Annual Pass Inquiries

[sirbangsalot]

We had an annual pass back in 2001 but haven't done it again since. Although we probably should have with the amount of trips we've made each year. I have a few questions that I hope people can enlighten me on or even confirm my somewhat informed thoughts on things.

First, I believe that Disney offers you to upgrade passes to an annual pass be the passes used or unused. If used then the upgrade takes effect from the date that the pass was first used. I believe this to be accurate. What I am unsure of is does Disney take a dollar for dollar amount off of the upgrade to the annual pass based on their current pricing of the existing pass you have? By this I mean if I bought a 3 day base ticket (let's just say they are going for $210) does this now mean that when I upgrade to an annual pass (currently priced at $528) that I would only have to pay the difference of $318??? Does it matter if the passes are hoppers or not, with no expiration or not? Or do they just take into account that those options would have increased your ticket costs and then apply that accordingly to what the difference is to do the upgrade? I actually believe all of the above to be true but would just really like to be sure before our trip.

Second, does it matter where I get my tickets from? By this I mean if I buy Disney tickets from a third part or even get them through a frequent flyer program will Disney honor them as the current listed price for the respected day(s) pass value for the purpose of upgrading?

Third, when we had our annual pass back in 2001-2002 they had the "secret" annual pass holders lounge. I had heard that shortly after our pass expired they closed the lounge. Does anyone know if they've done anything like this since? Is there an active annual pass holders lounge of any kind? It was such a nice feature to be able to pop in, relax, free drinks, leather couches and chairs and even a quick little nap. They were even so cute as to add a secret button combination on the elevator in order to get up to the lounge. I haven't found anything about them doing this since so I thought I would ask the "in-the-know" crowd.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

The answers to almost all of your questions can be found here - it is a wealth of ticket info:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1452684

The short answer is that you pay the difference between your ticket value (or cost) and the cost of an AP. If your ticket is used, you get credit for the current gate price. If it is unused, you get credit for the price you paid (i.e. discounted price through a broker or lower price if you bought it before a price increase). If you have an unused ticket, it is to your benefit to use it first.

If you have a ticket with WPFM and use an entitlement, I think you can only upgrade to a Premium Annual Pass with the same features. You might double-check that in the thread I linked.

Several current AP holders have 10% off coupons they can send you. You get 10% off, they get a $25 Disney gift card. There is a thread on the theme parks board listing matching up current AP holders with people wanting the coupon. People have reported that they were able to upgrade a ticket and use a 10% off coupon on an AP.

I have no idea about the lounge, but you might ask on the AP discount thread - someone will know.

 

[ccgirl]

Yes, you an upgrade. We plan on doing that as well. We are buying from AAA (a bit of a discount). The cost to upgrade is from the gate price of your original ticket so it will be a little cheaper for us. The important to remember is to use your ticket for 1 day FIRST before upgrading. If you upgrade without using it, the upgrade price uses the price of your discounted ticket plus the gate price of the AP so you lose your discount. Hope this helps.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You might want to look at the Everything About WDW Tickets locked sticky in the TPA&S Forum. Especially the items bolded in the list below.

Post and Contents
1. This Table of Contents
2. Magic Your Way (MYW) Ticket Basics Including Definitions
3. Annual Passes and Water Park Tickets
4. Tickets Available Only to Florida Residents
5. Tickets Not Available to the General Public
6. Upgrading MYW Tickets (Not to Annual Passes)
7. Upgrading Tickets to Annual Passes
8. Dealing With Tickets Issued Prior to 1 January 2005 (Pre-MYW)
9. Children and Adults
10. Special Events
11. Comprehensive MYW Ticket Example
12. Hotel Card (Key To The World (KTTW))
13. Lost Tickets
14. Finger Scans
15. Frequently Asked Ticket Questions.
15A. Hopping Rules
15B. WPF&M With No Expire
15C. No Expire Upgrades
15D. Upgrading an Unused Ticket
15E. Upgrading Special Tickets
15F. Checking on Old Tickets
15G. Renewing Annual Passes (Including Renewal Vouchers)
15H. Upgrading Completely Used Tickets
16. Price List as of August 3, 2008
17. Comparison Chart of 2007 and 2008 Pricing.
18. Free On Your Birthday 2009 Promotion
19. Additional Birthday Promotion Details and Clarification
20. Information on Disney's Armed Forces Salute 2009

To get there directly, follow the link in my signature.

 

[sirbangsalot]

Hi CCGirl, I wanted to ask you about your comment. I'm not sure I get what you're saying about using the pass or losing your discount. Can you elaborate on that please?

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Hi CCGirl, I wanted to ask you about your comment. I'm not sure I get what you're saying about using the pass or losing your discount. Can you elaborate on that please?

I'm not CCGirl, but here is an example:

You buy a 7-day MYW ticket from Undercover Tourist for 228.95 (price from their website. It would be a little cheaper using the mousesavers.com newsletter link). Gate price for that same ticket is 242.82 (expected to increase August 2). If you upgrade your UNUSED ticket that you bought from UT, Disney sees that you paid 228.95 for it and gives you credit for that amount. If you USE one day or more of that ticket, Disney gives you credit for the current gate price (242.82 today, who knows what it will be after August 2).

An annual pass is 499.49 with tax (also may go up August 2). If your ticket is not used, you pay $270.54 (499.49-228.95) for your AP upgrade. If you have used it, you pay $256.67 (499.49-242.82) for your upgrade. By using it first, you get credit for the gate price, thereby preserving your savings of $14 by buying it at Undercover Tourist.

Does that help any?

 

[sirbangsalot]

Masterfully explained, thank you.