Those cute ears come with quite a few dollar signs, but here's ways for almost anyone to have a chance at wearing them, according to mousesavers.com.
Although preceded by Disneyland Park, Walt Disney World has been the standard for the American Dream vacations since the 1970s when it opened - holding first place in visitation worldwide (about 52.5 million attendees yearly). Housing four theme parks (the Epcot Center, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom), one resort hotel, and four other attractions, it's no surprise the resort has "repeat offenders" and numerous international visitors. The site mousesavers.com has dedicated itself to helping people from all households and incomes gain that once-in-a-lifetime trip there - and hopefully pass on an urge to return for seconds.
First, stay out of rocks and hard places. Always document your tickets and receipts, front and back, to ensure you won't have problems if you lose/misplace anything admission related. Disney is not obligated to re-issue "thin air" passes, but usually will if you provide sufficient proof - clear photos taken by your phone should be just fine. Also, stay away from scams in the following forms: partially-utilized multi-day passes; sites with Disney in the name, selling discounted single-day tickets, or ask for payment in any form other than credit cards; Craigslist and eBay; and very low-priced tickets (they usually have a timeshare catch attached).
Plan out your trip prior to purchasing passes. Do you have kids, how old are they (small children or teenagers), how long do you want the trip to be, what area(s) will you visit, and how many times do you intend to visit are some things to think about. Depending upon the way you're organizing your trip, you have options of long multi-day passes, simple weekend-ish passes, annual passports, pass add-ons, multi-site passes, and quite a few others.
For those penny-pinchers, there are quite a few ways to, so-to-speak, get over at the resort. Split up multi-day tickets between separate visits. Take two summer vacations on a single annual ticket by going twice before the expiration (always 366 days after initial activation). Use purchased but unused days from old passes no longer in theme park circulation (like Park Hoppers) without expiration dates - Disney will still honor them, and you can split of the days and "plus" days (if you have them) between multiple visits. Ask about upgrades on those out-of-date tickets as well, because some will still be allowed to be added on to. A little extra information: children who were younger than ten at the purchase of a non-expiring pass, still holding days on it, can still finish off additional days after turning ten on an adult ticket without being charged the difference in price.
You can find more ticket tips information at mousesavers.com and its friend seller sites: Undercover Tourist and Auto Club South. This Orlando, Florida treasure is kind of a big deal, and hopefully with these tips you can keep the deal out of your pockets and in your photos. Good luck, and greet Mickey for me will you?
Disney World - Pluto; Gary Hunt; August 5, 2008.
