How to schedule a break day during your Disney World trip

Many people book trips that last longer than the number of days on their ticket and sometimes that can lead to some confusion when planning out park days and booking FastPass+ reservations.

So much confusion that we are often asked “When using my park tickets, do I have to use them all in a row or can I plan a break day in the middle?”

Guess what?

We have some good news for people that like break days!

Ticket entitlements don’t have to be all used in a row. In fact, unless you only bought a single day ticket, you’ll find that the valid length to use your ticket is more than the number of entitlements (days) on the ticket itself.

Here is what that looks like:

In this article

Tickets only (no package)

If you purchased your tickets outside of a package, your tickets are valid for the length indicated below.

Note: if you choose to add on the Park Hopper Plus you’ll notice that you get 1 additional day to use your ticket.

1-Day tickets are valid ONLY for the day indicated when purchased
2-Day tickets are valid for any 2 days within a 4 day window that begins on the day indicated when purchased (5 days for Park Hopper Plus)
3-Day tickets are valid for any 3 days within a 5 day window that begins on the day indicated when purchased (6 days for Park Hopper Plus)
4-Day tickets are valid for any 4 days within a 7 day window that begins on the day indicated when purchased (8 days for Park Hopper Plus)
5-Day tickets are valid for any 5 days within a 8 day window that begins on the day indicated when purchased (9 days for Park Hopper Plus)
6-Day tickets are valid for any 6 days within a 9 day window that begins on the day indicated when purchased (10 days for Park Hopper Plus)
7-Day tickets are valid for any 7 days within a 10 day window that begins on the day indicated when purchased (11 days for Park Hopper Plus)
8-Day tickets are valid for any 8 days within a 12 day window that begins on the day indicated when purchased (13 days for Park Hopper Plus)
9-Day tickets are valid for any 9 days within a 13 day window that begins on the day indicated when purchased (14 days for Park Hopper Plus)
10-Day tickets are valid for any 10 days within a 14 day window that begins on the day indicated when purchased (15 days for Park Hopper Plus)

Walt Disney World Vacation Packages

If, however, you purchased a Disney World Vacation Package, your tickets are valid for the LONGER of either the standard valid length indicated in the list above OR the length of your stay.

So, for example, if you booked a 9 day package but you have 4-Day tickets your tickets are good for 9 days (the length of your stay) not the standard 7 days (per the list above).

And, the best part?

They do not have to be used on consecutive days.

So, what does that look like when planning out a trip?

Say for example you have a 10 day trip planned (staying at a Disney World resort) and you buy 5 day Park Hopper Plus tickets. Those tickets give you 5 park day entries (with the ability to “hop” between parks if you want), plus 5 entries into one of the “Plus” options, which includes entries into the water parks, miniature golf (before 4:00), or a round of golf at Oak Trail.

On a 10 day trip you’d likely want to spread the fun out and possibly take a couple “break” days to relax or do non-Disney (the horror!) things. So, your trip might look a little something like this:

Day 1 – park
Day 2 – park, water park
Day 3 – break
Day 4 – water park, Disney Springs
Day 5 – park
Day 6 – miniature golf & water park
Day 7 – break
Day 8 – park
Day 9 – water park
Day 10 – park

On the trip above, the person uses all 5 of their park and “Plus” entries.

Some other important things to note from the example above:

“Plus” entitlements do not have to be used on the same day as park days, but you can use 1 of each on the same day, if you’d like.
You can use 2 “Plus” entitlements on the same day if you’d like (we used the example of playing some miniature golf and going to the water park on the same day).
You don’t have to use all of your ticket entitlements, but since Disney discontinued the “No Expiration” option you aren’t able to save them. You use them or lose them.
Since the trip was only 10 days long, they were well within the “14 days of first use” rule, but if your trip is longer you can mix and match how you use your ticket entitlements however you want as long as you are within the “14 days of first use” window.

When it comes time to book your FastPass+ reservations for your trip, if you are staying onsite you’ll be able to book your FastPass+ reservations for your entire trip 60 days out from the day you check-in. Just pick the days you’re planning to enter the parks and make your FastPass+ selections on those days.

If staying offsite you’ll be able to make your FastPass+ selections one day at a time, exactly 30 days out from each day you’d like to enter the parks.

Need more help deciphering the ins and outs of Disney World tickets, including where to find the best prices for all the different options?