Don't understand spending more to save less

[Brer boy]

Recently there was a post asking how to save money while staying onsite for 4 days and buying 4 day hoppers. They were also going to BB for one day. But when you add up this money-saving plan, it comes to $235.26 for adult (Hopper + BB). If they were to buy Ultimate Hoppers for 4 days it would be $221.55 per adult. Then you can go to the parks, water parks, DQ as often as you like! It just seems that sometimes people are overlooking Ultimates on their quest to save money on Hoppers. I know for people off site you have to get them. But for us, WDW is so special I dislike spending a day away from the parks/water/DQ in order to save a few dollars. I also understand many people enjoy WDW a lot doing this plan. That's great, I'm sure many save lots doing this. I do not mean to offend anyone's budget plan. I just wanted to point out that sometimes if you are onsite you may want to look into UPH as an option instead of missing some of the fun.

 

[worm761]

how do you figure out how much the UMP is? i am going in july. i will be checking in on the 8th and out on the 14th. i was planning on buying 4 day hoppers for me and my son, and taking a day off the parks. maybe do a water park or something else around disney. i did get the $65/night rate at the all stars. (and this is a budget trip that i just recently through together) so could you tell me which would be cheaper? and can i get a UMP for only the 5 days that i will be there, not including arrival and departure days? thank you soooooo much!

 

[Brer boy]

There are several things to consider for your situation. When are your arrival/departure times? Yes, you can lop a day off the UMP, but not sure you can do it on both ends. We have done it for one day when we arrived late in the day. You may want to consider staying at an inexpensive offsite hotel your first day if you arrive late. Then check in early next day at your WDW hotel. With being at WDW for 7 days, you are close to AP territory. You could actually buy a regular AP (no water parks) for less than a 7 day UMP. Costs are:
7 day UMP $331/$265 adult/child
5 day UMP (if can lop off days) 263/210
4 day Hopper 203/161
If it were me, I might do the offsite for first night, get 5 day UMP, ask to have last day lopped off. Again, this may depend on your flight times. The $50/$60 difference between UMP and Hopper could easily pay for a couple visits to Disney Quest (your son would love)and water parks.
All ticket prices are on this site, at left columns under Theme Parks.

 

[lmmollohan]

Just a note...

You cannot knock off both the day of arrival and the day of departure, only one of them. I would do as Brer said and stay at a cheap off site hotel on the day of arrival if I was not getting in until late afternoon and then check into Disney early the next morning.

Also, if you try to order the Ultimate Passes from CRS over the phone they will not be able to knock the day off. They only do it at the hotel at check in so do not despair if they tell you they cannot do it.

Now my question is: what is BB that everyone talks about??

Lisa

 

[Doctor P]

Blizzard Beach (water park)

 

[worm761]

sorry i forgot to mention.....my son just turned 5yrs old in may. this is our first trip. and i will be driving from new york! i love road trips!!! thank you for the advice.

 

[Pegg]

Last year, we had three reservations for the same resort. arrival day, 6 nights, then last night. So we got the unlimited lenth of stay passes for the middle reservation, actually the resort magic package. So this is possible and we didn't have to change rooms. Just had to check out and in on the right days.
Hope this helps

 

[Biyanna]

it was a waste of money because of the length of our vacation was so short,we only had time to visit the parks. At that time we could have saved over 10.00 per adult by getting the hoppers. So, based on our planned activities we decided the following years that Hoppers were a better value for us. It's a good thing too. Last year MIL felt weird the second and third day of our vacation. By day 4 she had a full blown nasty cold. She missed Day 4 and 5 at the parks. Financially it was no big deal because she still has those 2 days to use this year. With UMP she would have been out of luck and MONEY! The UMP is wonderful if you're going to have time to use it's features. And it can save you money, depending on your plans. In our case we only do the parks and 1 trip to Disney Quest and 1 trip to Pleasure Island(We have the DC Card). The UMP would save us 15.00 per adult but we like having that little insurance policy on our tickets taht only the Hoppers and AP's can provide.

 

[Teacher510]

Is there a DC card discount for Pleasure Island?

 

[laurenk]

I don't get how a AP would be cheaper. Don't you still have to pay for Disney Quest? We are going for 9 days, 1 day at ASMovies 8 at AKL. I was going to buy UMP at AKL and chop off the last day getting a 7 day UMP.

We leave in the a.m., so any and all advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Lauren

 

[Biyanna]

Yep, there's a dc discount for Pleasure Island and Disney Quest. Pleasure Island is 21.00 reg. 19.00 after dc discount and Disney Quest is 30.74 reg. 26.13 after dc discount.
In your situation the AP would not be cheaper. You are going to pay 313.00 for a 7 day UMP and the AP cost 369.94 w/ the DC card discount. Like I stated in my previous post it depends on your plans and activities. You have to price out everything. Now if you aren't planning a Disney trip WITHIN 365 days from now and you want the extra features like waterparks, DisneyQuest,etc... stick with the UMP. Don't understand how the AP would be cheaper??? Here's an example, if you are planning another visit prior to this time next year go with the AP even if you had to pay extra for the other attractions. An AP, 2 trips to Disney Quest-1 this year and 1 next year w/ the DC card discount would average out to be 207.00 per trip. Alot cheaper than your one shot UMP 313.00 deal. That's a savings of over 100.00 per adult. Regardless of what you decide , have fun and don't forget the sunscreen!!!
OOops, I forgot you could get the Prem. AP which includes the same features as the UMP's and it would only cost 237.00 per trip. (Based on two trips to Disney) And that savings doesn't include the deep discount you could receive on your room. Which could save you even more money.

 

[laurenk]

Biyanna- Thanks for your quick response!

So, should I get myself, and DH AP, and my two kids regular hoppers, on the off chance we go again w/in 365 days? We are definetly going to DQ this time, we have never been.

Lauren

 

[imgoingtodisney]

When we went in 1996 we had 5 day plus hoppers. My husband had just gotten out of the hospital the day before we left. One of the days my son and I went to the parks and he stayed behind to rest. He still has 1 day left to use on his hopper. If we had LOS he would have wasted that day. I will never get LOS because you never know if someone will get sick and not be able to use a day.

 

[Biyanna]

Lauren, I don't know if AP's would work in your situation. The only time you should even consider them is if you are definitely returning to Disney within the year. If you can't plan that far (some just can't because of work,finances,schedules, too many variables,etc... ) then I would stick with UMP's or Hoppers.
I'm not sure how many days you plan to visit the parks but, this is what I came up with....7 day UMP's for 2 adults and 2 children would cost around 1126.00 If you want to add 1 day at Disney Quest for 2 adults and 2 children w/dc card disc. it's an additional 83.72 Bringing your total to 1209.00 If you just want to do 8 day UMP's the cost is 1234.00 for 2 adults and 2 children. You could save a little money and have that extra security by purchasing Hoppers. 7 Day hoppers for 2 adults and 2 children PLUS 1 Day Disney Quest tickets for 2 adults and 2 children all w/dc card discount is about 1195.00 As far as the AP+child hopper route you are looking at about 1500.00That's alot of money to spend when you're not sure if you're returning within the year. Remember they expire 1 year from the date you activate them. So, if you purchased them 6/16/01 they would expire 6/15/02 (I think-not sure of the exact date but I know it's close) You would have to plan a return trip prior to that date. Have fun and don't worry too much. Like my oldest kid tells me it's only money. She really has nerve doesn't she?

 

[JSG]

I had not been aware that a day could be refunded on the UMP.

We will be staying for five nights, but are leaving early on the day we leave, so we would not benefit at all from that final day. We will, however, have the whole afternoon and evening on our day of arrival.

Can someone help me figure out what the cost (adult) would be for a 5-night UMP with the final day credited and a Disney Club discount? Is that last day pro-rated? Can it only be done at the hotel (in other words, CRO will tell me it cannot be done?)?

Thanks!

 

[laurenk]

Thanks again Biyanna!

I think I will do UMP 7 day. That includes DQ, right?

I am leaving at 6am, so I really should TRY and get some sleep!

 

[Biyanna]

Lauren-Yep, it's included. Also try the water parks (rated #1 in the country by the Travel channel)or one or two other options, so you really get your moneys worth.Now go to bed!!!
JSG-- I think they can knock off the last day. To my knowledge there isn't a discount on UMP's. 4 day adult UMP is 209.00 Here's a link to Deb's. She has a lot of info. on tickets prices, discounts, etc...
http://wdwig.com/ticket.htm

 

[lmmollohan]

There is a DC discount on UMPs. The price list is one here under the link for Theme Parks, ticket prices. Hope this helps.

 

[Brer boy]

Sure JSG - You are staying five nights, which would mean a six day UMP. But if you want to lop off the last day, it would be a 5 day UMP. For an adult, it is $251.24 with DC discount. You are right when you say CRO can not do it. It can be done at your WDW hotel when you check in. It is not really a credit, they just charge you for a 5 day UMP, which means it is good from the time you check in until midnight on the fifth day. Just ask them and explain the circumstances, you should be all right.

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

Originally posted by Brer boy
Recently there was a post asking how to save money while staying onsite for 4 days and buying 4 day hoppers. They were also going to BB for one day. But when you add up this money-saving plan, it comes to $235.26 for adult (Hopper + BB). If they were to buy Ultimate Hoppers for 4 days it would be $221.55 per adult. Then you can go to the parks, water parks, DQ as often as you like! It just seems that sometimes people are overlooking Ultimates on their quest to save money on Hoppers.

Brer Boy--I had looked at different ways of doing this in my "quest to save money". I was not aware that you could lop off days from the UMP. Looking at buying a 4night/5 day UMP would be more expensive but now that you have shared with us that I wouldn't have to buy 5 days I guess your idea would work better. Thanks for posting tips that will help someone out.