APs - info I found out today..... will call/ vouchers

[Lorilais_mommie]

(I'm new to DVC, if this is old news sorry)

Things I found out today while researching DVC APs. ...

A few days ago I called DVC to ask a very questions about discounted APs.
I inquired about getting vouchers vs. will call numbers.
Was told if I wanted vouchers to order through DVC website or call WDW ticketing office.

So today I called WDW tickets..
According to the CM at the WDW ticketing office I spoke to today,
Will call is only good for two years!
Vouchers NEVER expire as long as no expiration date in on the voucher.
WDW tickets can order AP but not DVC discounted AP.

When ordering AP online through MDE you must assign passes to a person on your MDE account.
You can not order more passes then people on you MDE account.
(Wondering if this maybe a new way Disney may looking to limited the amount of passes People can buy at a time)
Which would really be bad for anyone who like to get their APs in bulk!
with no expiration tickets possibly going away.. None expiring AP vouchers maybe next!

 

[DebbieB]

I bought an AP voucher in December, I was going to do will call but then I noticed that there was no charge for mailing. So I had it mailed. I had signed onto MDE when I bought it so it was in my account immediately.

 

[drusba]

Not sure what is going on. In the past there was no distinction between will call and a voucher since (a) a voucher is just a sales receipt for the sale with a confirmation number on it that could be mailed or emailed to you, or you could just write the number down when doing the sale, (b) APs were always will call in that you did not get the actual AP until you showed up at Guest Services, and (c) you never really even needed the voucher or even the confirmation number to pick up the APs because your name is in the system and you just need ID (and DVC member card for discount). In other words, their saying a voucher and will call are two different things with separate rules seems to make little sense. Also, I believe there was a prior limit of eight on discounted APs you could buy and you were limited to buying only for those in the same household as the member. Moreover, attaching the passes to people in your MDE account when you purchase on line, if you have an MDE account, started over a year ago and really means nothing since your MDE account allows you to change the person identified with the AP (unless it is a renewal rather than a new one) at any time before you get the actual AP at WDW.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

I posted under member services a similar question- but if I am buying annual passes today to be used the first time in May of this year do you recommend I pick them up at will call or have them sent to our house via standard shipping for no extra cost?

If I do standard shipping will they activate once first used?

confused!

 

[nalajms]

(c) you never really even needed the voucher or even the confirmation number to pick up the APs because your name is in the system and you just need ID (and DVC member card for discount).

We ran into this issue when activating the PAP special. Went up to GR at MK, the CM gave a stink because we didn't have the confirmation number even though I had ID, DVC card, + the MB that's linked to the ticket. Took a while for them to look it up.

I have a DVC AP purchased in 2013. The print out has a confirmation number, and says I can pick up at will call. There's nothing in the fine print saying it expires in 2 years. I would be very upset if it does since we're not going to use it this year!

I wonder if I can bring this to MK and exchange it for a voucher?

 

[sleepydog25]

To further muddle (or hopefully clarify) the issue, here's an explanation of that happened to us last August. We are AP holders, and our renewal date was the prior November. We had renewed online but didn't make a trip until eight months later**. While any guest services can activate the AP, we chose to do so when hitting MK our first day. The CM didn't want to activate our APs given how long it had been since we renewed them, and she kept trying to say that we had to pay an extra $200 each to extend the renewal another eight months. We didn't want to do that, but it took nearly 20 minutes of discussion to get her to give us our APs. She even hinted that she "wasn't supposed" to honor the AP renewal so long after purchase; however, we were adamant. As for the activation, that happens when you first use them.

**We had another trip scheduled a month later, so that's why renewing the AP back in November made sense.

 

[nalajms]

To further muddle (or hopefully clarify) the issue, here's an explanation of that happened to us last August. We are AP holders, and our renewal date was the prior November. We had renewed online but didn't make a trip until eight months later**.

I thought when you renewed online it "renews"???? So even if a renewal pass is purchased online, you still have to go "activate" it within what? 30 days?

 

[kam1011]

I'm confused as to why you would want to buy APs and not activate them for more than 2 years? If it's to stockpile them for the future, renewal prices are still cheaper than initial purchase prices.

 

[drusba]

To further muddle (or hopefully clarify) the issue, here's an explanation of that happened to us last August. We are AP holders, and our renewal date was the prior November. We had renewed online but didn't make a trip until eight months later**. While any guest services can activate the AP, we chose to do so when hitting MK our first day. The CM didn't want to activate our APs given how long it had been since we renewed them, and she kept trying to say that we had to pay an extra $200 each to extend the renewal another eight months. We didn't want to do that, but it took nearly 20 minutes of discussion to get her to give us our APs. She even hinted that she "wasn't supposed" to honor the AP renewal so long after purchase; however, we were adamant. As for the activation, that happens when you first use them.

**We had another trip scheduled a month later, so that's why renewing the AP back in November made sense.

Renewals are different. A renewal always begins its one year period on the date the prior pass expires. The person at the guest services was correct in that you should not have gotten new APs with an Aug start date when you went to pick then up, They should have given you passes that started your one year period from the prior Nov.

 

[sleepydog25]

Renewals are different. A renewal always begins its one year period on the date the prior pass expires. The person at the guest services was correct in that you should not have gotten new APs with an Aug start date when you went to pick then up, They should have given you passes that started the prior Nov.

I apologize for not being clearer. We agreed that our start date was already past (the prior November), and that wasn't the issue. The issue was she didn't want to give us our APs with only 4 months remaining on them. She was steering us to extend them the extra 8 months for the stated $200 per person. We didn't want that. We were fully aware that we had only 4 months remaining on the APs, but this was the first trip we had planned since renewing them, though we had a second trip a mere six weeks later which made the cost for the APs worthwhile.

 

[drusba]

I'm confused as to why you would want to buy APs and not activate them for more than 2 years? If it's to stockpile them for the future, renewal prices are still cheaper than initial purchase prices.

It is to stockpile for future use. A new AP purchase is supposed to be good forever until actually activated. A renewal always starts its one year period on the date the prior pass expires. If you have an AP that is close to expiration but you do not intend to go for a year or more, you will have to buy a new one anyway and if you wait the price is going to be more when you purchase. Also, there are many who follow a one trip per year practice but actually get two trip uses out of one AP. Example: go now to WDW for a week or more and activate a new AP when you enter the park today, Feb 7; then make your next trip one that ends Feb 7, 2016; thus, you get to use the AP for two trips even though you go only once a year; then you take your next trip in Feb 2017 and use a new AP that you purchase long before Feb 2017 to avoid price increases and start the same process again.

 

[drusba]

I apologize for not being clearer. We agreed that our start date was already past (the prior November), and that wasn't the issue. The issue was she didn't want to give us our APs with only 4 months remaining on them. She was steering us to extend them the extra 8 months for the stated $200 per person. We didn't want that. We were fully aware that we had only 4 months remaining on the APs, but this was the first trip we had planned since renewing them, though we had a second trip a mere six weeks later which made the cost for the APs worthwhile.

Sorry, it now makes sense. Likely you were in a situation that the CM had not seen before and made up the point that the renewal could not be issued that late and just saw it as an opportunity to see if you wanted to get a new pass by adding some amount to what you already had paid.

 

[Anal Annie]

I bought an AP voucher in December, I was going to do will call but then I noticed that there was no charge for mailing. So I had it mailed. I had signed onto MDE when I bought it so it was in my account immediately.

So we can go into our MDE account to purchase the discounted DVC AP's and then they get linked right away to the person you are purchasing them for??

 

[DVC4US]

So we can go into our MDE account to purchase the discounted DVC AP's and then they get linked right away to the person you are purchasing them for??

Yes, we just did this in November. When you purchase the APs online they will ask you to assign it to someone on your MDE account. I did this and then went right in and made FP+ reservations.

 

[drusba]

So we can go into our MDE account to purchase the discounted DVC AP's and then they get linked right away to the person you are purchasing them for??

Your MDE account recognizes you as a DVC member as long as you have the same email and password as your DVC account. Go into MDE account. Then open Parks & Tickets at the top and click on Annual Passes. You will be taken to a page that offers you annual passes for $485 a piece, i.e., with the DVC discount already applied. After you pruchase, the confirmation/pass numbers should show up ithe Reservations and Tickets section of your MDE account.

 

[Anal Annie]

Thanks. I thought I had to either call MS or order thru the DVC site to get the discount.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Thanks. I thought I had to either call MS or order thru the DVC site to get the discount.

You still do... if you want to buy more than one per person that is attached to your MDE account.

In my case we wanted 5.. We are planning to take a 18mo. Break inbetween
2 for a trip in 2015/2016

And 3 for a trip in 2017

 

[disfanforlife]

I have a current AP that expires in November 2015. So, eve though my AP is current can I still buy another AP for myself? It seems like a good idea to buy now before price increase because I am not sure if we will renew in a November or just wait until our trip after that and get new AP's then.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

I have a current AP that expires in November 2015. So, eve though my AP is current can I still buy another AP for myself? It seems like a good idea to buy now before price increase because I am not sure if we will renew in a November or just wait until our trip after that and get new AP's then.

According to what I've been told
Yes you can..
But since your not sure when you will use
I recommend getting a voucher. (Via dvcmember link to website)
This way if you choose to renew, you can hold on to your voucher for a later trip.
Your voucher will ever expire, so there is no harm waiting a year or two to use it..

 

[sleepydog25]

Sorry, it now makes sense. Likely you were in a situation that the CM had not seen before and made up the point that the renewal could not be issued that late and just saw it as an opportunity to see if you wanted to get a new pass by adding some amount to what you already had paid.

I suspect you are quite right.