So you have your packing list at the ready, you have your hotel booked, but now you need to look into booking the theme park tickets. After all, this is generally the reason you are off to Florida and so its super important you book the right tickets for you. The next few blogs will hopefully help you to make that decision.
DISNEY ULTIMATE TICKET
Disney is the most expensive theme park ticket BUT a lot of people do not realise how big Walt Disney World really is. Many people think it is the one park, with the ‘big castle’ but there is so much more to it so let me break it down for you.
Disney have 2 ticket types on offer for the UK and Irish market. They are Disney’s 7 or 14 day Ultimate tickets. (often this is on offer at 14 days for the price of 7). Either ticket will allow you access into ALL 6 Disney parks. That’s right, there are 6 Disney parks within the Walt Disney World Resort. There are 4 theme parks - Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios and then they have 2 water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. You can access the Disney parks as many times as you like whilst your ticket is live. This is from the first day that you scan it at the park gate, until its 7 or 14 days are up (the days run consecutively but you do not have to visit the parks consecutively too, you can just choose to go as much or as little as you like whilst it is live). So lets talk about the parks themselves….
THE DISNEY PARKS INCLUDED
Here is a little about what to expect in each park.
Magic Kingdom Park: The one thing we all dream of is the walk down the famous Main Street U.S.A. to Cinderella Castle. It is always a magnificent sight! And there are 6 themed lands to explore and within them you will encounter many family friendly rides such as Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin to laser shoot the aliens, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain and Splash Mountain too. Plus incredible shows such as Mickey’s PhilharMagic –A spectacular 3-D extravaganza and Happily Ever After which takes place in front of the castle with an incredible firework display. (Sadly during Covid not all shows are running so keep an eye on their schedules).
Epcot: Take a glimpse into the wonders of tomorrow at Future World, or spend a day travelling through 11 different countries at World Showcase. These are the two worlds to explore within Epcot. With attractions like Mission:SPACE, Test Track, Soarin’ Around the World and Frozen Ever After and a firework spectacular Epcot Forever every night there is something for everyone. And of course, like all the Disney theme parks, there are character meet and greets all around from Mickey and Minnie to Anna and Elsa, Belle will be in France and Donald Duck in Mexico to name just a few.
Disney's Hollywood Studios: Here you get to step into the world of showbiz, delight in the movies and TV and even immerse yourself into Star Wars: Galaxy Edge. This is a whole new land where you get to fly the galaxy’s most legendary ship on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run or find yourself caught in an epic battle between the First Order and the Resistance. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is a massive attraction with multiple ride systems. I am yet to experience this and even as someone who isn’t a big Star Wars fan, I am super excited to see what this land looks like. Aside from this, there is so much more to do. With iconic rides such as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster for the thrill seekers, and then Slinky Dog Dash and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway for the young at heart, Disney have covered all bases once again. And with Frozen such a family favourite (it is on repeat in this household), be sure to watch For The First Time in Forever – a Frozen sing-along celebration. In the evening there are two incredible shows to see, they are on at the same time so best to do over two nights (hence the pro to having these unlimited tickets) as they are worth seeing. These are Fantastmic and Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular. (Again check schedules due to current restrictions).
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park: A place full of animal adventures, loveable creatures and spectacular shows with over 30 attractions throughout six unforgettable lands. There is a whole land dedicated to Pandora - The World of Avatar! Enjoy the unique opportunity to fly on the back of a banshee, travel deep into a bioluminescent rainforest and walk under floating mountains. As well as this, at Animal Kingdom you can watch Finding Nemo – The Musical and Festival of the Lion King or jump onboard the Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest and DINOSAUR. Plus of course, there are many animals to see such as rhinos, elephants’ giraffes, gorillas, lions, and flamingos to name a few.
Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park: Disney built a ski resort in Florida and it melted! What remains is packed with downhill thrills and plenty of ways to chill. The main attraction must be Summit Plummet. It is the centrepiece of the park which stands at 120 feet tall. Plunge at over 55mph straight down one of the world’s tallest, fastest free-fall speed slides! I have braved it a few times!! Or you could always relax on Cross Country Creek, where you can drift lazily down a mountain through melting snow caves. There are more water raft rides, racing waterslides, a wave pool, and a polar themed play area too.
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park: Wash up on tropical shores or get your adrenaline rushing with rapids, lazy rivers, shark reefs and Florida's largest inland surfing lagoon. With attractions such as Crush ‘n’ Gusher, the only white-knuckle water coaster of its kind in Central Florida, and Castaway Creek where you grab an inner tube and ease into the relaxing retreat of this continuous, flowing river that winds its way around the whole Water Park. It’s a great chilled day out, especially as you can unwind on the sandy white beach surrounding the surf pool! Waters are kept at 21 degrees in the water parks to ensure it is a fun day out whatever the weather. We have braved the water parks on the coldest of days many times!
One thing to note is that the two water parks do close seasonally. Often one will close October – January and then the other will close January – March. This is so that they carry out any maintenance on the parks. But at least the other water park is still open so at some points of the year you may find just 5 parks to do, but still, that is a lot! Blizzard Beach is due to reopen March 7th 2021 but Typhoon Lagoon is still closed.
BOOKING DISNEY PARK DAYS AND PARK HOP
Whilst we are in the world of Covid, you currently need to pre book what days you plan to visit which park. This is so that Disney can manage capacity as numbers are reduced at the moment. This is done via the My Disney Experience app (or can be done online too). You will need to upload your tickets reservation number to your account (once you have paid for your tickets in full you will receive this), add names to the tickets and then you can select the date and park you wish to visit (you need to do this for every day you plan to visit a Disney park). You will notice that you are also able to select park hop. This means you can choose to visit another park in the afternoon if you wish to do two parks in a day. This is great for when you are running out of time towards the end of your holiday, but you would like to pop back to some parks to catch up on things you missed, or revisit your favorite rides before you go home.
Fast pass is not currently up and running at present. Usually on the app you can select 3 rides to do via fast pass – I will update this should this feature return.
WHAT IS MEMORY MAKER
This is a brilliant service that is exclusive for UK and Irish customers and is included on the Ultimate Disney ticket. It is worth $199 if purchased locally. It allows you to keep and share all the amazing photographs taken of you and your family by Disney PhotoPass photographers in the parks. So whether it is standing in front of the castle, or posing with the characters, these are included for you. After the photographer takes your photo, just hand them your tickets to scan. Pus, ride photos are included too! So those pics of you screaming on Splash Mountain can be kept forever! At the end of a ride that has PhotoPass, just head to the photo booth to again show them your ticket and have it scanned. Your photos are then linked to your Disney account on the My Disney Experience app, so you can download them right away from the Disney PhotoPass site to your phone/laptop. You can download as many photos as you want as many times as you like! They remain on your account for 45 days from the day they were taken so just do not forget to do it. Then you can choose to print your favourites once home (for a lot less money – they are around $15 a photo in the park, whereas I had printed 300 photos for £5 once back home). Before you travel this feature will not show on your My Disney Experience account, but it will be there from the moment your first photo is taken.
WHAT ELSE IS INCLUDED
The ticket also allows entry to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Here they host over 60 sports and thousands of events for athletes of all ages and abilities. You are able to train and compete with your team—or catch the excitement as a spectator too.
You also get use of Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course and mini golf at either Disney's Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf Course or Disney’s Winter Summerland Mini Golf Course.
Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course includes the green fees only; tee time reservations are required and subject to availability. Anything else is an additional cost.
But there is also golfing fun for the family, and we play at least twice every holiday as you get one round of mini-golf each day of your 14-day Ultimate Ticket at either Disney's Fantasia Gardens Mini-Golf Course or Disney’s Winter Summerland Mini-Golf Course (round must start before 4.00pm).
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
Parking – Parking at Disney World costs around $25 for standard parking and $45/$50 for preferred parking – this means you park closer to the park gates. Guests of Disney hotels enjoy free theme park parking as a perk of their stay.
Magic bands - Starting in 2021, Disney plan to unveil an innovative new offering as part of the My Disney Experience app that will bring features of a MagicBand to your smart device instead. With this new offering, MagicBands will no longer be provided on a complimentary basis with new Disney Resort hotel reservations. If you want to purchase a MagicBand, they are available starting at $14.99 plus tax. Magic band is used as a replacement to your theme park ticket but is not required.
Character dining – these are always at an additional cost. These must be pre booked and you can do so via the Disney app.
Enhanced experiences – there are extra things you can add to your park days to add to those memories. These include Bibbidi Bobbodi Boutique for the ultimate princess experience or even make your own lightsaber in Savis workshop. These are to be booked on your My Disney Experience app 180 days in advance to avoid disappointment.
Events – sometimes there are special events that require an extra ticket. This includes H20 Glow Nights at Typhoon Lagoon, Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Verry Merry Christmas Party. These will take place when the parks are closed to regular customers.
WHERE TO BOOK YOUR THEME PARK TICKETS
I would highly recommend booking with AttractionTickets.com for quite a few and important reasons.
1 – They are the UKs number 1 ticket reseller.
2 – They are bound by ABTA which is always good to know, especially when booking hotels and tickets together.
3 – They have won multiple awards in the travel industry such as Travolution Awards and British Travel Awards numerous times. This year they also won Travolution’s Brand of the Year for 2020.
4 – Founded in 2002 and served well over 4 million customers, with a high repeat business rate that is always reassuring.
5 – Can pay with a deposit to secure your tickets and then pay off your balance online as you wish up until the balance due date – great for spreading out the cost of those tickets!
7 – Always cheaper to pre buy one of the UK multi park tickets vs single day tickets when in Florida.
8 – The team are very friendly and full of so much knowledge, you will feel rest assured you are booking the right tickets and in safe hands!
Click here for more information:
I hope you have found this useful, and please do ask any questions you may have!
My next blog will be about the Universal Orlando Resort theme park tickets 😊
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