Another annual pass question

[britchic4]

I have trawled through the various annual pass threads and haven't found an answer to this question, so I hope I'm not repeating something.
We have a package deal for our visit in Feb, but I'm already ahead of myself and thinking I'd love APs. Since I won't be able to make use of them in Feb, I wondered if I could buy them in advance? As I understand it, the offer for getting under 7's passes free with an adult one finishes in April, so if we bought before April we could just buy 2 APs. Do I have to buy them at the AP office, or can I buy them by phone? And can a shareholder discount be combined with the free under 7 pass offer?
Many thanks in advance for taking the time to answer- you guys are the Disney gurus!

 

[Cyrano]

It seems a hit or a miss combining discounts on annual passes. Others will hopefully chip in with their own experiences regarding the free AP promotion.

The AP free offer is not available over the phone so you could buy your APs from the annual passport bureau when you visited in February.
Your annual passport would be due for renewal 1 year from date of issue

 

[britchic4]

I don't think I could become a member of the shareholder club quick enough to get a discount even if I bought the shares tomorrow (or am I wrong?), so if I have to buy the APs in person I won't have the issue of combining discounts. ):
Thought it was too good to be true!

 

[DLPdaft]

I did the same as you when I bought our AP's - had package hotel/tickets already booked for October 07 (and got a good deal on those) then bought the AP's so I could get DD's free. I used the Dream Ap from the day I bought them (first day of the trip) to get discounts on meals (10%) and on shopping (20%). So even though I wasn't using the APs as actual park tickets that trip, I did get some use out of them. Of course the major advantage for me was that I was able to get DD's pass free, as we weren't intending having another trip until after April 08 anyway.

As it turned out, we did go back to DLRP in November for the Christmas experience, and I obviously got great use out of our AP's then, as I booked the Cheyenne hotel with my AP and got great discount, and used the AP's for park tickets, plus more of that brilliant shopping and meal discount here there and everywhere!

You do need to be at DLRP in person to get the free childs passes.

Elaine

 

[mulan1]

Hi there, yes, you won't be able to use your package tickets this time, but i think if you intend on going again, it would be wise to make use of the under7 free AP offer. I don't think you can combine shareholder discount with the free under 7 AP , but if there is another child or adult going with you then you should be able to use your discount for those ones.
I know you can buy APs on phone but i don't know about when you use the offer, i'm sure someone will know more than me (after all they're who i learnt what i know from !)

EDIT sorry this took me ages to write with kids asking me to do things, so sorry about the repeats! lol

 

[britchic4]

I did the same as you when I bought our AP's - had package hotel/tickets already booked for October 07 (and got a good deal on those) then bought the AP's so I could get DD's free. I used the Dream Ap from the day I bought them (first day of the trip) to get discounts on meals (10%) and on shopping (20%). So even though I wasn't using the APs as actual park tickets that trip, I did get some use out of them. Of course the major advantage for me was that I was able to get DD's pass free, as we weren't intending having another trip until after April 08 anyway.

As it turned out, we did go back to DLRP in November for the Christmas experience, and I obviously got great use out of our AP's then, as I booked the Cheyenne hotel with my AP and got great discount, and used the AP's for park tickets, plus more of that brilliant shopping and meal discount here there and everywhere!

You do need to be at DLRP in person to get the free childs passes.

Elaine

That's a good point, we could at least get use out of the discount when we are there.
OK, if I accept I have to get them then, next question/problem is, will I be able to get a free AP for DD who will be a month away from being 3? Do you need to show age ID for them?

 

[DLPdaft]

Yes, you have to show ID (ie their passports or birth certificates) to get the free childs AP. So you won't be able to get one for your not-quite-3 year old, as she doesn't need a park ticket until she is 3.

Elaine

 

[jillrobinson]

Hopper tickets sell really well on Ebay, but whether you can sell them or not will be dependent on the time frame they need to be used within, with packages this seems to vary , we've had anything between 2 weeks and 3 months on ours.
But if you want to buy and use your AP's on your visit you've nothing to lose
really and may recoup some of the money you've spent on the AP's.

 

[Cyrano]

Yes, you have to show ID (ie their passports or birth certificates) to get the free childs AP. So you won't be able to get one for your not-quite-3 year old, as she doesn't need a park ticket until she is 3.

Elaine

That's right

 

[britchic4]

Hopper tickets sell really well on Ebay, but whether you can sell them or not will be dependent on the time frame they need to be used within, with packages this seems to vary , we've had anything between 2 weeks and 3 months on ours.
But if you want to buy and use your AP's on your visit you've nothing to lose
really and may recoup some of the money you've spent on the AP's.

I don't have the tickets, I don't think I get them until we arrive at DCR on Feb 11th. Unless I'm very mistaken in which I'll start panicking,

 

[DLPdaft]

Don't panic!

You will get your park tickets when you check into your hotel.

I think what Jillrobinson means is, your park tickets may have an expiry on them (ie from 11th February until 11th March or whatever), and then, if you don't use them and buy AP's instead, you could come home from your trip and sell the park tickets on ebay, as they could still be of use to anyone planning on going to DLRP before 11th March.

You'll just have to wait and see whats on your tickets when you check in. We've actually had length of stay tickets from our package in the past, which had the 3 days duration on it, and no more. But you might get lucky!

Elaine

 

[lojo]

When we got our free child AP in December, the child wasn't with us and we didn't get asked for ID for him. We bought our tickets at Guest Relations. Some people in front of us asked about combining shareholder's discount with the free child AP and were told it's not possible.

 

[mulan1]

Can I also just ask this: when you have an AP, and you want to book room only, do they always have rooms available at your selected hotel via the booking line?
I'm just wondering cos I've been checking expedia and there is no room only or with ticket availability on the large range of different dates i put in, so do they have a seperate allocation that doesn't show on expedia?
if anyone knows i'd be very grateful to know the answer!

 

[britchic4]

When we got our free child AP in December, the child wasn't with us and we didn't get asked for ID for him. We bought our tickets at Guest Relations. Some people in front of us asked about combining shareholder's discount with the free child AP and were told it's not possible.

That's interesting! Guess we'll just have to wait and see when we get there, presuming we get there at all!

 

[Cyrano]

Can I also just ask this: when you have an AP, and you want to book room only, do they always have rooms available at your selected hotel via the booking line?

As DLP hotel occupancy has been rising rooms are definitely more scarce than in the past.
We got our DCR 2007 booking in January no problem. When we tried to change cabin while we were there, we were limited as most cabins were full

 

[disneyangel]

If I understand right -that there are 4 of you

Depending on when you think you go back I would consider buying a francilien pass on first day of your feb trip for one adult (and get a child free)and another dream/fantasy pass and getting the childs free. That way you'll get the discounts from the dream/fantasy , 2 free childs passes and your other adult a cheaper pass.

The two francilien holders could then use their inclusive passes on the remaining days.

Our inclusive passes only had a weeks window to be used in so they couldn't have been sold on.