Can a DLR passport be renewed & upgraded to Premier at WDW or 41 days prior expire?

[starry_solo]

I have a trip to WDW planned, beginning May 12, 2012.

I have a DLR annual passport which expires June 21, 2012.

I know you can renew your annual pass up to 40 days in advance of the expiration date. By my calculations, when I want to renew and upgrade to a Premier Annual Pass, valid at both Florida & California Parks (which is May 11that will be 41 days from the June 21, 2012 expiration date.)

So, will the cast member be able to make an exception? Get a manager to help me?

In the alternative, would I be able to renew & upgrade our DLR annual passes at WDW?

I know I could just pay the upgrade price to upgrade to a Premier (with an expiration of June 21st), but I may want to go again to WDW before June 2013.

Thanks!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

The computer ticketing systems of WDW and DL do not "talk" to each other. So, you will not be able to renew a DL AP at WDW.

If you have renewed your DL AP before you head to WDW, you might be able to upgrade to Premier with a June, 2013 expiration, but it is also possible you will not. You might need to upgrade for both years or just buy a separate WDW ticket that cannot later be combined with your DL ticket.

You could also buy a WDW ticket and upgrade that to the Premiere. It will then expire in May, 2013. Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[DebbieB]

If you renew, the renewal will not be effective until 6/21/12. So I don't see how you could upgrade the renewal to a premier and use it in May. I think you could only upgrade your current pass, but then it would expire in June. Or buy a new premier effective in May. Or just buy a WDW ticket for the days you need in May and renew to a premier effective in June. I don't see how you can get a premier and stretch it to over 13 months (May 2012-June 2013).

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

If you renew, the renewal will not be effective until 6/21/12. So I don't see how you could upgrade the renewal to a premier and use it in May. I think you could only upgrade your current pass, but then it would expire in June. Or buy a new premier effective in May. Or just buy a WDW ticket for the days you need in May and renew to a premier effective in June. I don't see how you can get a premier and stretch it to over 13 months (May 2012-June 2013).

Can't help with the OP's question. I do know though that you can renew your AP before it's expiration date...I thought it was 30 days, OP says 40...I don't know the exact number of days actually, but anyway... I had heard that if you upgrade to a higher level pass at the time you renew it, the higher level pass becomes the new active pass immediately. I haven't heard if this holds true with the premier pass also, but I have seen reports of people doing this when going from deluxe to premium for example.

 

[disneychrista]

I have to agree with Debbie. Yes you can pay for your renewal up to 30 days in advance but if you were to upgrade when you renewed that the new pass would not be valid until your renewal date.

Current pass expires 6/21/11
You renew/upgrade your pass on 5/22/11
Your Disneyland AP is valid until 6/21/11
Your new Premier pass is valid from 6/21/11 - 6/21/12

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Can't help with the OP's question. I do know though that you can renew your AP before it's expiration date...I thought it was 30 days, OP says 40...I don't know the exact number of days actually, but anyway... I had heard that if you upgrade to a higher level pass at the time you renew it, the higher level pass becomes the new active pass immediately. I haven't heard if this holds true with the premier pass also, but I have seen reports of people doing this when going from deluxe to premium for example.

I agree that the DL does take effect when you pay for it, even if that is before the renewal date. We had the opposite issue when we downgraded from a Premier to a Deluxe: we ended up not being able enter using our Premier because it was a blockout date for the Deluxe! I learned the lesson never to downgrade early! -- Suzanne

 

[cmwade77]

Ok, to upgrade, you would have to upgrade at Disneyland prior to leaving, given your choices, you can do any of the following:

• Buy a "new" premier pass when you get to Flordia, since the systems don't talk to each other, you shouldn't have a problem with the whole not being able to have two passes at one time thing. I would call Disneyworld to make sure this is a viable option though. This would mean an expiration date of May 11th though and you would simply not renew your premium pass.
• Try to upgrade before your leave California. They might be able to make an exception for you.
• Just buy a Disney World ticket

As far as I am aware those are the only possible options that could work in your situation.

 

[starry_solo]

Thanks!

Yes, at DLR, when you renew your pass 40 days prior to expiration (I asked and was told that, I originally thought it was 30 days), your "current" AP is cancelled and your new AP is valid for 13 months (so, someone could potentially get 13 months as a premium AP if they had originally purchased a So Cal pass).

Here is the quote from the DLR AP website (about renewing 40 days in advance):
"How can I take advantage of the Monthly Payments option?
If you live in California Zip Codes 90000-96199, you can use the Monthly Payment option to spread the cost of your new Annual Passport over 12 months.
If you are a California resident and your current Annual Passport is within 40 days of expiration, renew your Annual Passport in full or to begin the renewal process online with the Monthly Payments option."

See: http://disneyland.disney.go.com/faq/annual-passports/

That's the only place it mentions 40 days, so I wonder if it's only for California residents?

So, if you renew it online, you have to wait for them to mail you your new AP because your old one is no longer valid

The reason why I am thinking about renewing & upgrading is because I am going to be at WDW for 14 days/nights. The base ticket price for that many days is going to cost more than the difference between a Premier and a Premium DL AP.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to try to renew and upgrade at 47 days prior (May 5) and see if I can get a manager/lead to make an exception. It will probably help if I bring in all my WDW reservations info (?). But, if they say they can only make an exception at one day prior, I will go back again on May 11th.