Annual Pass and fastpass reservations

[Chax]

I could of course call Disney, but you guys and girls are so knowledgeable.

We are traveling with the 8 of us to WDW, since we will be staying offsite, are renting a car and are planning to go to the (Water)Parks for 12 days, I thought it would be wise for one of us (Pick me, pick me...) to buy an annual pass (Free parking, food and merchandise discount, discount tickets to the MNSSHP....)
But the whole thing leaves me with some questions the Disney world website doesn't seem to answer.

Does the year start the day I buy the annual pass online, or do I receive the voucher and the count down starts when I exchange it at the parks?

And if the last option is the case, how do I make fastpass reservations for the person with the annual pass 30 days in advance, or is that not an option with an unexchanged voucher?

Somewhat puzzled..

 

[wgeo]

You can make fastpasses as soon as you have the voucher.

The AP date doesn't start until you actually activate and go into a park. So it is 365 days from the first day that you use it.

 

[momto3pirates]

Be aware there is a limit to the number of days you can make FP for with an AP. I believe you can only hold FP for 7 days per month. It has been an issue for people staying longer.

 

[Bree]

If you are offsite, the AP holder can only make 7 days of FP at a time.

AP pricing for MNSSHP is only good on certain days. Here is pricing for the 2017 parties http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/halloween.htm#tickets

You can always purchase a regular park ticket to book all your FP and upgrade it to an AP when you get to Disney. You won’t get discounts on the party tickets though.

 

[scrapquitler]

I could of course call Disney, but you guys and girls are so knowledgeable.

We are traveling with the 8 of us to WDW, since we will be staying offsite, are renting a car and are planning to go to the (Water)Parks for 12 days, I thought it would be wise for one of us (Pick me, pick me...) to buy an annual pass (Free parking, food and merchandise discount, discount tickets to the MNSSHP....)
But the whole thing leaves me with some questions the Disney world website doesn't seem to answer.

Does the year start the day I buy the annual pass online, or do I receive the voucher and the count down starts when I exchange it at the parks?

And if the last option is the case, how do I make fastpass reservations for the person with the annual pass 30 days in advance, or is that not an option with an unexchanged voucher?

Somewhat puzzled..

Your AP starts the day you activate it at the park.

When you purchase the AP you link it to yourself (or whoever it is for) in MDE. You can then make your FP 30 days in advance. And you can make the FP 30 days in advance for everyone in your group who has their park tickets linked in MDE.