Orlando Theme Parks
As more of us head for America to take advantage of the declining dollar, the perennial question arises whether it is best to buy Orlando theme park tickets in advance.
The answer is yes, for reason of convenience alone. Some of the longer-stay tickets are not available at the gate.
If you know how much time you are going to spend in the parks, it can pay to buy beforehand. Disney is pushing its Ultimate Ticket (valid for 14 or 21 days) which gives unlimited admission to all four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom), two water parks, DisneyQuest (its indoor interactive park), Pleasure Island and Wide World of Sport.
The most comprehensive ticket available on the gate at Disney World is the seven-day Premium, which gives entry to the four main parks on seven days out of 14 plus five visits to the other Disney attractions; almost the same price for half the pleasure.
The price of tickets purchased in advance is not that different from those purchased on the day - although there is some saving, the advantage is you avoid queues.
It is helpful to purchase through an agent as there is a bewildering range of options available, with over 70 different types in Disney alone.
Ticket specialists such as Keith Prowse can offer good value tickets booked in advance. Tour operators may charge more, so watch out.
Tour operators usually send out vouchers that are exchanged for actual tickets in the resort. The advantage of this is that if you lose the voucher you can ask for a replacement to be issued. Lost tickets are usually not refundable.
Undercover Tourist (www.undercovertourist.com), does replace lost or unused tickets. If you do not use a ticket, you can apply for a refund (less 4% to cover card-handling charges). Undercover Tourist will also reissue tickets lost by customers either before travel or while on holiday. Allow 14 days for delivery.
Finally if you are doing Anaheim, the Citypass covers all the local attractions in Orange County. Disney in Orlando wants to keep customers from going near any of it rivals (there are 99 theme parks in a 100 mile radius). In California they are much more community spirited.
