? about annual passes

[omalley1118]

Hi! I'm new to all of this and trying to get my bearings. We just bought in March. We aer going in Sept and then probably again in May of next year. I would also love to go down for a few days at the Holidays to see the decorations. I'm assuming if you go more than once, it pays to buy an annual pass. Is there any advantage to buying them ahead of time or should we wait until we get there? Also, do they go from when you buy them or when you activate them? Lastly, is there any time of the year when the price goes up for next year to buy them?

OMalley 1118

 

[bama106]

If you buy them online you will get a voucher in the mail that you redeem when you get down there. It is one year from the time you redeem your voucher. If you buy them at wdw it will be one year from the time you purchase. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe price adjustments happen usually in August. So I would buy online before August or the price may increase. Hope I helped.

 

[Anal Annie]

I've read where some people buy several vouchers in advance to avoid the annual price increases (usually in August but could be at any time w/o warning). Apparently the vouchers never expire and since the clock doesn't start ticking on them until you turn them in for the actual AP's they "keep" indefinitely. If you're not going until Sept. there will likely be a price increase before then...so you could order the vouchers now & avoid that possibility.

 

[Chellymouse]

If you are planning to spend more than 8 days in the parks, the AP/PAP is worth the $$. DH and I both have PAP and so far we don't have any complaints. As others have mentioned, if you purchase ahead of time, there is a risk that the price can go up and it usually is around 8/1. This happened to me last year. I purchased my AP in June, knowing I was leaving 8/8. When I went to turn in my voucher, the CM mentioned the increase, but waived the fee, which was very kind of her. However, the CMs are not required to waive the fee and you may wind up paying it. I would suggest you order your passes before the increase and see what happens, but be prepared that you may have to pay the difference when you activate your pass if it is after the increase.

 

[Simba's Mom]

There's one possible disadvantage with buying vouchers ahead of time. I tried to buy my first one ahead of time. Was I surprised to receive a voucher for a Florida Resident's Annual Pass (and this was before the DVC discount. When I called, I had to send back the incorrect one and wait for the correct one. Since then, I'd just rather buy one at the park. I do risk a price increase between "voucher time" and "park time", but I'd rather have that than risk mail problems (imagine if it got lost in the mail!).

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

If you are planning to spend more than 8 days in the parks, the AP/PAP is worth the $$. DH and I both have PAP and so far we don't have any complaints. As others have mentioned, if you purchase ahead of time, there is a risk that the price can go up and it usually is around 8/1. This happened to me last year. I purchased my AP in June, knowing I was leaving 8/8. When I went to turn in my voucher, the CM mentioned the increase, but waived the fee, which was very kind of her. However, the CMs are not required to waive the fee and you may wind up paying it. I would suggest you order your passes before the increase and see what happens, but be prepared that you may have to pay the difference when you activate your pass if it is after the increase.

I am a voucher stockpiler. I exchanged one last year that I held for 4 years. Never any threat of having to pay the difference, actually no mention at all. Maybe its who you get, but we do this all the time and have never been questioned, asked to pay more or even had a comment about exchanging an old voucher. I'm not the type to argue, but if a CM told me I had to pay or acted as if they were doing me a favor by "waiving" the fee, I'd have a lot to say about it. There is nothing on their site or on the paperwork when they send you the voucher saying you have a certain time period to exchange it or that they will charge you more if you wait. I'll be interested to see what happens now when we go back and have to get our new AP's. Possibly this is a new protocol?

 

[ntz4disney]

We just purchased our new AP's in May, and I ordered them online and printed out my receipt and did not get a mailed voucher. We just took our printed out receipt, and presented it to guest relations along with our DVC card and driver's licenses for my husband and myself. Very easy to do! I purchased the tickets the week before we left, and just took the recipt I printed out with my travel documents with no problems. I would recommend keeping a copy of the recipt for your records, just in case your passes get lost or misplaced and you need proof of purchase!