Annual Pass Activation Question

[abw]

My apologies in advance for a complicated question. I'd value any thoughts on how to handle this.

As DVC owners, we allowed our PAPs to lapse a year ago. We are now returning to WDW this coming weekend for a 4-night stay at OKW. We bought 5-day tix and loaded them to MDE some time ago for FP+.

Based on new future travel plans, we'd like to upgrade to PAPs. We've also added two nights off-site that precede our upcoming OKW stay. We arrive the first night around 9 pm and plan to be in the parks the next AM for rope drop.

Having waited in vain for a ticket promo (drat!), I plan to call tomorrow to upgrade to PAPs. I believe they will give me a code for vouchers associated with our bands that we can redeem as soon as we get to WDW.

What's the best plan of action? Wait until I get to the park in the AM to redeem the voucher? Will I have to pay for parking? Should I use an alternative - like activating at Downtown Disney and then taking a bus to the Contemporary? Could I activate at Guest Relations at Downtown Disney when we arrive (late) the first night? I can see paying to park if necessary (though it will feel strange!), but I'm trying to make the process as smooth as possible.

TIA for any thoughts on this!

 

[erionm]

You can't upgrade the previously purchased MYW tickets to PAPs by phone. You can only upgrade them in person at a park ticket window or guest relations location. If the MYW ticket was purchased at a discount (either from a third party re-seller or was part of the room/ticket package), you would want to use the ticket at least once prior to doing the upgrade so that you get credit for the current gate pricing.

When staying at a Disney owned & operated resort (which includes the DVC resorts), you are entitled to free parking at the theme parks.

 

[cvjw]

Just a tip, but if you purchased your tickets at a discount, do your homework in advance and figure out how much the upgrade cost should be. I have had bad experiences the last two times we have upgraded tickets from Undercover Tourist to DVC AP's. One manager wanted to charge us $300 too much and would not budge on the prices. I had to get the tickets back and go to another guest service location.

 

[DenLo]

Since you are staying on property at OKW you will get free parking. I would wait to buy the PAP when you get to WDW. You can go to Guest Relations at DTD to upgrade and get credit for your 5 day ticket.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Since you are staying on property at OKW you will get free parking. I would wait to buy the PAP when you get to WDW. You can go to Guest Relations at DTD to upgrade and get credit for your 5 day ticket.

Not only that, I'd wait until the last day (before entrance that day, of course) if it were me unless I specifically needed the benefits (golf, DQ, etc.) of the PAP during this trip.

 

[supersnoop]

Not only that, I'd wait until the last day (before entrance that day, of course) if it were me unless I specifically needed the benefits (golf, DQ, etc.) of the PAP during this trip.

Why? Your "before entrance" comment doesn't make sense because you can upgrade any time on that last day. And you don't get any extra days by waiting, since an annual pass will be dated based on the date the ticket was first used.

 

[abw]

Thanks, y'all, for the suggestions. Turns out we're offsite before the OKW stay, so I think we'll have to pay parking our first day. I'll plan to upgrade to PAPs on the first day as we're leaving the park.

 

[abw]

Regarding upgrading discounted tix, my understanding that we pay the difference between the DVC-discounted PAP price and the official Disney "rack" price of the tickets we already bought. Is this right?

 

[erionm]

Thanks, y'all, for the suggestions. Turns out we're offsite before the OKW stay, so I think we'll have to pay parking our first day. I'll plan to upgrade to PAPs on the first day as we're leaving the park.

If you upgrade that first day, make sure you get a parking receipt and ask to be reimbursed for parking when you upgrade to the PAP.

Regarding upgrading discounted tix, my understanding that we pay the difference between the DVC-discounted PAP price and the official Disney "rack" price of the tickets we already bought. Is this right?

Depends.

If you bought the tickets from a 3rd party (like Undercover Tourist) or they were part of a room/ticket package, you need to use them at least once before Disney will give you credit for the current gate pricing.

If you bought the tickets direct from Disney and they were not part of a room/ticket package, they will only give you credit for what you paid for them.

 

[abw]

If you upgrade that first day, make sure you get a parking receipt and ask to be reimbursed for parking when you upgrade to the PAP.

Thanks for this. I wasn't aware of this. Will certainly keep our receipt for reimbursement.

If you bought the tickets from a 3rd party (like Undercover Tourist) or they were part of a room/ticket package, you need to use them at least once before Disney will give you credit for the current gate pricing.

If you bought the tickets direct from Disney and they were not part of a room/ticket package, they will only give you credit for what you paid for them.

We bought through UT so we'll take our plastic tickets (though already uploaded to our Magic bands. I'll watch to make sure we get credit for current gate pricing.

Thanks, y'all!

 

[erionm]

We bought through UT so we'll take our plastic tickets (though already uploaded to our Magic bands. I'll watch to make sure we get credit for current gate pricing.

It's always a good idea to know the current gate price of the ticket you have and what you expect to pay to upgrade that ticket. If they tell you an amount other than what you expect to pay, as them if they brought the ticket up to gate (aka price bridging). If they tell you they don't price bridge, ask for a manager. If the manager says the same thing, politely take the ticket back and go to a different location to attempt the upgrade.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Why? Your "before entrance" comment doesn't make sense because you can upgrade any time on that last day. And you don't get any extra days by waiting, since an annual pass will be dated based on the date the ticket was first used.

As I have always understood it, you don't get credit for the credited ticket once the last entrance is used. That's what I've always been told.

If you wait until the last day, the first use of the AP becomes that day therefore not "wasting" the prior days.

What did I miss?

 

[supersnoop]

As I have always understood it, you don't get credit for the credited ticket once the last entrance is used. That's what I've always been told.

If you wait until the last day, the first use of the AP becomes that day therefore not "wasting" the prior days.

What did I miss?

You missed on both points.
A ticket is still valid for entrance through the last day; so you can upgrade at any point in time on the last day.
The AP renewal date is based on the first use of the ticket that you use to upgrade. You don't get any "free" days by waiting until the last day to upgrade.

 

[abw]

You missed on both points.
A ticket is still valid for entrance through the last day; so you can upgrade at any point in time on the last day.
The AP renewal date is based on the first use of the ticket that you use to upgrade. You don't get any "free" days by waiting until the last day to upgrade.

Actually, can't you upgrade up until 14 days after the last day of use and get the full ticket value? Though the renewal date is based on the first day of use?

 

[erionm]

Actually, can't you upgrade up until 14 days after the last day of use and get the full ticket value? Though the renewal date is based on the first day of use?

No. From the old everything about WDW tickets sticky:

Any MYW ticket can be upgraded within 14 days of first use. There are no exceptions, other than those discussed in the next paragraph. This applies even if the ticket has the No Expire Option. If the first day of use is a Sunday, the last time an upgrade or modification may be done is 11:59:59pm of the second Saturday.

In addition, effective August 1, 2011, if you have used all of your entitlements on a ticket the last day of use of entitlements is also the last day that you can do any sort of upgrade. So if you had a four day ticket and your fourth day of use was a Friday, from Saturday onward you cannot do any upgrade even though it is within the 14 day period.

 

[abw]

No. From the old everything about WDW tickets sticky:

Ah, got it. That's the exception I was missing about the 14-day window. I guess the allowable window is say using a 5-day ticket spread out over 14 days.

 

[supersnoop]

Actually, can't you upgrade up until 14 days after the last day of use and get the full ticket value? Though the renewal date is based on the first day of use?

No. From the old everything about WDW tickets sticky:

The sticky is no long a sticky. While it's still mostly accurate, it is a little dated. And abw is correct, with the disclaimer, *sometimes.

I didn't want to delve into the anomalies of ticket upgrades. It does seem as though, if you are staying on site and your ticket is linked to your MDE, then you can actually upgrade throughout the duration of your stay, even after you've used the last day's admission. I'm not up to speed on all the caveats of upgrading after last use, but you've always been able to upgrade on the last day.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Make sure you have your DVC member card, plus everyone has an picture ID when you upgrade the tickets to DVC APs. Otherwise you don't get the DVC price.

 

[abw]

We upgraded UT-discounted tix Sunday to PAPs. No problem at all price-bridging (the CM used that exact phrase). We showed our DVC card. No need to show more than one picture ID. Thanks to all for their help!