Argh! Annual Passes and Free Dining and CMs Who Just Don't Know.... Oh My!

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

So I posted a thread about a month ago about annual passholders who book the FD package and what AP holders can do about their tickets they don't need for FD.

Several people responded that the tickets I purchased by way of the FD bounceback package could be used in the future or transferred to other guests.

I was so excited. I planned a trip in July 2015, spending hours making ADRs and deciding on the right resort (we had already booked a BB last September for dates in September 2015).

I just called to purchase annual passes and I wanted to confirm that I could use my tickets with our September Bounceback package in the future or could transfer them to another guest (2 of the 5 of us who have the bounceback package want to purchase APs).

After going through two CMs (the first of whom did not know the answer, put me on hold for 10 minutes, said she was transferring me, then hung up on me, the second of whom also did not know and put me on hold for 15 minutes so he could ask a supervisor), I was told that there is nothing I can do with those two, two-day tickets on our Bounceback package in September.

If we go ahead and purchase APs for July, then the two of us with the APs would just be out $400 for the two-day tickets and we can never use them in the future.

This does not sound right at all to me. Why would they encourage me to wait until September to come and spend my money when I am willing to spend it for a July trip as well? I want to go in July, but I am not willing to lose $400 in bounceback tickets for September. The CM told me that the tickets with the bounceback package expire within 14 days of arrival, whether we use them or not. Again, this just doesn't sound right.

Those of you with APs, have you ever done this? How did you get the tickets transferred? How were you able to use them in the future?

I am a little bummed right now. I want to book Fastpass + tomorrow since that will begin the 60 day window, but I can't do that without tickets or a voucher.

 

[Disneylover99]

Unused tickets do not expire. We have AP's and we take advantage of free dining. We always pull our two day tickets off of our magic bands before we enter the first park. We will use them when we are ready and they do not expire. I hope you were just given incorrect information and it's not somehow new to the "free dining" promotion this year.

 

[Robo]

Nothing "new" has happened.

Just the same old story of Phone CMs simply not knowing anything about WDW operations...
But giving out bad info, nonetheless.

 

[POOHsie]

Go to Guest Relations outside any theme park or DTD and have them pull off your tickets and place them on plastic ticket media that you can take home with you. Label the tickets or put them in a labelled envelope. If unused, they won't expire. You can transfer them, sell them, or apply them to AP renewal. Phone CMs aren't trained in advanced ticket operations. Similarly, your resort lobby and Concierge staff aren't trained for in-depth ticket specifics. It's at the theme park Guest Relations and DTD Guest Relations where CMs are trained to handle less-than-common ticketing situations. They will help you.

Anyway, if you have both your APs and 2-day tickets listed in your MDE account, then, when you enter a theme park it's a guess which ticket will be used by the "Mickey Head" ticket reader. That's a real good reason why it's best to visit Guest Relations at the theme park gate (or DTD) first. To either prioritize your AP in first order and tickets second, or to move your 2-day tickets completely onto separate media (as mentioned above).

 

[terri33inne]

JUST the thread I was looking for. Also, an AP here, and am considering a trip in August (prior to my Ap's expiration), or September (after AP's expire).

I was just wondering IF I book a package that includes tickets, can I apply the cost of those tickets to my AP renewal? If I go in September I'll still be in my 30 days for renewal.

 

[Hadley's Mom]

So i can't unlink my 2 day park hoppers until we are in Disney World? And if I'm reading correctly, I could then link the tickets/cards to a different MDE after that?

 

[MrKnight]

As stated by POOHsie, the best course of action is to go to Guest Relations and request for the tickets to be pulled and printed so you have an actual physical ticket that you can either use or upgrade in the future..

 

[ohiotodds12]

we have never had to pull them off. If you go to guest relations BEFORE you enter the park, you can have the tickets prioritized. We do it for our parents all the time. We just make their annual passes the priority and that is what is used to get in the parks. That way when they renew, they just pull up the account and their two day passes from the past September were there. They used that to renew their membership this year. They will do that when they go again this September with free dining.

 

[Disneylover99]

we have never had to pull them off. If you go to guest relations BEFORE you enter the park, you can have the tickets prioritized. We do it for our parents all the time. We just make their annual passes the priority and that is what is used to get in the parks. That way when they renew, they just pull up the account and their two day passes from the past September were there. They used that to renew their membership this year. They will do that when they go again this September with free dining.

It's true you don't have to pull them off. We do it because we've had so many problems with our MB's in the past with ap's and dining plans becoming unlinked, it just feels "safer" to have the tickets in our hands, rather then on our MDE account.

 

[POOHsie]

JUST the thread I was looking for. Also, an AP here, and am considering a trip in August (prior to my Ap's expiration), or September (after AP's expire).

I was just wondering IF I book a package that includes tickets, can I apply the cost of those tickets to my AP renewal? If I go in September I'll still be in my 30 days for renewal.

Yes you can apply the cost of unused tickets to AP renewal. You have 60 days prior to AP expiration and 30 days after AP expiration to renew.

From Disneyworld website:

When to Renew
Passes can be renewed up to 60 days before or up to 30 days after your expiration date, and you receive a discount when you renew! But don't delay, because whether you renew by your expiration date or any time up to 30 days after, your renewal pass will still expire 12 months after your original expiration date.​

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passholder-program/renewal-information/

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Go to Guest Relations outside any theme park or DTD and have them pull off your tickets and place them on plastic ticket media that you can take home with you. Label the tickets or put them in a labelled envelope. If unused, they won't expire. You can transfer them, sell them, or apply them to AP renewal. Phone CMs aren't trained in advanced ticket operations. Similarly, your resort lobby and Concierge staff aren't trained for in-depth ticket specifics. It's at the theme park Guest Relations and DTD Guest Relations where CMs are trained to handle less-than-common ticketing situations. They will help you.

Anyway, if you have both your APs and 2-day tickets listed in your MDE account, then, when you enter a theme park it's a guess which ticket will be used by the "Mickey Head" ticket reader. That's a real good reason why it's best to visit Guest Relations at the theme park gate (or DTD) first. To either prioritize your AP in first order and tickets second, or to move your 2-day tickets completely onto separate media (as mentioned above).

Thank you. Thank you. A million times thank you. Your explanation makes perfect sense. And it is written very well, too.

Can I get the hard tickets in hand in July, or will I need to do that in September? I assume I need to pay in full for the package before I can pull the tickets, but can I pull them as soon as they are paid for? Seems like I should get the tickets in hand prior to entering the park for the first time with the AP.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

So I did it! My daughter and I are officially Disney AP holders.

Another thing knocked off the old Bucket List.


I trust you guys and all your info. Ready to make FP selections, and looking forward to all of our future trips!

 

[xthebowdenx]

Thank you. Thank you. A million times thank you. Your explanation makes perfect sense. And it is written very well, too.

Can I get the hard tickets in hand in July, or will I need to do that in September? I assume I need to pay in full for the package before I can pull the tickets, but can I pull them as soon as they are paid for? Seems like I should get the tickets in hand prior to entering the park for the first time with the AP.

Did you find out whether they could be pulled prior to getting there? I would love to pay for the reservation and pull the tickets off and use toward taking my niece with us. That way I'm not having to pay AGAIN through parksavers for her ticket.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Did you find out whether they could be pulled prior to getting there? I would love to pay for the reservation and pull the tickets off and use toward taking my niece with us. That way I'm not having to pay AGAIN through parksavers for her ticket.

I ended up not getting hard tickets. I had them keep my extra tickets on my account, prioritizing the AP. Then I transferred the tickets to others linked to MDE. The tickets then linked to their Magic Bands and they were able to use the tickets on our trip in April.

I think what I have read is you can pull the tickets approximately three days before the package begins, but I can't be sure about that.

I would think you can go to the guest relations when you first arrive and pull the tickets then. Your niece should be able to use them immediately.

We had no problems at all transferring my and my daughter's tickets from FD to others linked to me in MDE. We never had the tickets in hand. It was all done digitally (on our part, anyway). Their Magic Bands worked beautifully with the tickets.

 

[Robo]

I ended up not getting hard tickets. I had them keep my extra tickets on my account, prioritizing the AP. Then I transferred the tickets to others linked to MDE. The tickets then linked to their Magic Bands and they were able to use the tickets on our trip in April.

1. I think what I have read is you can pull the tickets approximately three days before the package begins, but I can't be sure about that.

2. I would think you can go to the guest relations when you first arrive and pull the tickets then. Your niece should be able to use them immediately.

1. It ussed to be 3 days. NOW, you can access WDW Resort Package tickets up to 10 days before the resort package check-in date. But, this must be done in-person at any Guest Relations.

2. Correct.

 

[xthebowdenx]

I ended up not getting hard tickets. I had them keep my extra tickets on my account, prioritizing the AP. Then I transferred the tickets to others linked to MDE. The tickets then linked to their Magic Bands and they were able to use the tickets on our trip in April.

I think what I have read is you can pull the tickets approximately three days before the package begins, but I can't be sure about that.

I would think you can go to the guest relations when you first arrive and pull the tickets then. Your niece should be able to use them immediately.

We had no problems at all transferring my and my daughter's tickets from FD to others linked to me in MDE. We never had the tickets in hand. It was all done digitally (on our part, anyway). Their Magic Bands worked beautifully with the tickets.

Thanks for the help. I had hoped to be able to use them for scheduling fast passes, however I don't want to wait until 3-10 days before our trip to schedule those.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Thanks for the help. I had hoped to be able to use them for scheduling fast passes, however I don't want to wait until 3-10 days before our trip to schedule those.

That makes sense. Fastpasses that must be tied to tickets do throw a wrench into plans.

If fastpasses are important to you, then I would purchase tickets for the niece then use the package tickets in the future, either allowing someone else to use the ticket or applying the value of the ticket toward a future AP renewal.