Annual Passholder Renewal

[Theactualdisneyprincess]

I still have the old annual pass which expires late August, but I am torn between renewing now or waiting.

I would love to avoid another price hike, which may happen when this pass expires, but I also am afraid to renew early and lose the time I have on my current pass. If I’m not mistaken, if I were to renew tomorrow even though my pass does not expire until August, it would reset my pass from tomorrow’s date (and not add another year from my actual date of expiration).

Thoughts? Wait and risk another price hike OR renew earlier?

 

[Carol_]

I waited. I wasn’t going to renew but then the Fear Of Missing Out hit me. The price was actually lower than I expected it to be. Still, I have to figure out how to use it now that I very nearly loathe the idea of going to the parks in the state they’re in.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

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[Mango7100]

We renewed when ours expired in May even though it would have been better to get one in October for us. There Is no guarantee when they will start selling passes again, so if you don’t renew you may not even be able to get one. And I was afraid of the price for out of staters once they ever start selling them again

 

[subtchr]

I still have the old annual pass which expires late August, but I am torn between renewing now or waiting.

I would love to avoid another price hike, which may happen when this pass expires, but I also am afraid to renew early and lose the time I have on my current pass. If I’m not mistaken, if I were to renew tomorrow even though my pass does not expire until August, it would reset my pass from tomorrow’s date (and not add another year from my actual date of expiration).

Thoughts? Wait and risk another price hike OR renew earlier?

You are operating with a couple misconceptions.

You can't renew until 60 days before the expiration of your existing pass.

When you renew, your new pass expires the same day as your existing pass, one year later. This is true no matter when within the renewal window you actually pay for the renewal.

So you can't renew tomorrow, and the date does not reset when you do renew.

My out of state Platinum Pass expires July 24. I was able to pay for the renewal on May 25 (not before). My current pass is still good until 7/24/22, and then my new pass will expire 7/24/23.

 

[CarolynFH]

If I’m not mistaken, if I were to renew tomorrow even though my pass does not expire until August, it would reset my pass from tomorrow’s date (and not add another year from my actual date of expiration).

Thoughts? Wait and risk another price hike OR renew earlier?

To add one more clarification to @subtchr 's post, if you renew within the 60 day period before your pass expires, MDE will show an expiration date that is one year from the day you renew. However, that's simply the last date you have to activate the new AP - if you don't activate and start using it by that date, the price you paid turns into a credit that you can apply to a new AP or another ticket.

When you do activate the renewal AP, the date in MDE will change to an expiration that is one year after your old AP expired. So you do not lose any time on your AP by renewing before it expires.

 

[subtchr]

To add one more clarification to @subtchr 's post, if you renew within the 60 day period before your pass expires, MDE will show an expiration date that is one year from the day you renew. However, that's simply the last date you have to activate the new AP - if you don't activate and start using it by that date, the price you paid turns into a credit that you can apply to a new AP or another ticket.

When you do activate the renewal AP, the date in MDE will change to an expiration that is one year after your old AP expired. So you do not lose any time on your AP by renewing before it expires.

This is not my experience, for the 6 years I have had my AP.

Once I renew, the "new" pass shows in MDE, with the correct expiration date.

There is no "activation" of a renewal AP. You just continue to use it. At least that is now it works with out of state APs, that do not require any standard for eligibility, like Florida residency.

You don't "lose" any time by renewing early, which is what I wrote in my response. But you also don't gain anything by waiting to use the new AP. I have never heard of having a credit for the renewal cost if you don't ever use the renewed AP.

 

[CarolynFH]

This is not my experience, for the 6 years I have had my AP.

Once I renew, the "new" pass shows in MDE, with the correct expiration date.

There is no "activation" of a renewal AP. You just continue to use it. At least that is now it works with out of state APs, that do not require any standard for eligibility, like Florida residency.

You don't "lose" any time by renewing early, which is what I wrote in my response. But you also don't gain anything by waiting to use the new AP. I have never heard of having a credit for the renewal cost if you don't ever use the renewed AP.

View attachment 679222

I think this may be a new procedure that started when the new APs (Sorcerer, etc.) came into existence. I've seen multiple reports of this and experienced it myself. Our DVC Sorcerer APs expired in mid-March. We renewed mine over the phone in mid-February, and in MDE the expiration date of the new one is one year from the date we renewed, not the expiration date. We renewed DH's pass over the phone in early March, and the expiration date on his is one year from that date. Since we're DVC, we cannot renew online but must call and then must go to a ticket booth or GR to show our member cards and photo IDs to activate our new APs before we can use them. As I said, I've seen this reported by others, not necessarily just DVC members. Disney is making clear to people that they can't buy an AP voucher, either renewal or new, and hang on to it indefinitely - it expires a year after purchase and turns into a credit on their account.

I'm curious - why is the blue Renew Now button still showing on your current Platinum Pass?

 

[subtchr]

I think this may be a new procedure that started when the new APs (Sorcerer, etc.) came into existence. I've seen multiple reports of this and experienced it myself. Our DVC Sorcerer APs expired in mid-March. We renewed mine over the phone in mid-February, and in MDE the expiration date of the new one is one year from the date we renewed, not the expiration date. We renewed DH's pass over the phone in early March, and the expiration date on his is one year from that date. Since we're DVC, we cannot renew online but must call and then must go to a ticket booth or GR to show our member cards and photo IDs to activate our new APs before we can use them. As I said, I've seen this reported by others, not necessarily just DVC members. Disney is making clear to people that they can't buy an AP voucher, either renewal or new, and hang on to it indefinitely - it expires a year after purchase and turns into a credit on their account.

I'm curious - why is the blue Renew Now button still showing on your current Platinum Pass?

The Blue Renew button is still showing because Disney IT.

You can/could never "hold onto" a renewal voucher. If you could, that would be awesome, because you'd get the discount and not have to use it right after the old one expires. But a renewal is only continuous from the original pass expiration date.

Now purchasing a new AP is different -- that is where the 1-year time frame factors in. It used to show something like 2030 as the expiration date for a purchased new AP, until it was activated. Now, as you wrote, it's only good for one year after purchase, after which it retains its value, but can't be used as is.

I believe the difference between our experiences (and what shows in MDE) is because you had to do yours over the phone. If a passholder is able to renew online (no in-person verification of eligibility needed), it's seamless. The system just transitions to the new pass at the expiration date of the old one. There is no "activation".

 

[erionm]

To add one more clarification to @subtchr 's post, if you renew within the 60 day period before your pass expires, MDE will show an expiration date that is one year from the day you renew. However, that's simply the last date you have to activate the new AP - if you don't activate and start using it by that date, the price you paid turns into a credit that you can apply to a new AP or another ticket.

When you do activate the renewal AP, the date in MDE will change to an expiration that is one year after your old AP expired. So you do not lose any time on your AP by renewing before it expires.

The bold text is true for phone renewals only.

FL Resident and Tourist (non-discounted) Passes can be renewed online and your actual renewed pass automatically appears in MDE with the appropriate expiration date. Online renewals also don't require activation at a park ticket window or guest relations location.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

that shouldn't be correct, renewing a pass should reset it to the same date, even if you renew early. I renewed in May and my expiration date is still showing as through July 3. However, I did the renewal in person at WDW.

also note if you are DVC and are renewing to the Sorcerer pass - you can't do an online renewal, you will need to do it either in person or by phone with DVC, and if you renew by phone you will need to activate it before use at WDW because they need to see your DVC membership. They won't accept the physical DVC cards anymore, it has to be the MagicMobile version.

 

[Miffy]

Just to confirm info about renewing: I'm an out-of-state non-DVC AP holder. I renewed my AP on the first available day--60 days before expiration--and now 2 APs show on my MDE. 1 is the original pass, which expires at the end of July and the other is the renewed pass, which expires on the same date at the end of July in 2023.

So, no, you absolutely do NOT shorten the length of your APs by renewing early. The expiration date of the renewed pass will be exactly one year from the expiration date of your current pass. It has zero to do with when you renew it.

OP, renew your pass on the earliest possible date to lock in the current price/discount. You won't be losing time on your APs. Also, unless you intend to never visit WDW again or to visit only rarely and briefly, renew your AP. It's unknown when they'll be available for sale again but renewals are still happening.

 

[CarolynFH]

The bold text is true for phone renewals only.

FL Resident and Tourist (non-discounted) Passes can be renewed online and your actual renewed pass automatically appears in MDE with the appropriate expiration date. Online renewals also don't require activation at a park ticket window or guest relations location.

Thanks - I think I have it straight now. Hopefully Disney won’t make major changes to the process going forward!

 

[gskywalker]

Our passes are due at the end of August and we are planning to let our AP's go instead of renewing. People keep saying we shouldn't let them go. We will have at least 6 months until we can use them. At most we would use them 2-3 times on that years AP and would prefer just to do one Disney trip so we can go elsewhere for a couple of trips next year. Our plan is to do one trip next year and use our free 3 day parkhopper/waterparks pass we have for next years trip. We are DVC, so we have discounted AP's. Does anyone think it makes sense to keep our AP's?

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

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[DizzneyDi]

I have a question for those who have done the 60 days before expiration renewals. I renewed mine within the 60 day timeframe, and my current bank statement indicated that I'm being charged for both passes! I figured that it was an error, so I did a chat with someone on MDE and she told me that yes, I'll be billed for both until the old one expires. It makes no sense to have 2 passes at the same time, but she claimed that when I virtually signed the contract I agreed to pay for the first pass until it expired and the second one from the date of the renewal, not the date the old one expires. Has anyone else had this issue?

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

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[subtchr]

The CM was correct. Here's a visual of your situation:


You'll have two months at the end of the new AP when you can use it, but won't have a payment.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

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[DizzneyDi]

THANK YOU both for the excellent explanation and the awesome visual aid. I just knew there had to be an answer that I just wasn't seeing, and the CM on the chat was completely unable to shed any light on it other than "Yes, you must pay for both passes until the first one expires." Which is true, but she couldn't explain why. I'm so glad I decided to see what the wonderful people on the DISBoards had to say before I called.