Buying AP's at TDS

[Aprille's Mom]

I just returned from our local DS - had planned to buy an AP for our June visit to WDW. I didn't buy it because the manager of the store said it had to be activated when sold. Is this correct? If so, I would lose more than 3 months of use and that is not acceptable.

 

[aliceinwdw]

As far as I understand, when you purchase the pass it has to be activated in the sense of that it was paid for (like a gift card from stores). The pass will expire a year from the first time you use it at the parks. I believe the rules are different for renewals though...

Barb

 

[Aunt Jo]

Thanks for your reply Barb. That was the way I thought it worked too. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to actually activate the card at the time of purchase unless it is a renewal. This would be a new card - not a renewal.

I see this post is using my other screen name. I am both Aunt Jo and Aprille's Mom for reasons too boring to go into. Eventurally, I will become one person again but not until I get a new computer.

 

[GoldenOldie]

The AP you get at TDS is still an exchange voucher but it is now on the new gift-card style system that TDS uses. The voucher needs to be validated in the register for the voucher to be valid although most people still use the term activated even though that is not correct.

At that time you will get two receipts, one for the sale and one with the ticket tracking numbers on it. You bring your validated voucher and both receipts (you really only need one but bring both anyway) to Guest Relations at WDW and they will exchange your voucher for an activated AP whose start date will be the day you make the exchange, not the day you bought the voucher.

It is really very much the same AP/PAP system always used for activation of TDS-sold AP's. The only difference now is on the TDS point-of-sale end. You no longer have to wait for a week or two for the vouchers to come in. You get them instantly now.