Theme Park Tickets

Disney World Magic Your Way Base Ticket Introduction

by josh on June 14, 2010

Updated August 2, 2011 with new ticket upgrade procedures.  See this post for details: http://www.easywdw.com/news/new-disney-world-ticket-policy-going-into-effect-august-3-2011/

Prices Updated June 12 2011

What are Magic Your Way Tickets?

The Magic Your Way Base Ticket is the name of the basic theme park admission ticket that Disney offers.  The great majority of Disney World visitors will purchase a Magic Your Way ticket, although some guests return with Annual Passes (good for unlimited admissions throughout the year) or have a promotional ticket of some kind.  You may purchase a ticket with one to ten days of theme park admissions.  The tickets expire 14 days from their first use at Disney World (the day of first use plus 13 additional days), not from the date of purchase or the date of receipt in the mail.  A ticket is not active until it has been put through the turnstile.  All tickets are printed with the name of the owner clearly visible.  In addition, you will be asked to scan your finger each time you enter a theme park.  This is not a fingerprint scan, but rather a “biometric scan” that takes measurements of your finger.  If you would prefer to show picture ID then you should be able to do that instead, but the finger scan speeds things up considerably.  Several upgrades to the Base Ticket are available, including No Expiration, Park Hopper, and Water Park Fun & More.  Click the blue highlighted links for a full explanation of those options and when it makes sense to add them to your Base Ticket.

How Much Do Magic Your Way Tickets Cost?

While the cost always goes up to add more days to your Base Ticket, the cost per day goes down as you add days.  Let’s look at the chart below that shows the cost of the Base Ticket for adults and children as well as the cost for each additional day.  All prices include 6.5% Florida sales tax.

2011 Disney World Base Ticket Price Chart

As you can see, the cost to add the fourth day is only about $11 and each day after that is about $8.  Disney prices their tickets in this way so it is cost effective to stay longer, which means you will be spending more money on food, souvenirs, and Disney resorts, which is where the Disney Company makes even more money than they would on admission.  Disney keeps the single day tickets expensive in order to capitalize on those only spending one day in Disney World as well.

Upgrading Your Magic Your Way Ticket

The Magic Your Way Ticket is the bare minimum ticket that can be purchased, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need “more ticket.”  There are a few rules for upgrading Base Tickets.  First, all upgrades must be done within 14 days of the first use of the ticket, even if No Expiration is added.  You may also add days to your ticket as needed at the same price as it would have cost had you originally added them.  For example, if you’re unsure if you need five, six, or seven days of admission, you can purchase a five-day ticket and add a sixth of seventh day if you decide that you need them, even after using the tickets.  You would only pay the additional cost per day at the same rate had you originally purchased a seven-day ticket ($8.52 per day as noted in the chart above).

Note that Disney changed their policy regarding when you can perform upgrades on August 3, 2011.  See this post for details: http://www.easywdw.com/news/new-disney-world-ticket-policy-going-into-effect-august-3-2011/.  Previously, you could add days to your ticket even if you had used up all of your theme park admissions.  Now, you must have a valid ticket in order to add additional days.  If you have a five day ticket, you must add additional days by the time you use the fifth day.  If you try to add additional days after, you may run into some problems.  If you’re unsure of whether or not you want to add additional days after using the ticket for the first time, see the link above for a clearer explanation.

If you upgrade to Water Park Fun & More, you can also add more days to your ticket solely to get more Water Park & Fun admissions.  For example, if you purchase a five-day ticket that comes with five admissions to the water parks and decide you want a sixth admission to a water park, you can purchase an additional theme park admission for $8.52 and use only the additional water park admission.

More information about possible upgrades is available in the upgrades section: http://www.easywdw.com/category/tickets/upgrades/.

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Is the Disney Water Park Fun & More Upgrade Worth the Cost?

by josh on June 13, 2010

Ticket upgrade policy updated August 2, 2011.  See: http://www.easywdw.com/news/new-disney-world-ticket-policy-going-into-effect-august-3-2011/ for a full explanation.

Prices updated June 12, 2011

What is the Water Park Fun & More Upgrade?

The Water Park Fun & More upgrade can be added to the Magic Your Way Base Ticket, along with the No Expiration or Park Hopper upgrades.  If you decide to add Water Park Fun & More to your ticket, you will be given an allotment of entrances to the following “minor parks” in Disney World: Typhoon Lagoon water park, Blizzard Beach water park, Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex, DisneyQuest, or one round of golf at Oak Trail.  The number of entrances you will receive to the minor parks is based on the number of days your Magic Your Way Base Ticket is valid.  The following chart illustrates this:

Disney Water Park Fun Admission Chart

For example, if your ticket is good for five days, then you will receive five entrances to any of the minor parks.

How Much Does It Cost?

With tax, the cost to add the Water Park Fun & More upgrade is $58.58, regardless of how many days the ticket is valid or whether it’s added to an adult or child ticket.  The cost is a flat $58.58 on a two day ticket or a ten day ticket.

When Can I Add the Upgrade?

You may add the Water Park Fun & More upgrade when you purchase your ticket or at any time within 14 days of the first use of the ticket, provided there is still entitlement value on the ticket.  See this explanation of entitlement value and the new ticket policy regarding upgrades: http://www.easywdw.com/news/new-disney-world-ticket-policy-going-into-effect-august-3-2011/. Basically, you can add the Water Park Fun & More upgrade provided your Magic Your Way ticket is still valid.  If you have used up all of your theme park days, you may not be able to add Water Park Fun and More.

If you visit a water park or one of the other “minor parks” listed, you can apply the price of that ticket towards the Water Park Fun & More upgrade.  For example, if you purchase just a Magic Your Way Base Ticket and pay for admission to a water park separately, you can apply the cost of the water park ticket towards the cost of the Water Park Fun & More upgrade anywhere that tickets can be upgraded (such as any ticket window).  Note that you can only apply the value of one ticket towards an upgrade.  If you purchased admission to Blizzard Beach and ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, you would want to apply the cost of the Blizzard Beach ticket because it has a higher value and the additional cost to upgrade to Water Park Fun & More would be less expensive.

Is It Worth the Cost to Upgrade to Water Park Fun & More?

Here are the costs (with tax) of a one-day ticket to the minor parks that you can gain entrance to with the Water Parks Fun & More upgrade:

DisneyQuest: $45.80 Adult, $39.511 Child (age 3-9)

Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon: $52.19 Adult, $43.67 Child (age 3-9)

Disney’s Wide World of Sports: $14.43 Adult, $9.95 Child (age 3-9)

Round of Golf at Oak Trail: $40.49 Adult, $21.32 Junior (17 and under)

As you can see, the cost of a one-day ticket to the minor parks other than the Wide World of Sports is just a little less expensive than adding the Water Park Fun & More upgrade.  If you plan to visit more than one of the minor parks then the Water Park Fun upgrade will be cost effective.  If you’re unsure of whether you will visit one or more of the minor parks then you can wait until you do visit them to add the upgrade.  Remember, you can apply the cost of a one-day admission to the cost of the Water Park Fun upgrade as long as you do so within 14 days of the ticket’s first use and the ticket is still valid for admission.

Some Thing to Keep in Mind:

If you don’t add No Expiration, your Magic Your Way ticket is good for 14 days, including the first day of use (or the first day of use plus 13 additional days).  You can visit the major theme parks and minor theme parks in any order over those 14 days, including skipping days as needed.  You could visit the Animal Kingdom on day one, Typhoon Lagoon on day three, DisneyQuest on day four, and Epcot on day six and you would have used two theme park admissions and two Water Park Fun & More admissions.  You may visit more than one minor theme park on the same day and you will have used two admissions.  For example, you could visit Blizzard Beach in the morning and DisneyQuest in the evening  and you would have used two admissions.  However, you can enter, exit, and return to the same minor park as often as you like during a single day and you will have only used one admission.  In other words, every time you enter a new minor park (Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, DisneyQuest, Wide World of Sports, Oak Trail) you will have used one admission.  You can’t “hop” between two different minor parks during the same day and use only one admission, even if you have added Park Hopper for the major parks (Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios).

There are also Annual Passes Just for the Water Parks and DisneyQuest

You can also purchase an Annual Pass for the water parks, DisneyQuest, or one that is good for both.  The prices are as follows (including tax):

Water Park Annual Pass (good for unlimited admissions to both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach) – $106.45 Adult (10+), $85.73 Child (3-9)

DisneyQuest Annual Pass – $94.79 Adult (10+), $75.62 Child (3-9)

Annual Pass to Water Parks and DisneyQuest: $137.39 Adult (10+), $105.44 Child (3-9)

These tickets won’t be cost effective to most Disney World visitors, but they do exist if you have a need for them.

Conclusion

The Water Park Fun & More ticket upgrade is potentially a fantastic value if you plan to visit any of the following more than once: Oak Trails golf course, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, or DisneyQuest.  The ticket is also good for Disney’s Wide World of Sports, but that ticket is only about $15 per admission, so you’ll want to take that into consideration as well.  Also consider adding the Upgrade if you plan to add No Expiration as well because the Water Park Fun and More entitlements also will not expire and will still be valid even after you use up your theme park entitlements.

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Is the Disney No Expiration Ticket Upgrade Worth the Cost?

by josh on June 12, 2010

Updated August 2, 2011 with the new upgrade policy as explained here: http://www.easywdw.com/news/new-disney-world-ticket-policy-going-into-effect-august-3-2011/

Prices updated June 12, 2011

What is the No Expiration Upgrade?

Adding the No Expiration upgrade to your Magic Your Way Base Ticket will allow you to return to Disney World and take advantage of any unused days on your ticket.  For example, let’s say you purchase a ten-day Magic Your Way Base Ticket with No Expiration and visit parks on six days.  On your next trip, you may use the remaining four days on your ticket.  Without the No Expiration upgrade, you would need to purchase a new ticket because your old ticket would have expired 14 days from its first use.

The Way Disney Sells It

Disney describes the No Expiration upgrade on their website with the following:

Select the No Expiration Option to let the magic live forever! Our Magic Your Way Base Tickets expire 14 days from their first use. However, when you add the No Expiration Option to your ticket, you’re able to come back and take advantage of unused days at any time in the future.

Relax in the knowledge that any unused days will be available for your next visit.

How Much Does It Cost?

The cost is based on how many days your ticket is valid and is added to the cost of the Base Ticket.  For reference, here is the chart of Base Ticket cost with tax.  There is also a column for the “additional price to add day” which is the cost to add that additional day on the ticket.  Note that the cost to add additional days is only about $8 each after day four.

Disney World Ticket Price Chart

One of the most common misconceptions with the No Expiration upgrade is that you pay the additional cost only on the number of days you did not use.  For example, many people believe that if you purchase a seven-day ticket and use five days, you pay only the cost of the two day No Expiration upgrade.  This is not how it works.  You pay the cost of the seven day upgrade regardless of how many days you use because that is the length the ticket is valid.  This means that you will pay the full seven-day upgrade cost whether you use two days, four days, or all seven days on the ticket.  Let’s have a look at how much it costs to purchase the No Expiration upgrade (all prices include tax).
Disney No Expiration Price Chart

As you can see, the cost is substantial.  Just to reiterate, you pay the upgrade cost on the number of days the ticket is valid, regardless of how many days you use.  If you purchase a ten-day ticket and use nine days then you still pay $239.63, the same price you would pay if you used just one day of the ten-day ticket.

When Can I Add the Upgrade?

You may add the No Expiration upgrade to your Magic Your Way Base Ticket when you purchase your ticket or within 14 days of the ticket’s first use (on the first day you use the ticket and for 13 days thereafter), provided the ticket still has valid theme park entitlements.  You can only add other upgrades to the ticket within this time frame also.  For example, if you do not add the Park Hopper upgrade within 14 days of first use, you cannot return two years later and add Park Hopper for the remaining days on the ticket, even if you add No Expiration.  All upgrades must be added when there are still valid entitlements on the ticket and within 14 days of first use.  For information on the new upgrade entitlement policy, see this post: http://www.easywdw.com/news/new-disney-world-ticket-policy-going-into-effect-august-3-2011/.

Is It Worth the Cost to Upgrade to No Expiration?

It is somewhat rare that the No Expiration upgrade is worth the cost and also somewhat complicated to figure out exactly when it is cost effective.  The easiest way to think about it is to figure out how many vacations you will get out of one No Expiration ticket and how much those tickets would cost if purchased separately.  Remember, you can’t add any additional days to the No Expiration ticket after the 14 day window has closed.  If you buy an eight-day ticket and use four days on the first vacation, you can’t return two years later and decide you want to add an extra two days to the eight day ticket to make it a ten day ticket.  You will have to be sure that you will use the exact amount of days left on the ticket, otherwise you will have to buy an additional ticket which almost always makes the No Expiration upgrade less cost efficient.  That’s because the cost to buy a one or two day Magic Your Way Base Ticket has a higher cost per day.  If that doesn’t make sense, let me give you a quick example.  Let’s say you purchase an eight-day ticket with No Expiration for $500.56 ($292.88 for the base ticket and $207.68 for No Expiration).  You use the first five days on your first vacation and want to return and use the ticket again for a second vacation.  For the ticket to be cost effective, you will have to spend only three days at Disney World.  If you want to take a second five day vacation, you will have to purchase an additional two-day ticket at a cost of $178.92 because you cannot add any additional days to the original eight-day No Expiration ticket.  Let’s look at the math in this situation (a five day vacation and then a future three day vacation):

Cost of eight-day Base Ticket with No Expiration Upgrade: $500.56

Cost of purchasing a five-day ticket and a three-day ticket: $514.40 ($267.32 + $247.08)

You come out ahead by $13.84 if you use the exact amount of days in this situation

On the other hand, if you end up taking a second five-day vacation  you would need to purchase an additional two-day ticket.  The math for that vacation would look like this:

Cost of eight-day Base Ticket with No Expiration Upgrade: $500.56 + Cost of two-day ticket: $178.92 = 679.48.

Now we will compare that price to the cost of two five-day tickets, which is what you would have purchased had you gone on two separate five day vacations with expiring tickets.  The cost of each five-day ticket is $267.32, or $534.64 for the two vacations.  Purchasing two 5-day tickets is $144.84 cheaper than purchasing one eight-day No Expiration ticket and one two-day ticket.  Both ticket configurations get you the exact same thing – two 5-day vacations.  They just cost different prices.

Now you could purchase an additional No Expiration ticket with more days rather than just a two-day ticket, but then you just keep running around in circles trying to make the most out of your ticket.

To figure out whether or not the No Expiration upgrade makes sense in your situation, first figure out how many days you will be spending at Disney World now and on future vacations.  Price out the ticket with the No Expiration upgrade and then add up what it would cost to purchase separate expiring tickets for each trip.  If the price of the No Expiration ticket comes out to be less and you are certain you won’t want to spend more time in Disney World and won’t want to add any more upgrades then the No Expiration upgrade is a wise investment.  Also, be aware that that several of the most popular promotions, including Free Dining, require the purchase of at least a one-day Base Ticket for each person on the reservation.  If that is the case, you will either need to keep the No Expiration tickets for another visit or figure out some other way to use the tickets you are forced to purchase to be eligible for the package promotion.

What is the Optimal Situation for the No Expiration upgrade?

The No Expiration upgrade makes the most sense when you purchase a ticket with eight or more days and take several short vacations over more than one year.  Magic Your Way tickets with a short duration (one to three days) are the most expensive, per day.  For example, the ten-day Base Ticket with No Expiration option costs $549.55.  The cost of 5 two-day tickets is $894.60.  You would come out well ahead in this situation if you planned to take 5 two-day vacations over several years.  On the other hand, 2 five-day tickets cost just $534.64 and the ten-day ticket with No Expiration costs $549.55.   if you split the ten-day Base Ticket with No Expiration up over two vacations you actually end up spending more than you would had you bought two expiring tickets.  The most cost effective, and really the only, way to use the No Expiration upgrade is if you plan multiple visits that each last one to three days.

Another common use for No Expiration tickets is for Florida residents that have out-of-town visitors.  For example, a grandparent might purchase a No Expiration ticket for their grandchild who visits one weekend every few months.  The ticket can then be used as necessary and the cost will be much lower than buying a one or two-day ticket multiple times.

Using A Child’s Ticket with No Expiration After The Child Turns 10 Years Old

One of the additional benefits of adding No Expiration to a child’s ticket is that it can be upgraded to an adult ticket for free when the child turns ten years old.  You would just need to present the child’s ticket in person anywhere tickets can be upgraded.  Since child’s tickets are anywhere between $6 and $20 less expensive than adult tickets, you may see additional savings if you purchase a No Expiration ticket for a child that is about to become a “Disney Adult.”

Water Parks & More Upgrade in Conjunction with No Expiration:

I know things are getting a little more complicated than you would like them to be, but honestly it’s not my fault.  I don’t come up with this stuff.  If you have also upgraded your ticket with the Water Parks & More option, those entitlements will not expire either if you add No Expiration.  Even if you have used all of your theme park admissions (to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom), you will still be granted entrance to Disney’s Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, DisneyQuest, Disney’s Wide World of Sports, or a round of golf at Oak Trail (considered minor parks) at any time, provided you have not used all of your minor park entrances.  For example, if you purchase the ten-day Magic Your Way Base Ticket and add No Expiration and Water Parks & More, you would be given ten days of park admissions and ten entrances to the previously mentioned minor parks to be used at any time.  This ticket basically becomes “two tickets.”  One of which is good at the major theme parks and one which is good at the minor parks.  If you use all ten days of your theme park admissions and don’t use any of your minor park admissions, you will still be able to use that ticket for the minor parks until you have used all ten entrances.  If you are considering adding the No Expiration upgrade, you may want to strongly consider adding the Water Parks & More Upgrade for $58.58 per ticket.  Considering a one-day admission to Typhoon Lagoon is almost $50, the Water Parks upgrade becomes cost effective after just two entrances.  It’s usually difficult to fit in ten days worth of minor parks during a vacation, but with No Expiration you could use your old ticket that doesn’t expire in conjunction with a newly purchased ticket for several years.  If you do enjoy the water parks, golf, or DisneyQuest and deem No Expiration to be worth the upgrade cost then I would also strongly recommend adding Water Parks & More.  Remember, you need to do it within 14 days of using your ticket for the first time and while entitlements remain on the ticket or you won’t be able to upgrade the ticket.

Also Consider the Annual Pass

The cost of the Annual Pass is $552.74 for adults and $509.07 for children ages 3-9.  The Annual Pass includes unlimited free parking at the theme parks and unlimited admissions to the parks, which means it has the Park Hopper upgrade built in since you can go to as many parks in one day as you like.  You can almost get two years of use out of an Annual Pass if you purchase one for your original vacation and then return, say, 50 weeks later for a second vacation.  You can then wait one more year to purchase a new Annual Pass and repeat.  If that doesn’t make sense, let me go over just one last example.  You could purchase an Annual Pass for your trip on December 10th-December 18th 2011.  You could then return about 50 weeks (almost one year) later in November 2012 and your Annual Pass would still be valid for a second vacation.  You would then not renew your Annual Pass for the time period between November 2012 and November 2013 and could then return in December 2013 to purchase another Annual Pass.  This way you skip paying for the Annual Pass between November 2011 and November 2012 when you do not have a vacation planned.

The Bottom Line

Make sure you price out the cost to upgrade to No Expiration and consider upgrading only if the potential savings is definite and more than just a few dollars.  Also consider the fact that you may need to purchase an additional Magic Your Way Base Ticket for certain promotions and packages which may throw your plans for a loop.

Overall, it’s easier and almost always just as cost effective to purchase the correct number of days on your ticket without the No Expiration option.  The only time it will be a substantial savings is if you plan multiple trips of 1-3 days in length over more than 12 months.

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Is the Disney Park Hopper Ticket Upgrade Worth the Cost?

by josh on June 10, 2010

Updated August 2, 2011 with new ticket upgrade policy explained here: http://www.easywdw.com/news/new-disney-world-ticket-policy-going-into-effect-august-3-2011/

Prices updated June 12, 2011

What is the Park Hopper Add-On?

Adding the Park Hopper upgrade to your Magic Your Way Base Ticket will allow you to visit more than one Disney theme park (Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom) each day.  For example, the Animal Kingdom might close at 5pm on the day you choose to visit.  With the Park Hopper upgrade, you could exit the Animal Kingdom at any time and travel to and enter any of the other three theme parks to take advantage of evening Extra Magic Hours, a late dinner reservation, or anything else.  You may exit and return to the same theme park as many times per day as you like, with or without the Park Hopper upgrade.

How Much Does It Cost?

For a One-Day Base Ticket, the cost to add Park Hopper is $37.28 with tax.  To add Park hopper to a Two-Day to a Ten-Day Base Ticket, the cost is a flat $58.58 per ticket for both kids and adults with tax.  This means the cost is $58.58 whether you purchase a two day ticket, a five day ticket, or a ten day ticket.  On a six-day ticket, the cost for the upgrade comes out to $9.76 per day.

When Can I Add the Upgrade?

You can upgrade your ticket at any time, provided you upgrade within 14 days of first use and you have additional entitlements on the ticket; Park Hopper does not have to be added at the time of ticket purchase.  If on day three of your ten day vacation you realize you want to start hopping, you can take your ticket to any ticket counter and pay for the upgrade at that time.  The cost will remain $58.58 regardless of how many days are left on your ticket, so it’s best to decide as  soon as possible.  For an explanation of entitlements and the new upgrade policy, see this post: http://www.easywdw.com/news/new-disney-world-ticket-policy-going-into-effect-august-3-2011/.  With the Park Hopper upgrade, it only makes sense to add it if you have additional theme park entitlements on your ticket, but you’ll want to be sure you have the ability to add days if that’s your plan.

If I Am Staying Five Days, Can I Purchase a Ten Day Ticket and Visit Two Parks Per Day?

No, as you might be aware, the cost to add each additional day to your Base Ticket after the fourth day is only about $8.  For example, a five-day Adult Magic Your Way Base Ticket costs $267.32 and a six-day ticket costs $275.84, a difference of only $8.52.  Disney is also aware it is cheaper to add extra days rather than add Park Hopper.  You will be denied entry if you try to visit a second park on the same day with the same ticket (without Park Hopper) and an employee will probably explain the benefits of the Park Hopper upgrade.

What Makes the Park Hopper Worth the Money?

First, the Disney theme parks all have different hours.  For example, the Animal Kingdom closes much earlier than the other Parks, usually around 6pm.  The Magic Kingdom may be open as late as 3am if it’s an Extra Magic Hours evening and Epcot is always open until at least 9pm.  A Park Hopper ticket would allow you to visit the Animal Kingdom during the day and then transfer to the Magic Kingdom in the evening to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours, for example.  You could begin the day at Epcot and walk over to Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic  Be sure to check out the operating hours for your trip dates and see if transferring to other parks would allow you significantly more time in the Parks or allow you to visit a recommended Park in the morning and then travel to a different Park for rare evening entertainment.

Second, the Park Hopper ticket is handy if you plan a lot of dining reservations.  The restaurants at the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios aren’t particularly good, so many Disney veterans plan evening meals at Epcot on days they are visiting those parks.  The Park Hopper allows visitors to have meals wherever they want, even if it isn’t at the theme park they first visited.  It’s also a popular add-on during special events, where you may want to spend more evenings in Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival or additional mornings in Hollywood Studios to collect autographs during Star Wars Weekends

Third, if it isn’t already clear, the Park Hopper ticket adds another layer of flexibility to your vacation, especially if you plan to return to your resort in the middle of the day for a break.  If you’re planning to leave anyway then the Park Hopper will allow you to go wherever you want in the evening rather than forcing you back to the same place you were previously.  Also, if you’re staying at a resort near a theme park then you may also want to strongly consider the Park Hopper.  For example, guests staying at the Yacht Club, Beach Club, or Boardwalk Inn are just a five or ten minute walk away from the International Gateway leading into Epcot.  This is a fantastic opportunity to spend some extra time in Epcot or catch a quick meal when you’ve spent the day elsewhere.  The same holds true for the Contemporary, Grand, Floridian, Polynesian, and Wilderness Lodge in their proximity to the Magic Kingdom.

What Makes the Park Hopper A Less Attractive Option?

First, the cost of adding the Park Hopper upgrade to each ticket for a family of four would be $234.32 ($58.58 * 4).  That’s a considerable expenditure.  For the same price or less you could enjoy a meal at Cinderella Castle, upgrade from a Value resort to a Moderate resort for three days, purchase 20 or more alcoholic drinks, and a whole lot more.  The “opportunity cost” can be substantial if you’re planning your vacation on a budget.

Second, the cost per day will be much higher on shorter stays.  On a three-day ticket, the per-day cost of the Park Hopper would be about $20, compared to $5.85 per day on a ten-day ticket.  Your opportunity for hopping is much greater on a longer stay as well, which makes the Park Hopper the most attractive for guests staying at least five days.

Third, Park Hopping can be more time consuming than you might imagine.  Driving from the Magic Kingdom to the Animal Kingdom takes about 15-20 minutes.  That doesn’t include the amount of time it takes to walk to the entrance/exit of either park, make it back to your car (if you’re driving), or wait for the bus (if you’re relying on Disney transportation).  Most Park Hops take about 60 minutes from the time you decide you want to Hop to the time you actually arrive at the next Park.

Fourth, keep in mind that you may be arriving during peak crowds if you Hop in the afternoon.  For example, if you spend 9am to 2pm at Hollywood Studios and then Hop over to Epcot, you’ll arrive during the most crowded time of day.  It may be a better choice to stay at the Studios and use up those FASTPASSes you’ve collected during the day or visit additional high capacity attractions.  On the other hand, if your expectations are simply to arrive at Epcot and enjoy some of the less popular attractions then you can certainly enjoy your time.  However, keep in mind that the Parks are generally busiest from 11am to 5pm and an afternoon Park Hop may land you in heavier crowds than expected with no FASTPASSes (although you can certainly collect them once you arrive if they are available).

Fifth, the Park Hopper upgrade is basically free money for the Disney Company.  It doesn’t really cost them anything for you to go to two or three Parks in the same day.

So, Is The Park Hopper Upgrade Worth It?

There’s no set answer.  I recommend calculating how much it will cost to add Park Hopper to your tickets and then dividing that by the number of times you intend to Park Hop.  For example, your family of three might plan to Park Hop four times over a seven night stay.  The cost to add Park Hopper would be $175.74 ($58.58 * 3) and the cost to Park Hop would be $43.94 per Hop ($175.74 / 4 Hops).  It might not seem like such a good idea once you calculate how much it will actually cost to Hop around.  Also consider the cost to add additional days to your Magic Your Way Tickets or even how much it would cost to add an additional day and night to your vacation package.  A Disney World Value Resort can often be had for about $100 per night and the cost to add an additional day to your tickets may be just $8 each.  For a family of three, that extra night might cost as little as $125 and be a better choice than adding Hoppers.

The Park Hopper is also best used by guests who tend to return to their resort in the afternoon to relax.  Since you’ll already be traveling back to a transportation hub, it will be much easier to transfer to a different Park in the evening.  Switching parks in the middle of the day without a rest in between is time consuming, stressful, and exhausting.  Arriving to a second Park late in the afternoon may also mean that Fastpasses will be gone and lines will be at their longest, so you’ll either be waiting in the longest lines of the day or hitting the less popular attractions anyway.  Finally, guests staying at a resort in close proximity to one of the theme parks may also find increased use for the Park Hopper upgrade, especially if you’re staying at one of the Epcot-area resorts.

You can add the Park Hopper upgrade to your ticket at any time, even after you’ve used your Magic Your Way Base Ticket, provided it’s within 14 days of first use and you have additional entitlements on the ticket.  If you’re unsure whether or not you would get any use out of the Park Hopper upgrade, I would recommend waiting until you visit the Parks and see for yourself.  Since the cost is fixed, there is no cost benefit to waiting and adding the option later, but you can at least be sure it won’t be wasted money if you’re happy sticking with one Park per day.

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