Welcome to planDisney, Renee!
You sound like the most wonderful Grandma to your grand-Mouseketeer! I love that you’ll be making wonderful memories together as you experience incredible attractions and try delicious Mickey-shaped snacks!
Renee, I’m so glad you know that both,
Disney Park Pass reservations and theme park tickets are required in order the enter the theme parks. It is definitely recommended that you book your Disney Park Pass reservations as soon as possible because Theme Parks can get full to capacity, and we wouldn't want the clock to strike midnight on your plans! However, you would need first to purchase tickets, and those would need to be linked to your
My Disney Experience account before making your Disney Park Pass reservations.
Before you purchase your tickets, I would recommend you check the
Theme Park Reservation Availability Calendar to be sure the theme parks of your choice are available during the time you’d like to visit.
If after purchasing your tickets, the tickets didn’t automatically link to your
My Disney Experience Mobile app, open up the app, tap the three horizontal lines on the bottom right corner, and then choose “Tickets and Passes.” From here, you will select the “+” on the top right corner of the screen and enter the ID codes of the tickets to link them.
As far as the cost difference goes, if you are purchasing theme park tickets for the child, and the child cannot come, although tickets are nonrefundable, you can use the value of a wholly unused ticket toward the purchase of another ticket for a future date.
If you have a
Disney Resorts Collection hotel room-only reservation and the child cannot come, it’s perfectly alright. However, if you have a
Vacation Package and make changes to your reservation within 30 days of your visit, there may be a fee. Therefore, my recommendation if you have a Vacation Package would be to give the Reservations Team a call at (407) 939-1936, and a friendly Cast Member will be happy to assist you! Meanwhile,
here’s a link to the 2021 Online Package Terms and Conditions.
We hope to welcome you to the magic very soon, Renee! Have an enchanting time!
Aena