Ticket Question

[alien_host]

I'm planning on buying our tickets at AAA and we are going for 6 nights but really only have 5 full (non-travel days). Anyway, we don't arrive until about 5:30PM the first day. I'm debating if I should get a 5 day or 6 day pass.

Realistically we will use 5 days (excluding both travel days - we leave early on departure day) but I'm wondering if I should pick up an extra day "in-case" we get in early enough to check out one park...even just to go to MK for dinner.

The price difference is only $3 a person so $9 for the 3 of us. That's the only reason I'm considering it. Honestly I think we should just get to the hotel and have dinner at the resort and get to bed on the early side so we can get a fresh start.

Can someone set me straight? ;) Is it better to have it or to skip it and to keep some limitations on what we will do the first night.

Thanks!

[DietCokeLover]

If you will have been travelling all day and not arriving til 5:30, you are more than likely not going to want to head to the parks. But, for only $9 if you think there is even a remote chance that you might want to go and eat or catch some fireworks, I would go ahead and do it.

[egoldber]

For $9 I would do it. You never know, you may wander in, watch the fireworks and then go back. I think it's good to have the option.

[JTsMom]

How about don't do it, and then if you decide you want the extra day, upgrade the tix at that time? We did that on our last trip.

[cuca_]

For $9 I would do it. If I remember correctly you are staying at the BLT. You will be a short walk away from the Magic Kingdom, so walking over to the park in the early evening is totally doable. We just got back, and we went to the MK several times in the early evening, after spending the day at another park. This was my favorite time of day, as later in our stay we would skip the parade and go on a lot of rides without a wait.

BTW, we stayed at the Bay Lake Tower and really enjoyed it. I thought it was a great location, and the villa was very comfortable. The kids really enjoyed the pool, although I was not crazy about the slide. If you have any specific questions let me know!

[alien_host]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!


How about don't do it, and then if you decide you want the extra day, upgrade the tix at that time? We did that on our last trip.

i didn't realize this was an option...they really will let you add extra days at the same price you would have paid if you bought the extra days to begin with? Thanks for the tip!

I'm still on the fence. Since this is DD's first trip, I sort of want her "first" day at the MK to be a full day. After a day of traveling I'm not sure it will be a good idea to go, knowing it's only for a very short time. If I don't have the extra day ahead of time, I suppose I'm less likely to squeeze it in.

cuca_ I'm glad to hear you liked BLT, I'm very excited about it. Did you eat at the Wave and/or California Grill? How was it? Any other things I should check out at BLT? Did you view fireworks from BLT/Contemporary at all without going to the MK? I was thinking we could do that the first night of arrival, without going to MK itself. I've looked up so much info that my mind is in a fog!

[clc053103]

not cuca, but we are DVC owners at BLT and stayed there last year, wll return this Sept.

We ate at Wave and Cali Grill- love both. Wave very empty for breakfast and the food is awesome. You can view fireworks on the walkway between the contemp and BLT, or if you are renting DVC points for your stay you can view them from Top of the World.

[JTsMom]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!



i didn't realize this was an option...they really will let you add extra days at the same price you would have paid if you bought the extra days to begin with? Thanks for the tip!



No problem. :) I was really glad I knew about it, b/c when we got to the gates our last day at MK, we had to tix left! I forgot that we'd added on a night, but not added onto the tix. We had to stand in line again, but at least it was fixable.

Here's some more info, just in case. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1452684

#6 talks about doing this. One thing I should mention is that you have to do it within 14 days of the first use, so it's not like you can keep adding on days for subsequent trips or anything.

I totally understand your dilemma. I tend to not like to do a park day on arrival day, and instead, get a good night's sleep so I can go all day the next day, but with you being so close to MK, I'd think about it. Either way, you'll have fun, so don't stress- you really can't lose. You could always knock out a couple of rides so that you have less to do the next day, or you could just meet characters, soak up the atmosphere and explore, that way if you want to go commando on your "real" days, you can. Exploring the resort is fun though too. You could also do DTD. You could head over to the Poly and watch the Electrical Water Parade too. I would think twice about the fireworks if they are late, b/c I like to be at the gate at opening.

2 years ago, we did Hoop Dee Doo on our first night. This past year, we just did the resort, unpacked, and rested. We did think about hitting MK for a little while, but decided to skip it. We had a long trip though, so it wasn't a huge deal.

[alien_host]

not cuca, but we are DVC owners at BLT and stayed there last year, wll return this Sept.

We ate at Wave and Cali Grill- love both. Wave very empty for breakfast and the food is awesome. You can view fireworks on the walkway between the contemp and BLT, or if you are renting DVC points for your stay you can view them from Top of the World.

Thanks for the feedback! We are renting points so I should check out Top of the World.

[alien_host]

No problem. :) I was really glad I knew about it, b/c when we got to the gates our last day at MK, we had to tix left! I forgot that we'd added on a night, but not added onto the tix. We had to stand in line again, but at least it was fixable.

Here's some more info, just in case. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1452684

#6 talks about doing this. One thing I should mention is that you have to do it within 14 days of the first use, so it's not like you can keep adding on days for subsequent trips or anything.

I totally understand your dilemma. I tend to not like to do a park day on arrival day, and instead, get a good night's sleep so I can go all day the next day, but with you being so close to MK, I'd think about it. Either way, you'll have fun, so don't stress- you really can't lose. You could always knock out a couple of rides so that you have less to do the next day, or you could just meet characters, soak up the atmosphere and explore, that way if you want to go commando on your "real" days, you can. Exploring the resort is fun though too. You could also do DTD. You could head over to the Poly and watch the Electrical Water Parade too. I would think twice about the fireworks if they are late, b/c I like to be at the gate at opening.

2 years ago, we did Hoop Dee Doo on our first night. This past year, we just did the resort, unpacked, and rested. We did think about hitting MK for a little while, but decided to skip it. We had a long trip though, so it wasn't a huge deal.


Thanks for the link....it sort of made my head spin but I think I understand it :) Very detailed!

And good point on the late time of the fireworks...

[BeachBum]

I'm still on the fence. Since this is DD's first trip, I sort of want her "first" day at the MK to be a full day. After a day of traveling I'm not sure it will be a good idea to go, knowing it's only for a very short time. If I don't have the extra day ahead of time, I suppose I'm less likely to squeeze it in.

Just for a contradictory viewpoint.... :)
I would definitely go that first night. Your DD is going to be sooo excited! Let her get just a glimps. Main Street is amazing when you see it for the first time.... the towns people, a few characters all around, seeing Cindy's castle for the first time, the shops, the smells...
Being able to marvel at those things without knowing you need to rush to rides is how we often do it.

Another idea is going to the world showcase at Epcot for dinner. It is fun to walk around, lots of restaurant choices, has the "magic" but is much more low key than the MK.

[fivi2]

We are going over to the Magic Kingdom on our arrival afternoon/evening. (we will be coming from grandparents in the area, though, so not a busy travel day).

I made dinner adrs at Crystal Palace on our arrival day. I wanted to give them (4 yos) a chance to just see the castle, wander around and soak it all in without us worrying about getting to a certain ride or avoiding crowds. On our first rope drop day at MK, we will be doing the Dumbo Dash, so I wanted to get the staring at the castle part out of the way :). I don't plan to get any rides accomplished, just enjoying the scenery. JMO! We'll see how it goes!

[JTsMom]

I already mentioned this briefly, but I really like the show up and soak it up method. We didn't do it on our arrival day, but the next day, b/c we didn't have a ton of time since we were doing HDDR early, and that's like a park in itself by the time you do all of the transportation steps, get there early, do the pic, etc. We still ended up showing up at rope drop since we were all ready to go on time, watched the opening ceremony (which, btw, is REALLY cute imo- I cry every time :bag ), and then took the trolley, which I'd never have done had we been running for Dumbo. We stopped and talked to characters, slowly wandered through the castle, and let DS lead the way. Well, of course, right after that, he HAD to ride Dumbo, so we ended up waiting a while, but it wasn't too bad even after all of that. We met Ariel too, which worked out well, and just did all of the "time sucker" stuff.

We do full on touring plans typically, so it was a nice change of pace, and I think it helped set the tone for the rest of the trip.

[cuca_]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

cuca_ I'm glad to hear you liked BLT, I'm very excited about it. Did you eat at the Wave and/or California Grill? How was it? Any other things I should check out at BLT? Did you view fireworks from BLT/Contemporary at all without going to the MK? I was thinking we could do that the first night of arrival, without going to MK itself. I've looked up so much info that my mind is in a fog!

Sorry I'm so late to answer. We did eat at the Wave. It was good, but they took a while to seat us. I have to say that in general I was not crazy about Disney restaurants. I felt that they were always rushing you (except at Ohana's) and the food was just ok.

We did view the fireworks from BLT/Contemporary. We viewed them from the walkway that connects the BLT and Contemporary. However, as someone else said, since you are staying on DVC points, you can go to the Top of the World lounge and have a better view. We did not have that option.

Another thing you might want to consider is going to MK that evening and watching the parade. We found out that the best times for rides was in the evening and a couple of times I kept the kids up late and went to the MK. We got to go on a lot of rides without any lines. One of those times DH, DD1, DD2 and I went on rides while the parade was going on, and it was a breeze. This worked better for us than being at the gate before opening. Honestly, with 4 kids there was no way we were going to make it to the gate that early!

Have a great time!