New ticket system coming to WDW - Begins October 16th

[amylevan]

I know it'll most likely never happen but this could be a way to stop park closures due to capacity. What happens if you buy a ticket for Christmas Day and you aren't allowed in but with this new software Disney knows they've oversold that day. With the limited amount of days you can use the tickets it could really screw you over. If Disney has X amount of tickets sold for Christmas Day you stop selling them for that day.

But you don’t choose which parks you’re buying for so they don’t know that they’ve oversold for a particular park.
And they’ve never had all parks at capacity so you can use your ticket somewhere else if your ticket is about to expire.

 

[Shanti]

Sometimes I think WDW could give tickets away free and people would find something to criticize.

Um, sure. This is quite a bit different from them giving tickets away for free.

 

[GillianP1301]

A few key things I've noted that are keeping my mind sane on this one...

1) the validation periods noted (i.e. 5 day validation period on a 3 day ticket) are for off site visitors. If you are staying on site and have booked a package that same 3 day ticket will be valid for the duration of your stay even if it is more than 5 days), i.e if you buy a ticket for start date Nov 1 and you have a 7 night stay, you can use that 3 day ticket from Nov 1 through Nov 8th. So the validation period really doesn't change for onsite, package purchasing guests.

2) The will be maintaining the current philosophy of decreasing cost per day as the number of days you purchase goes up. I fully expect an across the board increase, but you will still have a better value per day with a 10 day ticket than you will with a lesser day ticket.

3) If I book a package and need to change my arrival date, the ticket will move to that new arrival date but I will need to pay the difference if my start date changes to a higher category (ie. from value to regular season). I think the big losers on this point will be people who book a package but use an AP for their park entrance and save the package tickets for a future visit. I think that option will no longer work, based on the info released so far.

 

[hakepb]

DL did that when DCA opened. The AP wouldn’t work for DCA unless upgraded to a 2-Park AP. And, they would not do upgrades during the first month that DCA was open.

DLR blocked out all lower levels of APs when DL celebrated its 50th. For that specific day, only the Deluxe Passport or whatever it was, was allowed.

Disney can alter their block outs according to crowd expectations and will give a few weeks notice.

did WDW block DAK from AP’s?
Or was that something they only did with older 3-Park “MYW-type (because there was length of stay)” tickets?

 

[kniquy]

Airlines do it (increase for more popular travel dates),

Could they start a trend of increasing pricing after it has been released, so the sooner you buy the better your price will be. Happens all the time with flights.

What happens if you buy date- specific tickets and then have to change or postpone your dates? Are you SOL, or will they price bridge to the new dates?

I could see great long lines at guest services because i am sure there are many people who buy and then end up having to change whether it be just a few days or a few months. hopefully this will be able to be handled over the phone or online.

 

[mom2my3kids]

We have a reservation through points at OKW for June, I think this will be our last trip for Disney as a family. I was going to add a few days before our DVC reservation but not now..Guess will just have to wait and see but will probably be another price increase and making it not worth it anymore for us.

 

[Tksolomom]

A few key things I've noted that are keeping my mind sane on this one...

1) the validation periods noted (i.e. 5 day validation period on a 3 day ticket) are for off site visitors. If you are staying on site and have booked a package that same 3 day ticket will be valid for the duration of your stay even if it is more than 5 days), i.e if you buy a ticket for start date Nov 1 and you have a 7 night stay, you can use that 3 day ticket from Nov 1 through Nov 8th. So the validation period really doesn't change for onsite, package purchasing guests.

2) The will be maintaining the current philosophy of decreasing cost per day as the number of days you purchase goes up. I fully expect an across the board increase, but you will still have a better value per day with a 10 day ticket than you will with a lesser day ticket.

3) If I book a package and need to change my arrival date, the ticket will move to that new arrival date but I will need to pay the difference if my start date changes to a higher category (ie. from value to regular season). I think the big losers on this point will be people who book a package but use an AP for their park entrance and save the package tickets for a future visit. I think that option will no longer work, based on the info released so far.

Where did you see that the validation period is only for off-site guests? I haven’t seen that anywhere.

 

[lugnut33]

I never realized that buying a ticket to use any time I wanted to was so difficult in the past, sure am glad Disney is making it easier with dynamic pricing. <sarcasm, that hopefully doesn't get me banned>

Oh, there's no way APs will escape this.

Remember, the large price increase will come the second time around, not on this first one.

Also, this "pick a cheap date to arrive" will only work as long as they don't price it like they currently do (sort of seasonal). For example, the whole last half of November is high season.

 

[brockash]

I have an itch that this won't shift crowds around like they hope to. Most people are still locked in to certain periods due to school, work, etc. I think the bigger concern is that this system could very well support park block outs. Up charges for specifically visiting DHS on a weekend after Star Wars opens comes to mind.

I don't think they really care about shifting crowds; this is just another way for them to make more money. I would bet my life that with their new tix pricing; they're not going to lower the current tix price on their new cheapest dates...at best the new cheapest days will be the current price; all others will be an increase.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Could they start a trend of increasing pricing after it has been released, so the sooner you buy the better your price will be. Happens all the time with flights.

This is from the WDWNT blog post:
These prices are set in advance and will not fluctuate like airline prices. Basically, certain days are more or less expensive based on the perceived demand.

 

[lugnut33]

The hiromyhero answered what I just posted about. So I dumped my post.

 

[Skywise]

Obviously they put Darth Vader in charge at Disney parks once they acquired Lucasfilm -
"This deal keeps getting worse all the time."
"Pray I don't alter the bargain any further."

 

[GillianP1301]

Where did you see that the validation period is only for off-site guests? I haven’t seen that anywhere.

TA website. It's like a 2 liner in the validation section that I only caught on the 2nd read through, so I can see how it may have been missed up to this point.

 

[Madame]

So for over a week MDE has been a mess for many, so that Disney can charge them more in the future.... Niiiiice.

 

[paults]

so now you have to find the lowest price day you're going and then try to find the best price for your Flight down.

 

[DWillowBay]

So...just so that I'm clear and don't panic if I don't have to....I have already bought 3d One Park per Day tickets which we aim to use in January pre-and post-cruise. Since they're already purchased under the "old" system, I can stick with my plan of using them pre-and post- cruise (7d cruise)....or not?

 

[hiroMYhero]

I can stick with my plan of using them pre-and post- cruise

Yes

 

[bigeyedfish]

Is it better to buy tickets now for an early February trip? I’m assuming anything purchased before 10/16 will not be affected by anything. Correct?

 

[hiroMYhero]

TA website. It's like a 2 liner in the validation section that I only caught on the 2nd read through, so I can see how it may have been missed up to this point.

Can you post that blurb here so that it can be added to Post#2?

 

[hiroMYhero]

Is it better to buy tickets now for an early February trip? I’m assuming anything purchased before 10/16 will not be affected by anything. Correct?

As long as the tickets you purchase now don’t expire prior to February, you’ll be fine.