A little Hotwire PHP anxiety

[LauraR]

Just got the 7 day PHP tickets I ordered from the Hotwire Savings Club, and was surprised at how flimsy they are. I had only experienced the credit card type passes I bought at the Disney Store before, and now I'm worried about losing/destroying these. Seems like it would be alot easier to do both with these tickets. Is it possible to trade them in for the credit card type passes when we get to Disney, or will they not do that?
Also I noticed that it said "not valid...for any park commencing after May 1, 1998" Does that mean we can or can't go to AK?
One last question---can you use the paper passes in the fastpass machines the same as the plastic ones?
Thanks for any responses!

 

[mousefansmom]

You can use them at Animal Kingdom. They are flimsier than the others but we have had ours for several years and they are still holding up. They do work in the fastpass machine just fine. Hope that helps!

 

[maggiew]

Our APs from Disney were made of the same type of paper. They will be fine. Our APs lasted all year and still look brand new.

Maggie

 

[owensamo]

The paper (they're really a plastic-based paper) tickets are what they actually have to sell at the gate. The Disney Store and the resorts have the credit card type tickets.

From what I've heard (and this is a nth-hand rumor), the credit-card style tickets are actually *less* durable than the paper tickets, at least when it comes to the magnetic strip. This is why APs are paper - they tend to last better when used over and over and over again (as APs may be). Since park hoppers and UPHs are finite in use, the credit-card type plastic tickets work alright for those.

Either ticket should work just fine for both fastpass machines and turnstyles. Any discounter you find online will have the paper tickets that they sell at the gates. We have paper 6 day PHPs that we still have a day left on and they look just like they did when we bought them (at the Disney Store, before they went to plastic).

Mur!

 

[LauraR]

Thanks all of you, that does make me feel alot better! Now I just need to focus on not losing them!

 

[mareed]

I actually prefer the paper ones because I tend to have days leftover after a trip, and I can make a note on the ticket as to how many days are left. Just can't do this with the credit-card type, and I have a couple of tickets that I'm not absolutely sure how many days are left.

As for losing them, be sure to make a photocopy of them, or at least write down the numbers on them and Disney should be able to replace them if you did lose them.