My family and I are planning our 16th straight summer vacation to Disney this year, and for the first time ever we are looking to staying on Disney property!!! We are taking Disney up on the 7 night deal. My main question is if we have people in our party who will not be going to the parks (grandmother) will she have to pay to stay in the room, or how does that work. I'm a Disney vacation planning pro, but when it comes to Disney Resorts, it's all new to me.
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Question About Staying On Property
- Thread starter cab5f
- Start date
yup sorry,
however if she is NOT going to use the bus to get to the hotel from the airport and vice versa, you could probably sneak her into your room... but I wouldn't suggest it... Why isn't grandma going to the parks? even if she can't ride the rides there are SOOO many parades and shows that she could enjoy!
however if she is NOT going to use the bus to get to the hotel from the airport and vice versa, you could probably sneak her into your room... but I wouldn't suggest it... Why isn't grandma going to the parks? even if she can't ride the rides there are SOOO many parades and shows that she could enjoy!
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It's more of a money issue with her. She's been before, but that was a LONG time ago and she has no intentions of going to the parks (too hot, too long for her).Staying on property has always been a 'dream' for us and it looked like it was finally happening, but now, I guess we will have to look elsewhere. I can't bring myself to tell grandma to stay home:fork:!
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It sounds like you would only be paying for a ticket for her that would be going unused. (unless she is the 3rd adult in the room, then there is a 3rd adult fee, $10 per night if at the value resorts)
A 4-day base ticket is $233.24, and with the promotion you would end up with a 7-day ticket.
If the ticket was never used, it wouldn't expire.....
A 4-day base ticket is $233.24, and with the promotion you would end up with a 7-day ticket.
If the ticket was never used, it wouldn't expire.....
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wvdisneyfamily
Well-Known Member
This may be a pricier option, but if you really want to stay on property with Granny, it will work. You have to buy a minimum oe day ticket for the room promo. Buy everyone in the room a one day ticket. Then, buy tickets throgh another source for the rest of the party for the days they want to go to the park.
However, I have a question for you. What if everyone wants to eat in a park? How will Granny go? You may want to explain to her the tickets would be great for dinners in the parks and that she doesn't have to go all day.
However, I have a question for you. What if everyone wants to eat in a park? How will Granny go? You may want to explain to her the tickets would be great for dinners in the parks and that she doesn't have to go all day.
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wvdisneyfamily
Well-Known Member
I have some questions about staying on property with two different reservations.
We are going to the WL for two weeks June 13-27. In order to get the best deal, our Disney agent made two seperate reservations for us. One is for June 13-20 and the other is for June 20-27. That gave us 14 nights for the price of 8. We were going to originally get 14 days of tickets, but decided that we just wanted to stick with our usual 10 day plan and have several days off to really enjoy the non-park aspects of WDW. So, I called and modified our reservations from a 7 day park hopper on each week to a 9 day park hopper on the first week and a one day base ticket on the second (just so we could keep the buy 4 get 3 free promo for that week). We've always used just one reservation to cover our stay. The agent said he connected our reservations so we shouldn't have to move rooms. Here are me questions.
1. Will we be able to use the 9 day ticket from the first week of our trip during the second week of our trip? I know tickets are good for 14 days from first use, but I just want to make sure my plan will work.
2. Do we have to go check out and then check in on the 20th?
3. Will we be able to stay in our room (like hang out some during the day) on the 20th even though that is our check in / check out day?
4. Will we have one key to the world with both reservations on it, or will we have two because we technically have two reservations? If we have two keys (one for each reservation), will our tickets from the first week still be active on that card after the first reservation ends?
Thanks!
We are going to the WL for two weeks June 13-27. In order to get the best deal, our Disney agent made two seperate reservations for us. One is for June 13-20 and the other is for June 20-27. That gave us 14 nights for the price of 8. We were going to originally get 14 days of tickets, but decided that we just wanted to stick with our usual 10 day plan and have several days off to really enjoy the non-park aspects of WDW. So, I called and modified our reservations from a 7 day park hopper on each week to a 9 day park hopper on the first week and a one day base ticket on the second (just so we could keep the buy 4 get 3 free promo for that week). We've always used just one reservation to cover our stay. The agent said he connected our reservations so we shouldn't have to move rooms. Here are me questions.
1. Will we be able to use the 9 day ticket from the first week of our trip during the second week of our trip? I know tickets are good for 14 days from first use, but I just want to make sure my plan will work.
2. Do we have to go check out and then check in on the 20th?
3. Will we be able to stay in our room (like hang out some during the day) on the 20th even though that is our check in / check out day?
4. Will we have one key to the world with both reservations on it, or will we have two because we technically have two reservations? If we have two keys (one for each reservation), will our tickets from the first week still be active on that card after the first reservation ends?
Thanks!
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Rob562
Well-Known Member
Multiple quotes and answers:
No need to purchase separate tickets. Once everyone is checked in and has their one-day tickets, you can upgrade anyone's ticket that needs more than that. You sinply pay the price difference between a 1-day ticket and the ticket you want to have. This can be done at the Lobby Concierge, park ticket window or park Guest Relations.
This is another good idea, though the OP did mention that it was a matter of cost.
Some friends and I went down for 7 nights in September. We wanted to have a relaxing trip, and a couple of my friends weren't planning on going to a park every day that week, maybe only 4. But we still got them 7-day tickets because there were a couple times that we wanted to go into a park to eat dinner, maybe catch fireworks or a couple of favorite attractions. (For example, on our arrival day, we went to Epcot early evening to ride Spaceship Earth, have dinner at Le Cellier, and watch Illuminations)
Yes, the tickets on your first room key will still be good beyond the first reservation's check-out date. They'll be good until 14 days after they're first used. (The ticket and hotel portions of the key card are entirely separate and aren't linked)
One thing to consider would be to upgrade the first reservation to 10-day tickets rather than 9, and then don't use the 1-day tickets on the second reservation at all. For one extra day, it's only about $3 per person on the first ticket. But that 1-day ticket on the second reservation is worth $75 per person. It'd be a waste to use them. Much better value to not use them at all and keep them for a future trip, at which time you can upgrade those 1-day tickets to what you need then.
On your "change-over" day, you will have to visit the Front Desk. They will check you out of your first reservation, settle up any charges on your room charge, and then check you in on the second. They'll issue you new keys, because each set of keys is linked to a specific reservation, with set dates printed on them.
When you check in for the first reservation, make sure to remind the desk that you have a "continuing reservation" and would like to stay in the same room. 99 times out of 100 they'll be able to accommodate you.
If you're in the same room, there would be no need to vacate it during the day, other than for your usual housekeeping visit.
The one down-side is that if you follow the ticket suggestions above, during your second week each person will have to juggle two key cards. The one for the second reservation will get you into the room (and will be the one you need to show for Extra Magic Hours, etc), but the one from the first week will have your park tickets on them and will need to be used for park entrances and FastPasses. And you really have to be careful, because if you accidentally put Week 2's card in the turnstile one morning, *poof*...there goes that 1-day ticket.
Normally, they could move tickets over from one key to another, but your second room keys will have those 1-day tickets that you won't be using.
There *is* one possibility, though I'm not sure whether the Front Desk or a theme park Guest Relations would be better to do this:
They can "strip" a ticket off of a room key and issue it on its own separate ticket media. (I believe Disney's term for this in "unlinking" the ticket from the reservation) I presume after that's done, it leaves the room key available to add another ticket to it. So, they could take those not-to-be-used 1-day tickets *off* Week 2's cards, give those tickets to you separately so you can safely hide them away, and then move the tickets from Week 1's cards to Week 2's.
I suggest going to the Front Desk and explaining exactly what you'd like them to do, and see what they say. The worst-case is that you're juggling two sets of keys for Week 2.
Whew! Did that answer everything?
-Rob
No need to purchase separate tickets. Once everyone is checked in and has their one-day tickets, you can upgrade anyone's ticket that needs more than that. You sinply pay the price difference between a 1-day ticket and the ticket you want to have. This can be done at the Lobby Concierge, park ticket window or park Guest Relations.
This is another good idea, though the OP did mention that it was a matter of cost.
Some friends and I went down for 7 nights in September. We wanted to have a relaxing trip, and a couple of my friends weren't planning on going to a park every day that week, maybe only 4. But we still got them 7-day tickets because there were a couple times that we wanted to go into a park to eat dinner, maybe catch fireworks or a couple of favorite attractions. (For example, on our arrival day, we went to Epcot early evening to ride Spaceship Earth, have dinner at Le Cellier, and watch Illuminations)
Yes, the tickets on your first room key will still be good beyond the first reservation's check-out date. They'll be good until 14 days after they're first used. (The ticket and hotel portions of the key card are entirely separate and aren't linked)
One thing to consider would be to upgrade the first reservation to 10-day tickets rather than 9, and then don't use the 1-day tickets on the second reservation at all. For one extra day, it's only about $3 per person on the first ticket. But that 1-day ticket on the second reservation is worth $75 per person. It'd be a waste to use them. Much better value to not use them at all and keep them for a future trip, at which time you can upgrade those 1-day tickets to what you need then.
On your "change-over" day, you will have to visit the Front Desk. They will check you out of your first reservation, settle up any charges on your room charge, and then check you in on the second. They'll issue you new keys, because each set of keys is linked to a specific reservation, with set dates printed on them.
When you check in for the first reservation, make sure to remind the desk that you have a "continuing reservation" and would like to stay in the same room. 99 times out of 100 they'll be able to accommodate you.
If you're in the same room, there would be no need to vacate it during the day, other than for your usual housekeeping visit.
The one down-side is that if you follow the ticket suggestions above, during your second week each person will have to juggle two key cards. The one for the second reservation will get you into the room (and will be the one you need to show for Extra Magic Hours, etc), but the one from the first week will have your park tickets on them and will need to be used for park entrances and FastPasses. And you really have to be careful, because if you accidentally put Week 2's card in the turnstile one morning, *poof*...there goes that 1-day ticket.
Normally, they could move tickets over from one key to another, but your second room keys will have those 1-day tickets that you won't be using.
There *is* one possibility, though I'm not sure whether the Front Desk or a theme park Guest Relations would be better to do this:
They can "strip" a ticket off of a room key and issue it on its own separate ticket media. (I believe Disney's term for this in "unlinking" the ticket from the reservation) I presume after that's done, it leaves the room key available to add another ticket to it. So, they could take those not-to-be-used 1-day tickets *off* Week 2's cards, give those tickets to you separately so you can safely hide them away, and then move the tickets from Week 1's cards to Week 2's.
I suggest going to the Front Desk and explaining exactly what you'd like them to do, and see what they say. The worst-case is that you're juggling two sets of keys for Week 2.
Whew! Did that answer everything?
-Rob
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dmagickingdom
New Member
dude, I am going to go ahead and tell you to carry her with you and when checking in, do not even mention grandma. Disney will not know and the CM's that see her will not know she is not "officially" staying there. The only way they would EVER ask or question it is if she was causing problems which I serioulsy doubt would happen. Grandma's are great!! It happens all the time. As long as you don't bring it up to the disney cast, then the CM's don't have to address it! Nor do they care. It's the don't ask, don't tell policy. Just be sure to leave one of your room keys with her and put the "do not disturb" sign on the door and you will be as good as gold.
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Craig & Lisa
Active Member
One suggestion, if the ticket for grandma will not be used go to the front desk of your resort, and have no experation added to it. If no one uses the ticket your next visit you'll have a ticket that can still be used by anyone, just don't let anyone use the it because if the finger ID is used it will only work for that person and no one else. It will make it costlier but in the long run later on it's one less ticket you have to buy.
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thrupaytonseyes
Active Member
you don't even need to add the no expiraton on it. a ticket is not activated until it's first use. therefore, it expires 14 days after first use not 14 days after it is issued.
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wvdisneyfamily
Well-Known Member
Yay! Rob is fabulous! :sohappy: You went above and beyond the call of duty on these answers. I never even thought about upgrading week one to a 10 day and saving the one day for later. That's a great idea. It won't expire until its first use.
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Depends - will you have 4 total people in the room or 5?
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Craig & Lisa
Active Member
Sorry, forgot to mention that, but just in case grandmother does go to a park for a one shot meal, then the no expiration is best.
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heliumalias
Member
But then the ticket would be attached to her anyway which is only useful if she's going to be using the ticket in the future.
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Maybe they'd figure it out when Granny can't get back in the room...she'd literally have to stay IN the room while everyone else is gone since she'd have no room card to get back in. so no walks around the resort, no going to the gift shop or the food court...
Everyone else would have to take their cards with them to get in the parks (package tickets are loaded on the room keycards...you have to put the room card in the scanner at the park. So no one could leave their card for granny to use.)
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LudwigVonDrake
Well-Known Member
I think this is a good question for JP Von Drake. He will probably have the answer for this dilemma.
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