WDW Ticket FAQ

Walt Disney World offers a wide variety of ticket options. One of the biggest decisions you'll have regarding your trip to WDW (after you decide on a hotel of course) is what type of ticket to purchase. First, some basics on Tickets.

What do the Admission tickets include?

Regular Magic Your Way Base tickets provide entrance to a single theme park on a given day. You may add on options such as Park Hopping (to visit more than one theme park on a given day) and the Water Park Fun & More (to receive a varying amount of admissions to the so-called "minor gates" that consist of Pleasure Island, the water parks, DisneyQuest and Wide World of Sports). You can also add a non expiration option so your tickets will not expire after 14 days from first use. None of these tickets will provide admission to any of the special Disney events that are referred to as "Hard Ticket Events". Use of Disney transportation is included with admission.

What are Hard Ticketed Events?

Hard Ticket Events are when the park closes early to the general public and reopens in the evening for a special themed event that requires a separate admission ticket. Examples of Hard Ticketed Events include: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, Night of Joy, and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. When purchasing Hard Tickets, be sure to ask if there are Florida Resident or Annual Passholder discounts available!

Are there adult and child tickets? How about Senior Citizen or Disabled Ticket prices?

Tickets are sold as "Guest 10+" for adult tickets or "Guest 3-9" for a child. Anyone under age three is free. There are no special tickets or discounts for the disabled or senior citizens.

I heard that tickets are very expensive; over $70 a day per park. If there aren't any Senior or Disabled discounts, do they have discounted tickets at all???

Everyone always asks how they can get Ticket discounts. Discount programs and discounts are limited but currently are available on select ticket media that are offered to Florida residents, Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members, military personnel or a AAA member. AAA discounted tickets are only available at AAA offices. Please be aware that AAA discounts on tickets are not available through Disney. You must buy them from AAA directly. If you have an Annual Pass, always present it when purchasing a WDW ticket of any kind - you never know when a discount may apply. Sometimes you can get discounted admissions as part of a WDW vacation package.

Since 01/02/05, DVC members can get discounts off the price of new or renewed AP's, PAP's or FL Resident SP's. See our DVC AP discount FAQ for complete information.

There are also Florida resident specials (discussed in the Florida Resident Ticket section). Your admission media cost may also vary if you purchase a WDW package which includes park admissions.

Disney tickets may also be obtained at a slight discount from independent ticket wholesalers in the State of Florida. Keep in mind that these businesses are not part of Disney. They are independent entireties that set their own rules and prices. AllEarsNet® recommends Maple Leaf Tickets for discounted tickets.

DECIDING WHAT TYPE OF
TICKET TO PURCHASE

I'm already confused -- how do I go about deciding what type of ticket to buy?

First evaluate your travel plans and budget - How many days do you plan to visit the WDW major parks? How much are you willing to spend on admission media? Do you want just enough admissions for this trip or do you want to buy some extras and save them for your next visit? How likely/often will you visit the Water Parks or Pleasure Island or DisneyQuest? Will you be returning to WDW within the next 12 months? Will you stay at a WDW hotel? How likely is it you'll never come back to WDW or won't be back for at least several years?

Weigh your choices carefully. What might seem like a good deal, may not be. The Magic Your Way tickets offer greater flexibility than previous WDW passes. You start with the Base Ticket which is really just a one park per day ticket and can increase your days and add on from there. These tickets offer the best per day prices with the longer ticket lengths (between 4 and 10 days), the longer the ticket, the lower the per day price. Remember -- any unused days on your Magic Your Way tickets DO expire unless you add on the No Expiration option at an additional cost.

Determine if an Annual Pass or a Premium Annual Pass may serve your needs better. You can always plan next year's visit 1-2 weeks earlier so your Annual Pass is still valid, hence saving an entire trip's admissions cost. Visit our "break-even" analysis, "When Does an Annual Pass Become Cost-Effective?" for more details about deciding if an AP is for you.

What are these Plus Visits (now called Water Park Fun & More) I see included on some passes?

It depends on what ticket they are on. If it is a plus visit (option) from one of the old pre-2005 Park Hopper Plus tickets, it is one valid admission for one person to your choice of any one of the following: Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Pleasure Island or Wide World of Sports. If it is a WPF&M visit from one of the Magic Your Way tickets, it includes DisneyQuest as well as the places listed for the PHP plus options. And beginning June 28, 2008, you can also choose to use a visit to play a round of golf at Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course, a relaxed, nine-hole walking course designed for the entire family. Tee times are required and subject to availability. For tee times, call (407) WDW-GOLF (407-939-4653) or visit disneyworldgolf.com.

Think of it as two tickets with different privileges on one card. Everything expires 14 days after first use unless you have the no-expire option. Using a Water Park Fun & More option does not use up a major park day from your pass. But unlike the major park admissions on these tickets, you can only visit one place per WPF&M visit. No hopping is allowed on these visits even if you purchased the Park Hopper option for your MYW ticket. Unlike the major park admissions, you are allowed to visit multiple WPF&M locations on any one day but if you do, you will use up one WPF&M option for each place you visit. Leaving and returning to the same park on the same day does not use an extra entry as readmissions are always allowed at the same park on any day.

WPF&M visits may or may not be used on the same days as you go to the major parks. If you use a WPF&M visit on one day and do not go to a major park, you do not use up one of your major park admissions.

Your WPF&M visits are completely independent of your major park visits. Example: You can go to a water park only on day one (1 WPF&M visit), then do a major park on day two (1 theme park admission) followed by a major park (1 theme park admission) and a Pleasure Island visit (1 WPF&M visit) on day three. At the end of day three you will have used up two major park admissions and two WPF&M visits. But if on day four you went to TL in the morning, DQ in the afternoon, and club hopping at PI in the evening you would have used three additional WPF&M entries in the same day.

Do I have to use my WPF&M options in different places or can I go back to a place twice?

You can use them all at the same venue if you so desire. You have two limitations. One is that you can only use it for one person. You cannot have a group of three use three options off your one pass. The second one is that you will use a separate Plus option for EACH water park, PI, WWoS, DQ admission or Disney's Oak Trail golf course round you do on the same day. You are allowed to go to one, leave and return to the same one on a given day but you cannot park hop between the WPF&M venues like you can with the major park days.

How do I use a MYW ticket with the Water Park Fun & More options?

Now that you have purchased MYW tickets with the WPF&M option, you'll need to know how they work. The easiest thing to do is to think of it as two completely different tickets put on the same card. The theme parks portion is measured in days (one use equals one day) while the WPF&M portion is measured in separate admissions (going to two WPF&M gates on the same day will use two admissions).

For the theme parks admissions:
1) You get admission to any of the four WDW major theme parks for the number of days you bought your ticket for. You do not have to go to a theme park on consecutive days.
2) If you purchased the Park Hopping option, you may visit more than one theme park on any day and it will consume only one day's admission from your ticket. If you have not purchased the PH, you must choose a single theme park you wish to attend that day. You may leave and return later that day TO THE SAME PARK if you desire but you cannot enter another theme park on the same day.
3) If you do not purchase the Park Hopper option, you cannot use another day's admission to visit a second theme park on the same day you went to another.

For the WPF&M admissions:
1) You get a set number of admissions to the minor parks that mirrors the length of your MYW ticket in most cases. You will get two admissions with a 1 or 2 day ticket, and on all other MYW tickets you will get the same number of admissions as the number of theme park days on your ticket. Example: a 5 day ticket has 5 admissions, a 7 day has 7 and a 10 day has 10.
2) These WPF&M admissions do not allow park hopping even if you added the park hopper option to your ticket. Each time you enter a minor park on any given day, you will use another WPF&M admission. The exception is that you are also allowed to leave and return TO THE SAME WPF&M PARK on the same day and not use a second admission.
3) You do not have to use a theme park admission on the day(s) you wish to use a WPF&M admission.

For both kinds of admissions:
1) You have 14 days from first use of the ticket at ANY turnstile to use all of the admissions on both portions unless you have purchased the No Expiration option.
2) The ticket must be used by the same person on all days. Ticket tagging (biometric finger scanning) is attached to the ticket at the first use to tie the ticket to that person.

What Ticket Options do I have?

The coming of the Magic Your Way tickets has actually increased the number of available options for you to use in building the ticket that you desire. Below is a description of the currently available ticket options and approximate (non-discounted) gate prices for adults/children (ages 3-9). Prices include tax, except where noted and are subject to change. Daily theme park parking is $11 for non-resort guests. Ages under 3 gain free admission. The prices are shown here for comparison purposes only and are subject to change. Please call WDW direct to confirm (1-407-W-DISNEY).

TICKET MEDIA AND PRICES

Beginning on January 2, 2005, Disney completely changed the way they sell all daily admission tickets. They introduced a new ticket called "Magic Your Way" that replaced the one day, Park Hopper, Park Hopper Plus and Ultimate Park Hopper tickets. These tickets are available to all on and off site guests.

The ticket starts out with what they call the Base Ticket. Base Tickets will be available in lengths of 1 to 10 days. In essence, this is a one park ticket that allows you to visit whatever theme park you want but no park hopping is allowed even if you buy 5 or 6 days. Then once you have this Base Ticket, you are able to add on any additional admissions you may want. You can add on the Park Hopper which will allow you to turn that Base Ticket into a Park Hopper. It will allow you to visit multiple theme parks on the same day. The pricing structure is set up so the longer the length of the ticket you buy, the lower the per day cost of each day becomes.

You can also add on the Water Park Fun & More which will allow you a set number of admissions to the water parks, Pleasure Island, Wide World of Sports and DisneyQuest. You get two WPF&M visits with the one or two day tickets; 3 with the 3 day, 4 with the 4 day, 5 with the 5 day, 6 with the 6 day, 7 with the 7 day, 8 with the 8 day, 9 with the 9 day, and 10 with a 10 day ticket. If you add on both the Park Hopper and Water Parks Fun & More options, you will have created what Disney calls a Magic Your Way Premium Ticket.

All adult (ages 10+) ticket holders must use the biometric scanners before entering a park no matter what ticket they have. See our Finger Scans For Passes page for more information. You will be asked to sign your name on your tickets prior to using it for the first time. Should the biometric scan fail, you will be asked for a photo ID before being allowed in.

All Magic Your Way tickets will carry an expiration date of 14 days from first use of the ticket. There is an add on available to allow the unused days to be good forever. This add on MUST be purchased to avoid having the ticket expire. Prices for this add on range from $10 for the 2 day ticket to $155 for the 10 day. The no expiration add on can be added at any point before the ticket expires but you will pay based on how many days the original ticket was for, not how many days are left. Same goes for the Park Hopping and Water Park Fun & More add ons. They may be added at any time but will be charged at the full rate of the add on regardless of how many unused admissions remain on the ticket. The add ons (PH, WPF&M and No Expiration) are priced on a *per ticket* cost, not on a per day cost. You may do the add ons at any Guest Relations location in the parks or DTD or at the Lobby Concierge (formerly Guest Services) window at any Disney resort.

So you can now custom design the length and makeup of your MYW ticket with any of the following eight options that best suit your needs:

Base Ticket only (one theme park per day, no theme park hopping, no pluses, expires 14 days from 1st use) - See Prices
Base Ticket only - No Expiration (one theme park per day, no theme park hopping, no pluses, with No Expiration add on) - See Prices
Base Ticket with Park Hopping add on (theme park hopping allowed, no pluses, expires 14 days from 1st use) - See Prices
Base Ticket with Park Hopping and No Expiration add ons (theme park hopping allowed, no pluses, with No Expiration add on) - See Prices
Base Ticket with Water Park Fun & More add on (one theme park per day, no theme park hopping, number of WPF&M Options determined by length of ticket, expires 14 days from 1st use) - See Prices
Base Ticket with Water Park Fun & More add on - No Expiration (one theme park per day, no theme park hopping, number of WPF&M Options determined by length of ticket, with No Expiration add on) - See Prices
Premium Ticket (includes park hopping, number of Water Park Fun & More Options determined by length of ticket, expires 14 days from 1st use) - See Prices
Premium Ticket - No Expiration (includes park hopping, number of Water Park Fun & More Options determined by length of ticket, with No Expiration add on) - See Prices

The Magic Your Way ticket plan also includes special values for Florida residents who sometimes make shorter but more frequent visits. See our Florida Resident Special Offers page for the complete information. There are also slightly reduced regular MYW ticket prices for Florida residents. See our Ticket Chart Page for the complete list.

Adding either Park Hopping or the Water Park Fun & More options is a flat fee. It doesn't matter what the length of the ticket is. Adding the No Expiration option is based on the total number of days that was originally on the ticket, not on the number of days remaining when you want to add it. Current prices for Magic Your Way addons (Park Hopping, Water Park Fun And More and No Expiration are as follows:

Add Park Hopper - $50.00 plus tax per ticket
Add Park Hopper (FL Resident tickets) - $25.00 plus tax per ticket
Add Water Park Fun & More - $50.00 plus tax per ticket
Add Water Park Fun & More (Florida Resident tickets) - $25.00 plus tax per ticket
Adding No Expiration to tickets costs between $17.00 and $200.00 plus tax depending on the length of the ticket. Price for Florida Residents are slightly lower on some tickets but not all.

All prices quoted are for purchases made while at the WDW Resort. See our Ticketchart page.

Theme Park New Annual Pass - $499.49 w/tax (Ages 10+); $440.91 w/tax (Ages 3-9) (8/08). Provides admission to Disney-MGM Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom for one year from date of voucher redemption or in-person purchase at WDW. Does NOT include admission to Pleasure Island, any of the Water Parks or Disney Quest. Complimentary parking is also included in the price. Annual Passholders have other benefits described on our Annual Passholders page. There is a small discount when you renew your AP.

Florida Resident Theme Park Annual Pass - Provides admission to Disney-MGM Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom for one year from date of voucher redemption or in-person purchase at WDW. Adults $382.34 with tax; Children Ages 3-9 $336.54, with tax. (8/08)

Premium Annual Pass - Provides admission to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom, plus Disney Quest, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, Disney's Wide World of Sports and Downtown Disney Pleasure Island for one year from date of voucher redemption or in-person purchase at WDW. Complimentary parking is also included in the price. Premium Annual Passholders have other benefits described in the AP section. There is a small discount when you renew your AP. $637.94 w/tax(Ages 10+); $562.32 w/tax (Ages 3-9) (8/08)

Florida Resident Premium Annual Pass - Provides admission to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom, plus Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, Disney's Wide World of Sports and Downtown Disney Pleasure Island for one year from date of voucher redemption or in-person purchase at WDW. Adults $510.14 with tax; Children Ages 3-9 $449.43, with tax. (8/08)

Water Parks 1-Day - Provides one-day admission to Typhoon Lagoon OR Blizzard Beach for designated time period $42.60 (Ages 10+); $36.21 (Ages 3-9) with tax (8/08).

Water Parks Annual Pass - Provides unlimited admission to all 3 water parks for one year. Adults $106.45 with tax; children 3-9 $85.73 with tax. (1/05)

Pleasure Island 1-Evening - Provides admission to Downtown Disney Pleasure Island and all clubs on evening of visit. Adults $23.38, with tax; children 3-9 $23.38 with tax. (2/05)

Pleasure Island Single Club - Provides admission to Downtown Disney Pleasure Island and a single club on evening of visit. Not valid for Comedy Warehouse or the Adventurer's Club. $11.66, with tax (2/05).

Disney's Wide World of Sports - Provides general admission to Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. (Does not include Premium Events.) $11.19 (Ages 10+); $8.46 (Ages 3-9), with tax (8/08)

Disney Quest Annual Pass - Good for one year from date of purchase - unlimited admissions to Disney Quest. Adults $94.79 (with tax), Children 3-9 $75.62 (with tax). (1/06)

Disney Quest & Water Parks Annual Pass - Good at Disney Quest and both water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, for one year from date of purchase. Adults: $137.39 (with tax), Children 3-9 $105.44 (with tax). (1/06)

DisneyQuest 1 Day - $42.60 (Ages 10+); $36.21 (Ages 3-9), with tax (8/08)

Cirque du Soleil - Category 1 tickets: $105.44 (Ages 10+); $84.14 (Ages 3-9), with tax (8/07);
Category 2 tickets: $86.27 (Ages 10+); $69.23 (Ages 3-9), with tax (8/07)

PURCHASING TICKETS

Where can I purchase tickets?

Walt Disney World admission media can be purchased at:

Location:	Magic Your Way Tickets	AP	PAP	Water Park Tickets	PI Tickets	DQ Tickets	WWoS Tickets	Cirque Tickets
www.disney.com ¹		Voucher	Voucher					no
407-WDISNEY ¹		Voucher	Voucher	no	no	no	no	no
407-WDW-MAGIC ¹	no	no	no	no		no	no
WDW Major Park Ticket Booths		Active	Active	no	no	no	no	no
WDW Water Park Ticket Booths		Active	Active		no	no	no	no
Pleasure Island Ticket Booth	no	no	no	no		no	no	no
DisneyQuest Ticket Window	no	no	no	no	no		no	no
Wide World of Sports Ticket Window	no	no	no	no	no	no		no
Cirque Ticket Window	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Guest Relations Parks, Water Parks & DTD		Active ⁶	Active ⁶					³
Lobby Concierge at Resorts		no	no					³
The Disney Store ⁵		Voucher	Voucher	no	no	no	no	no
The Disney Store (FL Stores Only) ⁵		FL Resident Voucher	FL Resident Voucher	no	no	no	no	no
The Magic of Disney Orlando Intl Airport²		Voucher	Voucher	no	no	no	no	no
Disney's EarPort Orlando Intl Airport²		Voucher	Voucher	no	no	no	no	no
Character Warehouse Prime 1 Mall 2 (formerly Belz)Currently closed²		Voucher	Voucher	no	no	no	no	no
Character Premiere Prime 1 Mall 1 (formerly Belz)²		Voucher	Voucher	no	no	no	no	no
Character Premiere Orlando Premium Outlet Mall²		Voucher	Voucher	no	no	no	no	no
Maple Leaf Tickets ⁴		no	no				no

LEGEND:
Yellow square denotes ticket available there
no denotes not sold at this location
¹ denotes a $3.00 shipping charge per order is added unless Will Call option is selected.
² denotes does not sell Florida Resident passes.
³ denotes you may reserve your tickets from Guest Relations/Services but will have to pick them up at the Cirque ticket window.
⁴ denotes a $5.95*- US Priority Mail Service (4-5 business days) or 4.95*- Local Area Hotel/Resort Delivery. No charge if picked up at Kissimmee location.
⁵ denotes most Disney Stores only sell MYW tickets from 3-7 days in length. You can add any days or options to this ticket at WDW.
⁶ denotes that Guest Relations can also sell AP vouchers as well as active APs.

Tickets purchased from any Disney Store will be charged 6.5% Florida tax ONLY. There is no additional tax from your home state added. Actual tickets offered for sale at The Disney Store may vary from store to store.

Summary of Ticket Table Info:

Tickets can be purchased at:

Any ticket booth at a major WDW park (water park, Pleasure Island, Wide World of Sports, Cirque and DisneyQuest tickets not available here)
Any ticket vending machine located at some parks, water parks and some Disney Resorts
Any Lobby Concierge desk at a Disney Resort Hotel or park. NOTE: Resort locations do not sell AP's.
Most U.S. Disney Stores (do not carry all tickets)
Online at http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index - If you choose to have them mailed to your home, a $3.00 shipping charge per order is added. If you choose the Will Call option, there is no charge
By calling 1-407-W-DISNEY ($3.00 shipping charge per order added)
*at Disney's EarPort at Orlando International Airport
*at The Magic of Disney at Orlando International Airport
*at Character Warehouse at Prime 1 Mall 2 (formerly Belz) in Orlando Currently closed
*at Character Premiere at Prime 1 Mall 1 (formerly Belz) in Orlando
*at Character Premiere at Orlando Premium Outlets Mall in Lake Buena Vista
*at Maple Leaf Tickets

* indicates locations that do not sell Florida Resident passes.

Disney Stores begin new system for selling Walt Disney World park passes.

In late January 2003, The Disney Stores began a brand new way of selling multi-day WDW park passes. You can now pick up WDW tickets off a display fixture and bring them up to the register to pay for them and have them activated. The transaction is handled much like other major retailers like Walmart or Target activate prepaid gift cards. All tickets will be on a credit card sized hard plastic media.

Since the tickets can be activated for different ticket values, the Disney Store can now offer more options for guests than they could before and the stores are less likely to run out of stock. Customers can can build their own Magic Your Way passes.

Two receipts will print up with the purchase/activation of these Disney Store tickets. If customers hold on to their receipts lost tickets can be more easily replaced at Walt Disney World Guest Relations. The receipts include ticket serial number information which is essential in replacing lost or destroyed tickets. These receipts eliminate the need to keep a photocopy of your tickets.

The receipts that print up with the purchase/activation provide the guest with an exclusive, unpublished toll-free WDW vacation planning phone number for hotel and dining reservations or to simply ask questions. The guests must have their tickets in hand to use the services offered at this number.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FLORIDA DISNEY STORE TICKET SALES - If you are buying WDW tickets at a Florida Disney Store, you will be paying Disney's gate price for all tickets purchased there. This is not a Disney mandated policy. Florida law prohibits these Florida stores from offering any discount on these tickets.

"Will Call" option available for online and telephone ticket purchases.

In September 2002, Disney began offering a new option in ticket purchasing: the Will Call option. There is no shipping, handling or any extra charge on Will Call tickets.

How do I get these "Will Call" tickets?

Will Call orders are only available for pickup at The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Tickets can be picked up starting the day after your order. Upon arrival at WDW, pick up your will call ticket order at any Theme Park ticket booth including water parks, at any Guest Relations location including Downtown Disney, or at any Disney resort Lobby Concierge. Will Call for Magic Your Way tickets can also be picked up at one of the automated ticket machines outside the theme park entrances.

Please note that any Florida resident, seasonal, annual or premium annual passes cannot be picked up at the resorts, only at the Theme/Water Parks ticket booths or any Guest Relations. Please present your confirmation number along with a valid photo ID (e.g. driver's license, passport, or military ID), at any ticket sales location at one of these parks. The confirmation number is the only way that Lobby Concierge can retrieve your tickets. Without it, you will have to visit a Guest Relations location to pick up your tickets.

Disney begins experimenting with limited "print at home" tickets for Walt Disney World

In 2007, Disney introduced a ticket option for purchasing Walt Disney World tickets that had been available at the Disneyland Resort for some time: instant print at home tickets when ordering through their web site. The availability of these are currently limited to single use tickets for events like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, etc. Depending on the success of this, it is very possible that the tickets available for "print at home" options could be expanded sometime in the future.

Disney introduces new automated ticket machines.

In June 2003, Disney began using automated ticket vending machines at Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon that allow guests to purchase and print water park tickets using their credit card or Walt Disney World resort room key without visiting the ticket window.

In 2005, Disney began installing ticket vending machines for Magic Your Way tickets at certain locations on property. They are currently at the Transportation and Ticket Center, to the left of the Magic Kingdom Guest Relations window outside the park, and in the lobby of the Contemporary Resort. More machines will be added in the future.

QUESTIONS ABOUT UNUSED TICKETS

What happens to my leftover Park Hopper tickets now that they stopped selling them and the Magic Your Way tickets are out?

Your unused admissions for both major parks and plus options will continue to be valid until used up. Any restrictions associated with the tickets will still be in force, i.e. some specialty tickets had an expiration of 10 days after first use. That will continue to apply.

Why do I need to show a photo ID now to buy a ticket?

You have always had to show a photo ID when purchasing certain tickets like AP/PAPs. Now with the Magic Your Way tickets, the photo ID requirement has been extended to all theme park tickets. Every adult age 18 and up must present a photo ID when purchasing or activating MYW tickets/vouchers at WDW. Children under 10 do not require photo ID.

I have a 5 day pass but only use 2 days. What happens to the other days?

It depends on what ticket you have. If you are using one of the old Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus tickets, your unused WDW days remain valid. You can use the unused portion on your next trip. The unused PLUS options on the Park Hopper Plus passes also do not expire.

If you are using one of the MYW tickets, your unused days will expire 14 days from first use of the ticket unless you purchase the No Expiration add on. The No Expiration option can be added to any MYW ticket prior to the 14 day window expiring. It is a flat fee based on the original length of the ticket, not a per day cost. Once you add the No Expiration option, your ticket and any unused park admission (or plus options if applicable) will never expire.

I bought a child's ticket for my son/daughter last time I was at Walt Disney World. There are still unused park admissions on that child's ticket but my child is now well past the 10 year old adult ticket level. Can I do anything about these days?

See the EXCHANGING OLD CHILDREN'S TICKETS section in the Upgrading WDW Ticket section for complete information.

How do I go about using the left over day on a really old 1980's five day park hopper? I know I have to transfer it to the currently used media form. My question is can I apply it to another park hopper and get a discount? Or would it be easier just to use the day as is and buy another pass?

Since 2006, you have only one option: ticket media conversion for old pre-1996 passes so you can use up the remaining admissions.

By converting your tickets to the current magnetic strip ticket media, you pay nothing and allow for the ease of use with the new magnetic strip reading turnstiles. Your magnetic strip passes can also be used in the FastPass machines. This allows everyone with any days left on their old WDW tickets to use them. You can convert these passes at any major park ticket booth or Guest Relations window (including water parks) at no charge. Once converted, the new tickets you get will be good at all four Disney Theme Parks.

I have some old passes with leftover days that say they are only valid for entry to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Are those still good?

Yes. Have them converted to the magnetic strip ticket and you can still use them. Oh by the way, once you do the conversion your days can be used at any of the four major parks now.

I still have some of the old lettered tickets at home. Are they any good?

You can still exchange the old E, D, C, B, A tickets from the 70's so long as you have the complete book including admission ticket. Partial books of these tickets have no value for exchanging towards current MYW tickets. You may want to hold onto these lettered tickets for a souvenir. They are probably worth more to Disney memorabilia collectors. Check Ebay for current selling prices.

I have a 5 day park hopper with three days left on it. Can I add two more days to it so it will be a five day hopper again?

If it is one of the pre-2005 Park Hoppers, no you can't. But if it is one of the MYW tickets, then yes you can as long as it is within the 14 day from use window, although what you will actually be doing is upgrading it to a 7 day MYW and then having two days marked as already used.

I have some tickets left over from my last trip to WDW and I think they have some park days left on them. How can I check what's left on these before I go so I can figure out how many days I still need to buy tickets for?

You can find out what is left on old tickets is in person at WDW. Any resort Lobby Concierge or Guest Relations window can scan them and tell you what remains unused on them. The Disney Stores cannot tell you.

Disney Ticketing is once again allowing telephone inquiries to check unused days on tickets. Call 407-566-4985 Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Press option 2 when prompted. Be aware that this availability could once again change at any time and may vary from CM to CM.

I have two old PHP tickets left with a total of 5 unused WPF&M options between them. There are three of us going down to WDW this time. Can I use three of my plus options to get us all in?

No you can't. WDW requires each person to have their own admission ticket to enter any park or gated attraction. You can use your two tickets for two of the people but the third will have to get their own ticket.

UPGRADING WDW TICKETS

One of the most frequently asked questions we hear about Walt Disney World tickets is "I think I may be coming back to Disney World in a few months. Can I upgrade my ___ (fill in the blank with a ticket name) ticket to a longer ticket or an Annual Pass?" Yes you can as long as it is a Magic Your Way ticket and you do the upgrade within 14 days of first use or a completely unused older ticket. If you have any partially used Disney World admission tickets that were purchased prior to the January 2005 introduction of the Magic Your Way tickets, the only thing that you can do with them now is use up the remaining admissions at the parks. Those tickets can no longer be used for upgrading or for applying their dollar value towards new ones.

The one place that can handle any kind of ticket upgrades is at a Guest Relations location. These can be found both inside and outside of any WDW major theme park, at both Disney water parks and the two locations at DTD. You cannot do it at a Disney Store or at the airport. The one exception to this is at the International Gateway entrance to Epcot. That ticket booth is staffed and operated by Guest Relations and is in fact a Guest Relations location. If you are upgrading a pre-2005 ticket that is completely unused, it must be done at Guest Relations.

Disney resorts can now do many of the changes on the MYW tickets. They can add any options you want (park hopping, plus options and no expiration) as well as add more days onto your MYW ticket. Resorts cannot do any upgrades that involve Annual, Premium Annual or Seasonal Passes.

Disney has been quietly changing the way they handle ticket changes during 2006. The most noticeable changes are a move away from giving dollar credit on previously used tickets and the guidelines as to how upgrades are handled.

UPGRADES

UPGRADING is the act of applying the entire original purchase price towards the new MYW ticket or AP/PAP.

Disney allows you to UPGRADE most park tickets to a longer Magic Your Way ticket, an Annual Pass (AP), a Premium Annual Pass (PAP) or a Season Pass for Florida Residents (SP) prior to using or within 14 days from first use for MYW tickets. They will take the entire price of the ticket you started using and deduct it from the cost of the new ticket. Disney will not allow you to upgrade certain promotional tickets not available to the general public or any partially used ticket purchased prior to the January 2005 introduction of Magic Your Way tickets.

You can upgrade your MYW ticket to an AP/PAP/SP. You will receive full purchase price on the original ticket and you will pay only the difference in price to the AP/PAP/SP. The starting date of an AP/PAP will be back dated to the date you first used any admission off the old ticket. This transaction must be done within 14 days of first use of the MYW ticket.

Special upgrade policies apply on:

1) Disney's 3 Day Play and 4 Day Play passes for Florida residents. Disney will allow these passes to be upgraded to a Seasonal or Annual Pass any time during the six month from first use use window. But Disney will back date the Seasonal or Annual Pass to the date you first used the 3 Days Play ticket which may have been several months ago.

2) Upgrading an Annual Pass to a Premium Annual Pass (or a Florida Seasonal to a Florida Annual or Florida Premium Annual Pass). This can be done at any time simply by paying the price difference between the two passes. There is no prorating of prices done. Your new PAP will keep the same expiration date as your old AP had regardless of when you do the transaction.

If you purchased your MYW tickets from a non-Disney source such as AAA or a Florida ticket wholesaler, you can upgrade them and you will only be charged the price difference between the gate price of your old ticket and the gate price of the new one as long as the ticket has been used and you do the upgrade within the 14 day from first use window. Disney will absorb the difference between what you have paid for the ticket and the current gate price. If you upgrade a completely unused MYW ticket that was purchased at a discount, you may lose the discount when you upgrade.

The use of one admission before upgrading is important if there is a difference between what you originally paid for your current ticket and what that same ticket costs at the gate the day you upgrade. This would be in the case of a ticket that you bought from Disney before a price increase or a ticket that you bought from a ticket wholesaler or an unused ticket you had purchased years ago.

Current Disney policy (and we all know that is subject to change at any time) is that a completely unused ticket is really nothing more than a kind of "gift card". It carries only the value you paid for it until it is used. If you try to do an upgrade with it before using it, you will only be credited with the amount that you actually paid for the ticket. On the other hand, if you use as least one admission from that ticket before you upgrade, your ticket will be credited at the current gate price of the ticket meaning you get to keep any discounts you got when you purchased the ticket.

According to a Disney ticketing CM, when doing an upgrade from any discounted ticket, the CM will first make an internal "intermediate" ticket at the current gate price and do an internal charge between what the system says was charged for that ticket and the current gate price. Then they will upgrade the intermediate ticket to whatever you are upgrading to it (adding days, park hopper, WPF&M, or NE, or any combination) and you will only be charged the difference between the fee based on the current gate price of the intermediate and the gate price new ticket.

As an example, the 2006 gate price for a five day adult base, including tax is $219.39. If you wanted to upgrade to WPF&M, the CM would create the intermediate ticket with a value of $219.39, charge the difference between what you paid to the non-Disney source and the intermediate ticket to the internal voucher and then upgrade the intermediate ticket to WPF&M and charge you $53.25, which is the $50 plus tax for the upgrade.

Disney gives its Guest Relations CMs some latitude to make exceptions to ticket upgrading policy. Things like "sprinkling some pixie dust" and "one time only exceptions" are not unheard of. It never hurts to ask for what you want and let the CM tell you whether or not it can be done. Keep in mind that just because you heard of it being done for one person does not mean that it will be done for you.

The ticket will be credited with the gate price amount, not just the purchase price amount for the purposes of doing the upgrade when you have used at least one admission and the 14 day window has not yet passed. When you upgrade these tickets, you will only pay the price difference between the value of the remaining park admissions on the old ticket and the price of the new ticket. You will not be charged for any other price difference. Important note: Guest Relations is much more consistent in doing this transaction correctly than a resort's Lobby Concierge is.

You will only be allowed to apply one old ticket to each new one you get. You cannot take five old tickets each with a day on them and apply them all to one new MYW ticket/AP/PAP. If you were getting 5 new tickets then you could use all five of the old ones by applying one to each. This is the one rule that Disney seems to be very inflexible on.

If the old ticket was used in more than one park on any one day, you will be required to purchase the new ticket with the Park Hopper add on. If the old ticket was used at a water park, PI, WWoS, or DQ, you will be required to purchase the new ticket with the Water Park Fun & More add on or in the case of upgrading to an AP, you will be required to purchase a PAP. If the old ticket was unused, then you will be allowed to purchase any MYW ticket you choose so long as the cost of the new ticket exceeds that of the old one.

ADDING DAYS TO MYW TICKETS

MYW tickets can have days added to the ticket. You must add the days within the 14 day from first use window. No ticket can exceed a total length of 10 days. If you have a 10 day and used 5 days from it, you cannot add another day to it as the total cannot exceed 10. But if you have say a 7 day ticket and you use 2 days, you can add on up to three additional days.

Between January of 2005 and August of 2006, you were allowed to add days and options to any ticket that had no expiration on it. The policy was changed in August 2006 so that changes are no longer allowed to any ticket past the 14 day from first use window. Your unused park admissions remain valid. You just cannot alter the tickets in any way. Disney can do this because allowing the changes was a policy, not a condition of sale. It is the same situation as if they discontinued an Annual Passholder discount at one of the stores/restaurants where it has previously been offered. As long as the unused park admissions remain valid, they can pretty much do anything they want.

There is no limit to the number of times you can upgrade the ticket (as in adding only one day at a time each time you upgrade) but in all cases, the total admissions cannot exceed 10. Park Hopper and Water Park Fun & More add ons do not count in the total. All upgrades must be done prior to or within 14 days of first use of the ticket.

Depending on where and when the upgrade is performed, a new ticket may or may not be issued. Typically, a new ticket is issued if it is upgraded in a system different from its original issuance media (i.e., resorts stock, paper stock at the parks, etc). Regardless if a new ticket is issued, the original biometrics information will follow the ticket through upgrade.

ADDING ON OPTIONS TO MYW TICKETS

Disney allows you to add on any of the available ticket options to an already purchased or even a used MYW ticket. The add ons available are the Park Hopper option allowing visiting multiple parks on the same day, the Water Park Fun & More option which gives a varying number of visits to the water parks, DQ, PI, or WWoS, and the no expiration option which will make all your unused admissions, both theme park and WPF&M options, never expire.

These add ons are done on a fixed cost basis. That means if you have a 7 day MYW Base ticket and you decide to add the park hopper add on for the last three admissions remaining on the ticket, you will pay the full $50.00 + tax to do it, not a prorated amount. This holds true for all of the add ons including no expiration. They are all a fixed price based on the original length of the MYW ticket, not what's left unused when you do the transaction. The price is never prorated.

The no expiration option must be added within 14 days of the first use of the ticket. You can even have used park admissions before doing the add on. The add ons can be done at any Guest Relations location at the theme parks or at DTD as well as at any Lobby Concierge location at a Disney resort. Note that Lobby Concierge cannot do any transactions involving AP/PAP/SP's. The Park Hopper and Water Parks Fun & More options can be added at any time within the 14 day window.

EXCHANGING OLD CHILDREN'S TICKETS

Many people find themselves in the situation of going to WDW with their young children and having unused days left on their tickets when they return home. These tickets are put away, often for many years, until another trip to Disney is planned. But what can you do with these tickets since your then child is now a teenager or even an adult and obviously can't use a child's ticket now?

What you have left will depend on how this transaction is handled. If you have a brand new, completely unused child's ticket that you bought years ago you will only be able to apply a dollar value equal to the price you paid for that ticket towards any new adult ticket that exceeds the price of the old one. This is your only option with an unused child ticket.

But if you have a partially used ticket, you may take that ticket along with your child who is now a teenager or older to a Guest Relations location at the major parks or DTD. If the Guest Relations CM is satisfied that the dates of the original ticket and the current age of your child make sense, you will have the leftover child's admissions exchanged for the identical adult admissions at no further charge to you. The "child" must be with you or you will be unable to do this.

Making sense of the dates means that if you bought and used the child ticket in 1998, then your child in 2008 must now fall in the 13-19 year old range. If you bought and used it in 1988, then the "child" must now be in the 23-29 year old range, etcetera etcetera. If they are not, then Disney reserves the right to offer you nothing more than the dollar value of the unused admissions towards a new adult ticket.

A note on this: if your child is now 10, 11 or 12 years old, you can continue to use the old child's ticket as is and have no problem at the gate. The only time that you may run into a problem is when you have an older teen trying to use it. That is when you should exchange the child's ticket. Don't bother going to Guest Relations for an 10, 11 or 12 year old, just use it as is.

WHAT YOU CANNOT UPGRADE OR EXCHANGE

As a general rule, you can no longer upgrade previously used pre-2005 tickets. Tickets not available to the general public (such as band passes, sports tickets and some convention tickets) can not be upgraded to a regular MYW pass or AP/PAP. Also any pass that has a expiration date such as the occasional Canadian special at-par passes can not be upgraded or exchanged for credit on a pass with no expiration such as a regular MYW hopper pass. And of course, complimentary or free tickets (including the "Touch of Magic" tickets many time share tours give out) cannot be upgraded.

WHAT IF I FORGOT TO ADD DAYS OR OPTIONS OR UPGRADE MY TICKET AND I HAVE ALREADY RETURNED HOME?

You must make the changes in person at WDW, depending on what you are doing either at a Guest Relations location or at the Lobby Concierge desk at your Disney resort. You cannot do it on the phone, online, or at a Disney Store. It is possible to contact Disney Ticketing and on their instruction, mail them your ticket and a check for what you want to do. This is the only way to upgrade a ticket after you have left WDW. The 14 day window still applies even in these cases.

-On all upgrades, you will be charged the current gate price on the new ticket as long as at least one admission has been used on the old one and the 14 day window has not passed.

-Sad as it may sound, all Guest Relations CM's are not alike. Some are more capable and ambitious than others. If one tells you that you cannot do these transactions, go see another GR CM or ask for a supervisor.

Side note: It is possible that there could be new policies instituted by Disney in regards to handling upgrades and dollar credits of old tickets. Their entire ticketing policy has changed radically over the past two years and continues to be very fluid. Lately, every price change had brought more fine tuning with the upgrade policy.

MOUSECELLANEOUS

I bought my Disney tickets from someone other than Disney and put them away for safe keeping. Now I can't find them. What can I do?

This advice cannot be stressed enough:

The most important thing you can do with Disney tickets no matter where you purchase them from is to record the numerical information on the back of the ticket and keep it in a safe place other than where you are putting the actual tickets.

The easiest way to get the information is to photocopy or scan the back of each ticket. You could also take a high quality digital photo of it with your camera. Just be sure the numbers are readable. That way, if you misplace the tickets you will have all the information necessary to have them replaced when you get to WDW.

NOTE: This advice also applies to someone who had their no expiration park tickets encoded onto their Key To The World (KTTW) card - the actual name for a resort ID - and have leftover days to use next visit. The numbers on the front of the ID are of extreme importance in replacing that ticket should the need arise. Contrary to what many people think, the information about your resort visit is not available forever in the resort's computer system. After a time, the data is transferred back to long-term storage and is no longer available at the resort. Data is kept at the resort on former guests for a year but should there be a data crunch, it could be transferred sooner. This is why the wise guest will record the ID numbers or photocopy the ticket. With that number, Guest Relations or Lobby Concierge can retrieve the data much faster, be it in local or long-term storage.

Note too that KTTW cards only carry the room code number, not the ticket number. The ticket entitlement number is only available through the computer system. Without the room code number, it is a long frustrating process trying to locate the old records. Protect your ticket investment with the simple act of copying the information and storing it in a safe and easily accessible place away from the ticket itself.

My aunt and uncle live in Florida. Can they buy my park tickets and give them to me as a present?

It depends on what they are buying you. If they purchase regular MYW tickets at full price, then yes they can. If they purchase a ticket that is only available to Florida Residents (even a FL Resident MYW), then no they can't. Florida Resident tickets are sold as vouchers when purchased by web or phone and can only be used by a Florida resident. They cannot be gifted to an out-of-stater. This voucher must be turned in at Guest Relations along with a valid Florida ID in order to be used. FL resident tickets purchased in person at WDW require a photo ID for each adult ticket. In the event an out-of-stater presents a Florida Resident voucher without a Florida ID, Disney will offer you a credit for the price of the Florida Resident ticket that you can apply towards the cost of purchasing a regular park admission media.

The first time the tickets are used the park gate turnstile will lock and the inside of the turnstile will give a "Check ID" message to the gate CM. If you cannot show Florida ID your ticket will likely be confiscated or you will be escorted to the Guest Relations window to pay the price difference.

Why does Disney sell a 10 day MYW ticket with 10 WPF&M visits for a total of 20 admissions when the ticket expires in 14 days? Doesn't that mean we have to double up on all days or lose some admissions somewhere?

Yes it does. All MYW tickets that have not had the non expiration option put on them will expire 14 days from first use. In order to use all the available entitlements on the 10 day ticket, you would have to "double up" by using a WPF&M admission and a theme park on a single day. You could also decide to add the no expiration option to the ticket so all unused admissions (including WPF&M ones) will never expire until used.

Am I allowed to use two days off of my MYW Base ticket (non-hopping) if I decide I want to go to a second park on the same day as the first?

No you are not. The tickets are sold and the computer system is based on the number of days you have, not the number of park visits. Once you have used a non-park hopping ticket at any park, the computer system will not let you use it at another park on the same day. You are allowed to re-enter the same park you already went into later the same day.

I looked on the Disney web site and saw that their ticket prices are way cheaper than anyone else. Did I miss something?

The main reason why you see a much cheaper price is because the Disney web site quotes their ticket prices BEFORE tax. If you add in the 6.5% tax you will see the true cost of the tickets.

As a point of reference, most of the ticket wholesalers will be cheaper than Disney's prices.

I booked a package with Disney that includes multiday MYW tickets but I will be there several days before my check in date, staying offsite. Is there anyway I can use those tickets before I arrive at the Disney resort?

If you are staying off site, then you are out of luck. If you are staying at the same Disney resirt as your package, then yes there is. In the past, package tickets were tied solely to your check in date and could only be encoded onto your resort ID. Not so now. Your MYW tickets can be obtained up to 3 days prior to your check in date at Guest Relations or up to 3 days prior at your resort's Lobby Concierge. You must have continuing reservations (example: a seven day trip with a three day reservation not on the package followed immediately by a four day reservation on the package AT THE SAME RESORT ONLY) to do this. You will only be able to receive paper tickets when doing this and they cannot be transferred to your resort ID at any time.

But a word of warning on this: the procedure to do this is not widely known by all CMs and does entail a little extra effort on their part. It's very time consuming and complicated to do. Don't be surprised if you are told no. Ask the CM to check with their supervisor if they say they cannot do it. Currently, this is a case of some CMs can and will do it while others can't/won't.

Does Disney typically raise ticket prices at certain times of the year?

Disney used to raise Annual Pass prices in the fall and regular ticket prices in the spring. But the last few increases were done differently. Tickets last increased in August 2008, August 2007, August 2006 and January 2006. Water parks increased in February 2007. Be sure to visit our complete history of ticket increases page for a look at all price increases since 1971. In January 2005, the entire WDW ticketing system was overhauled with the introduction of Magic Your Way tickets. Prior to that, UPH's went up in February 2004 and all other tickets went up in March 2004. Before that, the last increase was in gate prices only in June 2003. And the prior two price increases to that (January 2001 and September 2002) raised everything across the board. Prices increased about 5%. Ticket prices went up slightly on January 1, 2003 as a result of a one half of one percent increase in the Florida sales tax.

So you can see that there is really no accurate way of knowing when Disney will raise prices again.

Where can I find ticket price information?

Call 1-407-W-DISNEY. On the internet visit Disneyworld.com, Disney's Official Site, or see our Ticket Chart

On my last visit when we arrived at the park and purchased our tickets, we had our picture taken. Does this still occur?

Photos are no longer required on any WDW passes.

Do I need photo ID to enter the parks?

WDW can request a photo ID whenever they wish. The MYW tickets are tied to a name and a finger scan just like the annual or seasonal passes. Do not be surprised if you are asked for a photo ID if your finger scan doesn't work properly. Since your name (signature) is on each of these tickets, they can verify that it is you who is using the pass with the photo ID.

I just returned from WDW and had to exchange my photo ID ticket for the small credit card type ones with the magnetic strip. You used to be able to tell how many days you had left on the old tickets. The new tickets keep track of the unused portion of the ticket in the magnetic stripe. How do I tell when I park hop if I get "charged" for another day?

Actually the new tickets keep track of the number of days on the WDW computer system and not on the magnetic stripe. Basically the turnstiles only read the magnetic stripe and don't write to it (there are some cases that it does actually write to the magnetic stripe - initial finger scanning is one).

The turnstile reads the magnetic strip, looks up in its database the serial number and determines whether or not you have been in today, whether or not it can let you in, and whether or not you have days remaining. After determining your eligibility, the computer releases the turnstile.

The turnstile does not mark anything on your ticket to give you any idea as to the number of days remaining. If you are worried that you might get charged twice then watch as you enter the turnstiles. The turnstiles have two little LCD type screens on them: 1) that you see when you enter the turnstile and 2) one that the CM can read. They each say different things. If you look at the CM screen (turning your head immediately after entering) you will see the information that it tells the CM:

The first line is the type of ticket that is being used (basically the same thing as the first line of your ticket [unless your name is on your ticket then it should be the second line of your ticket].
The second line includes the message "[Already Used]" when the ticket has been used that day.

The display does *not* tell how many days you have left. Guest Relations can look up your ticket into the computer system and tell you how many days are left.

These paper tickets are pretty flimsy. Will they last? What if they get wet at the water parks?

The ticket, flimsy as it may seem, is your admission to the parks and is surprisingly durable as it is made out of a mylar-like material. You will use it to gain access everywhere. Although durable, it is not indestructible. Don't try to swim with the tickets, store them in a locker at the water parks. And do not put them in the washing machine! Water seems to be about the only thing that can hurt these tickets.

Many of the tickets now purchased from Disney and The Disney Stores come on the hard plastic cards similar to your resort ID's. These plastic tickets are only available from Disney. You cannot get them at AAA or any non-Disney source.

If anything happens to one of these tickets that prevents it from working in the turnstiles properly or should you lose it or have it stolen, Guest Relations will replace it at no charge. In order to have it replaced, Disney will have to be able to scan the magnetic code, read the letters and numbers printed on the back of the ticket, will need your original purchase receipt (or a copy of same), or will need a photocopy of the back of your ticket. This is the reason that it is always a good practice to make a photocopy of the back of your pre-purchased tickets when you get them and store it in a place away from the tickets themselves. That way if you lose or destroy your tickets, you have all the info necessary to replace them easily. If you have an unactivated AP/PAP voucher, you will have to produce this documentation to get it replaced.

The only exception to this is for Annual and Seasonal Passholders who have already activated their passes. They will only need to present a photo ID to Guest Relations since their ticket information including name and address is in the Disney ticket database.

Can I have these paper tickets put on my resort ID when I check in at my Disney resort?

With the new MYW ticket system, the resort Lobby Concierge is able to put your new, unused tickets onto your resort ID's most of the time even if you already have them on a separate ticket. Exceptions that still cannot be encoded onto the resort ID are Florida resident, AP/PAP/SP's, hard ticket events (MVMCP, MNSSHP, Night of Joy ,etc) and some specialty and convention tickets. They cannot combine leftover days from old tickets onto the ID's.

NOTE: Be very careful when you have your tickets put on your Resort ID. The ID's are very susceptible to being erased by the slightest magnetic influence (cell phones, purse clasps, electronic equipment, etc). This means that your park ticket has been wiped out too and you will be making more visits to Guest Relations or your resort front desk to have this fixed. It can be very inconvenient.

Can I get my unused paper tickets changed over to the hard plastic ones like the resort ID's if I'm not staying on site?

Sorry, no.

If I have a MYW Park Hopper Pass which allows me to enter and re-enter any park, do I need to get a hand stamp? For example, went to MK in the morning and Epcot at night. Did I really need to get a MK hand stamp since I have unlimited access with the pass?

For years, the hand stamp helped WDW control the use of the pass. The hand stamp proved that the person with the hand stamp had actually been inside a park. You had to *exit* a park to get a hand stamp and you had to *enter* a park to *exit*. Therefore the person with the hand stamp proved that they have actually been inside a park and hopefully proves that they have paid admission.

WDW doesn't care what type of ticket you have as long as you have a park-hopping ticket or are reentering the same one day park you were in earlier. Now MYW photo-ID's and finger-scanning tickets don't need hand stamps because they have another way of proving that *you* used the ticket. They can safely assume that no other person could use your ticket.

Hand stamps will still be used for the immediate future at Pleasure Island, DisneyQuest and the Wide World of Sports.

Not that I would ever think of doing this but what stops two people from sharing a multi-day pass? I heard something about finger printing but when I was there last year, I don't remember anyone getting their fingers scanned. In fact, the gate people barely glanced at our tickets.

You are right. Finger scanning was only used for Annual and Seasonal Passes and selected multiday tickets sold internationally. Walt Disney World had never really been *that* concerned about the use of tickets by different individuals per se. What they have always been against was the *selling* of partially used tickets to other individuals.

In most cases you would only give tickets to your family, relatives, or close friends. That was something that could be easily be done and actually was a large factor in Disney's design and use of the new MYW tickets that will require Photo ID, names on the tickets and finger scanning.

But the selling of an already used ticket could involve many different folks. And these folks started making a big business out of it. The law that the State of Florida passed to help Disney (and it only affected Disney at the time the law was written) makes it illegal to *sell* partially used tickets to another individual. The law itself doesn't say anything about the *use* of the ticket by another individual although Disney has been know to confiscate tickets it knows were sold illegally.

The new magnetic strip tickets help prevent this kind of sale. Nobody can just look at the ticket and say there are so many days left. Only WDW's computer system can tell you how many days are left. So most people wouldn't even consider buying an already used ticket that they don't know how many days are left. And that is really what WDW wants to stop.

I don't think this finger scan thing works at all. My family of four used whatever ticket I handed to them to get into the parks and it wasn't always their own. We were never stopped from entering.

That's because Disney had you covered. MYW tickets that are purchased together will also have their finger scans recorded together as a group in the computer system. As long as any one of those scans matched the ticket that was being used, you were admitted to the park. If none of them matched, the ticket would have been flagged by the turnstile for the CM to check for ID.

I have a complimentary ticket. Can I turn this in for credit towards another regular admission ticket?

The complimentary ticket you have is just that, complimentary and "free". On the back of the ticket it says complimentary, not for sale. Therefore has no cash value and can not be used to reduce the cost of a multi-day pass. Many Orlando are time share presentations award people free tickets called "Touch of Magic" tickets. These tickets also carry no dollar value and cannot be used for credit or upgraded in any way.

I see advertisements and vendors selling discounted tickets to WDW in Orlando. Are these good deals?

There are legitimate licensed Florida ticket wholesalers like Maple Leaf Tickets who sell Disney tickets as well as tickets to most of the other Central Florida attractions at discounted prices.

However, you will find that some of these vendors are affiliated with time share businesses. To obtain the discounted tickets, you will be required to sit through and perhaps visit a time share location; which can take quite a lot of time.

What about all these people I see selling tickets on Ebay?

Be very very careful here. It is really easy to get burned doing this. There is absolutely no way to tell what admissions actually remain on the current Disney tickets. The only way to tell is to have them checked at Guest Relations at WDW. When you purchase a ticket from Ebay, you are taking the seller's word as to what's left on the ticket. Sometimes it all works out fine. There have been times when it hasn't. You wouldn't want to be the one who spent $500 on Ebay tickets only to find out that they won't work at the park gates. Lately, Ebay has been pulling the auctions of people attempting to sell leftover days on a used ticket. They are only allowing sales of new, unused passes.

Another common problem with purchasing on Ebay is that a lot of inexperienced people tend to get carried away and overpay for these tickets. Be sure you have checked out all of the legitimate sources for Disney tickets first and you know what those selling prices are.

Can I use my WDW tickets at Disneyland or any other Disney park?

Yes and no. The only WDW tickets that you can use are MYW passes and even then only at Disneyland in California. You will have to take the ticket to Guest Relations at DL and they will have to call WDW Guest Relations to confirm that the ticket is still valid. There is a drawback though. When the ticket gets converted, you will lose the ability to park hop at DL so you can only see Disneyland or Disney's California Adventure, not both in 1 day. UPDATE: AllEarsNet reader Ron Gordon reports that on his May 2005 trip to DL, he was able to convert his old WDW park hopper ticket to a DL park hopper so the policy may have changed.

You cannot use WDW AP/PAP's at Disneyland. None of the other Disney parks will accept admission media from any other park.

I have heard you can get a one hour shopping pass, what is this?

This was available from Guest Relations at the major parks at one time but seems it has largely gone the way of the dinosaurs. A 'shopping pass' as they were called is part of a "time limit" admission media. Distributing a time limit pass is an exception to the general admission media rules. All time limit admission media is distributed at the sole discretion of the Guest Relations CM distributing the media. Most will not allow it to be done anymore. My advice is if one CM tells you there is no such thing as a shopping pass that you ask him/her to check with their supervisor.

Part of the demise of these "shopping pass" admissions has been the result of Disney Merchandising. At one time, each park had many items that were specific to that park and were only available at that park. For example, a Splash Mountain sweatshirt could only be had in the Magic Kingdom itself. But now, the existence of park specific merchandise is extremely limited. A higher percentage of park merchandise is just as available outside the actual Theme Parks as inside their gates.

Just in case you find yourself the rare exception and still manage to obtain a one hour park shopping pass, here is how it works. This shopping pass is available only at the Guest Relations window at the four major parks. The deal is you must put a charge card imprint (they may take cash for it but I'm not sure) equal to the amount of a one day park pass at full price. You will have one hour to enter the park and do your shopping or whatever.

If you do not make it back to the same Guest Relations window within an hour, they will put your charge through as a purchase and you become the owner of a one day pass. If you do get back in time, the charge slip is voided and it will have cost you nothing.

This was set up to allow people to go back to a park to purchase an item or items that they forgot and are only available in the park. Only one person in your party will be allowed in on the shopping pass.

Last updated: 08/08