Annual pass changes coming........

[lovethattink]

(So this would be an upgrade then.)

Yes. And he did it at no additional charge!! That's what I was so happy about.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

@lovethattink Glad you are delighted.

 

[nherbert]

Wow I have finally caught up, way back around page 15 I asked about DisneyQuest and thanks to ravenclawtrekkie for answering that question. We arrive at start of December and it looks like DQ is open for a few weeks still and wanted to go as we found it a lot of fun.

Here is my question we have old premium AP vouchers which we will redeem at DHS when we arrive and from these pages I can see they will be Platinum Plus APs, but without access to DQ. If I wanted to make a case for the fact that we bought them expecting access to DQ (we bought them before they even announced DQ closing) where/when do I do that? At DHS when redeeming pass or visit DQ and do it there, or go into GR at DHS and do it there? Does anyone know if we would have any hope of success, I am not the confrontational type and don't want to get into a pointless argument.

Thanks anyone who can help me

 

[Jenn504]

Just wanted to share my experience. I bought dvc annual passes in August and will activate them in two weeks. I had also purchased the memory maker back in April for my up coming trip. I had read here that you could get a refund for memory maker. I called and spoke with 3 different people before I got the right person to help. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. He gave me the refund no problem. Other people could not help. I want to post that I had to call ticket services and press option 5. The phone number was 407-566-4985 for ticket services. Hopefully it will save you a little time. Wait time was around 15 minutes. He said he had been doing a lot of refunds since Sunday.

I know the new passes is not helping everyone but this time I feel I am on the winning side of this. I just got my 160 back for memory maker and my daughter are going again in December for 5 days to experience Christmas and I was sad I was not going to buy the memory maker for such a short trip and it just being the two of us. Now I get the pics for free.

 

[davper]

Just wanted to share my experience. I bought dvc annual passes in August and will activate them in two weeks. I had also purchased the memory maker back in April for my up coming trip. I had read here that you could get a refund for memory maker. I called and spoke with 3 different people before I got the right person to help. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. He gave me the refund no problem. Other people could not help. I want to post that I had to call ticket services and press option 5. The phone number was 407-566-4985 for ticket services. Hopefully it will save you a little time. Wait time was around 15 minutes. He said he had been doing a lot of refunds since Sunday.

I know the new passes is not helping everyone but this time I feel I am on the winning side of this. I just got my 160 back for memory maker and my daughter are going again in December for 5 days to experience Christmas and I was sad I was not going to buy the memory maker for such a short trip and it just being the two of us. Now I get the pics for free.

I too called this same number and the refund was process. There was a little hitch. I had paid for it with my DVA and they had asked me for the original gift card that I had deposited into the DVA to pay for MM. I had hundreds. They just decided to send me a new gift card. No problem on my end because that card won't go to waste.

 

[SUSIEQ]

Has anyone used their renewal postcard or letter to get the old price at the ticket windows? The new passes and prices are the only options that come up for me online. My pass expires on the 22nd and I was going to renew for $478.19. If I now have to pay $584.69 to not have black out dates, I am not renewing. I fell in love with Disney taking one or two family vacations a years as a kid, and I moved five minutes away from the Magic Kingdom in 2006. I have had an annual pass every year since then, but Disney keeps getting less and less magical. I used to love going on weekends, but now it's lost so much of the fun with the frustration of having to make fastpasses, the inability to make dining reservations, the park overcrowding, and the construction/ lack of/declining maintenance issues. Although I love Disney and have such fond memories, sometimes it just seems less frustrating and more fun to head to Universal. It's very disappointing to see Disney pushing annual passholders and especially locals out. I'm hoping it doesn't take another horrible tragedy like 9/11 for Disney to remember how the locals kept them in business a few years ago. There's a lot to think about this renewal time.

Wondering the same thing, as I supposedly have until 10/26/15 to renew for $478.19 with no blackout dates.

 

[DOOM1001]

I have the top tier Universal and Sea World/Busch APs and I've always been happy with my Seasonal Disney pass.I'll be sticking to the Silver which is the same as the seasonal except they're going to charge me $51 extra a year for parking.I'm okay with that,the other passes don't have much appeal to me for such steep prices,the step up from Silver is Gold and I don't need admission in the summer or digital downloads,the Platinum would be nice for year round admission if I lived closer but since I don't I do fine by timing my trips around the block out dates especially having my Universal and Sea World passes.I've always wanted Disney water park APs but the price of that Platinum plus is straight up ridiculous,Disney still has that water park AP for like $120,correct??I think even if I moved next to Disney I would still stick to the silver and buy a water park AP,I can't see the value in those higher end APs,at least for me!!

 

[RCSpur]

I am considering upgrading my 4 day tickets with my package to the Platinum pass. I live in SC but I am planning two more trips next year. One during May and one in November. I plan to stay on site and take advantage of the resort/dining discounts. Those of you who are out of state pass holders do you find that you save money doing it this way? I know at certain times of the year trips can be very affordable even without discounts.

 

[amylevan]

We do not have APs, have no ball in that game since we only visit every 2 years right now, so I really have no opinion on the AP costs. However, my parents are snowbirds who get Florida resident APs to use for the 3 months they are in the Orlando area, Jan-Mar.

I called them to warn them of the increases and all the hoopla online, yada yada yada. My dad went off in a tiff to research and called me back un-impressed with the hoopla. They can get Gold because they arrive after the new year and leave before the spring breakers arrive. His cost is going up a whopping $17/each. Most of the time they have no use for photopass, but we will be visiting this winter, so he can get some ride photos with the grandkids. So, while not something they'd ever pay for usually, he'll take the "new benefit" for what is essentially costing him $34 more for the two of them.

So, all that to say that not all AP holders are disgusted with the changes.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

I have read quite a few threads and info on TIW, AP,DVC AP, parking, valet parking and black out dates...etc....increases mostly....I admit change doesnt come easy and i was determined to learn all about MY MAGIC and FP......after all I am the planner of all Disney trips.....

I cant hardly believe that Disney has again chosen to cause so much confusion on guests part....yes many of you are experts and are willing to help us out....but at some point I just say...forget it....to over whelming ...i think the most unfair thing of all is the black out dates for AP holders....which we have not been for a few years....

We are DVC since 2000 retired...my hubby golfs and i shop or sit by the pool....going out to eat at WDW is a highlight....heading to GF for our 50th Ann...in Dec....only doing MVMCP.... good luck to all....I am thinking HHI for 2016...

 

[theostwalts]

Ok, so we are going to wdw in a few weeks and I have a voucher for a PAP which was $829.64 including tax. I was planning on adding memory maker which would be another $169. According to guest services, my voucher will be activated as a Platinum Plus AP, so with photopass included it will save me the $169. Do you all agree that that is the case? With so much conflicting information, I don't know what to believe. If I just saved $169 that is great!

On a side note, I am doing a solo trip to DL in may and had planned to upgrade to the Passport while in WDW on our upcoming trip. The additional $400 added to the Passport completely throws the numbers off, so I guess I will only do 5 days in DL now. I had planned on 7-8 since I have never been there and don't know when I will be back.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

7-8 days is quite a lot for Disneyland.

 

[theostwalts]

7-8 days is quite a lot for Disneyland.

I knew that it would be a lot, but I was going to take my time since it will be a solo trip. Guess I need to check out the day 6 segments of the DL Unplugged to make some plans!

 

[wisblue]

I’m withholding my overall reaction to the AP price increases and the expectation of seasonal pricing until I see the actual increases for regular park tickets. I always have made the decision about whether to purchase an AP based on my expectation for trips in the upcoming year. It has always been a matter of whether the per day price would be greater for an AP or for separate MYW tickets for each trip. Maybe the new pricing structure will end up changing the tipping point for when getting an AP makes sense, especially for travel at peak times.

For example, last April I purchased an AP (DVC) for an Easter break trip with two of my daughters (schoolteachers) because we intended to use the passes again for Easter break 2016 when Easter is in late March. Having the APs was a factor in my decision to take two other short trips during the year. I never planned to renew that AP next April because I do not expect to be visiting WDW again in 2016 after the spring break trip.

I am most interested in seeing what happens with the next price increase on non AP tickets. The introduction of the Gold AP with blackout dates, and the news stories about seasonal pricing, seem to remove all doubt that the next increase will include some form of seasonal pricing. It will be interesting to see (1) how much more the price is for peak seasons (when we usually have to travel), (2) what they do about the marginal price for extra days on longer stays, and (3) what they do about the park hopper option.

My main point of comparison is going to be for a 7 day hopper ticket during the peak season because that is the type of ticket I would usually get if I don’t have an AP and don’t want to use any days I have left on non-expiring tickets. As of today, that ticket is $399 before taxes. But, because of the way Disney has priced multiple day tickets, the marginal cost of the fourth day is just $30, and the marginal cost of each additional day after that is just $10. The hopper option is $64 regardless of the number of days. Disney can produce a significantly higher price for the 7 day hopper by tweaking any or all of these factors, such as increasing the base price, adding a seasonal factor, bumping up the marginal cost for the later days to $20 or $30 or more, and/or increasing the cost of a park hopper for longer stays.

The price of the AP that I purchased in April (DVC with no blackouts) has gone up $120 (about 22%) with the latest increases. I am anxious to see if the price of the 7 day hopper at peak seasons goes up by a similar amount. Large increases on those tickets would affect a lot more guests than the increases on AP’s. It will be interesting to see if Disney is going to be introducing large increases across the board, or if they are going to be making some of their most frequent visitors bear a larger portion of the increases. Maybe their data shows that the typical AP holder uses those passes for so many days that even a significant increase produces a relatively low per day cost.

 

[dres40]

How will this work if only one of our group has the new AP with photopass download?

My husband will be upgrading to the new AP in Nov. but does not have his own MDE account. I'm the only one in our family with an account and manage everything for all of us. (Both DD and I have the old AP)

Should he create his own account and add both DD and I as friends and family so he can download photos from all of our MagicBands? Or will he only get free downloads for photos scanned with his MB?

If he does create an account how does he transfer his current park ticket and FP's that I now manage to his account?

I'm just so confused!

 

[lovethattink]

How will this work if only one of our group has the new AP with photopass download?

My husband will be upgrading to the new AP in Nov. but does not have his own MDE account. I'm the only one in our family with an account and manage everything for all of us. (Both DD and I have the old AP)

Should he create his own account and add both DD and I as friends and family so he can download photos from all of our MagicBands? Or will he only get free downloads for photos scanned with his MB?

If he does create an account how does he transfer his current park ticket and FP's that I now manage to his account?

I'm just so confused!

We are in that boat. DS has the new Platinum. Dh and I don't need renewals until summer. I was able to pick out ds' magic band last night, online. However, the pictures we had taken by PP at Epcot last night are showing up in my photopass in MDE, but it wants to charge me $14.95/picture. It's been 24 hours now. I think I'll call in the morning to see if I needed to do something. His pass shows up in his profile on MDE, but it also says I can re-assign it?

 

[Turn the Page]

This may have been discussed already but I didn't see it (though I admit I didn't read the whole thread).

Does the PP included with the AP's include on ride photos and the on ride video on SDMT?

 

[dres40]

7-8 days is quite a lot for Disneyland.

I agree. I loved Disneyland and CA! I think even more than WDW. But I would say 4 days is the most I would do.
We loved Southern California and we spent time doing other things.
And this from someone who had no interest in seeing LA.

 

[Xenuprime]

Well, I checked our junk mail pile (you know you have one too!) and I found a reminder postcard for my son showing the old renewal rate. Does that mean I can take the card to GS and renew my whole family at that rate?

 

[rfc0001]

Well, I checked our junk mail pile (you know you have one too!) and I found a reminder postcard for my son showing the old renewal rate. Does that mean I can take the card to GS and renew my whole family at that rate?

This should address your question -- will honor exact AP/price on postcard fo all existing passes in your family (per ticketing CM):

1) The "letter of the law" is that they'll honor the rate on the postcard for the pass type listed on the postcard. If the postcard is for a Seasonal, they should renew your 2 Seasonal passes to Silver passes at the old Seasonal renewal rate. Whether or not they'll renew your Annual to one of the new pass types at the old renewal rate will depend on the leader/coordinator who handles your situation. I would explain the extenuating circumstances to them, including the fact that you never got passholder mail for anyone but the child.

2) If you're already talking to GR, they are your best option.