Do you like water parks?

Image: DisneyDisney recently revamped its line of admission tickets. Previously, they offered a single Park Hopper and More selection. Since some guests didn’t take advantage of it, they split the choices. The Park Hopper option is now standalone. For a small fee ($50 per person for a four-day ticket), guests can choose Park Hopper Plus instead.

What’s Park Hopper Plus? This feature is akin to the prior Park Hopper and More, strong emphasis on the More part. During each night of your stay, you receive a Plus Visit. These bonuses are special admissions to places like Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, ESPN Wide World of Sports, and the various miniature golf courses at Walt Disney World. You could even play a round of golf at Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course if so inclined.

During a four-night stay, you’d receive four of these Plus Visits. That, too, borders on overkill. With so much going on at the parks, you’re unlucky to find the time to play a round of miniature golf, catch a sporting event at ESPN Wide World of Sports, and go to a water park. Even if you did, you’d STILL have an extra Plus Visit remaining.

Image: DisneyWhy would you buy a package that you wouldn’t use to the fullest? Well, a single day at a Disney water park costs more than the four-day price of the Park Hopper Plus ticket. It makes a lot of sense if and only if you plan to visit a water park during your stay. And these are the two most popular water parks in North America. So, you might want to do that.

My thought process here comes down to length of stay. If you’re only buying a four-day admission ticket, you won’t be going to a water park. Around day seven, it becomes a consideration. That goes double during the hottest months of the year, which is most of them in Central Florida.

Would you like a package deal with a hotel room?

Image: DisneyThere’s one final suggestion I want to mention. It’s one that makes the most sense to a lot of theme park tourists. Disney wants to swallow your entire travel budget. They’ve built the entire Orlando campus under this philosophy. They want you to stay at a Disney resort and eat at Disney restaurants while you’re in town.

To incentivize you to spend all your money with Disney, they sell packages that will provide more than a basic admission ticket would. It’s a kind of all-inclusive package for a hotel room and admission tickets. Sometimes, Disney will even throw in a free dining plan, although those packages tend to sell out quickly. If you’d prefer to buy something that has everything you need in one tidy package, this solution is probably best for you.