You’ve planned a Disney vacation for say, 5 days and bought your park admission tickets, but now have some extra time off work. So you find yourself wishing you were going to Disney World for longer. Or you’re at Disney World and having so much fun that you want to tack on a few extra days. But once you’ve bought your Disney theme park tickets, can you change the number of days? And how to upgrade or add days to Disney World tickets?
With a few exceptions, you can upgrade or add extra days to your Disney World tickets simply by visiting Guest Services while you’re at a theme park. Before your vacation, you can change the number of days through the My Disney Experience app or by logging into your Disney account online.
The Disney World ticketing system is designed so that the more days you spend in the parks, the cheaper the per-day rates. It’s totally worth it to upgrade or add more days to your Disney World tickets if you want to spend more time hanging with the Mouse, but there are some things you need to keep in mind.
Disney World ticket pricing system
Here’s a quick overview of how ticketing for the amazing Disney theme parks works. For each child or adult, you need to purchase a standard theme park ticket that allows admission to any of the Disney parks for 1 to 10 days. A 1-day visit allows one visit. A 10-day ticket allows 10 visits (you can pick a different park every day) within 14 days of first use.
Now, the longer you stay, the less you pay. Whereas buying a 1-day ticket means you will pay over $100 for a single day’s admission, a 10-day ticket brings the price down to $52 per day. Remember, this ticket allows you to visit only one park on a given day.
If you want to visit more than one park in one day, you’ll need to add the park hopper or park hopper plus option, which is an additional $65 or $85 per person respectively (depending on whether you want to hop after or before 2 p.m.). Also, you need to choose the Water Park and Sports option if you want to visit the two Disney water parks or various sports facilities.
Adding days to Disney World ticket before your vacation
The most painless way to add days to your Disney World tickets before your vacation is to do it through the My Disney Experience app. Click on “My Tickets” in the mobile app and choose the “Change Ticket” option. You’ll be prompted to select the tickets you want to change. The next screen will bring up options such as changing the date, the number of days, and the ticket type. You can use this screen to pick a 7-day standard ticket instead of a 5-day one. Or upgrade from a standard ticket to a park hopper ticket.
When you’re done, click on “Check Out.” If there’s a price difference, you will be prompted to pay the extra amount, so keep your credit card handy. That’s it. You’ve successfully added days or upgraded your Disney World ticket in a matter of minutes.
You can also make changes by calling the Disney helpline on 407-939-5277 and speaking to guest services.
Upgrading your Disney World tickets while on vacation
If you find you can’t get enough of the Disney magic and can’t bear to go back home just yet, you can tack on extra days to your Disney World tickets while on vacation. This will allow you to take advantage of cheaper rates even when you’re in Orlando already.
Simply go to the ticket window at one of the Disney theme parks, to Guest Services inside the theme parks, or the concierge or guest relations desk at your Disney World Resort hotel. Tell them what you’d like to do and they’ll be happy to get it all set up for you.
A couple of caveats here. First, you must add days or upgrade within 14 days of first use. Second, you must have some entitlements remaining on your ticket. Meaning, if you bought a 4-day ticket, you should have been to the theme parks 3 times and have at least one admission remaining.
Is it worth adding days to your Disney World tickets?
If you’re going to stay longer than you previously planned and will visit the Disney theme parks on your extra vacation days, it’s totally worth adding days to your Disney World tickets. For example, let’s say you purchased a 7-day standard ticket and paid $492 per adult. Now, say you want to upgrade to an 8-day ticket instead and have an extra day’s admission to one of the Disney parks. Purchasing a separate 1-day admission ticket will set you back by over $100. Upgrading to an 8-day ticket will only cost you $26 (the difference between the price of a 7-day ticket $492 and an 8-day ticket $518).
Again, remember, you’ll need to do this while you still have some entitlements remaining. Meaning, if you enter a Disney theme park for the seventh time on a 7-day ticket and then go up to Guest Services to add a day, it will be declined because you have effectively used up all your admissions already. So, don’t wait until the last day to upgrade your Disney World ticket.
Can I upgrade from a standard Disney World ticket to a park hopper or water park option?
Yes, you can absolutely upgrade to a park hopper or water park option from a standard WDW ticket. You’ll have to meet the conditions mentioned above, i.e., you should have remaining admissions on your ticket and the upgrade should be requested no more than 14 days from first use. It’s worth noting that the sooner you upgrade your tickets the better, so you can take full advantage of hopping from park to park.
For instance, a 10-day standard ticket costs $550 per adult while a 10-day park hopper ticket costs $635 per adult. If you upgrade after you’ve used up 5 admissions already, you’re effectively paying $85 for 5 days of park hopping. On the other hand, if you upgrade after you’ve used only 2 admissions on your standard ticket, you’ll be paying $85 for 8 days of park hopping.
Can you upgrade from a standard Disney World ticket to an annual pass?
Yes, you totally can. If you decide you’ll be visiting Walt Disney World more than once a year, you can ask for an upgrade of your base tickets to an annual pass. Just go to Guest Services and request it. The best thing is, they’ll adjust the price you paid for your tickets in full against the cost of the annual pass. So, let’s say you paid $450 for a 6-day ticket and you’ve already used 4 out of the 6 admissions. Now, if you’re upgrading to the Disney Platinum Pass that costs say $1300, they will subtract the $450 you already paid and you’ll only have to pay the balance of $850. So, even though you used up some of your 6-day ticket, the full value will be deducted.
A quick note of caution here. If you have a park hopper or water parks option on your WDW ticket and you’re not planning to get these options on your annual pass, you must use up the entitlements before requesting the upgrade from standard tickets to an annual pass. Once the upgrade is complete, you’ll no longer have access to the water parks unless you paid for it on your Disney World annual pass.
The bottom line
It’s very easy to upgrade or add days to Disney World tickets, and doing so can save you hundreds of dollars. If you’re a freshly minted Disney addict who’s just realized there’s no such thing as a Mouse overdose, go ahead and add more magical days to your Disney vacation.