Annual Passes

[mamarobin24]

Is there a cheaper way to buy annual passes than directly form the Mouse? Now that our trip is quite close (and the WDW Marathon is also very close -only 84 days to be exact), it's time to start purchasing. . . .

 

[poohj80]

There are a few small discounts through places like the Disney Club, AAA, and Shades of Green (if you qualify).

 

[mamarobin24]

thank you. I"ll try that.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We can get the annual pass discount voucher yet through Disney Club until the end of Novemeber, I believe. We have to do this soon too.

 

[sitchu2]

What you can do is buy your ap at the disney store, use your disney club discount if you have it, and charge it to your disney visa. Last month they had a special for every purchase made at the disney store for $100 or more they were giving double rewards. Its a small refund, but its something.

 

[mamarobin24]

The Disney Store with the DC discount on the DV. Now there's an idea.

. . .of course, I have to drive 3.5 hours to Holyoke MA to do that.
- or can I do that online??

 

[Jimmac]

I wasn't aware of an AAA discount on an Annual Pass. How does that work?

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Jimmac
I wasn't aware of an AAA discount on an Annual Pass. How does that work?

I'm not sure AAA sells regular AP or PAP at this time. I looked under AAA South and only the FL portion had AP and they were only the FL resident versiion. GA and TN sites did not have any disney tickets listed. You could check with them directly and see by calling one of the FL AAA offices or by asking your AAA office to do so. My understanding is AAA is not a single company but rather a group of separate companies much like Blue Cross is. They have different discounts spcific to what their members are likely to use. It is sometimes possible to get one AAA office to get tickets from another one somewhere else in the county but this can be difficult to get them to do. You can always plan to drop by a AAA and pick up tickets IF YOU QUALIFY for the tickets. Some of the AAA sites in FL have have started staying open on Saturday from the info I've received from them in the last few months.

 

[Pa@okw95]

Just remember the annual pass starts the day you purchase it not the day you first use it like it used to. so I would wait until you are ready to use it to purchase it so you will have a full year from the time you use.

 

[poohj80]

Not exactly true. We purchased ours early to avoid any possible cost increases and received vouchers which we could then exchange for the actual annual pass at any park window. The date on the pass was the date we exchanged them, not the day we bought the vouchers.

 

[Sarangel]

But if you buy from the Disney Store, you don't get an annual pass, you get a voucher for an annual pass. You then exchange the voucher at a WDW ticket window for the AP, which begins counting down from the day you make the exchange. So, you can get your DC discount and (if purchased far enough in advance) you can beat price increases.

Sarangel

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
Just remember the annual pass starts the day you purchase it not the day you first use it like it used to. so I would wait until you are ready to use it to purchase it so you will have a full year from the time you use.

A new pass purchased at the DC or online via Disney does NOT start until the day you activate it. You get a voucher. If you purchase it at WDW or at the airport, it begins the day you purchase it.

You are, I think, confusing it with renewals.

http://wdwig.com/apass.htm

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

AAA does not sell annual passes, except in FL. and perhaps GA.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
Just remember the annual pass starts the day you purchase it not the day you first use it like it used to. so I would wait until you are ready to use it to purchase it so you will have a full year from the time you use.

Not true if you are buying a voucher from the DS. You have to stop by Customer service center before entering the park to get the actual ticket, and THAT is when it is activated.

 

[colleen costello]

I am putting everything I buy on my Disney Visa. I hope to put all those reward dollars I am earning (between $10 and $20 each month) toward annual passes when my current ones expire. That will be a significant disount I "earned."

I got a letter telling me the rewards are now in the form of a card. Can I used it at a Disney Store to get my AP's? I'd like to buy them at a Disney Store, use my Reward dollars to lower the total bill, and pay with my Disney Visa to earn more rewards. Will this work? My only concern is that I won't go to WDW for a few months after I buy the AP's, but I think I have read here those vouchers are good for a LONG time.

 

[PixieMagic]

You may want to call the DS before you go. The one near me doesn't have AP vouchers. You go in and pay and then they mail them (I'm not sure if they mail them to the store or to you -- anyway, they said it would take a couple of weeks and the trip was too close to do this.) Since my DS is so far from Florida, this procedure may be different from other stores closer to WDW.

 

[poohj80]

Your plan is perfect Colleen but the vouchers will have to be mailed to you so it's good that you are planning ahead.

 

[colleen costello]

Thanks guys! I am also going to renew my daughter's first. Halfway through the next year, she'll turn 10, so I want to stretch out that "nine-year-old" discount as long as possible!

 

[manning]

Renewals start the day after the expiration date of the original pass.

Originals start on day of purchase if purchased on WDW property and I think at Orlando airport and the center in Ocala.

If buying original at Disney Store or From WDW by mail, you will receive a voucher. The pass becomes active the day the voucher is exchanged for the pass.

 

[colleen costello]

Oops, sorry - -I meant "buy a new one" not "renew." The point is I want to get her a new one while she is still nine!

Thanks for all the info.