Hi, Rachael! I'm glad you stopped by the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Last year, Walt Disney World discontinued its decades-long practice of having an across-the-board pricing structure for all of its theme park tickets. Now they have moved to
date-based pricing, and Guests who purchase their tickets online can use an interactive calendar that displays different prices depending on the days they choose to visit. The good news is that if you're planning to come during an off-peak travel period, your tickets may cost less than before! The
Disney Parks Blog has a great video that gives a quick overview of how this works.
So the answer to your question is it's not necessary to start on the day you chose; that is just the start of the
ticket validity window. You will have seven days, and you can use the tickets on any date during that time frame. For example, a 4-day base ticket with a start date of November 1 is valid any four days from November 1 to November 7.
I spoke with a Cast Member today, and she confirmed that this policy is the same for the new
Fall into Fun Mid-Day Magic Ticket Offer. By the way, this type of ticket is perfect for you, Rachael! We've had many questions from conference attendees like yourself about purchasing half-day Park tickets, and now we can finally say, "Yes, you can buy them!" I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this offer sticks around longer than this fall!
I hope this helps, Rachael. See ya' real soon!
Eean