Category — p. News and Changes

DISNEY WORLD DEAL ABOUT TO EXPIRE

There’s a Walt Disney World deal out right now that offers room rate discounts of 15% to 30% off certain Walt Disney World resort hotels.

This deal covers arrival dates from June 13, 2013 through August 14, 2013–but it needs to be booked by June 14, 2013. 

For more on this deal, see this.  For other current deals, see this.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook!

THE NOMURA MEDIA AND TELECOM SUMMIT AND FASTPASS+

Fastpass+ is a new, not-yet-released Disney World program that will allow…and perhaps require…Fastpasses to be reserved well in advance of a visit.

(Len Testa has a great write-up of what’s known (not a lot) and what can be reasonably speculated about Fastpass+ here.)

I predicted back in early April that the earliest date we’d see this consequentially operational in the parks would be October 1, and nothing in Disney’s early May earnings call led me to revise this date to earlier.

I thought a telling exchange on this call was the following (bold added by me)

Analyst: “…in terms of [the Fastpass+] timeframe, would that be something where by fiscal 2014 you would think we start to see some impact?”

Bob Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company: “Yes. I think–well, I definitely believe we’ll see some impact in fiscal 2014. That is certainly our plan…”

Disney’s fiscal 2014 starts in October 2013. This waffling is sensible—you don’t want to announce a date before you are confident in it, and Disney can’t be confident in Fastpass+ until a number of systems issues are resolved, and lots of further testing happens.

Now Jay Rasulo—who was also on that call, and is Disney’s CFO—was at the Nomura Annual U.S. Media and Telecom Summit last week, and of course got a similar question.

Here’s what Jay had to say about the timing of MyMagic+, the overall program of which the major element will be Fastpass+:

“…MyMagic+… will probably launch before the end of this year in its, I don’t know, I won’t say totality, but largely be launched by the end of this year and fiscal year.”

So my take-away?  October 1 is still the earliest date I’m seeing for the widespread in-park use of Fastpass+, but if I had to bet, based on just the passage of time and the comparative words used between these two early and late May sessions, I’d look for an even longer timeframe…

I’d now guess for a formal widespread opening of Fastpass+ for reservations sometime between late September and early November, with the first pretty full use of the program in the parks beginning no earlier than January 4 or 5, 2014—after all the holiday crowds are gone.

This is just a forecast—it could be earlier, especially if the launch in the parks explicitly excludes Thanksgiving week and the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s or even later.

But that’s my bet now—no widespread use of Fastpass+ in the parks until 2014.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook!

Disney World raised its theme park ticket prices over the weekend, with the most common ticket types going up 6-9%.

My friends at Undercover Tourist, a sponsor of this site, remind me that they still have an inventory of tickets priced based on the former prices, and will make these available until sold out.

These tickets don’t expire, so you can buy them at these old prices now–while they last–and use them on your next visit, whenever it is!

For more, see this.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook!

Walt Disney World instituted a ticket price increase today, and after-tax prices for the most common multi-day tickets, those with three or more days, went up 6.1% to 9%.

The highest increases are for three and four day tickets, and for tickets without park hoppers, but all prices for tickets longer than 2 days went up at least 6.1%.

A family of four buying seven day tickets will pay about $90 more.

For the new prices, see this.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook!

WALT DISNEY WORLD ADMISSION TICKET PRICES 2013 TO SUMMER 2014

(This page is sponsored by Undercover Tourist.)

Three types of Walt Disney World prices are important to think about:

• Walt Disney World theme park admission ticket prices—the tickets that grant you admission to the parks
• Walt Disney World resort hotel prices, and
• Park and hotel food prices

This page focuses on Walt Disney World theme park admission ticket prices from summer 2013 until the summer of 2014, when, based on past practices,  they will go up.

MORE DETAILS ON WALT DISNEY WORLD ADMISSION TICKET PRICES 2013 AND 2014: HOW THE TICKETS WORK

There are multiple types of Walt Disney World theme park tickets, but the one most relevant to most first time visitors is the Magic Your Way ticket, with or without the Park Hopper option.

You buy one theme park ticket for each person who will be three years old or older at the time of your visit (kids younger than three enter the parks for free.) The tickets have two pricing levels: one for kids who will be younger than ten at the time of your visit (but 3 or older) and the other for people ten or older.

When you buy your tickets, you also say how many “days” you want—from one to ten. Each “day” you buy permits unlimited visits to one theme park on one day. If you also add the Park Hopper option, you can make unlimited visits to any of the theme parks in one day–one theme park, two, three, or all four theme parks.

• For example, if you buy a three day ticket without the park hopper option, you could make two visits to the Magic Kingdom on day one, three visits to Epcot on day two, and two visits to the Animal Kingdom on day 3
• If you have a three day ticket with the park hopper option, you could for example make two visits to the Magic Kingdom and one to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on day one, one visit to Epcot and two to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on day two, and one to Epcot and two to the Magic Kingdom on day three
• What you can’t do without a park hopper ticket is visit more than one theme park on the same day. For example, you can’t, on November 25th, use one day of your three-day ticket to visit the Magic Kingdom, and another day of this same ticket to visit Epcot that same day. More than one theme park in a day requires a park hopper

You do not have to use your days all in a row boom boom boom—e.g. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Once you use your first day, you have 14 days to use all the days on your ticket. So on a three-day ticket you could visit the theme parks Monday, Thursday, and Sunday.

• You can also add days at the same price that you would have paid had you bought all those days at once, but have to do so no later than the day you use the last day of your original ticket (and within 14 days of the first day)
• So if you buy a three-day ticket, and realize a few days later that you need more days, you can add two days and they will cost only the difference between what you paid originally for a three day ticket, and what you would have had to have paid for a five day ticket, so long as you add these days no later than the day you use your third day
• You can also add stuff like the Park Hopper during the same day window at the same price as you would have paid when you first bought your ticket

However, you can’t “subtract” days if you overbuy.

HOW WALT DISNEY WORLD PRICES ITS THEME PARK ADMISSION TICKETS

1. While Disney typically increases ticket prices at least once a year—typically in the summer—it does not change theme park admission prices based on the seasons of the year, the way that it increases and decreases prices at its resort hotels. You pay the same amount for admission on the busiest and the least busy days of the year.

(This material, by the way, is updated as of Disney World’s June 2013 price increase, and applies to tickets bought from then until Disney’s next price increase, likely in the summer 0f 2014.)

2. Disney sells tickets by the day—one through ten days. The way it prices these days, the first three days are very expensive, while days after the third are comparatively almost free. See the image for exact Disney World prices.

For example, a three day ticket costs (including tax) an adult $279, or an average of $93 a day. A ten day ticket would cost the same adult $361. The added 7 days cost in total around $82—or less than $12 per day.

3. A park hopper costs (after tax) about $63 for all ticket lengths other than 1 day, regardless of whether you add it to a two-day, ten-day or anything in between. So a three day adult ticket with the park hopper added costs $342, and a ten day ticket with a park hopper costs $424.

I have also uploaded an excel spreadsheet with the same data in it as the image, so that you can multiply by the number of members of your own family.

4. In the summer of 2013, Disney changed its policy for one day tickets.  These used to cost the same regardless of which park at which you used them; now a one day ticket for the Magic Kingdom (including tax) is more, around $101, but for the other three theme parks a one day ticket is ~$96.  These per-park differences don’t apply to tickets with more than one day.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD THEME PARK TICKETS

There are other ticket types than the ones discussed above—less relevant for first time visitors. For details on all of them, see this page on MouseSavers.com.

While it’s hard to find discounts on tickets, it is sometimes possible. Check sponsor Undercover Tourist, MouseSavers.com, Triple A if you are a member, and if you have military ties, this page and also MilitaryDisneyTips.com.

Since you can add on to your tickets–days, park hoppers, etc.–but can’t subtract, it doesn’t really pay to overbuy. Start with the minimum you think you need and add on later if needed.  Remember to add no later than the day you use your current last day!

All of this site’s To-Do Lists tell you exactly what ticket type you need for their associated itineraries.

FREE TICKETS ON YOUR BIRTHDAY?

Disney world no longer offers free tickets on your birthday.

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook!

DISNEY WORLD TICKET PRICES COULD INCREASE AT ANY MOMENT

(This page is sponsored by my friends at Undercover Tourist.)

Universal Orlando increased ticket prices yesterday, so Walt Disney World ticket prices likely will go up any day now.

Disney World has multiple ticket packages and multiple day lengths, but I expect overall increases will range from 4.5% to perhaps as much as 7%.

Currently–this may change someday–Disney tickets, once bought, can be activated anytime without any additional payments needing to be made.  So if you buy your tickets now, and prices go up, you’ll save the difference.

My friends at Undercover Tourist, a sponsor of this site, can save you even more. Savings there vary, but can be another 3-5%.  So buy your tickets now from them and you could save 7.5% to 10% compared to buying them from Disney after the price increase!

That could save the typical family following one of this site’s itineraries more than $100!

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook!