Adding Park Hopper

[ransam]

This may have been covered.
but i was wondering if you book a trip w/ no park hopper, pay it off within the 45 day window, then let's say a week before you leave want to add park hopper, can you?

thank you.

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

You can even add the park hopper after you are there at the parks.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Yes you can. I believe you can add it to your ticket at any time, as long as there are days remaining on the ticket.

I would ask about adding it at check in. We added days to our ticket once at check in and were sent to lobby concierge to have the days added. It was quick and easy.

[DisneyBunch5]

Keep in mind that adding the park hopper is a set price ($55), no matter how many days are left on the ticket. Adding it before you use the ticket is the same price as adding it to a ticket with 1 day remaining.

[Niecyboo]

Disney has made a couple of changes to their policies that might affect when you add them slightly. First, they have always had a document printing fee if you make any changes to your package within a few weeks of your travel dates and they have to print a new set of documents. They used to waive this if you were making an upgrade, but lately they have been much more strict on it. Even if you are adding days/Park Hopping to your tickets, they may charge you an extra $15.00 a week before you travel. Once you arrive, they don't charge this fee.

A second change is that they now allow you to make an upgrade to your tickets just once during your stay. It used to be you could go in to Guest Services and add a day to your ticket then go back the next day and add Park Hopping. Now they just allow you to do this once during your stay. It also has to be done within 14 days of first use and before you use the last day on your tickets (so if you go into the parks on the 5th day of a 5 day ticket, you cannot add anything to it).

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Disney has made a couple of changes to their policies that might affect when you add them slightly. First, they have always had a document printing fee if you make any changes to your package within a few weeks of your travel dates and they have to print a new set of documents. They used to waive this if you were making an upgrade, but lately they have been much more strict on it. Even if you are adding days/Park Hopping to your tickets, they may charge you an extra $15.00 a week before you travel. Once you arrive, they don't charge this fee.

A second change is that they now allow you to make an upgrade to your tickets just once during your stay. It used to be you could go in to Guest Services and add a day to your ticket then go back the next day and add Park Hopping. Now they just allow you to do this once during your stay. It also has to be done within 14 days of first use and before you use the last day on your tickets (so if you go into the parks on the 5th day of a 5 day ticket, you cannot add anything to it).

For me, as a tickets/accommodations/number-crunching kinda guy, this is such a big loss of Disney magic. Nickle and Dining you to death on change fees, and now restricting the number of times you can give Disney more money (do the Bean Counters upstairs know about this change?).

I am a by-the-book kind of person and something I loved about Disney was that the rule book was intentionally very flexible (tickets, Fastpass return times, Dining cancellations, etc..) and that magic is RAPIDLY disappearing for me. If I wanted to be hovered over by rules and regs I would just go vacation at the airport all week and learn to enjoy the Enhanced Screenings from the TSA.

So irritating to me.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

It also has to be done within 14 days of first use and before you use the last day on your tickets (so if you go into the parks on the 5th day of a 5 day ticket, you cannot add anything to it).

On the re-read, my understating was that you CAN upgrade a 5-day ticket on its fifth day of use, you just couldn't do it on a day in which the entitlements are completely exhausted (days 6 - 14) even if it is within the 14 day window. I thought you could upgrade a ticket no later than anytime during its last day of valid use.

Anyone have a 100% answer on this? Either way, a lot less magic for me.

[DizneyRox]

Couple people have mentioned this, at least one a CM, that you can only upgrade while the ticket is valid for admissions.

So, the 5th day on a 5 day ticket. The entire day, but that 5th use day is the last day you can upgrade, EVEN IF IT'S LESS THAN 14 DAY FROM FIRST USE.

Yes! Less magic for you!

[ransam]

ok, i'm confused now.

the price is $55 a day for parkhopper?
so if you have a 5 day pass, and you want to add the park hoper on the 5th day of your trip you have to pay $275 or only $55?

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

You always pay on the full length of the ticket.

So, even if you add the park hopping on the last day of a 10-day ticket, you'll pay the 10-day rate.

[buzznwoodysmom]

ok, i'm confused now.

the price is $55 a day for parkhopper?
so if you have a 5 day pass, and you want to add the park hoper on the 5th day of your trip you have to pay $275 or only $55?

It is not $55 a day to add the hopper. It's $55 total to add the hopper to a 5 day ticket, no matter if you add it at the beginning or with one day remaining. So if you wait till the last day to add it to a 5 day ticket you'd have to pay $55, just the same as if you added it to your ticket the very first day. If you anticipate you'll use it you may as well add it early on and get to hop on multiple days since you're paying the $55 either way.

[CleveRocks]

So to repeat ...

The park hopper option is a flat rate fee, the same fee on a 2-day ticket or a 10-day ticket. If you want to add the park hopper option, it costs $55.

How much does it cost to add the park hopper option to a 2-day ticket? $55 + tax.

How much does it cost to add the park hopper option to a 3-day ticket? $55 + tax.

And so on ...

Take the cost of the ticket. Add 55 bucks to it. That is the price of the park hopper ticket.

And by the way, the ability to add to or upgrade the ticket extends through the entire final day the ticket was used for admission. Scenario: you have a 5-day ticket, and on your 5th park day you enter Magic Kingdom. You leave Magic Kingdom, swim at your resort pool, and go to Downtown Disney that same evening. While there, you decide you want to go to a park tomorrow. You can go to DTD's Guest Relations and add a day to that ticket. The ticket didn't die after you passed it through the MK turnstile, the ticket would die at midnight, because it's now the next day. But the ticket is still very much alive during the entire calendar day of the day you used up the final entitlement.

[disneynarula]

So... to answer the OP question...

Disney will charge you to change your package at the last minute. You are better off adding the park hopper option once you get there.

Yes?

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Yes. There is no need to do it in advance.

If you try to do it a week before, Disney might consider it a change to your package and charge you the package change fee.

But, once you've picked up your tickets, there isn't an extra charge to add parking hopping after you've picked up your tickets, just the regular charges, so you might as well wait to see if you actually need it.