It is a common thing to prepare everything for a trip, and then, at the last minute, your plans change, so your trip gets postponed or canceled.
You may wonder what you should do with the already-bought tickets, i.e. can you return them, get a refund, and you will have all sorts of questions.
If your tickets are for Walt Disney World or Universal Studios you might ask whether they expire, and can you use them even after your planned date in the first place.
Walt Disney World tickets, have an expiration date and are only valid through the dates given on your ticket. On the other hand, Universal Studios tickets do not have an expiration date in general, however, some types of tickets might be subject to specific expiration conditions.
If your trip gets canceled or postponed, you would like to know your options when it comes to unused tickets.
Usually, Disney World and Universal Studios have different types of tickets, and each of them has a different policy and life span when it comes to how and when they expire. Below, I have listed the options you have, if you do not use your tickets on the intended dates, so you would know what to do and save your money on time.
Do Walt Disney Tickets Expire?
Disney World offers different types of tickets depending on your stay in the Disney World Resort and the activities you want to do while you are there.
Since there are different options, you can carefully choose your tickets according to the days you stay there or your personal plans while you stay in Orlando.
Therefore, you can buy a ticket for only one day, or you can choose one that lasts for a week up to ten days.
Take a look at this popular YouTube video that explains the 2021 Ticket Prices at Walt Disney World.
When it comes to expiration dates, Disney World has a policy that all of the bought tickets are valid only through the beginning date and are valid only through the period that is stated on the ticket.
This means that the validity of your ticket will depend on the first day on which you bought it and through the time period for which you bought the ticket. According to this, you can choose from different types of tickets:
Disney Expiration Date Explained
- 1-day ticket – expires on the selected start date.
- 2-day ticket – expires 4 days after the selected start date.
- 3-day ticket – expires 5 days after the selected start date.
- 4-day ticket – expires 7 days after the selected start date.
- 5-day ticket – expires 8 days after the selected start date.
- 6-day ticket – expires 9 days after the selected start date.
- 7-day ticket – expires 10 days after the selected start date.
- 8-day ticket – expires 12 days after the selected start date.
- 9-day ticket – expires 13 days after the selected start date.
- 10-day ticket – expires 14 days after the selected start date.
This means that if you buy a 7-day ticket for 1st May, your ticket will be valid from 1st until 10th May. In other words, you can use the ticket for any 7 days throughout this period, meaning you do not have to use it strictly on 1st May.
- If you do not use your ticket in the period you selected, you may exchange the ticket for a new one but only if the requirements are met. For instance, you can exchange your expired ticket for a new one, if the current price of the tickets is equal to or greater than the original price you paid for your ticket before.
Do Universal Studios Tickets Expire?
Universal Orlando has different policies when it comes to tickets. When you buy a ticket for Universal Studios they do not actually have a date when you can use them. However, they are only available for use for one year from the date of purchase, Note: This applies to most tickets.
Since Universal Studios offers tickets for different events and activities, not all of the tickets have the same validity period.
Do Universal Tickets Expire?
Even though they do not have a specific date for use, some of them can be only used at different times, and some of them might even expire. For instance, if you have purchased a ticket for a certain event that will be held only one time in the year or just that year, you cannot use the ticket in the future.
Nonetheless, for most tickets, you can count that they will be valid for one year from the day of the purchase, or valid until the end of the year when you bought your ticket.
For a more specific image of the tickets offered at Universal Studios, see the list below.
- Universal Orlando Park Explorer Tickets are valid for 2 years, considering they are bought in 2020.
- Universal Orlando PROMO Tickets are valid for 1 year starting from the day when the purchase was completed. The day is stated on the ticket itself.
- Universal Orlando Halloween Nights Tickets can be used only on the date of the event, or they can be kept for next year. Also, you have an option to ask for a refund.
However, depending on your ticket, and the events held at a particular time, you can have options to exchange or refund it.
For those kinds of details, you will have to contact Customer Service, and they will provide you the information you need. Nonetheless, in general, Universal Studios does not offer refunds since they have the policy of all purchases being final.
Now you should have a clearer image of the expiration dates of tickets at Disney World and Universal Studios.
Do Unused Disney Tickets Expire
You have the option to exchange your unused tickets, but they still have an expiration date at some point. When you have an expired ticket it is better to contact Customer Service and ask for your options since refunds are not usually available.
If you are wondering If I enjoyed my day at Magic Kingdom on 17 October 1989 here’s a photo of my diary from the day! Have a magical day!
