No expiration tickets???

[goofynmd]

We are spending 3 days in the parks before we head out on our DCL 4 night cruise. The last few times we went to WDW was for a week long trip so we had 8 day park hopper passes. This time we would only need 3 day park hopper passes, therefore obviously it is more expensive per day. Has anyone ever bought a larger pass (i.e. 7-10 pass) with no expiration with full intentions of saving the unused days for a future visit? Can this be seen as an "investment" with the price of tickets expected to rise on an annual basis? Any calculation to determine if it would make financial sense to buy a larger ticket?

[mdhiggin]

We bought the 10 day passes and only went for weekend trips. It took us about two years to use all the days. This last year we went with an AP, though. It cost about the same as the 10 day NE pass. I believe it had PH option too. We go more often now, so the AP was a better option for us, but I'd say definitely invest in the 10 day ticket. The fewer day tickets just cost ridiculously more per day.

[bicker]

Up until the last few years, the no expiry option was really quite well worth-it. I think with recent price changes, the no expiry option is now priced "exactly right", i.e., there is no longer a very significant advantage to buying passes intent on using them over the course of multiple visits, despite how this hedges against price increases.

[Not2Loud]

I think its all a matter of perspective. If you have the money today, why not buy them? Who knows what next year may bring.

Just a thought.

[onjbj]

We bought 10 non expiring park hoppers last year for a 5 day trip. Our rationale was that, at the time, our kids were under 3 and getting in for free. We decided to pay for ourselves up front so that when we went again and had to pay for the kids, we'd already be paid for- it wouldn't hurt our wallets as much. I'm glad we did it- we're headed back to the world at the end of August and feel like we're getting a deal b/c we don't have to buy tickets for ourselves.

[CleveRocks]

The ONLY way buying non-expiring tickets makes any sense is ehen you know that the non-expiring ticket you buy will cover ALL of your park days for 2 or more vacations.

If the left-over days aren't enough to cover your second trip, you'll need to buy an additional day or 2 or 3. Having to buy even one more day will mean that you'll be spending hundreds of dollars more than if you bought two separate tickets, one set for each trip.

I can supply the math if you want.

The examples above are examples of GOOD ways to take advantage of non-expiring tickets. For example, the person who takes a few weekend trips. Getting 3 or 4 or 5 trips out of the same ticket must save hundreds and hundreds of dollars over buying a 2-day ticket each time. And using 5 days now and 5 days later saves a modest amount of money (under $30 as compared with buying separate tickets for this trip and the next trip).

But like I said, if your left-over non-expiring days aren't enough to cover you for the entire next trip, then run far far away from the no expiration option.

[AdventurelandTikiGirl]

Last year I went for a 3 day weekend and started out with a 3 day park hopper. I couldn't get past the fact that I was spending a ton of money per day (I can't remember the math right now), so at the end of my trip I upgraded my ticket to a 10 day non-expiring ticket. I like having this ticket because I usually go for long weekends here and there. The other thing I do is skip the parks one day to enjoy the resort, shopping, and Disney experience without having to use up a day on my pass. For me, I don't need to go to the parks 24-7 to have a good time. This scenario works well for me, but I can see how it wouldn't work for others.

[Mulan]

We did this and it has worked wonderful for us. We travel to WDW every year. We go to only 2 parks a visit. We really enjoy the resorts. Also, a full week of parks at Christmas is too much for my DH. He likes to relax. We bought the 10 day no-expire (we've been enough not to worry about hopping) back on our trip in 2005. So only going to 2 parks, we have 2 more trips before they run out. I know that prices have changed since I bought them so I fill this worked out great for us.

If you decide to do this, do not have your tickets linked to you KTTW card. Ours is like that so very time we go to WDW it gets confusing which is our current room key and which is the tickets. I've had to write tickets in big lettering on them.

[KODABEAR]

We are frequent WDW vistors and live in Florida. We usually have a Florida resident pass, but it is not usable at busiest times of the year. We bought the 10 day no exp. many years ago( 6) and when friends and family visit during peak times ( Christmas) we use the no exp. ticket. :minnie:

[Disney Doll]

We have done this. We try to go to Disney once per year- 5 days each trip. When we buy the 10 day no expiration tickets we do save a little. I think the last time we did it the savings turned out to be about $80.00 between the 2 of us. Not a huge savings, but hey 80 bucks is 80 bucks. I also feel like if we have the money now why not? It's one less thing to save for on the next trip.