Can u activate AP voucher at MCO Store?

[crazyj4488]

Can you activate the AP voucher you get in the mail from Disney at the MCO airport disney store or do they only sell the activated passes there? If I can stop at the store after getting off the plane to activate my AP, it will save me a stop at guest services so I can just get right into the parks on my arrival day.

TIA

-J

 

[Took]

I have heard from others that you can't activate an AP there, only at Guest Services. We have bought ap's there several times and these are active when they're purchased, but I don't think you can activate a voucher there.

took

 

[MagicKingdom05]

I was at WDW in Feb and you can buy activated AP's there, but you can't activate ones you already bought. This is why I waited and bought mine there so I didn't have to scramble around trying to activate it before I checked in.

 

[whacked]

I'm coming from the West coast. We get in late. How late is the Disney store at the airport open? I would like to buy a pass there, but I would hate to get in too late to get one.

Also, is it possible to get the Disney Dining Experience card when you get to the park, or do you have to buy it in advance?

Thanks in advance.

 

[LisaS]

whacked: How late are you getting into MCO? According to this web site: http://www.orlandoairports.net/goaa/property/shops.htm Disney's Earport at Orlando airport is open from 7:00am until 10:00pm. Their number is: (407) 825-2339.

 

[whacked]

We should be there by 10:00 pm. The next question is...

If I buy one at the airport, can I also get a DDE (Disney Dining Experience) card, or do I have to get the passport in advance to get the DDE card?

Thanks again in advance.

 

[LisaS]

We should be there by 10:00 pm. The next question is...

If I buy one at the airport, can I also get a DDE (Disney Dining Experience) card, or do I have to get the passport in advance to get the DDE card?

Thanks again in advance.

Sorry -- I should have addressed the DDE issue in my reply because it may well affect how/where you want to purchase your Annual Pass!

You need to have the Annual Pass (or a voucher for an Annual Pass) before you can order the DDE card. You order the DDE card over the phone. The DDE office is open Mon-Fri, normal business hours (9am-5pm I assume?). If you get your AP at the airport in the late evening, the earliest you can call to order the DDE is 9am the following morning, assuming you are arriving Sun-Thurs evening. If you are arriving Fri or Sat evening, the earliest you can order your DDE card is 9am Monday morning.

The DDE folks keep changing the process, but the latest thing I read on these boards is that if you order the DDE after you get to WDW or within a few days of leaving for WDW, they will provide you with either a letter or a temporary card (not sure which but it doesn't really matter) that can be picked up ONLY at Epcot's Guest Services window. Unless you were planning to go to Epcot that first morning, it's not exactly convenient.

If you order your AP now, Disney will send you a voucher that you can use to order the DDE. It can take 8 weeks to get the DDE card so if you're traveling to WDW sooner than that, they'll snailmail you a hardcopy letter you can use to get your DDE discount during your trip. The price you pay doing things this way is you have to go to a park to activate your AP, but you can do that at ANY park, which might be easier for you than having to go to Epcot to get your DDE letter. AND you'll have your DDE letter in your hand to use for your first breakfast at WDW that first morning (and all weekend, if you happen to be arriving Fri or Sat night).

Hope that helps. There have been a lot of threads on the DDE lately, especially since the DDE office just changed their policy and will no longer email the confirmation letters. In particular, take a look at this post if you haven't already: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=789066

 

[whacked]

Thank you for the reply.

This makes things slightly more complicated, but not impossible. We will be arriving on a Saturday, so it looks like I need to get this stuff straightened out in advance.

I wish they still sold the AP vouchers at the Disney store.

Looks like I need to order the AP voucher about 2 months in advance, and then order the DDE card as soon as I get the AP voucher....

Provided the rules don't change again between now and then.

I guess I'll just keep watching. I won't order the AP unless I can get the AP discount for WL in December anyway. If we can't, I'll just use the AAA discount at CS and get a park hopper pass.

Disney does have enough options on entry and discounts to keep us all guessing and wondering.

What the heck was this thread about anyway?

 

[philaround]

I think you should order your AP at least 3 months before your trip or maybe even 4 months. It could take 7 to 10 days to get your voucher in the mail and you can't order the DDE without the voucher number. They will not give you the voucher number over the phone. If you wait until 2 months before your trip you will not have your voucher until you are between 6 and seven weeks out so it becomes almost certain that you will have to pick it up at Epcot Guest Services window.
I was one of the last people to get the E-mail confirmation for the DDE card on Friday 4/1. As Monday 4/4 they switched to picking up the confirmation at Epcot it the DDE card itself does not get to you before your trip.
Please note this Epcot pickup is only for the special confirmation letter, the card itself will still be mailed to you at home.

 

[LisaS]

You might be able to get away with ordering the AP about a month out. If it takes a maximum of 10 days to get the voucher and you order the DDE as soon as the voucher arrives, that gives you up to 20 days to receive the hardcopy DDE letter in the mail, eliminating the need to go to Epcot on your first day. Having the actual plastic DDE card is more convenient, but I went to WDW in January with just the letter and it wasn't a problem. And who knows, maybe by your trip dates the DDE backlog won't be so bad and they'll be able to get the actual cards out in a reasonable amount of time.

The DDE card is valid for at least a year from the date you order it. It expires in one year, at the end of the month in which you ordered it, so if you order it April 29, 2005 it will expire April 30, 2006, if you order it May 1, 2005 it will expire May 31, 2006. Because of the backlog in shipping the cards they are adding a month or two of additional time to everyone's expiration date. If you order it 4 months ahead of your trip, it will expire 8-9 months after your trip. If you order it a 20 days before your trip and just use the letter they will send you, your card will expire 12-13 months after your trip, increasing your chances of being able to use it on another trip.

In any event, keep monitoring the DDE discussions on these boards so you can stay current with whatever new policies the DDE office decides to put in place!

 

[crazyj4488]

Sorry, but what is the DDE?

 

[LisaS]

DDE = Disney Dining Experience. It is available to FL residents (for $75/year) or AP holders (for $50/year) and gives you 20% off the cost of dining (including alcohol) at most sit-down restaurants and a few counter service restaurants.

Since this started as a post about activating APs, I don't want to pull it too far off topic. Go to the Disney Restaurants board and there are usually a dozen or so very recent posts discussing the DDE -- what it is, how to order it, how long it takes for the DDE card to arrive, which restaurants honor it, etc.