AP questions

[kelmac284]

So I have had an AP for several years but due to finances I let mine expire this past June. I bought my orig one AT the parks in 2006 and renewed it online every year after so that I got the new one in the mail.

So now that I let it expire I have a few questions esp since they have changed things.

I went online and bought the premium with the monthly payments. On the "contract" that you have to review it says renewal. Well I don't want it to be a renewal of my OLD one cuz that expired in June and I want it to start when I go which is this friday. I called them and they said they didn't think it would be a prob but has anyone had it come up saying that even though they were technically buying a "new" pass??

Also because I have AT&T I never got my voucher either! So all I have is the confirmation. Anyone had this happened and did you have any problems just using the confirmation with no actual voucher?

Also I think I understand correctly that you go to the turnstiles NOT the ticket windows is that right? I would hate to stand in the wrong place and have to start over!!!

I think that was all my questions but I may think of some more lol. Hopefully someone has answers to those though cuz I don't want a huge hassle that is going to take up a bunch of park time Fri morning!

TIA

 

[ArchOwl]

Well, first of all, yay for your new AP!

I noticed that when I bought the AP voucher online, it said renewal as well. Which is funny because it had been seriously like 7 years since I had had an AP. Anyway, they processed it like a new AP, but my paperwork all says "online renewal". I asked the CM and she said it had something to do with doing it online. At any rate, I wouldn't worry about it. I would make sure to check your AP dates BEFORE you walk away with your new AP and make sure they credit you with the first day your USED your AP and not the day you BOUGHT it. My DH and I both experienced this issue.

I am sorry I don't know about the confirmation number issue. I had my voucher and they used that. I don't know if they can use the confirmation number to pull it up.

Being that you don't have the voucher, I don't think you can go to the turnstiles. Normally you would take the voucher, go to the turnstile where they would give you a temporary paper ticket. At some point in the day you would take the paper ticket to a ticket window to process your AP. I don't think you can take the confirmation number and use that at the turnstile, since they need a scanned barcode at the turnstile.

I would see if they can re-send your voucher to another email, it may make life easier for you. The ticket lines can be long in the morning and it is much faster to use the voucher to enter the parks in the morning and then go back to the ticket booths when the lines die down to process your AP.

At this point, I think your biggest problem is not having the voucher. I hope you can get a new one and have fun!

Oh, and I showed my voucher to get free parking that day. I know sometimes they make you pay and then you are reimbursed, but the CM just let me in.

 

[skiingfast]

I called them and they said they didn't think it would be a prob but has anyone had it come up saying that even though they were technically buying a "new" pass??

Some people have had this problem, when you are getting your plastc AP, just make sure the CM is clear that it's a new AP not a renewal with the June expiration.


I don't use AT&T either and haven't had the no voucher issue so can't help you with that, and Arch Owl answered you other questions.

 

[undertheradar]

We just processed APs on Christmas Day that we bought in June. We did have our printouts and went into DL looking for a photog. DON'T DO THIS! We had to exit the park and go to the ticket window to process BEFORE reentering the park to get our photos taken.
Go to the ticket window and get your pass. Be sure to check the pass expiration date while you are at the ticket window, as the computer tried to assign a June expiration date, even though we were processing on December 25. You will then need to enter a park, find a photographer and have them take your picture. At least this is the procedure they had us use on Christmas Day.

 

[kelmac284]

Thanks for the info. Well I called Disney and they are saying that eventhough it "says" its a renewal that it is showing as new but I will DEF be checking the dates thoroughly when I get them. THEN she said over and over that they sent the tickets to my email and i was like I KNOW that but my email is blocking them so I asked if they could be resent and she said no. I was like what a joke! First you have to go through all this BS at the ticket counter instead of being able to get IN the park and do it later in the day when it is not nuts. THEN she said I HAVE to go to the ticket booth not the turnstiles and have my ID and credit card. Well the first lady only said ID. GOOD thing I called back cuz I was NOT planning on taking that CC and I would have been livid if I somehow couldn't get my pass!!!!

You would think if disney KNEW that there are issues with ATT emails that they would put some kind of disclaimer on the page like they do when people can't have stuff sent to p.o. boxes. SO irritating. So now I am worried about it taking half my morning sorting this crap out cuz my daughters are getting AP's too and HOPEFULLY they will get the vouchers but they still need to be processed.

Man what a flippin pain!!!!!

 

[kelmac284]

Thanks all for your input. I have NEVER had so many problems before. What a joke! WE bought my ex an AP list Dec of 2010 and I bought it about a week before we went and JUST like some others have said the expiration was NOT the date we first entered but the date I bought the ticket. This seems to be a common problem and I can tell you I bet there are a TON of people who don't even look at that. I think their new systems sucks!

 

[ArchOwl]

We just processed APs on Christmas Day that we bought in June. We did have our printouts and went into DL looking for a photog. DON'T DO THIS! We had to exit the park and go to the ticket window to process BEFORE reentering the park to get our photos taken.
Go to the ticket window and get your pass. Be sure to check the pass expiration date while you are at the ticket window, as the computer tried to assign a June expiration date, even though we were processing on December 25. You will then need to enter a park, find a photographer and have them take your picture. At least this is the procedure they had us use on Christmas Day.

If you really want to take your picture right away, this is true. But if you are okay with waiting later in the day, you can avoid the long lines at the ticket booth by entering with your voucher and getting a temporary ticket. That way you can start your FP collecting and get WOC FP, etc. right away.

Then later in the afternoon, when the lines at the ticket booths have died down, you can process your AP, re-enter the parks and take a picture.

 

[undertheradar]

If you really want to take your picture right away, this is true. But if you are okay with waiting later in the day, you can avoid the long lines at the ticket booth by entering with your voucher and getting a temporary ticket. That way you can start your FP collecting and get WOC FP, etc. right away.

Then later in the afternoon, when the lines at the ticket booths have died down, you can process your AP, re-enter the parks and take a picture.

We went in first, rode the railroad, and then found a photographer by the Main St Christmas Tree. Left the park and had no wait at the ticket window. It wasn't bad at about 10:30 that morning, so all worked out fine.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Please excuse my ignorance on this - it's been awhile since we've had APs. I just bought them tonight for a trip in Feb. I've got that I need to check the expiration date to make sure they aren't using today. And I understand that I can get a paper ticket and go back out to the ticket booths later in the day to get the AP. Or I can just wait in line at the ticket booths.

So if we're arriving on a Thursday afternoon, I could take my voucher to ANY ticket booth and get the AP without going into the park? And get the picture taken sometime Friday while we're in the parks? Or would I have to get the picture right away?

And then my stupid question - if you get the AP from the ticket booth & then have to go in to get your photo taken (with a photopass photographer - is that correct?) - how does your picture get onto your AP? Or do they not put the pictures on anymore and it just comes up on their computer screen when they scan it?

 

[skiingfast]

So if we're arriving on a Thursday afternoon, I could take my voucher to ANY ticket booth and get the AP without going into the park? And get the picture taken sometime Friday while we're in the parks? Or would I have to get the picture right away?

And then my stupid question - if you get the AP from the ticket booth & then have to go in to get your photo taken (with a photopass photographer - is that correct?) - how does your picture get onto your AP? Or do they not put the pictures on anymore and it just comes up on their computer screen when they scan it?

Yes, on Thursday you could go to a ticket booth first, rather than go to the gates like you said, and exchange the voucher for your actual pass. Of course then the will put the expiration 365 days from Thursday on your pass. So it's better to wait until Friday and better to do what Archowl suggested, go to the park first with the voucher, and to the ticket booths later when lines are shorter.

Then have the picture taken when you go in the park. The pictures are no longer on APs themselves. They are in the computer system and associated with your AP. So as you enter and scan your AP your picture will show on a screen to verify that it's you AP you are using.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Also, since your pic is no longer on the AP you'll need to show an ID to get any AP discount.

 

[starshine514]

I can't believe they wouldn't resend the voucher to another email. Unfortunately, you're being forced to spend the first part of your day sorting out the problem at the ticket booth.

The more I read about the AP issues, the happier I am I advised my parents and sister to just buy park-hoppers and upgrade. It seemed easy. They just used their tickets as usual and waited until the afternoon to upgrade, got their picture taken in the esplanade before re-entering the park (they did have to show ID the first time in after getting their pict taken) and there were no weird date problems (just backdated to their first-used date).

The only reason I can see for purchasing in advance are if you're a resident who can use the monthly payment plan or if you bought them in advance right before the price increase.

 

[Malcon10t]

I forgot to print the voucher off before I left for DL in Dec, and couldn't access once down there. The CMs were great about finding it. It took about 5 mins (mainly because we have so many purchases associated with the name) and they printed it right up for me. Very easy. (Didn't even have the confirmation number...)

 

[Kimtastic]

We just did this same thing because we knew we would not be able to go for a few months while I studied fro the CA Bar exam and they expired a couple months before. So we just let them lapse and repurchased online before our next trip as a new pass. When we went to the park we went straight into the park and got the temporary ticket. When we switched to DCA in the afternoon and the lines were short, we went to the ticket windows and had everything processed. They also changed the start date from the date we purchased online to the first day of use (make sure they do this if you bought before going to the park).

After all of this we had our pictures taken in DL with one of the photopass CMs. It seems confusing but it was actually really easy. And if you have any questions when there just ask one of the CMs by the ticket windows, it seems to have been very confusing and they were really well informed about the process.

 

[disneychrista]

Are you sure it is not in an attachment on your confirmation email? Or did you not even get the confirmation email. My daughter was waiting for her email but realized it was attached to her confirmation email. Even though the email says it would be in a second email.

 

[disneychrista]

Are you sure it is not in an attachment on your confirmation email? Or did you not even get the confirmation email. My daughter was waiting for her email but realized it was attached to her confirmation email. Even though the email says it would be in a second email.