Can I buy annual passes at OKW? Should I?

[Werner Weiss]

I've never bought annual passes for WDW.

I see that an adult Annual Pass (all four Disney theme parks) is $354.04 with the Disney Club discount, according to http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/tickets.htm , and an adult Premium Annual Pass (all Disney theme parks and Pleasure Island, DisneyQuest and all water parks) is $475.94 with the Disney Club discount. Renewals are less.

As others have pointed out on this board, an annual pass can work out well if you plan on two WDW vacations within a 12-month period -- for example, two 5-day stays. And any additional days make the deal even more advantageous.

Where should I buy the annual passes? Can I buy them at the OKW Hospitality House with my Disney Club card? (I know there's no DVC discount.) Am I better off buying them at a Disney Store? Or do I have to stand in line at a theme park anyway, so should I just buy the passes then?

 

[Disneyfun1]

We bought the PAP this last trip. We just stood in line at guest services at the MK. Only took a couple minutes to get. If you buy them at the disney store, you only get a voucher, which i am told you have to stand in line at GS to redeem anyway. I think everywhere but GS only gives you a voucher, which you must redeem before use.

 

[Niagara2]

We have ordered through Disney on phone and had vouchers, have gone to Disney store and they ordered vouchers and we had to go back and pick up and now find the most easy way is to go to guest services at a slower park or my favorite - Downtown Disney. You have to turn in voucher anyways so you might as well just buy them there. Have your party with you for any ID requirements and enjoy. OKW does not sell AP's to my knowledge.

 

[RobDoc]

AP's are NOT available at the resorts. YOu can buy a voucher at TDS, which is then validated at a Theme Park or just buy the AP at the Theme Park.

We purchased ours at MGM last May. It took about 10 minutes and was a very simple exercise.

In general, AP's break even on the 8th day (PAP's take longer)- compared to Hoppers. In some situations, the UMP (with DVC discount) may be advantageous, but if you can get 2 trips in ne year totally 8 or moe days, the AP will win out.

We find that the AP makes for carefree visits to the parks. We don't worry about lines or crowds, since anything which we miss this trip- we'll get to do in a few months. Your mileage may vary!

Enjoy!

 

[baileybrad]

Werner,
Just want to say thanks for all of your excellent posts of the past...look forward to more in the future.

Regarding you AP question, we got our last APs during the American Express gift pass offer. We ordered these thru the Disney reservations' folks and they came in the mail (the vouchers, that is, in about a week). We have purchased passes in the past at the Disney Store. If I remember we "ordered' them and they called us in about a week or so when they came in. We used the MKC card to get discounts for these. The best place that we have bought them in WDW has been at the MGM window. It seem to never be very crowded and the CMs have always been on the ball. As Webmaster Doc, boy is that going to take some getting used to, mentioned the best thing about having the APs is that you can dart in and out of the parks and not feel bad about burning an entire day off of a pass. Or unlike the LOS passes not have park time left for that next visit within a year unless you fork out more cash for new ticket media. Hope some of this helps.

 

[mikesmom]

Werner,
FYI, we purchased aps on 2 separate occasions at the International Gateway. We were staying at BWV at the time and it was the closest entrance. Anyway, it's never taken over 5 minutes. I'm not sure if that entrance is quieter or we were just lucky (one time in January, and one time in late May), but it was virtually painless.

 

[Niagara2]

WARNING...WARNING...WARNING - As a long time AP holder - wait for this line.....the park entry is free - let's go back to WDW dear! We were once a year WDW visitors and then we got AP's and now we go four times a year. Never mind the cost of the three add ons with DVC - we get into the parks Free after eight days!!!

 

[Nanajo1]

We bought our AP's through TDS to beat an anticipated increase. We used our DC for a discount as well. We activated them at the GS at Epcot WS, near BWV. It was not busy but they only had one protective sleeve for two passes which I found odd the they weren't better stocked. We didn't think it would be a problem until we discovered we both had Donald on the front and were mixing up the passes so our prints didn't match LOL. We went to MGM GS and got new passes He's Goofy, I'm Minnie and our own sleeves!

 

[dianeschlicht]

LOL, mixing up the sleeves would be a problem!! Our sleeves look alike, but the passes have our names on them. Three of us have APs, so we need to keep it straight. Our problem is leaving them in the safe at home and thinking of them AFTER we are half way to the airport! WE have done that twice! A quick trip home solved the problem, and thank goodness we did notice it BEFORE we got to Florida!

 

[DebbieB]

If you already have an AP (not the voucher), you can have it replaced for free at guest services by showing ID if you leave it at home. A friend had this happen - her husband forgot his and they didn't realize it until they were more than an hour from home. It was no problem to replace it once they got to WDW. They have all your info on the computer, they can cancel the old one and give you a replacement with the same dates.

Niagara 2 - I know what you mean! My 2 trips planned for my first AP turned into 4!

 

[GCM13]

I guess we must have just been unlucky. We bought our AP's this past May at International Gateway at Epcot. There were only one window open and only two people ahead of us and by the time we were done, it took an hour. This was around 5:30 pm. Maybe that was why it took so long.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We too purchased our APs using the DC discount at the International Gateway (our home is BWV, so this is very convenient). It took about 10 minutes. The reason you only get vouchers if you purchase at an off-site location like the Disney Store is that each AP is tied to a hand scan which is used to verify that the user of the pass is the owner. Be sure to have photo ID along when you go to the parks in case the scanner doesn't recognize your hand, particularly the first couple of times you enter a park. I didn't have any problem with this, but my DW had two or three instances where she couldn't seem to get the hand scanner to function properly. After a few more park entries, she caught on, but the first couple of times she had to have the CM let her through the gate after verifying identity.

Ralph

 

[dianeschlicht]

Yes, the biometric readers can br a problem. DH had trouble with our first AP. They finally had him rescan after many missed atempts and the new scan worked every time. Be sure you notice how firmly you place your fingers in the reader the first time so you do it the same every time after that.

 

[auntsue]

How often does the scanning problem happen? Here in NJ, a photo license is optional so because of endless lines at DMV, I do not have a photo ID other than my passport, which I will bring for the airport check-in, but I certainly do not want to carry my passport around the parks. I was only planning on taking my room key, AP, and a credit card to the parks, none of which will have a photo. Would this be a problem?

 

[dianeschlicht]

I didn't carry a photo ID either, but DH always has his. I think if there is a group of people all with the same passes and same name, they will pass. I know they always let us through when it was a problem. We have never had trouble after that first pass. Come to think of it, that was when the biometric reader system was new.

 

[figgy4me]

Originally posted by baileybrad
we got our last APs during the American Express gift pass offer.

I want to know more about this.... Is this available often? What kind of discount? Any other info I might need...