Check expiration date when moving from hopper ticket to annual pass

[Julylady]

Just a cautionary warning. We just returned from a wonderful 14 day trip! I had originally purchased nine day hopper passes for my Mom and my two nieces as well as an AP for myself last January prior to the price increase. We had originally planned a 10 day stay that was changed to 14 days ten days prior to leaving. We also booked a 7 day cruise with 3 pre-cruise days for next April. Before leaving home, I decided to upgrade the hopper passes to APs since we would now be spending 16 days in the parks.

On our 3rd park day, we went to Hollywood Studios guest relations inside the park to do the upgrades. My Mom and I went to two different agents since we were paying separately. I told my agent what I needed to do and he started on the transaction. My Mom was working with a different Agent at the next machine. After a minute my Mom called for me.

Her agent was telling her that the expiration date on the annual pass would go back to the date the tickets were purchased which was January 7th. I asked my agent if that was true and he said no, the expiration date would be one year from the first time the ticket was used (which was July 19 in our case). My Mom's agent held firm that the expiration date would be January 7. I told her to stop the transaction and told my Mom to come over to my agent. Her agent then sighed deeply and said she needed to go and see a manager.

I asked my Agent what was going on with her. He seemed to not want to say anything. I asked him directly why she told my Mom that the expiration date was January when it was actually in July. He said that the default date that comes up on the computer is the purchase date of the ticket and that some agents don't have the necessary authority to override the default. So she had to go to the back room to get a manager to over ride the date. I asked him if he had the authority to change the date and he said that he did.

She came back after a few minutes and coldly told my Mom that she was able to make an exception for her and now her expiration date was July 19. I looked at my Agent and rolled my eyes. He just looked down. He then asked me if I could log in to My Disney Experience website. He showed me how to view the new AP tickets and their expiration dates through the app including my Mom's ticket. He never said a word to the other Agent and she not to him.

I just wanted to post that everyone else trying to do an upgrade should ask about the expiration date. My Mom admitted that if I had not been there, she would have believed what the Agent said and purchased an AP that was good for just six months. And, a big thanks to those on these Boards who helped me to understand the process!

 

[bumbershoot]

I hope you put in a comment about the wrong agent?

 

[Jestocost]

Unfortunately, this is a common problem with upgrades. The other big thing you come across is a failure to price bridge a discounted ticket to the current gate price when calculating the cost of the upgrade. Supposedly all of the information is in their systems but it's easy to come across CMs who don't know the proper procedures or are too lazy to follow them unless forced.

This underscores the importance of knowing all of this information in advance of going in to do an upgrade and in confirming all of the details of the transaction before you commit to anything. If any of the dates or numbers don't match what you think they should be, walk away, check your information and try again at a different time and location.

 

[Julylady]

No I didn't put in a comment about the agent. I was in a hurry to get out and find my two nieces. I had them wait outside since I didn't want them to know what I was doing. They don't know about the cruise and won't until Christmas! I hope that the uninformed Agent was just that - uniformed and that she learned something through the transaction. I decided to post my experience after my Mom told me that she wouldn't have questioned the Agent if I hadn't been there. I want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. Do you think I should still make a comment now? Is it too late?

 

[Accident]

I'm planning to upgrade to an annual pass in a couple weeks when we arrive. I know from the website, it no longer says it starts on first use but the day you purchased it. The alternative is to get a voucher which you can turn in for your annual pass the day you plan to first use it and that will start your expiration date to the date you turn in the voucher. It also says this on the website now. I'm not really sure what to expect but this is extremely helpful to know if it's not going my way that managers can override it!

thanks for posting!

 

[bumbershoot]

I think you should make a comment now if you know the name of the agent. Name, location, time, what happened and what that agent said. I don't think it's true what your agent said, that some don't have the ability...I think they just don't know their jobs. And they need to know their jobs. To get to that point, their managers have to know what the employees don't know.

We just got back from a trip to Disneyland. 3 times I went to city hall/guest services to put in "kudos" for good CMs, because I know how important it is for them. But it's just as important that the bad stuff is mentioned as well, so they can know their jobs.

 

[bumbershoot]

I know from the website, it no longer says it starts on first use but the day you purchased it.

What website? Where?

 

[lugnut33]

I'm planning to upgrade to an annual pass in a couple weeks when we arrive. I know from the website, it no longer says it starts on first use but the day you purchased it. The alternative is to get a voucher which you can turn in for your annual pass the day you plan to first use it and that will start your expiration date to the date you turn in the voucher. It also says this on the website now. I'm not really sure what to expect but this is extremely helpful to know if it's not going my way that managers can override it!

thanks for posting!

That would be a huge deal if true.

 

[Accident]

I never completed the purchase to see the final options on the website but the person I spoke to on the phone when looking at my upgrade options said it's date of purchase. When I asked how to make it first use they said they can issue an exchange certificate which you can turn in at guest services to activate it for that date/renewal. It sounds like you need to know this to ask for it now.

Quick Googling to find where I read it only brought up third party websites saying the same thing. I don't see this under the official annual pass site or faq anymore.

This is new for me so maybe someone with more experience with annual passes has more info. I'll be more than happy to update my experience upgrading at the end of the month when I do it.

 

[POOHsie]

I'm planning to upgrade to an annual pass in a couple weeks when we arrive. I know from the website, it no longer says it starts on first use but the day you purchased it. The alternative is to get a voucher which you can turn in for your annual pass the day you plan to first use it and that will start your expiration date to the date you turn in the voucher. It also says this on the website now. I'm not really sure what to expect but this is extremely helpful to know if it's not going my way that managers can override it!

thanks for posting!

I don't think the website is writing about an 'upgrade to AP' situation. They're writing about 'buying an AP outright' when you get to WDW. For an outright purchase (with no MYW credit applied), the AP is given the date purchased at WDW as the start date.

As an example relating to what happened to OP's mom, it's possible for a person to buy an AP voucher and not activate it for years. It's also possible to purchase a MYW ticket years before use, then use it years later at WDW and upgrade it to AP. What would OP's mom's mindless CM have done about that -- if the MYW ticket presented for credit was purchased in 2012? Would that mean the new AP expired in 2013 and she owed money for a now-expired AP in 2015? Common Sense was missing from the Disney CM assisting the OP's mom.

 

[cvjw]

I have had so many bad experiences when trying to upgrade tickets to AP's. There are truly some CM's that do not understand how to properly upgrade tickets. Everyone needs to be knowledgeable about how the upgrade should be handled and be prepared to go to a different guest services location if you get the feeling that the CM you are dealing with is giving you bad info.

I just had a different experience in May when turning in our AP renewal vouchers to renew our AP's that expired in March. The CM took over an hour to renew our passes, and in the end made the AP expiration date in May of 2016, instead of April 2016 when it should have been. When I pointed this out to her, she told me to keep the extra 2 months, she did not know how to fix her mistake

 

[purple figment]

I'm planning to upgrade to an annual pass in a couple weeks when we arrive. I know from the website, it no longer says it starts on first use but the day you purchased it. The alternative is to get a voucher which you can turn in for your annual pass the day you plan to first use it and that will start your expiration date to the date you turn in the voucher. It also says this on the website now. I'm not really sure what to expect but this is extremely helpful to know if it's not going my way that managers can override it!

thanks for posting!

I never completed the purchase to see the final options on the website but the person I spoke to on the phone when looking at my upgrade options said it's date of purchase. When I asked how to make it first use they said they can issue an exchange certificate which you can turn in at guest services to activate it for that date/renewal. It sounds like you need to know this to ask for it now.

There is a difference between purchasing the actual AP and purchasing a voucher to be exchanged for an AP. If you purchase the actual AP it is active immediately. Some like to exchange their voucher or purchase the AP the night before their first day in the park to save time, but the AP clock will start at that time. If you purchase a voucher it will not be active until you exchange it for the AP.

I think this is what the website is referring to when it says the AP is valid from the day you purchase it and not on the day you first use it. This isn't a new policy, but one that has been in effect for a number of years.

 

[elle101me]

Yes! This happened to us 2 years ago. There was no way to have the expiration date changed over the phone, we had to wait until we returned last year to have it fixed at guest services.

 

[Robo]

Restating what POOHsie mentioned above:

An AP voucher does not start "counting down" (activate) when you purchase it.

Guests can only purchase AP vouchers on-line and over-the-phone, so they don't need to fret over their APs starting to age, regardless of purchase date.

Only when an actual AP, itself, is purchased while the guest is at WDW does that AP begin to age immediately.

Likewise, only when an AP voucher is redeemed for an actual AP, while the guest is at WDW does that AP begin to age immediately.

And, yes, CHECK the ANNIVERSARY DATE when you do ultimately activate, purchase or renew any AP.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

Very similar thing happened to us when we upgraded DVC discount passes to annual passes in May. The tickets were purchased in Decebmer but not used until May but the AP expiration date showed December. It took about 5 minutes on the phone to get that squared away.

 

[DisneyWisher]

I had an agent that wouldn't bridge, we bought tickets before price increase wanted to added a day. (We are Florida residents at the time you could upgrade Florida 3 or 4 day ticket within 6 months of first use) if agent would've bridge I would've saved $10 a ticket. What she ended up doing is refunding our purchase price selling us new 4 day tickets. We were in AK, we went to EE and tried getting FPs (pre-FP+) and it wouldnt let us. CM there gave us a card to use to get FPs. What I found out the next day is because we were in the park when she sold us the 4 day its we got that day free. We saved a day to upgrade to APs in a few months, when I upgraded mine 2 months later they used the first day used (actually was second day) 2 months after that I uograded daughter's and had to get a copy of mine (forgot it at home) CM made that day as first day of use for my daughter (would expire a year from upgrade date) made expiration on mine a year from when I upgraded. I figured it was hassle from original CM.

Now we have payment plans for us, we just renew online. Since MBs I renew online (have twice) don't even have to deal with ticket windows or guest services. Love it!!

 

[cigar95]

She came back after a few minutes and coldly told my Mom that she was able to make an exception for her and now her expiration date was July 19.

I love it when they "make an exception" for me by doing what should properly have been done in the first place.

To be fair, things have usually been done properly for me over the years, but I sense that more and more CMs are untrained on these upgrading procedures. This is particularly true of the international CMs at the front desk in Epcot, who I perceive to be less experienced than the typical guest relations CM.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Yes. This happened to us as well.

We upgraded our park hoppers to AP's at EPCOT and by that afternoon, while trying to enter MK, they had magically expired 6 months previously.

Lesson learned.

 

[amcnj]

Boy I guess I better check the expiration date of a recent upgrade to AP. Though the price charged matched what I had calculated ahead of time to the penny, so hopefully we had a CM "in the know" and the expiration date is also correct. So the AP expiration date will show on MDE?