Staying 2 weeks @ 3 resorts... ticket options

[Canuck Park Hopper]

We are planning a 15 day vacation at WDW that allows for for 14 days in parks. I'm thinking we would like to move around a bit, so perhaps stay at three resorts during that time.

My question is, obviously longer duration tickets are cheaper than smaller duration tickets (unit cost wise), so perhaps we would buy a 10-day (and use them all within the 14 days of first use) leaving 4 "flex" days to go somewhere else (Orlando, Canaveral, etc) or do nothing (rest, bad weather, etc).

Can a person make 3 different resort reservations (5 nights each) and buy 10-day tickets for the three of us or would the requirement be that we have to buy three separate 5-day passes w/ each reservation?

Thanks again
KLF

[faline]

It depends on what type of reservations you are making. If each reservation is a room only reservation, I'd suggest you give serious consideration to purchasing annual passes.

If each reservation will be a package, you would be requried to purchase a minimum number of ticket days with each package - most recently that has been set at 2 days. If you will have three packages with dining, consider also that the overlap in packages may be costly to you in other ways. For example, you stay five nights in room A with the dining plan. You would receive 5 snacks; 5 counter service; and 5 table service. All of these credits will expire at midnight on the day you check out of room A. If you buy a 5 day pass with each reservation, you will pay $729 for tickets ($243 for each 5 day pass).

A 10 day pass will cost you $258 and, with a room only reservation, you can spread its use over your entire stay by not visiting parks on some days but you'd still have to buy tickets with each of the 2 subsequent packages. You could save these tickets for future trips.

An annual pass will cost you $521 and would provide you with unlimited access to the parks for all days of your trip and with park hopping priveleges but, again, if you do 3 packages, you would need to purchase additional tickets with each package.

Also, each package you book will require a deposit for each at the time of booking and will require payment in full 45 days before arrival at that resort so you may have three final payments - each due approximately 5 days apart.

Personally, I'd probably select one resort to stay in for the entire trip.

[forever a child]

I think it sounds like fun. I would go with a 10 pass with some water park days added on too (if you don't plan to do parks every day) and book room only reservations. OR, I would go with the annual pass and room only reservations. You would not be able to participate with the Dining plan going that route because you would need at least 1 day MYW tickets for each member of your party. But you could hope for a decent AP or room only discount. Just my :twocents:

[magicalmom]

I think you probably want to get an expert involved here - one of the marvelous ladies at MJ, or else go way up the food chain (supervisor of the supervisor, something like that) at WDW directly. It's Disney, and you're trying to spend lots of money there, so they'd be happy to help you figure this out, I would think.

[gerald72]

The idea sounds great to me. Here is what you should do:
Make three reservations, the second two are room-only reservations, at two different resorts. The first one gets the park days attached to it. Ten days, with water parks and more option (for the five "off days". Park hopper optional. The days will carry over across the other reservations.
If you get the dining plan, you'd only be able to get it on the first res, and it would expire the day you move on to the second res.

[CleveRocks]

I think you probably want to get an expert involved here - one of the marvelous ladies at MJ, or else go way up the food chain (supervisor of the supervisor, something like that) at WDW directly. It's Disney, and you're trying to spend lots of money there, so they'd be happy to help you figure this out, I would think.Without sounding too self-centered, you certainly don't need to be a travel agent or a Disney supervisor's supervisor to answer this question. There are many of us who are quite qualified to answer this question.

And by the way, it appears that one of them is gerald72, who gave almost exactly the same answer as I was going to, until I saw his post. faline gave an excellent answer, as well.

There is some minimum knoowledge needed:
Disney resort reservations come in 2 flavors, room-only and package. Room-only is exactly as it sounds. Package means a bundled purchase of room + tickets, with an additional option to buy a Dining Plan (if you want to).

Disney theme park tickets get steeply discounted as the number of days grows. A second day gives you only a $2 discount over buying two separate one-day tickets. But there's s small discount for the 3rd day. The 4th day costs only $6 (six bucks) and the 5th through 10th days cost only $3 (three bucks) each. Thus, you want to buy one longer ticket rather than 3 smaller ones.

Ever been to as diner where the menu price of one egg is $3.00 and the menu price of two eggs is $3.50? If you're a HUGE eater and want six eggs for breakfast, are you going to order six individual one-egg items for a total of $18, or will you order three two-egg items for a total of $10.50. Not the best analogy in the world, but I hope you get what I mean.

The other easy fact to know is that if you buy a ticket as part of a Disney resort package, that ticket does NOT expire when you check-out of that resort ... it expires 14 days from the first use of the ticket.

To anyone like gerald72 or faline or me, it's very simple to know what to do in the OP's situation (make resort reservation #1 either room-only or package, but make resort #2 and #3 room-only reservations).. I'm NOT saying that it's obvious and everyone should know it like we do, but I AM saying that you don't need to ignore the advice of someone just because they're not a travel agent or a Disney executive.

There is one question I'd need in order to give a final recommendation to the OP, and that is whether or not they plan to park hop.

A 10-day ticket costs $243 (I'm not fancy like faline, I'm not including the 6.5% sales tax :mickey:) and a 4-day ticket costs $225, giving you 14 park days for $468, slightly less expensive than the $489 cost of an Annual Pass.

But if they want to park hop, that will add $52 to the cost of the 10-day ticket AND $52 to the cost of the 4-day ticket. $468 + $52 + $52 = $572.

So you could pay $572 for 14 days of park hoppers, or $489 for the Annual Pass.

So if you plan to hop, go for the AP. If you're a one-park-per-day kind of person, then the individual tickets are slightly cheaper.

[MizMissy]

I do not have any extra advice to offer, just wanted to say that I am GREEN with envy that you can spend 15 whole days on vacation at Disney. Big sigh ... in my dreams.

Have a great trip!!

[Canuck Park Hopper]

Thanks All - The Annual Pass was one angle not considered and I will keep it in mind. As a side question - Does the pass go Jan 1 to Dec 31 or is it 12 months fwd from date of purchase?

W.r.t. Park Hopping, we concluded that we have enough days on site that we would be comfortable not having to hop and take our time at each park (and maybe the odd trip to a water park if it gets too hot). However, if the Annual Pass is good for another 12 months, then the small additional cost is worth it for a potential subsequent trip next year!

It was of course the very large discount (on 10 day passes) that attracted me to the idea... and hey, six eggs for breakfast is good for me!

I am still not 100% clear on the abbreviations used (i.e. MJ and OP) and didn't see them on the list at Info Central.

@MizMissy: Yeah - this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime event for us.

The idea behind staying at two or three resorts of course is to diversify the experience a bit. We see part of the fun at Disney is experiencing the resorts as much as the parks.

I know that "pool" hopping is not permitted, but assume that visiting other resort areas to stroll around or have dinner is permitted (maybe even encouraged?).

Thanks again

[forever a child]

Thanks All - The Annual Pass was one angle not considered and I will keep it in mind. As a side question - Does the pass go Jan 1 to Dec 31 or is it 12 months fwd from date of purchase?

AP is good 12 months from date of purchase.

W.r.t. Park Hopping, we concluded that we have enough days on site that we would be comfortable not having to hop and take our time at each park (and maybe the odd trip to a water park if it gets too hot). However, if the Annual Pass is good for another 12 months, then the small additional cost is worth it for a potential subsequent trip next year!

It was of course the very large discount (on 10 day passes) that attracted me to the idea... and hey, six eggs for breakfast is good for me!

I am still not 100% clear on the abbreviations used (i.e. MJ and OP) and didn't see them on the list at Info Central.

MJ is Magical Journeys one of Intercot's Sponsors. They are of course a Disney Travel Agency and they will post a great deal here to answer questions and share information as it becomes available to the public.

OP - Original Poster; the one who posted the thread questions.

@MizMissy: Yeah - this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime event for us.

The idea behind staying at two or three resorts of course is to diversify the experience a bit. We see part of the fun at Disney is experiencing the resorts as much as the parks.

I know that "pool" hopping is not permitted, but assume that visiting other resort areas to stroll around or have dinner is permitted (maybe even encouraged?).

You are correct that pool hopping is not allowed (the exception being POFQ and POR which are sister resorts and therefore pool hopping is allowed if you are a guest at either resort). Visiting other resorts is allowed and everyone we have visited we have found to be extremely welcoming.

Thanks again

Have fun planning what sounds to be a wonderful vacation!:mickey:

[marlyn]

I always go for 2 weeks when I go and I have found my best value is to purchase Annual passes and book room only with that. I have always managed to get amazing AP rates thanks to Karen and magical journeys and the 14 days of unlimited access to parks makes the AP my best bet! I also stay in one place (I am too busy park hopping to switch resorts and don't want the hassle...but that is me)

[Fangorn]

Responding to your follow-up questions:

An Annual Pass is good for 366 days from the date of its purchase. If you buy it on Aug 4, 2010, it will be valid through Aug 4, 2011. If you purchase a pass through Disney's website or at a Disney Store, you will get a voucher, not the actual pass. When you get to WDW, take the voucher to any Guest Relations window at any Park or at Downtown Disney and they will exchange it for your actual pass. With a voucher, the clock doesn't start ticking until you exchange it for an actual Annual Pass.

MJ = Magical Journeys - A travel agency of exceptional caliber specializing in Disney vacations. They are also an Intercot sponsor.

OP = Original Poster. As used here, it means you since your originated the thread.

My personal opinion would be to go with the Annual Pass. We've gone that route many times, and somehow an extra trip or two manage to show up on our calendar when we have the AP.

Have a great time.

Steve

[DizneyRox]

I'm NOT saying that it's obvious and everyone should know it like we do, but I AM saying that you don't need to ignore the advice of someone just because they're not a travel agent or a Disney executive.
Just wanted to elaborate a little. In my experience a traval agent and a Disney executive would be the LAST ones I would listen to for advice on saving money! MJ seems to be an exception, but generally a TA works on commission so it's in their best interest to have you spend more, and Disney "executives" (surely in this case we mean Disney vacation planners) wouldn't take the time to guide you in saving money either.

I'd listen to the folks here. The AP is a very overlooked option IMHO, but does require a little advance planning (knowing you WILL make multiple trips or running the numbers), so I think it goes without being considered. A 15 day trip with park hopping makes an AP an attractive ticket.

[faline]

Just to be sure it's clarified for you - when you purchase an annual pass, you will receive a voucher. You can keep this voucher for months and it will not expire. When you arrive at Disney World, the voucher is exchanged for the actual annual pass. At that time, the one year you have on your pass begins. You could use the pass daily for that entire year if you were able and wished to do so. If you renew an existing annual pass, the clock starts ticking immediately. For this reason, we generally do not renew annual passes. Instead, we purchase a new annual pass which we activate at the start of our next trip.

[KylesMom]

We go for 15 days each year, and any way that we've run the numbers, the A/P comes out cheaper for us. One thing I would like to clarify:


OR, I would go with the annual pass and room only reservations. You would not be able to participate with the Dining plan going that route because you would need at least 1 day MYW tickets for each member of your party. This information is not accurate. If you are a passholder, you do not have to purchase a one-day base ticket to get the dining plan. We had looked into this for our upcoming trip, but the Tables in Wonderland card is a much better value for us. As pointed out in other posts, it would be most un-economical to purchase three separate ticket packages.

[CleveRocks]

If you are a passholder, you do not have to purchase a one-day base ticket to get the dining plan. We had looked into this for our upcoming trip, but the Tables in Wonderland card is a much better value for us.

People often get confused on this point, and it's good that you're clearing it up. The exception to your point, however, is the FREE Disney Dining Plan promotion. To get the FREE DDP, even passholders and DVC members have to make a minimum ticket purchase.

[magicalmom]

I'm NOT saying that it's obvious and everyone should know it like we do, but I AM saying that you don't need to ignore the advice of someone just because they're not a travel agent or a Disney executive.



I absolutely did not mean to demean anybody's knowledge or abilities. There are astonishingly knowledgeable people on Intercot. My point was simply that, if the OP was trying to make something work which is outside the normal range of Disney policies, and proposing to spend a nice chunk of change, having a Disney CM working on it, or people who have a lot of clout at Disney (like MJ), might encourage the creation of new policies.

As it turns out, meeting the OP's needs was possible within current and established rules, and clearly many Intercotees knew how to solve the problem. All good.

[Canuck Park Hopper]

Thanks again for all the input.

We have decided to extend our stay by arriving one day earlier (in order to capture the DDP arrival eligibility on Oct 7 -- rather than 8th as originally planned). As such we would now be able to do 15 days in park but still want to keep a few days off to go into Orlando, hedge against weather, or just plain old downtime.

If we did AP's, the base rate from MJ appears to be $520 p/p (or $659 w/ WP&M added)

Other options include:

a) 10 day = $259 ($314) w/ 5 flex days (one of which has to be either first or last day b/c of the 14 day limit),

b) 10 day + 1 day = $343 ($454) w/ 4 flex days, or

c) 10 day + 5 day = $501 ($612) flex days still possible, but will have associated cost...

So, given the marginal difference btw AP and option (c), I would choose AP - but we definitely want 2 days to do Universal Orlando. So we will likely do either option a) or b).

DW asked the question though: Does a 10 day pass (as an example) entitle a person to 10 theme park entries and 10 water-park entries within the 14 day period (e.g. 10 full days at theme parks + 4 full days at water parks), or does it only allow 10 theme park entries and a corresponding water park entry on the same days (meaning 4 days w/o entry to any parks). I would assume that it is the latter but clarification appreciated!

-KLF

[Goofy4TheWorld]

We have decided to extend our stay by arriving one day earlier (in order to capture the DDP arrival eligibility on Oct 7 -- rather than 8th as originally planned). As such we would now be able to do 15 days in park but still want to keep a few days off to go into Orlando, hedge against weather, or just plain old downtime.
So does that mean you are NOT going to stay at three different resorts? If you check in & out of your second and third resort, all 3 check-in dates must fall within free dining, not just the first resort. Also, if your are still resort hopping, you have some extra money to spend in order to get the free dining, because you will be required to get 2-day park tickets for all 3 package reservations, which will cost you a lot more than free dining may be worth.

In other words, you cannot get free dining for your entire trip, if arriving October 7th, unless you stay at the same resort the entire time.



DW asked the question though: Does a 10 day pass (as an example) entitle a person to 10 theme park entries and 10 water-park entries within the 14 day period (e.g. 10 full days at theme parks + 4 full days at water parks), or does it only allow 10 theme park entries and a corresponding water park entry on the same days (meaning 4 days w/o entry to any parks). I would assume that it is the latter but clarification appreciated!

Yes, you get 10 park entries (where you can re-enter the same park as often as you like each day) and 10 separate "other entries" to use at the two Water Parks, Disney Quest, and some kind of golfing which I can't remember. All ticket entitlements can be used in any order you choose, and all will expire after 14 days from first use.

[Canuck Park Hopper]

Interesting ... and thanks.

For the golf access, I believe it is the "Oak Trail" course - which I think is a 9 hole "family" type.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

If you are still interested in giving up the free dining during the later part of your trip in order to change resorts, there is a strategy to doing so that would allow you to reduce your total cost a little bit, but I won't go down that road unless you think that is what your are interested in doing. I will say that doing two resorts is workable, doing three would, IMHO, be a little too much if you are still trying to get a least SOME free dining.

[Canuck Park Hopper]

Can a person stay 14 or even 15 nights consecutively under the current DPP promotion? I thought it was capped at max 6 or 7 nights!

If so, the "three resort" plan loses some lustre in comparison to DDP alternative because, as you noted, the savings potential!

[magicofdisney]

In the past, the free DDP option had a 10 night cap (for US citizens).

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Can a person stay 14 or even 15 nights consecutively under the current DPP promotion? I thought it was capped at max 6 or 7 nights!


It doesn't happen often, but I have never heard that question before!

I have never seen any discussion on Intercot about limits to the number of days Disney will accept your money:mickey:, even under the free dining promotions. The only thing that might be unique about your situation is that you are wanting to stay 15 nights with 14 of those nights not actually inside the free dining booking window. While Disney does allow you to check-in and "extend" an offer throughout the duration of your trip, I am unaware if Disney caps the number of days you can stretch an offer beyond its normal limits.

I am sure someone wiser than I will come along shortly. However, if you are using Magical Journeys for this trip, I am sure they can answer that question quiet quickly.

[Canuck Park Hopper]

The offer states 5 night (6 days), but like you say, that may not be a hard restriction, rather just an example.

I did just get a price quote for PORS for 14 nights that included the promotion DDP.

Obviously one other restriction is "pending room availability".

[Goofy4TheWorld]

The offer states 5 night (6 days), but like you say, that may not be a hard restriction, rather just an example.

Actually, that wording on the Disney website isn't a restriction at all, it is just an example that Disney is using to give you a total costs/savings for the typical "5 night / 6 day" trip that is probably the average length many trips to Disney are.


I did just get a price quote for PORS for 14 nights that included the promotion DDP.
So that means you got a price that included the free dining for all 14 nights, meaning there was no restriction on length of days (14 CS, 14 TS, and 14 snacks)?? I am learning something new and just trying to make sure I understand what you have learned.



Obviously one other restriction is "pending room availability".

Right, and also, you are inside your 180 day dining reservations window, so you REALLY need to get going on booking this trip, because if you wait much longer, there may literally be NO availability at any restaurant at Disney World for you to use those free dining credits (free dining offers make restaurants fill up fast)!

[Canuck Park Hopper]

So that means you got a price that included the free dining for all 14 nights, meaning there was no restriction on length of days, 14 CS, 14 TS, and 14 snacks?? I am learning something new and just trying to make sure I understand what you have learned.


Right - I was not able to take the "check-out" calendar beyond the 14th night (any time I tried, it kicked back to 14 nights...). Which makes sense!

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Ahh haa!

I went to the online "Check Availibity" page for the free dining offer, and at the top of the page, it states:


August - December Dine Offer
You will enjoy this delicious offer available for select travel dates between August 15, 2010 and December 21, 2010 at Select Walt Disney World® Resort hotels. The maximum stay for this offer is 14 nights. No group rates or other discounts apply.

So there is a 14 day limit to this offer.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Depending on how important resort hoping is to you, you could book a 14-day free dining reservation now, and change things around later if you could find a way to get a PIN offer to get a percentage off your room costs instead of free dining.

I have literally had more PIN offers from Disney this year than I can count. They have emailed me offers for free dining when it wasn't available to the public, and 30% to 40% off room rates for 50 out of the 52 weeks in 2010!

How did I get so many PIN codes, who knows? Some have speculated that Disney does things with goats and pig's blood to determine who to send PIN codes to, but my experience has been that all 3 times I registered for a planning DVD (for my June, October, and December trips), within two weeks, I got a room discount offer for my travel dates. I have always got 30% off values, 35% off moderates, and 40% off deluxes.

If you want to resort hop instead of free dining, register for the planning DVD online and hope that you can get a room-only discount that will be as good, if not better, than free dining.

Just my two cents...

[Canuck Park Hopper]

The PIN is in the mail you say! We did register for and receive the planning DVD but have not received a followup mailing with PIN... :unsure:

Maybe it is not mailed out to foreigners!

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Getting a PIN is by no means automatic after getting the planning DVD, it was simply my experience for 3 out of 3 times this year. You certainly cannot expect a PIN, just hope for one.

Also, if your are not in the USA, I couldn't even speculate what effect that might have on any PIN codes you might have a chance to receive.

I guess your only sure bet to get a discounted trip is to stay at one resort for 14 nights using free dining. Your only other option would be to consider annual passholder room discount rates ONCE they are announced for October.

[forever a child]

Can a person make 3 different resort reservations (5 nights each) and buy 10-day tickets for the three of us or would the requirement be that we have to buy three separate 5-day passes w/ each reservation?



You would not be able to participate with the Dining plan going that route because you would need at least 1 day MYW tickets for each member of your party. My statement was in response to the about question, but I see I didn't explain my response very well at all! Sorry OP! That's why Intercot is great. The solution gets worked out in the end!:thumbsup:


This information is not accurate. If you are a passholder, you do not have to purchase a one-day base ticket to get the dining plan. We had looked into this for our upcoming trip, but the Tables in Wonderland card is a much better value for us. As pointed out in other posts, it would be most un-economical to purchase three separate ticket packages.

I didn't explain myself very well here. :sorry: Thanks for correcting me KylesMom. I ment that if you went with a 10 day MYW ticket from 1st (of 3 resort stays) that the ticket would be good for your entire stay but the DDP would expire after that first resort stay. But yes, an AP holder can purchase DDP and as other have stated...it is probaby the best route...which is also what I was suggesting as a solution.

[Canuck Park Hopper]

Well - plans are booked now. In an effort to capture as much of the Dining Plan Offer as possible but still change-up the scenery a bit, we elected for 13 nights at Pop Century followed by three at CSR (and there seemed to be very few nights available there for late Oct!).

Alternatively, we considered possibly doing 13 or 14 nights at PO/FQ or CBR (w/ a Plus-level dining plan), but felt organizing that many TS reservations would reduce our overall flexibility.

We took a 10-day w/ WP&M feature and also a three day at Universal. That will leave some down-time days here and there. Perfect for what we want.

So I suppose it's all about counting down the days now... something like 86!

Thanks again for all the assistance.
:mickey:

[faline]

Glad to hear you've finalized your plans! Sounds like it will be a really fun trip!

[DizneyRox]

Be aware, unless you get the no-expiration option, those initial Disney tickets owon't be good through the entire stay. They should expire sometime during your CSR stay.

My advice would be to do Uiversal at the end from CSR, no-expiration on a 10 day ticket is pricey.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Be aware, unless you get the no-expiration option, those initial Disney tickets won't be good through the entire stay. They should expire sometime during your CSR stay.

My advice would be to do Universal at the end from CSR, no-expiration on a 10 day ticket is pricey.

Ditto, be sure you realize that both your park entrys and your "water parks and more" entitlements will expire after the 14th day from this ticket's first use.

Also, you will be able to use any remaining dining plan credits on your Pop Century room key throughout the day & night of your first CSR night, since even if you check out of the Pop room, the dining credits remain valid all the way until midnight the date of your check-out. Just FYI.

Congrats on booking your trip! Also, I always like knowing how these decisions are resolved, and I want to thank you for coming back to let us know what you decided.

[Canuck Park Hopper]

Sure and thanks for the heads-up. We are aware that we will have at least one day (which either has to be the first or last day) in which passes are not valid. Like I say, having at least one quiet day will be nice in and of itself.

Ditto for the midnight expiry on meal plans.