Archive for August 19th, 2009

By far the most popular option for a Walt Disney World vacation is the basic Magic Your Way Package.  This always includes at least one night’s stay in a Walt Disney World Resort, and a minimum one-day base park admission ticket.  Some specially-priced offers may require a longer minimum stay or certain types of ticket options to qualify, or might only be available at specific resorts.

For 2011, the basic Magic Your Way Package also includes the following:

• A $15 voucher valid for food and non-alcoholic beverages and a souvenir merchandise keepsake at Planet Hollywood, Downtown Disney® West Side. VIP Preferred Seating is available from 11 am through 6 pm. Not valid with any other offers or discounts. (One per room).

• One certificate per room for a round of miniature golf at either Disney’s Winter Summerland or Fantasia mini-golf courses.

• Arcade Card valid for 100 game play points in arcades located in the Walt Disney resorts (One card per room).

• Walt Disney World® Marina Discounts – 15% off the regular price of any boat rental at participating Walt Disney World marina locations.

• One Walt Disney Travel Company luggage tag per person.

• Niki Bryan Spa Discount – 15% off most 50 minute or greater services at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa or Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. (Hand and foot treatments are excluded. Age restrictions apply).

• 10% off the regular price of Guided Bass Fishing Excursions and Bass Nitro Fishing Excursions at select Walt Disney World marinas. Excursions include fishing equipment, rod, reel, shiners, artificial bait, non-alcoholic beverages and a 1-year membership to B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society).

• 10% off the regular price of all activities including parasailing, water skiing, wakeboarding and tubing trips at Sammy Duvall’s Water Sports Center located at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. (Subject to availability; restrictions apply.)

• NEW! Children Activity Centers – 15% off the regular hourly rates at the Children Activity Center located at select Disney Resort Hotels. Minimum charge of two (2) hours per child. Services available for children age 3-12.

The Magic Your Way base ticket, available from one to ten days, is valid for admission to one park per day.  You may choose to come and go from the same park as many times as you wish during the day, but cannot use the ticket to visit more than one park on the same day.  Tickets are valid for visits to all the parks, and can be used for any combination of park visits during the stay, but only one each day.

The Park Hopper option allows you to move from park to park throughout you stay, visiting as many parks as you wish on a single day.  So, you may choose to go to one park for breakfast, travel to another for an afternoon parade, and catch the evening fireworks at a third.  This is a great convenience for returning guests, but not always necessary for first-time visitors, or those with young children.

The Water Park Fun & More option adds access to Disney’s Blizzard Beach, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, Wide World of Sports, DisneyQuest, and Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course.  For each day of your ticket, in addition to regular park admission, you receive a “Plus” option for admission to one of these water park or “fun” venues, or a round of golf at the nine-hole Oak Trail walking course.  You may or may not choose to use a plus option on the same day you use one of your park admission days.

Keep in mind, that the Plus options do NOT allow you to come and go from the different venues as the Park Hopper admission ticket does for the major parks.  For each Plus venue you visit, you will have to use another of your Plus options.

The standard Magic Your Way ticket expires 14 days after first use.  The No Expiration option can be added prior to the end of the 14-day window to prevent the loss of any unused days.  This can be an expensive option since a flat fee is added based upon the length of the original ticket, not the remaining unused days.  Since additional days after the first four cost only a few dollars, this is generally not cost-effective unless you are planning to return for a couple of days only and don’t wish to book a package for the stay.

For some more tips on tickets, visit our fav5 tix tips!

If you wish to add dining, Disney offers several different options for that, as well.  Tomorrow, we’ll review the various types of dining plans available with the Magic Your Way Package.