Child no-expiration option.......think about this

[Funnybones]

I have posted this question on different forums and recieved different answers. I call the WDW ticket service people twice and also recieved different (if not totally contrary answers).

If I purchase a multi-day ticket for my 9 year old daughter with the "no-expiration" option, what happens when she wants to use the balance of days in future years ?

The Disney people have told me during one call that they are good forever and she will NOT have to pay to upgrade to adult after she turns 10.

A more recent call to a Disney staffer (who had to put me on hold for 3 min to ask) stated that "according to my supervisor" my daughter will have to pay the difference once she turns an adult (older than 9). My 2nd question to the WDW staffer was "if she has to pay the difference and Disney decided to increase ticket prices some day...doesn't that invalidate the no-expiration option?". The WDW staffer stammered a bit and said "I guess it does".

The whole purpose of the no-expiration option is to freeze the price right ? I would think it would be to my advantage to just say she is 10 years old NOW...thus freezing the price forever. If what they say is true (during the most recent call) then she will have to continue to pay for price increases for as long as there is a balance of days on the package.

Got me so far ?

Anyone have answers or input to this ??? Thanks

 

[dpuck1998]

Good questions....another example of CMs not really knowing the answer and Disney maybe not even having a policy in place. I would upgrade the tickets as soon as she turned 10.

I'll be doing this. I have a 2 yo and 7 yo. When then 7 yo hits 10 then the 2you will be 5 and be able to use the 3-9 ticket. I'll just purchase the 10yo an adult ticket at that time. {puts on suit}

 

[tjmw2727]

There is no charge to upgrade the unused portion of a childs non-exp MYW ticket if they turn 10 with unused days or plus options. I have done this twice, most recently on 12/26/06 at the guest relations window at the IG of Epcot.

The child has to be present and the dates must make sense (dates of use, childs b'day and childs age). My dd turned 10 on 12/14 and had 4 days left on a MYW non expiring PH. The cm exchanged it to a Guest 10+ MYW with the same number of days and options at no additional charge.

I also did this when my oldest turned 10 - about 2 years ago.

What may be confusing is that if the child has not used the ticket prior to turning 10 then you do need to pay the difference. As long as the child actually used a park day prior to turning 10 there is no charge.

I think there is a section that addres this on allears as well.

Good luck, hth,

TJ

 

[Kick Save]

I'm pretty sure the first CM was right, you won't need to upgrade when she turns 10. Well, you may need to upgrade the ticket type, but not the price. Non-expiration tickets are good for the life of the person they were bought for.

I'm not 101% on this, but darn sure. (That should be comforting...a total stranger being "darn sure." )

 

[tjmw2727]

Good questions....another example of CMs not really knowing the answer and Disney maybe not even having a policy in place. I would upgrade the tickets as soon as she turned 10.

I'll be doing this. I have a 2 yo and 7 yo. When then 7 yo hits 10 then the 2you will be 5 and be able to use the 3-9 ticket. I'll just purchase the 10yo an adult ticket at that time. {puts on suit}

It will be cheaper to transfer any remaining days on the 7yos ticket to a 10+ ticket (no charge) when he turns 10 and then buy a childs ticket for the 2yo when he is 5.

TJ

 

[MamaKate]

I have days left on 2 non-expiry tickets for my DD from 2 past trips. One has 2-days left and the other has 3 days.

I was under the impression that there wouldn't be a charge to upgrade when she actually turns 10.

She turns 10 during our trip this Feb. and I was planning on going to Guest Services to upgrade the tickets to adult tix. So hopefully they don't charge me the current adult price .

I can let you know for sure when I return (2/21)

 

[tjmw2727]

Ok - I found it - here is the explanation from allears, better than mine I think!

http://allearsnet.com/pl/ticket.htm#olderchild

from allearsnet:
"Many people find themselves in the situation of going to WDW with their young children and having unused days left on their tickets when they return home. These tickets are put away, often for many years, until another trip to Disney is planned. But what can you do with these tickets since your then child is now a teenager or even an adult and obviously can't use a child's ticket now?

What you have left will depend on how this transaction is handled. If you have a brand new, completely unused child's ticket that you bought years ago you will only be able to apply a dollar value equal to the price you paid for that ticket towards any new adult ticket that exceeds the price of the old one. This is your only option with an unused child ticket.

But if you have a partially used ticket, you may take that ticket along with your child who is now a teenager or older to a Guest Relations location at the major parks or DTD. If the Guest Relations CM is satisfied that the dates of the original ticket and the current age of your child make sense, you will have the leftover child's admissions exchanged for the identical adult admissions at no further charge to you. The "child" must be with you or you will be unable to do this.

Making sense of the dates means that if you bought and used the child ticket in 1994, then your child in 2004 must now fall in the 13-19 year old range. If you bought and used it in 1984, then the "child" must now be in the 23-29 year old range, etcetera etcetera. If they are not, then Disney reserves the right to offer you nothing more than the dollar value of the unused admissions towards a new adult ticket."

TJ

 

[SnackyStacky]

If you were to NEVER use the ticket before she turned 10, you would have to pay the difference between a child and an adult ticket.

As long as the first use of the ticket occurs BEFORE her 10th birthday, that ticket is hers to use until all of the days are gone - however long that takes. At some point, you may have to stop at Guest Relations to have the ticket converted to an adult ticket. This is NOT upgrade - but rather an exhange. It will be done FREE of charge.

I have posted this question on different forums and recieved different answers. I call the WDW ticket service people twice and also recieved different (if not totally contrary answers).

If I purchase a multi-day ticket for my 9 year old daughter with the "no-expiration" option, what happens when she wants to use the balance of days in future years ?

The Disney people have told me during one call that they are good forever and she will NOT have to pay to upgrade to adult after she turns 10.

A more recent call to a Disney staffer (who had to put me on hold for 3 min to ask) stated that "according to my supervisor" my daughter will have to pay the difference once she turns an adult (older than 9). My 2nd question to the WDW staffer was "if she has to pay the difference and Disney decided to increase ticket prices some day...doesn't that invalidate the no-expiration option?". The WDW staffer stammered a bit and said "I guess it does".

The whole purpose of the no-expiration option is to freeze the price right ? I would think it would be to my advantage to just say she is 10 years old NOW...thus freezing the price forever. If what they say is true (during the most recent call) then she will have to continue to pay for price increases for as long as there is a balance of days on the package.

Got me so far ?

Anyone have answers or input to this ??? Thanks

 

[Hannathy]

As long as they have used it it is good. We found a ticket of my DD from 2000 with a day on it and we used it in 2006 when she was 14. In fact the CM didn't even make us go to cust. service He heard us arranging to meet after my DH and DD went to exchange it and he said go ahead put it thru the reader since it is only one day it is not worth standing in line and told the turnstile person.

 

[Funwith4kids]

We will be exchanging a partially used child ticket for an adult since DD is now 10. Can this be done at local Disney stores to avoid the Guest Relations lines at the parks?

 

[kaytieeldr]

No, it cannot be done at a Disney store. Pick a short line; go to a park early; go the day before; go to Guest Services at Downtown Disney,,,

 

[surfgirl]

So... if I'm reading this right...

There are families that go do Disney every year. For their children, buy many 10 day non-expire tickets. Use one day on each ticket so each ticket is 'activiated' -- the children will be able to use these tickets until the 10 days have expired, no matter the total timeframe that this takes. The age verification test should work, since each child is truly using them during the right time frame.

Essentially, you can 'lock in' the price of admission to today's rates if you are willing to lay out the cash now.

I guess whether this makes sense depends on the rate of inflation vs. the rate of ticket increases.

(Obviously, this assumes you are good at record-keeping, don't lose the tickets, and use each of them fully).

Am I missing something ?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Anything related to Park tickets can be done at any of the following locations:

Any Park (including Water Parks) ticket booth. This includes the TTC.

Any Guest Relations Office (GRO) outside the parks. This includes the Water Parks, TTC and DTD.

Any GRO inside the Parks.

This includes "will-call", upgrading any tickets, replacing any tickets, converting an AP voucher to an AP.

Anything that can be done related to tickets at a GRO can also be done at a regular ticket window. The ticket windows cannot do things such as make reservations, unscramble problems related to room keys, or handle Lost and Found or Guest Recovery.

 

[Robo]

So... if I'm reading this right...

There are families that go do Disney every year. For their children, buy many 10 day non-expire tickets. Use one day on each ticket so each ticket is 'activiated' -- the children will be able to use these tickets until the 10 days have expired, no matter the total timeframe that this takes. The age verification test should work, since each child is truly using them during the right time frame.

Essentially, you can 'lock in' the price of admission to today's rates if you are willing to lay out the cash now.

There ARE folks who buy many extra ADULT tickets and do NOT activate them, but save them for future use. If these are never activated (used at all when first purchased) they do not even have to be non-expiring to hold their full value and future admission potential. That makes sense.

One COULD do that with the kids tickets and go to the trouble of activating each one to hold the "kid" price, but that would REQUIRE the purchase of non-expiring option on all the tickets, as well... very expensive to do, and not very practical as a money-saver.

 

[goofyernmost]

Since more than one answer has been given to that question, I would be hard pressed to feel comfortable with any of them. The only way to know is to take care of it at the time you, or they, return.

Logically, the worst case scenario would be that they charge the difference between child and adult rates based on what those rates were when you purchased the ticket. I'm sure Disney has historical records that tell them what the prices were when they were purchased.

Even if they didn't, you should still be able to apply what you paid for the original to the cost of the new one making the new one considerably cheaper then if it just stood alone. It appears that this is a "gray area" item and unless you are diligent and ask the proper questions you might have to pay more then you thought you should. My thought is that any child, no expiration, pass is good for as long as the person remains an age to still be considered a child. If they didn't do this that way everyone would buy a 10 day child's pass when they are 9 knowing that they can use it forever without additional charges. I'm sure much more clever brains than mine have already figured this out.

 

[sorcerormickey]

The Disney people have told me during one call that they are good forever and she will NOT have to pay to upgrade to adult after she turns 10.

THIS IS THE CORRECT ANSWER!!!! Trust me, it's my job!

You need to bump the ticket up to an Adult ticket, but as long as the ticket has been used at least once, you will NOT be charged the upgrade.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Anything related to Park tickets can be done at any of the following locations:

Any Park (including Water Parks) ticket booth. This includes the TTC.

Any Guest Relations Office (GRO) outside the parks. This includes the Water Parks, TTC and DTD.

Any GRO inside the Parks.

This includes "will-call", upgrading any tickets, replacing any tickets, converting an AP voucher to an AP.

Anything that can be done related to tickets at a GRO can also be done at a regular ticket window. The ticket windows cannot do things such as make reservations, unscramble problems related to room keys, or handle Lost and Found or Guest Recovery.

I was at the TTC ticket sales window to replace a lost annual pass. They were trying to close the windows and shoo guests away by having a manager telling guests to purchase their tickets outside the Magic Kingdom turnstiles, at Guest Relations. I mentioned I didn't want to visit a park, I just wanted to replace a lost annual pass. He said that was fine, and sent me up to the window.

The cast member told me (in a not-so-Disneyesque manner....) that this was something that needed to be done at Guest Relations. I had to call that manager over to tell her he said it was okay!

I don't know if it was a one-time deal, a cranky cast member, a change in policy since then - but if you lose your AP, I'd head to Guest Relations first.

 

[mjgruber]

You definitely do NOT need to upgrade. I am sure they will accept the $$$ if you insist, but you do not need too.


Disney's rationale is that they have held the funds for years ( in most cases ).

I have posted this question on different forums and recieved different answers. I call the WDW ticket service people twice and also recieved different (if not totally contrary answers).

If I purchase a multi-day ticket for my 9 year old daughter with the "no-expiration" option, what happens when she wants to use the balance of days in future years ?

The Disney people have told me during one call that they are good forever and she will NOT have to pay to upgrade to adult after she turns 10.

A more recent call to a Disney staffer (who had to put me on hold for 3 min to ask) stated that "according to my supervisor" my daughter will have to pay the difference once she turns an adult (older than 9). My 2nd question to the WDW staffer was "if she has to pay the difference and Disney decided to increase ticket prices some day...doesn't that invalidate the no-expiration option?". The WDW staffer stammered a bit and said "I guess it does".

The whole purpose of the no-expiration option is to freeze the price right ? I would think it would be to my advantage to just say she is 10 years old NOW...thus freezing the price forever. If what they say is true (during the most recent call) then she will have to continue to pay for price increases for as long as there is a balance of days on the package.

Got me so far ?

Anyone have answers or input to this ??? Thanks

 

[dis-happy]

Your first answer was correct. I've upgraded a child's ticket without a problem and without an extra charge (although I did have to tell the CM what the policy was and he had to check with his manager, but that was at the Guest Services place inside Epcot and I don't think they were as used to doing it there). Bring your child with you so they can see that ticket use and the age of your child makes sense.