park tickets. Since the Walt Disney World® tickets are by far the most expensive part of your vacation, you can save your family literally hundreds of dollars by picking the right ticket.
Background
In January 2005, Walt Disney World® rolled out the Magic Your Way Ticket. The goal behind these tickets are twofold: 1) The Walt Disney World® strategy is to reward guests who stay more days at their theme parks and the way they do this is to implement a ticketing system where the longer you stay the less you pay per day 2) Disney® wanted to give guests the option to customize their theme park tickets. They have done this by essentially having the base ticket and then giving guests the ability to add different options to their tickets. Each option will cost the guests roughly $50 per option per person. The three options or add-ons that guests can purchase are: Magic Your Way Park Hopper Option, Water Park Fun and More Option, and Non- Expiration Option.
Magic Your Way Base Tickets
The base tickets are the least expensive tickets Disney® offers. These tickets allow the guests to visit one of the four major Walt Disney World® theme parks for the set number of days listed on the ticket. For example, you may choose to visit Magic Kingdom® on your first day. Remember, you can come and go out of Magic Kingdom® as many times as they want but a base ticket only allows you to visit Magic Kingdom® on that day.
Advantage – Since the parks at Walt Disney World are so large, it will take you at least a day to go through each one. Magic Kingdom® generally takes two days for the average family to see. Many guests have found this ticket option the best value for their investment especially when they considered they could add any of the options to your ticket at any time.
Disadvantage – If the park you decide to go to on a particular day is extremely busy, you do not have the option to “hop” to another park. The most popular park at Walt Disney World® is The Magic Kingdom® (this is also the park with the most rides). On extremely busy days, you may have to wait in line up to an hour to an hour and a half just to get onto the ride.
Magic Your Way Park Hopper Option
The Park Hopper option is by far the most popular of any of the add-on options. These Hopper tickets allow you the option of hopping from one park to another. For example, a guest may decide to visit Magic Kingdom® in the morning and then hop over to Animal Kingdom® in the afternoon. Guests can hop from one park to another by using the Disney® Monorail or Disney® transportation system for FREE!
Advantage – By having the ability to hop from one park to another, guests can usually see more parades, and avoid long lines if for some reason the park chosen for the day is extremely crowded.
Disadvantage -By adding the Park Hopper option, there is an additional charge per ticket. For large families, this option can be quite an expense. It is understood, the Park Hopper option is not a good option for families with small children…moving from one park to another can be a hassle and quite time-consuming especially if the children are still in strollers.
Water Park Fun and More Option
This option will allow guests the ability to not only visit one of the four major theme parks (Magic Kingdom®, Animal Kingdom®, Epcot®, and Hollywood Studios®), but they may also visit the popular water parks: Typhoon Lagoon® or Blizzard Beach®.
Advantage – Walt Disney World® has two of the more popular water parks in the world. Since it is quite hot in Orlando during the summer, what better way to cool off than to enjoy a few water-related activities.
Disadvantage – If you are only going to visit Walt Disney World® for a few days, you may not be able to experience everything this option allows you to do.
NON-EXPIRATION OPTION
The non-expiration option can be added to any ticket and this will allow you the option of keeping any unused days on your tickets from expiring. We suggest not adding the non-expiration option until the last day of your vacation.
BEST suggestion: purchase the base tickets to start your vacation. Add the different options when you are here. To add the options all you have to do is take your Disney® ticket to the customer service desk located at the front of each theme park and tell them the option you choose to add. The theme park tickets look like a credit card with a black magnetic stripe on the back. Once you pay for the option, the Disney® representative will swipe your tickets through their machine, and just like “magic” the option will be added. It only takes a couple of minutes.
If you need any help sorting out which tickets and options are best for your family, call one of our reservationists, and they will gladly assist you.
Have a great Walt Disney World® Vacation! Please click here to order your Walt Disney World® tickets today.