Park Reservation question - Can I switch out tickets and not lose my park reservations?

[Maggie'sMom]

I haven't been on the theme park boards much recently and need some help understanding how to handle the park reservation system. I think what I want to do will work, but if those of you more versed in this system can confirm for me. Our last WDW trip was September 2019. We were supposed to be in DLR in April 2020, but that obviously didn't happen. Now, we are booked on a DCL cruise in September. I'm feeling more confident that the cruise will happen, but there's still a chance the cruise will be cancelled.

If the cruise happens, we are planning to bookend the cruise with days in WDW. If the cruise doesn't happen, then we will stay at WDW for the full week. I'm trying to set up this trip so that we are covered with resort and park reservations either way. I've booked the Dolphin with 3 separate reservations: one for days before cruise, one for days during cruise, and one for days after the cruise. If the cruise happens, just the middle resort reservation gets cancelled.

Now for park tickets. I don't know when we will know for sure if our cruise is happening or not and don't want to wait until we know for sure to make park reservations. If the cruise isn't happening, I have 6 day tickets that were leftover from a prior cancelled trip that was before they started having expiration dates on tickets, and I'll use those tickets for our week. If the cruise happens, then I'll want to purchase new tickets because we won't be doing 6 days in the parks. Unfortunately, it will have to be one ticket for the park day we will do before the cruise and another ticket for the days after the cruise, since we no longer have 14 days in which to use the tickets. ( really disliking all these ticket rules) But I don't want to buy those tickets on the chance that the cruise doesn't happen and I'll use the 6 day tickets we already have.

For those of you that are still with me on this, my question: Can I enter my 6 day tickets into the MDE account and make park reservations with those tickets, then if the cruise does happen, cancel the park reservations for the days we will be on the cruise and swap out the 6 day tickets for the two new tickets I'll be purchasing without losing my park reservations for the day before the cruise and the days after the cruise that we will be in the parks. From what I've read, this should work. I'll just have to be careful that the 6 day tickets aren't used when we enter the parks. Which I guess brings me to another question: Can I still transfer unused tickets (i.e. our 6 day tickets) to a dummy account in MDE so they won't be accidentally used when DD and I enter the park with our other tickets?

 

[Robo]

1. Can I enter my 6 day tickets into the MDE account and make park reservations with those tickets... then if the cruise does happen, cancel the park reservations for the days we will be on the cruise and swap out the 6 day tickets for the two new tickets I'll be purchasing without losing my park reservations for the day before the cruise and the days after the cruise that we will be in the parks.
2. Can I still transfer unused tickets (i.e. our 6 day tickets) to a dummy account in MDE so they won't be accidentally used when DD and I enter the park with our other tickets?

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
If you can't do it yourself for some reason, before you go to the first park gate you can have their PRIORITY set at any Guest Relations so that they won't be used.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
If you can't do it yourself for some reason, before you go to the first park gate you can have their PRIORITY set at any Guest Relations so that they won't be used.

Thank you! I used to have a handle on all the ins and outs of tickets and park planning, but having not been to the parks in 2 years while all these changes have happened have me feeling completely lost.

 

[Leigh L]

Thank you! I used to have a handle on all the ins and outs of tickets and park planning, but having not been to the parks in 2 years while all these changes have happened have me feeling completely lost.

Robo is spot on.
For our upcoming trip next month, I initially used 1-day tickets I had as placeholders for DHS (those were going quick!!) until I got the 3 and 4-day tickets we wanted. My park reservations weren't affected when I switched tickets out. (Like you suggest, I created a dummy account, added the new tickets first, and then shifted the two tickets there.)

 

[hsmamato2]

do you create the dummy account to use while there? or to 'stash' the tickets you don't want used?

 

[Leigh L]

do you create the dummy account to use while there? or to 'stash' the tickets you don't want used?

I stashed the tickets I don't want used .
We've accidentally had duplicate identities created (DH's identity used to be under my "control" but one trip he booked our resort reservation which resulted in two DHs - it was a pain and Disney IT had to fix it. I'm not sure if that would happen if we used my dummy one while there, but I'm going to avoid, just in case

 

[Maggie'sMom]

do you create the dummy account to use while there? or to 'stash' the tickets you don't want used?

To stash tickets I don't want used.

 

[Tink1017]

Hopping on here in case I need to do this as well. When you say create a dummy account does that mean a whole new my Disney experience account or do you just add another person in the account? I don’t quite understand how to do this.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Hopping on here in case I need to do this as well. When you say create a dummy account does that mean a whole new my Disney experience account or do you just add another person in the account? I don’t quite understand how to do this.

There might be reasons someone creates a whole new MDE account, but I was referring to just adding a fake profile on my account. As long as tickets aren't used, they can be reassigned to different people. So I have profiles set up for me and my daughter that are our real profiles, then a couple fake profiles. So when I add the 6 day tickets that I already have, I add them to our real profiles and make my park reservations. Then if our cruise happens, I can buy the tickets I'll actually use and move the original 6 day tickets to our fake profiles so they don't get used.

 

[Princess Katelet]

If the six day passes have no expiration date why not just use them no matter what? If the cruise happens and you only need three or four days of the ticket you’ll then have two or three unexpired days left. I don’t see the need for new tickets.

 

[Robo]

If the six day passes have no expiration date why not just use them no matter what? If the cruise happens and you only need three or four days of the ticket you’ll then have two or three unexpired days left. I don’t see the need for new tickets.

From the info provided, I don't think the OP (@Maggie'sMom) has true "non-expiring" tickets.
I think the OP's tickets being discussed simply do not have a "Final expiration" date (as currently-sold tickets do.)
I think that the OPs tickets are the kind that once they have started being used, any remaining assets will expire 14 days after first use of the ticket.
Have I got that right, @Maggie'sMom?

 

[Maggie'sMom]

From the info provided, I don't think the OP (@Maggie'sMom) has true "non-expiring" tickets.
I think the OP's tickets being discussed simply do not have a "Final expiration" date (as currently-sold tickets do.)
I think that the OPs tickets are the kind that once they have started being used, any remaining assets will expire 14 days after first use of the ticket.
Have I got that right, @Maggie'sMom?

You got it, Robo. That's why I phrased it as tickets from before tickets started having expiration dates rather than non-expiring tickets. I still kick myself for not draining my savings account and purchasing as many non-expiring tickets as I could back before they changed the rules on that. I think that was 2004 or 2005, and my daughter wasn't even 2 yet. I didn't know what huge Disney fanatics we would become, and it would have been irresponsible to drop a mint on Disney tickets, but boy would I have saved money in the long run.

I'd have 14 days to use the 6 days up, and if the cruise happens we will only be doing 4 days in the parks so it would be a waste to use the 6 day tickets. If the cruise doesn't happen, we will use the full 6 days.

 

[Princess Katelet]

Ohhhh, sorry, I misunderstood. Your dilemma makes sense now, and I’m sorry for it. Disney back in the early 2000s was at its best for me. We used to get the free dining when it included appetizer and tip, the tickets were non expiring (although we usually got length of stay tickets), FP was legacy and you could stockpile them, characters were more hands on and Goofy and Pluto even drove up Seven Seas Lagoon in a boat and JUMPED IN THE POOL with us. Pooh rode on the Pooh ride IN OUR RIDE VEHICLE. Goofy rode on the carousel with us…. I have such amazing memories I’m so grateful for but they do make me see how unmagical Disney has become.
I hope your trip goes exactly as you hope!!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Ohhhh, sorry, I misunderstood. Your dilemma makes sense now, and I’m sorry for it. Disney back in the early 2000s was at its best for me. We used to get the free dining when it included appetizer and tip, the tickets were non expiring (although we usually got length of stay tickets), FP was legacy and you could stockpile them, characters were more hands on and Goofy and Pluto even drove up Seven Seas Lagoon in a boat and JUMPED IN THE POOL with us. Pooh rode on the Pooh ride IN OUR RIDE VEHICLE. Goofy rode on the carousel with us…. I have such amazing memories I’m so grateful for but they do make me see how unmagical Disney has become.
I hope your trip goes exactly as you hope!!

The good old days, which i keep thinking were just a few years ago. Except the little baby I had when I first heard Disney was switching to "Magic Your Way" tickets is turning 18 in September. We are trying to get one last cruise in before she turns 18 and ages out of the teen club. Just hoping that the ships start sailing in time for this cruise to happen.