Disney World tickets: Magic Your Way vs. Park Hopper

Editor’s note: This is the second in a six-part Q&A series on “Bringing the kids to Disney World.” Today, Orbitz’s Robin Gallagher grills Jonas Lehmann-Karp, of The Walt Disney World Moms Panel, on options for admission tickets.

Q: My 3-year old still naps and my 4-year old needs quiet time (along with Mom and Dad). Can I enter and leave all of the parks with one admission ticket or should I buy a special pass? Are there price differences based on flexibility?

A Magic Your Way Base Ticket allows you to enter and leave one Disney park per day.

A: Disney understands that children and adults may want or need a break from the parks to take time to regroup or recharge. To that end, Disney makes it easy for families to come and go from the parks as they please. Purchasing a regular Magic Your Way Base Ticket allows you to enter and leave one Disney park per day. For example, if your family uses a base ticket to enter Epcot in the morning, you can leave the park to return to your resort to nap or participate in any other activity such as relaxing at the resort pool, shopping in Downtown Disney, or enjoying time at a spa. When you are ready to return to Epcot, simply return to the park with the same ticket you used earlier in the day.

If you want to enjoy the flexibility of coming and going through all four Disney theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom) on the same day for the length of your ticket, upgrade to the Park Hopper option. While slightly more expensive than a Magic Your Way Base Ticket, I find that the Park Hopper Option works for my family.

For example, my family often likes to eat at one of the restaurants in Epcot’s World Showcase, such as Le Cellier in the Canada Pavilion, Biergarten at the Germany Pavilion, and Rose and Crown at the U.K. Pavilion. With a Park Hopper ticket, our family has the flexibility to enjoy the day at one of the other parks, such as the Magic Kingdom, return to the hotel to nap, relax, or swim, and then head to Epcot to enjoydinner and the Illuminations fireworks, laser, and water show.

Insider tip from Orbitz: Purchase your 3-day Walt Disney World® Magic Your Way® Tickets now and receive 2 days FREE. Book by March 15, 2010. More details

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Robin Gallagher is a Senior Market Manager for Orbitz Worldwide. She is a busy working Mom with even busier boys who are 3 and 4. As you can imagine, family fun time while keeping the interest of boys with 20-minute attention spans, has become a mission for her and her husband in life and in travel!

Tagged: Disney, Family time, Florida