I’m inclined to disagree.
The site says that your tickets are priced “determined by your selected day of first use” not by the first day you could use them. That, to me, says that the price is based upon the date you use them to first enter a park (or, in the case of “plus” options, golf/mini-golf/water park). Choosing to not enter on that day, IMO, risks the ticket price changing on you.
I’m very interested in seeing how this plays out iRL. What if you buy tix from Dis to start on Thursday (onsite stay but no package b/c some in party have AP) but your plane is delayed so you don’t head to the park until Friday or even Saturday? Will you tap in at turnstyles, get a blue light, and they send you to guest services? Would you have to call the day you don’t go to the park and pay the $7 or whatever price increase or your tickets would be invalid?
I really do wish @JJT was more of a team player and provide us, oh, I don’t know…information that is actually USEFUL to us. I mean, really.
Anyhow, presuming the dates/pricing reflects to the same corresponding days in May 2020, then I believe the dates I’m currently planning will ultimately be the cheapest starting date…that would be the Monday immediatley following Mother’s Day (May 11, 2020).
What I’m anxious to find out is, how much of a discount will be available through places like Undercover Tourist. I imagine Disney will would like to play nice with such places since they sell a fair number of tickets through them. But at this stage, UT is not posting any date-based-ticket pricing because they still have the non-date-based ticket pricing.
In trying to plan for/budget for our May 2020 trip, however, I really need to get a feel for what tickets will actually cost. If I take the current UT ticket price, and compare it to the equivalent date-based tickets through Disney directly, we’re talking about a $35/ticket price difference, which amounts to about a $140 difference. That’s enough for three or four meals for us on vacation…or one really, really nice meal, so it matters.
I tried looking into it wondering the same thing you are saying here - and I see your point.
But if you see my quote above from the ticket purchasing page, it says:
Valid Ticket Dates
Your tickets are valid for admission to multiple theme parks on any 7 days from Oct 18, 2018 through Oct 27, 2018. Tickets do not have to be used on consecutive dates. Tickets are nonrefundable.
In that section it does not seem to be saying you have to use them on the first day - just in the window that is created by selecting a day.
It is certainly an annoying discrepancy in wording. To muddy it even more, on the updated ticket FAQ there is again no mention of “day of first use” - it simply says
Walt Disney World Resort theme park tickets purchased after October 15, 2018 are valid for admission beginning on the selected start date and must be used within the validity window provided at the time of purchase. Here are the details:
1-day – The ticket expires on the selected start date.
2-day – The ticket expires 4 days after the selected start date.
3-day – The ticket expires 5 days after the selected start date.
4-day – The ticket expires 7 days after the selected start date.
5-day – The ticket expires 8 days after the selected start date.
6-day – The ticket expires 9 days after the selected start date.
7-day – The ticket expires 10 days after the selected start date.
8-day – The ticket expires 12 days after the selected start date.
9-day – The ticket expires 13 days after the selected start date.
10-day – The ticket expires 14 days after the selected start date.
For example, a 6-day base ticket with a start date of November 1 is valid any 6 days from November 1 to November 9.
With this FAQ phrasing, the question becomes whether they are using the phrase “beginning on the selected start date” and “first day of use” as meaning the same thing - thus locking people into that first date or not.
I can kind of see it both ways, but without hard evidence to back me up, I still tend to think they mean you don’t need to use it that first selected date, just within the window. But who knows? Think we’re going to need a report from the field to see which way this blows.
(If they do mean it has to be used that first day or a change is needed, that is going to be a pain for people who simply get pushed back because of travel issues, etc. which I’m sure happens quite often with millions of people showing up every year.)
BTW, you can see in my post from last night, I don’t think the shift technique is really likely to net too much savings in any case. In some limited instances, perhaps $19 per ticket, but I haven’t had a chance to see how often that higher savings amount would occur or even what the average shift would save.
I’ll see if I can get a chance to map that possible shift savings out over the course of the year. But even if it can be done, I now suspect a purchase shift might just end up being too much effort for the payoff.
FWIW, Get Away Today’s post about the ticket changes seems to back up my suspicion you are not locked into that first day:
Disney World Ticket Changes - Pricing
The biggest change with Walt Disney World Resort tickets is that they are now date specific and are based on dynamic pricing. While this idea is not new for 1-day Disney tickets, it is new for multi-day tickets. With the Disney World ticket changes, you’ll need to enter the specific date that you plan on using the ticket, or as close to it as possible. For example, if you purchase a 1-day ticket, that is the only day that ticket is valid for admission. However, if you purchase a 2-day ticket, you may use the ticket within four days of your selected ticket start day. However, you must use both days within that four-day window.
(Bolded italics emphasis in paragraph above is mine just to make it easier to spot.)
Honestly, I would presume it’s all speculation and reading between the lines at this point.
The fact that everyone seems to be speculating the same way you are does not necessarily make you more right.
Note: I’m not doubting or accusing you of anything. Just splashing a little cold water.
I believe when you buy the new tickets, you get told that they are valid for first use between the validity period starting with your chosen day.
So say you book a 3 day ticket. It’s valid for 5 days … (?)
And you plan your first day as the 4th Feb, but that is the most expensive day that week. The cheapest is the 1st. So you select the 1st.
You choose 1st Feb as your start date. It will,say your ticket is valid for first use between the 1st and 5th of Feb. Great!
Then you notice actually the 30th Jan is even cheaper. But the ticket validity is from the 30th and the 3rd. So you can’t go for that date.
I getcha. 
I’m wondering about the practicality of this. People getting in line, flashing/scanning their tickets, only to be told, “Hold on! Sorry. You can’t enter without paying more.” It will slow down the lines considerably.
The alternative is that Disney won’t care at all, and if you get to the end of your window and realize you are out of days, but still have 2 unused park days, THAT’s when they will say you can pay the added fee?
I really think Disney needs to make this crystal clear. Sounds like a potential mess.
That’s what I was wondering. Its slow enough already with people not being able to figure out how to scan bands and finger prints!
Okey Dokey - So, if assuming for this thought experiment that it does turn out one can choose a start day prior to the first intended park day…
I created a form in my spreadsheet where I can choose the number of park days and it finds the change in price for every day in the year as compared to the price when shifting that start date back from 1 to 5 days.
So, there are a few opportunities during the year where you could save (or lose) $20-$30 per ticket by a shift. Most of the price changes via shifting are in the +/- $0-$10 range, though.
(Again, the amounts vary by length of ticket and time of year, of course.)
So, worth it? I dunno.
Below are the charts for the shifts for 5 day tickets. Note that negative numbers indicate a savings by shifting back - positive numbers means it would cost more to shift.
As it is Friday, I will now be ordering a pizza to bring home for the family, then crashing on my sofa to enjoy the last dose of my Z-Pak. (Which, coincidentally, is my new rapper name.)
Have a great weekend everyone!
I’m with you 100% on this feeling! It reminds me of the original @JJT “stuck the the tapstiles” post! It could definitely be a nightmare with lots of families trying to use the wrong season tickets or ones past their validity window. They better have a way of dealing with this better than the 1-2 CMs with ipads.
I can’t imagine too many people will declare a start day other than the one that they are planning on actually starting them on and I REALLY can’t imagine Disney caring or charging more. And because of those facts, I don’t think you’ll see many problems on the back end with people running out of validity.
I think we’re so used to finding little tips and tricks to optimize that we don’t realize how few people do it.
Good point. But now what am I gonna panic and complain about?
For what it’s worth, the new Least Expensive Ticket Calculator uses the backdated-ticket tip in its calculations.
Another tip we’re exploring: If you’re already park-hopping and need your ticket to be valid for 1 day more than the default period, it’s cheaper to get the Park Hop Plus option than the Flexible Dates option. (PHP extends the ticket validity by 1 more day.)
The ticket calculator should be available this week.
OK, Putting some bridging estimates here as a placeholder - will fill in details later.
Trying to figure out what the savings would be if you bridged reseller tickets to AP using two scenarios: if the CM uses the pre-12MAR2019 tiered Disney price vs the current Disney price.
(EDIT: ignore the $765 amount in the top image, it is left over from an old lookup, but is just an info line and doesn’t factor into equations.)
I randomly used a peak / super-peak day (12/24/19). This time frame has a particularly large increase in ticket price since Disney introduced a new highest price tier.
