As a DVC AP Passholder, what are thinking of doing?

[jimmytammy]

I know a lot of folks, including our family are in this position, you own current APs and wondering what you are going to do now that Disney has announced either extending for the number of days closed on our APs, or giving a refund.

For us, we bought back on Oct 15 and have gotten basically 13 days use so far out of them. I need and want more. We had a 2 week scheduled trip late Mar-early Apr that was canceled due to closing. That was going to be our final trip on AP and I would have felt justified in getting moneys worth.

Now, to make another trip work, summer is a tough time for us because of work. With F&W going, tough to land a stay this late with DVC(plus other things going on already pre-planned in the fall) and a great surprise in that our daughter is expecting our 2nd grandchild in early Nov. So this pushes us into the early part of next year.

For Disneys sake, I hope they arent closed that long, that would force our APs into that deep of a place. But if that were the case, I may seriously consider going mid Jan after the marathon weekend. Otherwise, we take the refund, and feel as if I gave up more than gained.

So what are you folks thinking of doing?

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

We are keeping ours. I just renewed in Dec, and we did a trip in Feb. DH expired March 3, and I renewed within the 30 day window. We know we can pretty much squeeze at least on trip in with the extension, if not late this year then in early 2021.
I don’t want to lose the renewal discount, which would occur with the refund.
Good luck with the new grand baby and your decision.
Stay healthy.

 

[bwvBound]

Our present AP is at Disneyland rather than WDW. We are sitting out the closure and looking forward to simply 'resuming' the pass when the parks reopen.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

We are in a similar situation in that our passes expire in early November and we have a 4 day F&W September trip planned. We've gotten 12 days out of our AP (upgraded from UC tickets we bought several years ago) so feel like we still got decent use out of the passes. I'd love to go in September, but not sure I want to risk the parks if they are open.

We also are looking at mid January as our backup plan. Assuming parks open June 1 that would extend our passes until January 25th. I just can't decide what to do. I hate to cancel our BWV ressie in case they are open. But I'm also worries even if they are open it will only be a small portion of what is normally offered.

I'm hoping to figure it out by the time my flight leaves in September

 

[Sandisw]

Mine expires Oct 6th, but with the extension, it should cover my early Dec trip as well. If it doesn’t, then I will take the partial refund.

 

[CarolynFH]

Ours expire in October, and the current extension will cover our November trip. If the parks remain closed through May, they won’t expire until after our December trip. But because that trip occurs during black-out dates, we’ll be hoping Disney will allow us to pay the difference to upgrade them from Gold to Platinum. In any case, I don’t expect to be choosing the refund.

 

[mom2rb]

I coach gymnastics, I have competitions almost every weekend from January-early May. I took my girls to the Sand dollar classic in January, so I activated my AP then. I have a trip booked with DH May 15-19 but I am sure that it will be canceled. We are going back with my parents for Food & Wine and DH’s family in December. I would have no problem turning this year’s May trip into next May’s trip but I don’t think/want the parks closed for 4 months so that my AP would still work. I will probably take the refund and use it to buy tickets for next May but I wish that there was some way that my pass would work.

 

[Louis morrell]

You know they are not refunding the entire amount left on the AP, just the amount of time they are closed. If You choose the refund they will refund the days closed and your pass will expire an the same date as before. If you choose not to refund it will be extend by the number of days the parks are closed

 

[dismedvc]

We are in a similar situation in that our passes expire in early November and we have a 4 day F&W September trip planned. We've gotten 12 days out of our AP (upgraded from UC tickets we bought several years ago) so feel like we still got decent use out of the passes. I'd love to go in September, but not sure I want to risk the parks if they are open.

We also are looking at mid January as our backup plan. Assuming parks open June 1 that would extend our passes until January 25th. I just can't decide what to do. I hate to cancel our BWV ressie in case they are open. But I'm also worries even if they are open it will only be a small portion of what is normally offered.

I'm hoping to figure it out by the time my flight leaves in September

While your particular UC tickets are probably different from ours, could you share what your tickets were worth for upgrade purposes?
We have several 6 or 7 day park hopper tickets purchased from UCT prior to 2016, so they have no expiration date.

From my perspective our pre-2016 tickets are basically equivalent to the current flexible date passes Disney is now selling (they expire 14 days from first use, and that first use date can be any day of the year. In fact they are actually better than the current flexible date tickets because they do not expire if the first use is not before a certain date.)

However, I have read, if we want to upgrade those pre-2016 tickets to an annual pass we would only get credit for the price we paid for those pre-2016 tickets since those tickets we would be exchanging are no longer sold. (Despite the fact that the tickets we would be exchanging are basically equivalent to the current flexible day ticket which sells for a much higher price)

 

[DougEMG]

I am going to take the refund. Won't be able to make any use of the extension.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

While your particular UC tickets are probably different from ours, could you share what your tickets were worth for upgrade purposes?
We have several 6 or 7 day park hopper tickets purchased from UCT prior to 2016, so they have no expiration date.

Unfortunately I can't recall the exact value they put on the old tickets. I do know that the value was roughly in line to what a current 5 day hopper was going for.

You might want to try the Themepark forum "tickets" sticky. The ticket gurus over there will have a more up to date answer to how Disney is valuing those old UC tickets. Hopefully they are still "bridging" to current values as I bought 10 years worth of tickets and hope to upgrade them at some point to APs.

 

[RangerPooh]

We've considered getting the payout for the days closed rather than an extension. Our APs expire in late Oct. so we can get our fall trip 9and summer provided not canceled). We'd have to cancel our Thanksgiving trip, but that's ok. We had considered taking trips elsewhere in 2021, but if that doesn't look feasible we may just take the AP extension. Still too early to tell.

 

[cm8]

I’m on the fence. We just renewed them on the 24th of December. I’m good with the extra days but if they are offering a decent deal on new passes, I would jump on the deal.

Renewal rates have become just as expensive as buying a new pass anyway. We went from decently priced to crazy high prices. My family’s been blessed to be a Passholder since 2009. We’ve had a good run! If they continue to price them excessively, we’ll go back to using Salute Tickets and head over to Universal.

 

[dismedvc]

Unfortunately I can't recall the exact value they put on the old tickets. I do know that the value was roughly in line to what a current 5 day hopper was going for.

You might want to try the Themepark forum "tickets" sticky. The ticket gurus over there will have a more up to date answer to how Disney is valuing those old UC tickets. Hopefully they are still "bridging" to current values as I bought 10 years worth of tickets and hope to upgrade them at some point to APs.

I had gone to the sticky, and it said Disney "locked" the value of the MYW tickets when they stopped selling them.
If you actually received roughly what the current 5 day hopper was going for, that would be a change from what is on the sticky.

If the sticky is correct, your (and our) 10 years worth of tickets would be worth far more if used as they are rather than upgraded. Especially since those old tickets can be used starting any day of the year.
For example the sticky says a pre-October 2016 5 day MYW park hopper (the ones with no expiration date) would be worth $435.59 toward an annual pass upgrade, however to purchase a current date specific 5 day park hopper would cost $572.76 for the least expensive dates, and $701.23 for the most expensive dates.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I had gone to the sticky, and it said Disney "locked" the value of the MYW tickets when they stopped selling them.
If you actually received roughly what the current 5 day hopper was going for, that would be a change from what is on the sticky.

If the sticky is correct, your (and our) 10 years worth of tickets would be worth far more if used as they are rather than upgraded. Especially since those old tickets can be used starting any day of the year.
For example the sticky says a pre-October 2016 5 day MYW park hopper (the ones with no expiration date) would be worth $435.59 toward an annual pass upgrade, however to purchase a current date specific 5 day park hopper would cost $572.76 for the least expensive dates, and $701.23 for the most expensive dates.

FYI - the sticky is correct. As you mention, the older tickets are at their best value compared to current pricing if they are used vs upgraded.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

It’s funny how it affects different families differently.

If you’ve got all the use out of your AP that you planned to get, and there was still several months left... windfall !!

For us, we bought the Epcot after 4 past last September strictly for F&W and Christmas. Now we will get two F&W festivals, and possibly two Christmases... Super windfall !!

Another family may have two visits planned in 52 weeks, but second trip was cancelled. They can’t visit again within the extension, and the refund is only for a couple of months. Now they will get back a bit of money, but need to buy more tickets which will cost much more. Bummer.

 

[jimmytammy]

It’s funny how it affects different families differently.

If you’ve got all the use out of your AP that you planned to get, and there was still several months left... windfall !!

For us, we bought the Epcot after 4 past last September strictly for F&W and Christmas. Now we will get two F&W festivals, and possibly two Christmases... Super windfall !!

Another family may have two visits planned in 52 weeks, but second trip was cancelled. They can’t visit again within the extension, and the refund is only for a couple of months. Now they will get back a bit of money, but need to buy more tickets which will cost much more. Bummer.

Your last paragraph, that's basically where we are right now. If my calculations are correct, we need WDW to be closed at least 99 days to be able squeak out a trip in Jan, which at this point is the only feasible time for us to go, just after the marathon. The greedy side of my inner being hopes this is the case(and I fear it may be way longer than that). But the other, decent human part of me says no, please no, as so many other people have trips planned and may be their only one ever.

I hope whatever they decide, its truly safe for us all.

 

[keishashadow]

my issue is what constitutes the parks being opened/APs being valid

IMO having only one or two lands being open in the MK, with only options of virtual queues/FP access doesn’t seem a fair shake to start the clock ticking on the APs

You know they are not refunding the entire amount left on the AP, just the amount of time they are closed.

Which is TBD

I am going to take the refund. Won't be able to make any use of the extension.

Madam Leota can’t even see how long the parks will be closed the is the date posted on website but supposedly reliable sources have leaked more far flung contingency plans being in place

Unfortunately I can't recall the exact value they put on the old tickets. I do know that the value was roughly in line to what a current 5 day hopper was going for.

I’ve seen a formula mentioned often...the price paid for AP less price for a 10 day PH, divided by 12. Doesn’t seem ‘right’ to me

Another family may have two visits planned in 52 weeks, but second trip was cancelled. They can’t visit again within the extension, and the refund is only for a couple of months. Now they will get back a bit of money, but need to buy more tickets which will cost much more. Bummer.

As mentioned above the length of the closure isn’t set in stone

recent experiences have me sitting on fence as long as possible before I choose an option

we were past final pmt for a RCCL cruise sailing the end of last month. If we had not waited it out, & instead cancelled it in early March, would’ve been out of luck as to any chance of fund recovery. This despite having travel insurance

I’m well past my promised refund from RCCL & will likely start the chargeback process re my credit card, but do feel there is absolutely nothing to be gained by having a knee jerk sort of reaction & making hasty decisions before having all the facts in hand

We have a another cruise/WDW trip planned for early August. I have options to cancel or take an increased future credit. Mulling it over before final payment day. Was nice to hear, after discussion with DVC, they will work with me & let me cancel 30 days out & bank borrowed points. Reasonable accommodation IMO

 

[dismedvc]

FYI - the sticky is correct. As you mention, the older tickets are at their best value compared to current pricing if they are used vs upgraded.

Thanks for the confirmation. I assumed @Robo (the person who wrote the sticky) was correct and appreciate you confirming it.

From my perspective those old MYW tickets are almost identical to the flexible date tickets Disney is currently selling (they both expire 14 days after first use and that first use date can be any day of the year) The only difference is the flexible date tickets Disney is currently selling expire at the end of 2021, while the old MYW tickets have no expiration date, so I would argue the old MYW tickets should be worth even more than (or at least the same as) the current flexible date tickets. However, Disney obviously does not see it that way with regard to upgrade value.

Since a 5 day park hopper flexible date ticket currently costs $747 at the gate, and the upgrade value of an old MYW 5 day park hopper is only $436, you are definitely correct that the old MYW tickets are at their best value if they are used as is.

 

[NoTime42]

I’ve never renewed an AP as we typically go 3x within (2) calendar years, and then buy a new pass the following year.
Hopefully I can get in my 3rd trip before the extended expiration.