1st time using the AP - Parking

[daywalker]

Hi,

I have purchased the above & received a voucher (with free self parking).

I am clear about getting into the park with the voucher & then proceeding to the customer services area to have my photo done & receive my AP card etc. Do we still pay for the parking on our first visit?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[USO2003]

This is a good question, because I don't have a clear answer.

When I got mine in 2001 I had to pay parking, I asked the Parking Attendant "I am buying an annual pass do I need to pay parking?" He said yes, but after I got my Annual Pass to go to Guest Services and I would get my money back. Well I got the tickect said wheres my $7, they said "I don't know why he said that, you have to pay on the 1st visit." Made no sense so I went to Guest Services and argued until I got my $7.

I just renewed my annual pass I had the expired pass I said I am renewing it do I need to pay she said "Do you have your old pass?" I showed it to her she said ok and let me through without paying.

So if you have a voucher you shouldn't have to pay, if I didn't with an expired annual pass you shouldn't have to.

I really doubt you will have to.

 

[daywalker]

Thank you USO

 

[Muushka]

When I went a year ago in Jan, we had AP vouchers. We had to pay to park that first time.
Trust me, I tried to talk them out of it, to no avail.

 

[daywalker]

Thanks Muushka, I would make that a breach of the terms & conditions. It's quite clearly stated when you buy the AP that free self parking is included, once you have the voucher to get into the park, you have paid for your AP & therefore should be entitled to free parking. I would be like USO & kick up a fuss with guest services, I know it's only $8.00 (well, it was last year) but it's the principle that matters
I just wanted to know if others had gone through what you have both mentioned, I expected to have to pay for parking the first time but would have assumed i could have claimed it back at guest services. I'm not exactly in a rush though! I don't go back till October!!

 

[BarryHom]

I had an AP voucher. I flashed it at the parking attendant and I got free parking. She just asked me for my name.

 

[MsDisney]

The first time I got an AP, it was a voucher and I was told upon entering the parking garage that I had to pay, but when I got my annual pass, they would refund my parking since it IS included. Well, they looked at me like I had 3 heads in the AP processing office. I said, "I had PAID for the AP, and parking is included, so I don't understand why I should have to pay at all. I shelled out the money in advance to get it!" I think it's cheap of them, if they have your money, to not honor the parking perk. I CAN understand why they might not honor it on the way in with a voucher, I mean, you could hold onto a voucher forever and just get free parking to go to the movies and dining, etc. (not that I can imagine doing this) Or worse, people could give a voucher to visiting friends to keep them from having to pay parking while using their day passes. (if there is a way around the rules, people find it!).
I think the official stand is that you ARE supposed to pay for parking the first time, but that you may get lucky and not have to.
We have 4 AP's with 2 different expiration dates, so I don't think we'll have to worry about it again!
Karen

 

[daywalker]

Thanks everyone, you've been a great help

 

[robvia]

My pass also expired. Guess I'll park across the street in the TGIFriday's lot and walk over the first time I go back.

 

[kellymonaghan]

I have been given free parking with just a voucher and also with an EXPIRED annual pass (which I was going to the park to renew that day).

If a parking attendant charges you for parking in this type situation, I would recommend not arguing with the attendant but bringing it up with customer service and asking for a refund.

 

[taxman]

AFter reading the various posts on this subject, I was all set to shell out the parking fee when I went with my AP voucher for the first time. However, at the gate, I gave the voucher to the attendant and "told" him it included the parking fee. After a few moments of his trying to run the voucher through his computer, it worked and I did not have to pay for parking. Since then, I have always stayed onsite at one RP HR or PO and I have not yet been able to get the hotels to give me free parking with the AP.

 

[chris mcfly]

OFFICIALLY, you do indeed have to pay for parking on the first day, wether you are coming to purchase your AP, or if you have the paper ticket and you need to get your photo taken.

The reasoning behind this is that your Annual Pass will entitle you to 365 days of free parking, just not today. In other words, if you got your annual pass today, February 27th, 2003, it would expire February 27th, 2004, which is actually 366 days of admission (you get one day "free"), with 365 days of free parking.

 

[USO2003]

Originally posted by chris mcfly
OFFICIALLY, you do indeed have to pay for parking on the first day, wether you are coming to purchase your AP, or if you have the paper ticket and you need to get your photo taken.

The reasoning behind this is that your Annual Pass will entitle you to 365 days of free parking, just not today. In other words, if you got your annual pass today, February 27th, 2003, it would expire February 27th, 2004, which is actually 366 days of admission (you get one day "free"), with 365 days of free parking.

How do you figure this? Your pass expires 365 days after you buy it. So if you have a voucher your and come to redeem it your pass starts it's 365 day cycle that day. So it you pay parking that day you get 364 days of Free Parking.

To simplify the day you buy your pass you used your 1st day so 364 remain, if you paid parking the day you got it you DON'T get 365 days of Free Parking.

 

[MsDisney]

Originally posted by USO2003
How do you figure this? Your pass expires 365 days after you buy it. So if you have a voucher your and come to redeem it your pass starts it's 365 day cycle that day. So it you pay parking that day you get 364 days of Free Parking.

It's math.

Think of it on a smaller scale, say your pass expired in a week instead of a year...if you bought it today, it would expire 7 days from now, on the 6th, but that gives you 8 days of use...the day you buy it and the day it expires. That's what Chris is trying to say, you actually get 366 days of use of your annual pass...but for parking, since you are supposed to pay for the first parking entrance, you only get 365 days of parking.

It's confusing, but if you look at it, on the smaller scale, it makes more sense, IMO.
I still think it's cheap, but someone could have a voucher and never redeem it, therefore getting free parking, or, they could give it to visiting relatives....goodness knows we had our share of extra vouchers for a little while since we pre-purchased several at $99 each...but of course, we didn't loan them to anyone to try to "beat the system" either.

Karen

 

[USO2003]

Originally posted by MsDisney
It's math.

Think of it on a smaller scale, say your pass expired in a week instead of a year...if you bought it today, it would expire 7 days from now, on the 6th, but that gives you 8 days of use...the day you buy it and the day it expires.
Karen

Actually if you bought a 7 day pass at Universal today and it would expire in 6 days. So if you paid parking on the 1st day you get free parking for 6 days not 7.

 

[MsDisney]

Originally posted by USO2003
Actually if you bought a 7 day pass at Universal today and it would expire in 6 days. So if you paid parking on the 1st day you get free parking for 6 days not 7.

That's completely different. I wasn't actually talking about a literal 7 day pass. I was talking about if you bought an imaginary "week long pass" as opposed to an annual pass (just for the sake of looking at it on a smaller scale). If it were good for one week (the way an annual is good for one year), then it would be good for the day you purchase it (just like an annual) and would expire one WEEK (or one YEAR) from that day, which includes the day it expires, thus giving you 8 days or 366 days. The annual pass doesn't call itself a 365 day pass, so I was just trying to make it easier to understand what Chris was saying. If you'd like to sit there and count all of the days, you'll see, your AP is good for 366 days. The parking "perk" specifically is good for 365 of those, apparently.

I don't know how else to explain it, I thought it made sense.

Karen

 

[USO2003]

Ok I see, yes your correct, since it is the same day of purchase you are getting the extra day free.

So if you count the actual day of purchase and count the days until it expires you will have 366 days.

Now I feel like an idiot.

 

[MsDisney]

Originally posted by USO2003
Ok I see, yes your correct, since it is the same day of purchase you are getting the extra day free.

So if you count the actual day of purchase and count the days until it expires you will have 366 days.

Now I feel like an idiot.

Yeah, well, don't worry about it, I had to think about it myself...it made sense when I thought about it, but the rational mind thinks "an annual pass is good for one year, which is 365 days" but they're giving you an extra day in the process.

Karen

 

[cinamin27]

If you rode a shuttle from your hotel to the park, redeemed your voucher & got the plastic AP picture card, left the park & came back in your car, they would give you free parking if you flashed your brand spanking new AP. They wouldnt say, oh, I'm sorry you just got your AP today, you dont get free parking until tomorrow. If they know you are trading in your voucher, theres no reason why they should charge you to park just because you have paper & not plastic.

 

[MsDisney]

Originally posted by cinamin27
If you rode a shuttle from your hotel to the park, redeemed your voucher & got the plastic AP picture card, left the park & came back in your car, they would give you free parking if you flashed your brand spanking new AP. They wouldnt say, oh, I'm sorry you just got your AP today, you dont get free parking until tomorrow. If they know you are trading in your voucher, theres no reason why they should charge you to park just because you have paper & not plastic.

This is true, but...how do you prove you're turning in your voucher that day? I agree, by the way...but I'm just saying, the fact is, you can't prove you ARE redeeming it. I think the only way to do that is charge you and then refund it back to you when you DO redeem your voucher, but I wonder if the parking money and the money in the AP office is technically from the same division.

Of course, you *could* just look at it like you beat the system to some degree and got a bonus day of parking

Karen