Disney World Tickets - Should I Be A Park Hopper?

Image : http://www.flickr.com

I have been traveling to and advising people on their Walt Disney World vacations for over a decade. The subject which I get asked about most is Walt Disney World tickets. To choose the ticket which is right for you does need a little research to understand all the options available.

Beginning in January 2005 Disney introduced Magic Your Way tickets. You start with a Base Ticket for the number of days that you wish to visit the four theme parks - Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom.

Your first decision is how many days you need. The per day cost of each Magic Your Way ticket reduces the more days that you buy. For example, a 1 day adult Base Ticket is $71.36. If you buy a 5 day adult Base Ticket the cost is $219.39, so the cost per day is $43.87. A 10 day Base Ticket is available for $230.04, so the cost per day is $23.04. As you can see, the price difference between a 5 and a 10 day Base Ticket is only $11. These prices are all for Magic Your Way Base Tickets purchased at the Disney World gate and include tax.

There are three add on options to decide upon.

1.The No Expiration Option

All Base Tickets expire 14 days after they are first used. If you add this option the days that you have not used never expire. The cost of this depends on how many days you have on your Base Ticket. It ranges from $10.65 for a 2 day ticket, $58.58 for a 5 day ticket, and $165.08 for a 10 day ticket.

So it can work out to be an expensive option. Think very carefully about it. Will you remember where those tickets are in 5 years time?

2. Water Park Fun and More

The base ticket covers admission to the 4 theme parks. If you want to visit Blizzard Beach,Typhoon Lagoon,Disney's Wide World of Sports or DisneyQuest you need another ticket.

You can buy these separately but it makes sense to consider if it will be cheaper to add these as an option to your Base Ticket. The extra cost is $53.25 to add to any Base Ticket. You get a set number of extra visits to the add on parks according to the how many days you have on your Base Ticket. So with a 1,2 or 3 day Base Ticket you would have 3 visits, and up to 6 visits with a 10 day ticket.

Generally if you are going to visit one of these add on parks more than once then it is a good deal. A single day water park ticket is $41.54.

3. Should I be a Park Hopper?

No matter how many days you have on your Base Ticket this option is a flat rate cost of $47.93. So it may be a good option for a 10 day ticket but not so great for a 2 day.

You need to give some thought to this feature. This allows you to start off in one park and then travel to other parks on the same day. As someone who has been to the parks many times I would say that we use the Park Hopper facility a good deal. The reason for this is that I know the parks very well, so if I find that where we are is too busy, or I just want to go to one of our favorite restaurants in a different park then I will travel to another park.

However, I would suggest that sometimes Park Hopping is not for the beginner. if you are visiting for the first time you may not realistically need this feature. It takes time and some planning to get to another park - they are all located a distance apart from each other, and even when you have traveled to the next park, you still have to spend time getting through the entrance plaza. So think about this one carefully. Just take a little time to understand the options and you will know how to choose the best Magic Your Way ticket for your vacation.