Premium Annual Passes for DVC Members for $399!

[yitbos96bb]

I bought regular AP's online a few weeks ago and am going to activate them in November. I called Member Services to see if I can "upgrade" these to the Premium and get this deal and was told I could not.
If anyone else finds out something different I would love to know!

Time to start sending emails and letters to Claire complaining about the lack of upgrade. Enough squeaky wheels and I think they avoid licensing their clients.

 

[staceymay00]

Wow, that is great news since we plan to get APs in December! I was planning to by MYW tickets at AAA and upgrade them at WDW - I can still do that and get the special price, right, as long as the MYW ticket cost is less than $399?

 

[spruce]

Bummer, we arrive on 9-28 and leave on the 5th and have a trip in June when we will do water parks. I wish they'd offer this purchase to members that have reservations starting before the 1st and ending after the 1st. It's a good deal.

 

[cmwade77]

Time to start sending emails and letters to Claire complaining about the lack of upgrade. Enough squeaky wheels and I think they avoid licensing their clients.

Email has been sent and about DL passes too, as well as premier.

 

[gmi3804]

Bummer, we arrive on 9-28 and leave on the 5th and have a trip in June when we will do water parks. I wish they'd offer this purchase to members that have reservations starting before the 1st and ending after the 1st. It's a good deal.

What kind of pass will you have on the 28th? Couldn't you upgrade that pass on the 1st?

 

[simmons_m]

Email has been sent and about DL passes too, as well as premier.

What email address are you sending the feedback to?
Thanks

 

[yitbos96bb]

I sent to member services to start. If I can ferret out some executive emails, then will post them to send too...Just be respectful... I thanked them for the wonderful offer but said it felt like a slap n the face we couldn't upgrade a voucher that hadn't been redeemed yet for this offer. Heck, I'll even eat the cost difference since the AP voucher costs more. Should be a no brainier for them.... Don't refund te price difference, just upgrade them. They make more money and don't anger guests. Vs creating ill will. I think they come around... Kind of like Apple when the cut the prices on the first iPhone... They practiced customer satisfaction by taking care of those who had recently bought the phone before the drop.

Just a note, the official email addresses are firstname.lastname@disney.com. Now I'm sure Claire's assistance reads them, but worth a shot anyway.

 

[spruce]

What kind of pass will you have on the 28th? Couldn't you upgrade that pass on the 1st?

We were going to get regular ap's but I was just reading about upgrades and bridging so I think a UT park Hopper purchase would work. Can anybody confirm that?

 

[simmons_m]

I sent to member services to start. If I can ferret out some executive emails, then will post them to send too...Just be respectful... I thanked them for the wonderful offer but said it felt like a slap n the face we couldn't upgrade a voucher that hadn't been redeemed yet for this offer. Heck, I'll even eat the cost difference since the AP voucher costs more. Should be a no brainier for them.... Don't refund te price difference, just upgrade them. They make more money and don't anger guests. Vs creating ill will. I think they come around... Kind of like Apple when the cut the prices on the first iPhone... They practiced customer satisfaction by taking care of those who had recently bought the phone before the drop.

Just a note, the official email addresses are firstname.lastname@disney.com. Now I'm sure Claire's assistance reads them, but worth a shot anyway.

Thanks...

 

[moobar25]

We were going to get regular ap's but I was just reading about upgrades and bridging so I think a UT park Hopper purchase would work. Can anybody confirm that?

According to Cheshire Figment "nomal upgrade rules apply". So MYW tix can be upgraded to the DVC-PAP.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2991734
You just can't upgrade APs into the new PAPs -according to MS.

I've been doing some math on upgrading, was planning on getting regular DVC-AP anyways but this saves more money. Here is the best option for UT upgrade that I came up with.

UT 5Day&WP = $311.95(with tax)
after first use can be upgraded to
DVC-PAP = $424.94(with tax)
get credit for Gate 5Day&WP = $346.13(with tax)
pay the difference of (DVC-PAP - Gate 5Day&WP) = $78.81
Total price (UT + upgrade difference) = $390.76
Savings of $34

Plus if you sign up for Mousesavers newsletter (before the 15th of the month) you can get a few more dollars off the ticket.

 

[tjkraz]

According to Cheshire Figment "nomal upgrade rules apply". So MYW tix can be upgraded to the DVC-PAP.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2991734
You just can't upgrade APs into the new PAPs -according to MS.

I would be very careful until we know for certain whether or not Disney is creating special rules surrounding this offer. Normally WDW passes can be upgraded to any "better" pass (i.e. AP to PAP) but DVC seems to be telling members that they cannot upgrade existing APs or vouchers under this offer. That makes me question whether MYW passes can be upgraded either.

Back in 2005 when the AP discount was first introduced, we "upgraded" non-discounted Annual Passes to discounted Premium Annual Passes and were even refunded some money in the process.

So far most of DVC's communications suggest they will be much more restrictive about upgrades this time around.

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

How does Will Call work? We're heading to WDW the second week of October, so if I buy our two passes Oct 1, I'm a little nervous we wouldn't get them in the mail on time. Also, is there any problem with ordering 2 APs Oct 1 and then getting 3 more for the kids before Dec 31 or do we have to get them all at the same time? Our October trip is Mom and Dad only but we're going in March with the kids. I don't have the cash on hand to get all 5 now, but will hopefully get a Christmas bonus.

Thanks!

Laurie

 

[n2mm]

How does Will Call work? We're heading to WDW the second week of October, so if I buy our two passes Oct 1, I'm a little nervous we wouldn't get them in the mail on time. Also, is there any problem with ordering 2 APs Oct 1 and then getting 3 more for the kids before Dec 31 or do we have to get them all at the same time? Our October trip is Mom and Dad only but we're going in March with the kids. I don't have the cash on hand to get all 5 now, but will hopefully get a Christmas bonus.

Thanks!

Laurie

I have used will call every time. I always buy online and you get a will call certificate that you print. (Plus you can save it to a file, just in case). You get it immediately after the purchase. I guess it will depend if you are directed to the ticket store and are allowed to purchase online through the DVC website. I like doing it this way as it has always worked for me, plus no extra fee for shipping. Time will tell.

 

[Thumper4me]

We are heading down in October for our trip and purchased DVC AP's. I have the vouchers. I am very disappointed that I can't take these vouchers to the ticket gate and "upgrade" to the Premium Pass. I feel like I am being punished for planning ahead.

If we can't upgrade when we get there, we will not be taking advantage of this perk. We were not planning on renewing the annual passes next year as we are heading to Yellowstone National Park for 2014. That is too bad because we may have discovered we really liked having access to the Water Parks and Disney Quest. We may have ended up buying the Premium Passes in the future....now we will never know.

Kelly

 

[gmi3804]

Kelly's story is an example of why I try to wait until the last minute to purchase anything.

I never understood why people purchase AP vouchers in advance. To save two minutes at a ticket window? To take advantage of current prices before a price increase? Either way, there are always going to be unhappy people when a new promo is announced.

 

[LisaS]

We are heading down in October for our trip and purchased DVC AP's. I have the vouchers. I am very disappointed that I can't take these vouchers to the ticket gate and "upgrade" to the Premium Pass. I feel like I am being punished for planning ahead.

If we can't upgrade when we get there, we will not be taking advantage of this perk. We were not planning on renewing the annual passes next year as we are heading to Yellowstone National Park for 2014. That is too bad because we may have discovered we really liked having access to the Water Parks and Disney Quest. We may have ended up buying the Premium Passes in the future....now we will never know.

Kelly

I have vouchers that I had planned to use this fall. I looked over every bit of the vouchers and the paperwork that came with them and there is no mention of any deadline for exchanging these particular vouchers for APs. (The policy may have changed since I bought these but these particular vouchers make no mention of any exchange deadline so I feel I'll be OK holding on to them to use later.) So I plan to hold on to the vouchers for a future trip and purchase PAPs for this trip instead and hit the water parks a few times between this trip and our spring trip.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We are heading down in October for our trip and purchased DVC AP's. I have the vouchers. I am very disappointed that I can't take these vouchers to the ticket gate and "upgrade" to the Premium Pass. I feel like I am being punished for planning ahead.

If we can't upgrade when we get there, we will not be taking advantage of this perk. We were not planning on renewing the annual passes next year as we are heading to Yellowstone National Park for 2014. That is too bad because we may have discovered we really liked having access to the Water Parks and Disney Quest. We may have ended up buying the Premium Passes in the future....now we will never know.

Kelly

Kelly...I had called to speak to MS yesterday but explained I was interested in switching/exchanging/upgrading my regular AP for this Premium discounted price. I need to buy AP's on Sept 26 when we arrive---and would be activating them on that day for use in the parks through 9/29. So I had asked if I could switch a week later on Oct 6 when we disembarked the Fantasy and went back to the parks. They told me "no". But you have vouchers----so perhaps you will be able to switch to this offer. I sure hope so. But like Tim mentioned above.....I'd wait it out and see. The details should be posted on DVC Member site on Oct 1. I'll be on the ship with no internet access but will probably run over to the DVC folks on the ship and find out the details because I'm dying to know. Good luck Kelly !!!!!

 

[kim_d]

I spoke to MS today and was informed that the PAP Discount Ticket is eligible for upgrade. We can purchase MYW PH for the beginning of our stay (end of Sept) and then upgrade to PAP on 10/1 (or later) as long as at least a day remain on the PH and we pay the price difference between the previously purchased PH and the dicounted PAP price.

Anyone else get the same answer?

 

[Marc A.]

I have vouchers that I had planned to use this fall. I looked over every bit of the vouchers and the paperwork that came with them and there is no mention of any deadline for exchanging these particular vouchers for APs. (The policy may have changed since I bought these but these particular vouchers make no mention of any exchange deadline so I feel I'll be OK holding on to them to use later.) So I plan to hold on to the vouchers for a future trip and purchase PAPs for this trip instead and hit the water parks a few times between this trip and our spring trip.

I'm in the same boat as you..Vouchers left from about two years ago. Three trips in the course of 10 months starting in November. Thinking of buying these PAPs and holding the vouchers for a few more years. I wish I remembered what I paid back then to compare.

 

[WebmasterDoc]

... So far most of DVC's communications suggest they will be much more restrictive about upgrades this time around.

It almost sounds as though DVC has gotten a special deal with Theme Parks for this promotion - where DVC is allowed to sell these Premium AP's at $399 (plus tax). I'd suspect that DVC may even get some sort of commission for each AP they sell.

If they accept the usual upgrade tickets as an exchange, they could then be stuck with admission media DVC has no use for and Theme Parks may not be as generous towards DVC with any credit for these reclaimed passes as they are when guests directly upgrade the "other" passes. Maybe they can work with Theme Parks to make it worthwhile to continue to offer the same upgrade policy as usually allowed.

I view this as a text program to see how effective DVC can be selling a plus feature admission medium to its members. If it gets a strong enough response, we may see similar deals going froward. If not, this may be our one-and-only chance for something like this. I suspect it is related to the number of APs sold with the DVC discount vs the number of PAPs sold with the DVC discount and Theme Parks is looking for a quick uptick in PAP sales to start their new fiscal year in October.

Stay tuned!