Purchasing AP and DDE - logistics?

[Boardwalk III]

Hi all,

Have a 10-day trip in April with 4 adults, two teens. I am planning to buy AP's for myself and one of my boys using the DVC discount since he and I hope to go back in Dec. I have two questions:

1. What is the best way to buy the DVC AP's - by calling member services? How soon will I receive the voucher?

2. I have decided to do the DDE. How do I order this in advance with the AP voucher, and how long does it take to receive?

I think this has been asked before but couldn't find it, and wanted people's latest expereinces.

Appreciate your help!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Go to the member web site and you can order the vouchers from there. They will come in about a week, and as soon as you get them, call for the DDE card with the numbers on the back of the voucher. That card will take about 2 weeks to arrive. You should have plenty of time to get both if you do it now.

 

[paults]

you can order on-line at Disney. it takes about 14 days to get them. Ours came in about 10 days.

You need the Ap before the DDE. When you get your vouchers you can call DDE # I don't have it right now.

Also it use to take 5/6 wks but since the rush is over maybe 4 weeks.

If your trip is in April wait till end of Feb/ Mar to order. they usually give you 1 years and 1 month at order time. So good luck.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Actually, Paults, I just did this in December, and the AP vouchers came in less than a week, and the DDE card came in less than 2 weeks.

 

[Boardwalk III]

Great - thanks everyone!!! Just one clarification....does the DDE start from the date of purchase or date of first use?

 

[dianeschlicht]

The DDE card starts with the first full month after purchase. We purchased ours early in December, and it is good through the end of December this year. If you buy near the end of a month, it will be active and expire the following month, so in effect you get 13 months of use out of it in that case.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I would recommend you doing it that way. We waited until we were at WDW to get both, and we "lost" a weekend of use on the DDE card. Plus, it all seems very straightforward the way it's been explained to you!

Bobbi

 

[castleri]

We were at Disney in Sept and got there on a weekday. I had purchased my APs from MS on the phone and picked them up at DTD customer service. I then called the DDE number and ordered the cards. I was able to pick up the temporary cards for that and the list of participating locations at the EPCOT customer service window at 5PM the same day. The cards are good until the end of October because it was the second half of Sept when I got them.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

If you want the DDE to last as long as possible, call for it after the 5th of the month of your trip. Ask them to send a temporary card to Epcot guest services. Pick it up there and it will be valid for 13 months from the time you call. This is what I did in December and it worked out great.

 

[CarolMN]

If you want to order the DDE in advance, do not choose the "will call" option. You will need the actual AP voucher in hand when you call to order the DDE card.

Best wishes -

 

[rigsby25]

We had ordered annual passes before the price went up. The only thing we lost this way was the discount on one meal, but you can avoid this mistake by making your dinner reservations late for the first day. Ours were at 4:00 pm at San Angel. Back to what to do. We went to Epcot on Wednesday, 1/25 at about 2:00 pm. We went to the window to activate our annual passes. Then we went to guest relations which was a few steps over, and they had us call the DDE people right there at the window. Our temporary card was at Guest Relations by 5:30. DDE is open on week days till 5 as far as I know, and then they bring all the temporary cards right over to the parks. The good thing about this is that now our annual pass and our dining card expire on the same day.

 

[jekjones1558]

If you want to order the DDE in advance, do not choose the "will call" option. You will need the actual AP voucher in hand when you call to order the DDE card.

Excellent advice, Carol! If anyone out there has already chosen "will call pickup" for your APs and wants to have a DDE card in hand before going to WDW, just call back and change your AP order to shipping. I was very pleased that the CM did this for me, no problem.

Also, the 8th of the month appears to be the magic time that the DDE cards ship with the next month's expiration date. The CM told me exactly when to call in order my DDE card to have the card with the latest possible expiration. She said to allow 2 weeks for shipping.

 

[Boardwalk III]

Ok thanks everyone, so here's my exact scenario:

I ordered my AP's today and they will mail me the vouchers. We leave for our trip April 14th and have an early dinner the first day. I also want to be able to use the DDE pass thorugh April 2007.

If I call in the 2nd half of March for the DDE to be mailed to me, I should have it by 4/14, but will it still be good through 4/07?

Just want to make sure I understood everything correctly


Thanks again!!

 

[LisaS]

If I call in the 2nd half of March for the DDE to be mailed to me, I should have it by 4/14, but will it still be good through 4/07?

Ordering it at that time should give you an expiration date of 4/30/07. Just double check what expiration date you will be getting when you call to order it. Also ask them how long it is taking for people to receive the cards because that can change based on their current work load. I think you will be fine with your current plan. Enjoy!

 

[Boardwalk III]

Thanks so much everyone!!!!

 

[tor]

when i ordered dde last feb they asked when our trip was (may) and said it would activate may 1 then they emailed a letter with account info we used for that trip and card didnt come until end of june came from a pa mailing address

 

[dianeschlicht]

when i ordered dde last feb they asked when our trip was (may) and said it would activate may 1 then they emailed a letter with account info we used for that trip and card didnt come until end of june came from a pa mailing address

But that was a year ago, and they are MUCH more efficient now.