Annual Pass RANT!!!

[Ratpack]

Sorry, but I am very upset with Disney right now. I bought annual pass vouchers last December for our trip this past July. We went to DTD in July and exchanged them for the passes. Now I am getting renewel notices in the mail saying that I can renew. I am thinking that I still have until July, so I call WDW and was told that the year starts when you buy the vouchers, not when you exchange them. This doesn't seem right and I am getting conflicting stories from everyone I talk to. The second person I talked to said what I thought was true about the year starting when I exchanged them. Now the third person is saying they went back and picked up the date from the annual passes I had in December of 2003 and expired in 2004. There was a year between the expiration of the old pass and the purchase of a new one. The last person said they are looking into it and would call me back when they had a definite answer. I am ready to cancel my reservations I have for this summer and just go somewhere else. All I want is tickets for our trip in July. Sorry, I just had to vent.

 

[civileng68]

Sorry, but I am very upset with Disney right now. I bought annual pass vouchers last December for our trip this past July. We went to DTD in July and exchanged them for the passes. Now I am getting renewel notices in the mail saying that I can renew. I am thinking that I still have until July, so I call WDW and was told that the year starts when you buy the vouchers, not when you exchange them. This doesn't seem right and I am getting conflicting stories from everyone I talk to. The second person I talked to said what I thought was true about the year starting when I exchanged them. Now the third person is saying they went back and picked up the date from the annual passes I had in December of 2003 and expired in 2004. There was a year between the expiration of the old pass and the purchase of a new one. The last person said they are looking into it and would call me back when they had a definite answer. I am ready to cancel my reservations I have for this summer and just go somewhere else. All I want is tickets for our trip in July. Sorry, I just had to vent.

Unless things have changed, you are in the right here, not the CM. The passes are no supposed to start until you first use them, not purchase them. I think upon investigation you'll find either there's more to this or they are just flat out wrong.

 

[goofyjoe]

It is my understanding that the "clock" starts running the first day you enter the Park and not on the day you purchased the voucher. Somethings not right here.

 

[Allison]

What does the date on your AP say?

If you exchanged it in July, it should expire in July. I have heard of people noticing when they did the exchange that the wrong date was used and they had to get that fixed.

This could have happened to you. The date is printed on each AP so pull those out and take a look.

 

[all4disney98]

I know I am not going to be much help because I have never purchased annual passes but I was under the same understanding as you - that they don't expire until one year from activation. (Similar to the magic your way passes - they expire 14 days from the first day of use, not from when you purchase them.)


BUT...I did a search on the disney website and found this so I think you are OK!!:

When a Premium Annual Pass is ordered an exchange certificate will be sent by mail. The Premium Annual Pass can be redeemed at any Walt Disney World® Theme Park ticket window by presenting the exchange certificate and a valid photo ID. The Premium Annual Pass is good for 365 days from exchange certificate redemption.

I found it when I went to purchase annual pass tickets then clicked on a link that said "More Info +" scroll down and it is at the bottom!!!!!

Hope things go your way, good luck!

 

[all4disney98]

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd..._ANNUAL_PASSES&productPass=WDW_AP&country=USA

I don't know how to post a link but I will try. Once you go here, select "More Info +" on the left hand side under Theme Park Tickets category. Scroll down and it sayd 365 days from day you redeem your certificate.

 

[n2mm]

Yes they messed up my daughter's AP last year. She purchased it in September 05 and when she arrived in Decmeber 05 for our trip we noticed the back of it said expires Dec. 14, 2005. (She just bought it, fresh--no voucher--at DTD on Sept. 14, 2005). Lucky for us we were in WDW to straighten it out. Went to DTD and the CM pulled it up and agreed, it had the wrong expiration date on it (an annual 3 month pass, you think?). Not only did they fix the passes (2 of them), but they also gave them 3 additional months, so instead of their passes expiring September 14, 2006, they expired December 14, 2006 (which lead to one additional trip in October for them).

To the OP, I hope you can fix this over the phone and am sure it will be frustrating. Did you call the passholder office phone number?? Yes, the vouchers do not start ticking until they are exchanged for the actual pass. The vouchers are generic and have no name on them--sort of like a blank check. Once they are assigned to a person in the computer, then the time starts. Good luck! Hopefully you'll have a good outcome like my daughter and SIL did.

 

[jwfla422]

The "active" date starts when the pass is activated. You should most definitely have until next July until they expire. Of course, this is a little different if you renew your AP. Then your "active" date would be on the date the AP expires and then you'd have a year from that date and so on.

Best bet is to call the "Passholders" phone number 407-560-7277. They would have the exact info. Sounds like they may have a little mix-up going on there.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Your 1-year begins on the day you redeem the voucher.
2) The CM is mistaken.
3) Relax and enjoy your next trip.

 

[LvsTnk]

We have renewed our AP's after they have expired and got the vouchers....did the CM give you a renewal rate on the passes or were they the regular price? This may be where the confusion came in, not that what happened is right.

 

[Prissymouse]

Turn the pass over and look at the expiration date printed on it.
What does it say?
I hope it is July

 

[Kick Save]

Scroll down and it sayd 365 days from day you redeem your certificate.

Sheesh, even their website is wrong...it's good for 366 days. (It's good from the date you purchase until that same date the following year.)

 

[lovethattink]

What does the date on the AP say? My expiration date is printed on my pass. I checked that out the day I got it.

 

[DisneyDadof3]

Same thing happened to me when I exchanged my 10 day no expiration for the annual passes this year. They put the expiration from the day I had originally bought the 10 day passes instead of the first day of use. I just went to one of the guest service centers in the park and they corrected it with new tickets with the correct date. It was easy to do and they were happy to do it.

 

[CharmedLife]

Sheesh, even their website is wrong...it's good for 366 days. (It's good from the date you purchase until that same date the following year.)

That is 366 days, right? If you can use it the date that it's first stamped at issue, and then again that same date the following year - 365 days + 1

I agree with everyone else - don't get worried about it unless the expiration date on your pass is wrong, then just get it corrected the next time you're there - the computer will tell them the history of use on the pass and they'll be able to see that you didn't first use it until July.

 

[CarolA]

Same thing happened to me when I exchanged my 10 day no expiration for the annual passes this year. They put the expiration from the day I had originally bought the 10 day passes instead of the first day of use. I just went to one of the guest service centers in the park and they corrected it with new tickets with the correct date. It was easy to do and they were happy to do it.

You got lucky. Apparently on the upgrades they are "backdating" I think it's wrong, but.....

 

[dmk1021]

You said that they mistakenly associated them with your old passes from 2003-2004. Did you pay the renewal rate for your last ones? Or did you purchase them full-price (non-renewal)?

If you purchased them as a renewal of your old passes, then yes, the date goes back to the date your last AP expired. This is a semi-new policy (I think two years ago?).

If you bought new APs for the full price, it would start the day you exchanged the vouchers.


Hopefully they can clear this up for you and give you a definitive answer.

 

[seashoreCM]

You got lucky. Apparently on the upgrades they are "backdating" I think it's wrong, but.....

When you upgrade a Magic Your Way ticket (used but not used more than 13 days ago) to an annual pass the start date of the annual pass is the first day of usage of the MYW ticket.

Except if you are paying the renewal rate the start date of the new annual pass is the same as the end date of the previous annual pass if that date is earlier.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Maridw]

We bought Seasonal AP's in May of 2005 and did not activate them until Thanksgiving. We thought they were good from the day we activated them, but we were told on the day we activated them that they were good for a year from the date of purchase. The date on the back of the AP's was for the date in May 2006. My DH was not a happy camper when he found this out.

He kept talking to the person who was handling our transaction and they said that is the way it has always been. They are not good from the date of exchange/activation but from the date of purchase.

Here we thought that we would have a year from the date we went down in November and not from the date in May. We purchased them for myself, DH & DD. If we had known that they were good only from the date of purchase we would have waited until Sept, which is when DD was going down to purchase them. Then we would have only lost out on two months of use not 6 months of use.

 

[erikthewise]

You are right, but this is a welcome reminder for all of us to check the dates on our APs when exchanging our vouchers. (I have to do this in 10 days!)