Admission Tickets

A partially used ticket purchased for a child who is now a teen - Disney will upgrade the remaining days on the ticket to adult status at no extra charge. Be sure to bring your child to Guest Relations when you upgrade.

Visitors to Disney's parks may stay anywhere they like, on- or off-property. However, Disney has a rule that non-Disney resort guests must have Magic Your Way tickets with the Park Hopper or Water Parks & More options to use their bus transportation.

If your child has gotten old enough to need an adult ticket upon returning to WDW, but still has leftover days on the "child" pass you purchased for her during your last visit, she will need an "adult" ticket to enter the theme parks. Present your child's pass at any Guest Relations location, in person only, and Disney will exchange it for the required "adult" ticket at no additional charge.

Beth, our travel agent, sent us these comments on the use of tickets for Florida residents by non-Florida residents:

"Here's a little more insight into the problems associated with trying to use tickets that you're not entitled to...

It's true, Florida residents get some great ticket discounts - but it's also true that in order to purchase the Florida resident tickets you're supposed to be asked to present a Florida photo ID for each adult ticket. Now, a resourceful person might figure that if Grandma and Grandpa go up to window #1 and buy two tickets and then go to window #18 and buy two more tickets you'd be able to accumulate all you need; however, Disney has recently started a real push to get the actual names of ticket owners onto each ticket.

In other words, when I go to a window and buy a ticket, my name is actually printed right on it. That's yet another opportunity for Disney to spot fraudulent use of discounted tickets. When you combine the names on the tickets, the possibility that you'll be asked for photo ID when you use the tickets, and the finger scan process (which prevents you from using a ticket previously used by someone else) the risk is probably not worth it.

Get the best price on the tickets you're entitled to and be happy if you saved a few dollars over gate price. (I should also point out that the names being printed on tickets now is yet another reason to avoid purchasing partially used tickets from strangers via EBay. That's just a bad idea on so many levels. Only buy from reputable dealers!)"

Disney's rule is that their tickets are non-transferable and they enforce it vigorously.

Disney now scans your fingers when you activate your ticket. They will then scan your fingers each time you enter a park so they know you are the one who bought the ticket! If the tickets you want to buy have already been scanned, Disney will confiscate your ticket when your scan doesn't match the scan that goes with the ticket you bought.

Moreover, you have to trust the seller that there are days still left on your tickets. There is no way to be sure unless Disney scans your ticket. The only loophole I've read about is Disney does not scan the fingers of children under 10. But you still don't know if the child ticket has any days left on it.

Disney offers a similar deal to conventioneers: convention tickets are not available to the general public. You have to call them to buy these. They're bound to ask for convention ID.

If your child has a birthday while you're at WDW and turns 3 or 10, you are NOT charged for the more expensive admission. You get to be whatever age you are when you arrive for the whole stay. So your child is free. I've never known Disney to ask for ID for a child. If you're worried, bring a birth certificate.

Only Disney sells one day tickets. There is not enough profit to make it worthwhile for retailers to sell them. You can buy your tickets at the ticket booths at the entrance to the parks. You can also buy your tickets in advance at Disney's site.

If you order less than one week in advance, you will have to pick them up at the "will call" window. Otherwise, Disney will mail them to you for $3.

The park scheduled for Morning Extra Magic Hour will open one hour earlier than normal. Buses to that park will start 30 minutes before opening time.

Disney has a separate division for youth groups and there are perks. For example, a chaperone gets one free chaperone ticket for every ten student tickets purchased. If you need more chaperone tickets than that, you can buy one additional chaperone ticket at the student price for every five student tickets. See the book for details.

Beth, our travel agent, writes: "If you come for a few days every year or every other year then you could buy a 10-day ticket, add park hopping and no expiration to it, and still bring the cost per day in around $35 a day with tax. You can't come close to that with shorter tickets. On the other hand, you might not want (or be able) to put out that much money now, and so you'll just have to buy the shorter tickets and pay more per day."

With an 86-year old you need to take a day off every other day and return to your hotel during the day. Our book includes customized tours of the parks so you know which rides and attractions to skip.

Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba is about two hours long. A 3-year old may stay a wake if he hasn't been walking through the parks all day. Go to the cheapest performance on your off day.

Disney raises the prices of annual passes typically around March. Buy them before the next price increase. Get the voucher kind so you can activate them when you get to WDW. See book for details.

Disney offers no discounts on the AP. You will have to pay full price or consider buying other passes where you can get a decent discount.

You can order tickets now and our agent will deliver them to your resort when you get there. Just tell him what you plan to do in your email.

If you are buying your annual passes in person at WDW, each person will have to show his photo ID. Disney will scan the fingers of those 10 and older the first time you enter a park and then each time you return to compare scans. If you buy AP vouchers in advance at the Disney store or online, one person can buy them all, and then each can show photo ID at WDW to activate the voucher.

Be sure to photocopy the back side of each ticket where the serial numbers are or write down the serial numbers and keep the numbers in a safe place. Disney can replace them if you have the numbers. Same rule applies to tickets from non-Disney parks. FYI, Disneyland CA does not accept photocopies!

The renewal of your Annual Pass goes into effect the day after your current Annual Pass expires. If you renew by mail, you will receive a voucher which you can trade in for a new Annual Pass at WDW. Your new pass will be back dated to begin the day after your previous pass expired. We suggest that you not renew your annual pass unless you can use it right away. Otherwise, you will lose more in the long run than you will save.