Annual Pass Question

[tjlamphere]

My wife and I have Annual Passes that expire on February 5. Last Summer, I bought 2 Annual Planinum Pass Exchange Certificates from Sam's Club. They were much cheaper than purchasing from WDW.

Can I go to Guest Relations before 2/5 to put these on our MDE account? The Certificate says: "you can pick up your Will Call ticket order by presenting the certificate with proper ID."

Just did not want our new AP to be activated while the old one is still valid.

Looking for guidance....thanks!!!!!

 

[Robo]

My wife and I have Annual Passes that expire on February 5. Last Summer, I bought 2 Annual Planinum Pass Exchange Certificates from Sam's Club. They were much cheaper than purchasing from WDW.

Can I go to Guest Relations before 2/5 to put these on our MDE account? The Certificate says: "you can pick up your Will Call ticket order by presenting the certificate with proper ID."

Just did not want our new AP to be activated while the old one is still valid.

Looking for guidance....thanks!!!!!

You can add the certificates to your MDX at any time.
(They can't be "accidentally activated.")
If you really want to "make sure," just add a "fake name" to your MDX account and transfer the new AP certificates to THAT name.
They will be ready for you to transfer back to your REAL names when you want to use them.

 

[ucf_knight]

My wife and I have Annual Passes that expire on February 5. Last Summer, I bought 2 Annual Planinum Pass Exchange Certificates from Sam's Club. They were much cheaper than purchasing from WDW.

Can I go to Guest Relations before 2/5 to put these on our MDE account? The Certificate says: "you can pick up your Will Call ticket order by presenting the certificate with proper ID."

Just did not want our new AP to be activated while the old one is still valid.

Looking for guidance....thanks!!!!!

I didn’t realize Sam’s club sold those. How much cheaper was it than going directly through Disney?

 

[DavidNYC]

When are you planning to activate? I'm sure they're less than purchasing from Disney but are they less than the direct renewal price if you're going shortly after?

 

[tjlamphere]

When are you planning to activate? I'm sure they're less than purchasing from Disney but are they less than the direct renewal price if you're going shortly after?

I believe they were about $ 250 less for each one. I wanted to add them to MDE a few days before my current APs expire.

 

[subtchr]

I believe they were about $ 250 less for each one. I wanted to add them to MDE a few days before my current APs expire.

Are you planning to visit the parks immediately after your current APs expire?

Since this is a new AP, you can wait until the next time you visit the parks to activate it. This will shift the expiration date until a year after your first entry with the new AP. This is in contrast to a renewal, which retains the same expiration date as the current AP.

 

[subtchr]

I didn’t realize Sam’s club sold those. How much cheaper was it than going directly through Disney?

They were much cheaper, but once they sold the stock they had, after word spread about them after the last price increase, my understanding is that they are no longer available there.

 

[tjlamphere]

Are you planning to visit the parks immediately after your current APs expire?

Since this is a new AP, you can wait until the next time you visit the parks to activate it. This will shift the expiration date until a year after your first entry with the new AP. This is in contrast to a renewal, which retains the same expiration date as the current AP.

I would go probably 1-5 days after my old pass expires. I just did not want to be slowed down at Guest Relations the day I need to activate the new AP. And if I haven't activated it yet, how do I even get to Guest Relations????

 

[subtchr]

I would go probably 1-5 days after my old pass expires. I just did not want to be slowed down at Guest Relations the day I need to activate the new AP. And if I haven't activated it yet, how do I even get to Guest Relations????

You can go to any ticket window or GR. Each park has those outside the gates. You can also do it at Disney Springs GR, before the day you enter the park. Your AP will still not be activated until you enter a park with it for the first time.

 

[tjlamphere]

You can go to any ticket window or GR. Each park has those outside the gates. You can also do it at Disney Springs GR, before the day you enter the park. Your AP will still not be activated until you enter a park with it for the first time.

So I could go to Guest Relations, day on 2/1, adf the new APs, but they wouldn't be activated till my old ones expire. Is that correct???

 

[Robo]

So I could go to Guest Relations, day on 2/1, adf the new APs, but they wouldn't be activated till my old ones expire. Is that correct???

As I said in my earlier reply, you can add the AP certificates to your MDX at any time (meaning next month, next week, today... this morning, if you are so inclined.) You add them by inputting their numbers.
Once they are in your MDX, you don't have to worry about accidentally destroying (or losing) the original certificates at home.
They cannot be accidentally activated. They can "just sit" in your MDX ready for activation at least until the end of the year 2030.
If you really want to "make sure," just add a "fake name" to your MDX account and transfer the new AP certificates to THAT name.
Also, if they are sitting under your real names, you can book advance FPs with those certificates in the MDX.

When you are finally ready, you can activate the certificates to "live APs" at any time while you are at WDW. The activated APs will not start counting down until you actually enter a park gate using them for the first time.