Credit for remaining days on PH pass toward AP?

[Rash]

I know this was mentioned recently bu I can't seem to find it....

If I have two days remaining on a Park Hopper pass, can I apply the value of those days to the cost of an Annual Pass? If so, how do they determine the value of each day?

 

[RobDoc]

Yes, you can do that. Basically, they will take your original purchase amount for the pass, divided by the number of days and that's the amount of credit you'll get. The plus features have no value towards te AP.

If you paid $280 for a 7 day hopper, the daily value was $40 and you'll have a credit of $80 for the two remianing days. They do not base it on the current price of the hopper- only on what you actually paid.

 

[tjkraz]

Unused park hopper days can be credited toward the price of an AP under normal circumstances, so one would speculate that the same will hold true with the DVC discount. It's not specifically addressed on the member web site, so take anything you hear with a grain of salt.

The credit is a pro-rated share of the original cost of the pass, NOT the present day value.

Thus if you have a 5 day park hopper with 2 days unused, you would get 2/5 of the original price as credit toward your new pass. Note that if the pass was purchased from someone other than Disney (WDW, Disney Store, etc.) there may have been an upcharge added by vendor above and beyond Disney's wholesale price. In this scenario, you will not get credit for the vendor's upcharge. Disney can scan the ticket at Guest Services and immediately know the price at which THEY sold the pass. That number will be the basis for your credit.

Also, if the pass was a Park Hopper PLUS, there is no cash value assigned to the Plus features on the ticket.

 

[Rash]

Thanks Doc. If I don't have my receipt, how will they determine how much I paid? Is it on the ticket somewhere? (i'm not at home so I don't have access to the tix right now).

EDITED: IGNORE THE ABOVE. tjkraz just answered my question - we must have been typing at the same time! thanks.

 

[Dean]

A couple of thoughts. If the pass is somewhat older, you are really throwing dollars down the drain. It's much like trading in a car and getting whole sale on your trade in but paying retail on the new one, or the difference between buy and sell on currency exchange. I've been told that you can't trade a plus pass in for an AP if any of the plus options have been used, you can only do a PAP. I don't know if this is true for certain.

You may be better off just keeping them and using them when it is convenient. I'm guessing you can only do this at the park Guest Services and not through MS or the members website.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Dean
...(snip).....I've been told that you can't trade a plus pass in for an AP if any of the plus options have been used, you can only do a PAP. I don't know if this is true for certain........

It's true if you upgrade within 7 days of the first use of the PHP. It's not true if you want a dollar credit for the remaining value of the PHP to apply to the purchase of an AP or PAP.

If you want credit for the entire amount you paid for a PHP ticket towards an upgrade, you must upgrade within 7 days of the first use of the PHP pass. If you have used any of the plus features, you can only upgrade to a PAP. The AP/PAP is backdated to the first day the PHP pass was used.

You can get a dollar credit towards a new AP or PAP for unused days of a PHP if it has been more than 7 days since the first use. (As you say, sometimes, it is better just to use the days rather than turn the partially used PHP in for credit). Even if you have used some of the plus options, you can apply the remaining value of the pass towards a "plain" AP.

The info tjkraz posted about wholesale value would apply to both situations if you did not buy the ticket directly from Disney. You are only allowed a credit for one PH/PHP pass per AP/PAP purchased.

For those who are interested, there is a very good explanation of the ins and outs of Upgrading WDW tickets here.

Best wishes -

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by CarolMN
It's true if you upgrade within 7 days of the first use of the PHP. It's not true if you want a dollar credit for the remaining value of the PHP to apply to the purchase of an AP or PAP.

If you want credit for the entire amount you paid for a PHP ticket towards an upgrade, you must upgrade within 7 days of the first use of the PHP pass. If you have used any of the plus features, you can only upgrade to a PAP. The AP/PAP is backdated to the first day the PHP pass was used.

You can get a dollar credit towards a new AP or PAP for unused days of a PHP if it has been more than 7 days since the first use. (As you say, sometimes, it is better just to use the days rather than turn the partially used PHP in for credit). Even if you have used some of the plus options, you can apply the remaining value of the pass towards a "plain" AP.

The info tjkraz posted about wholesale value would apply to both situations if you did not buy the ticket directly from Disney. You are only allowed a credit for one PH/PHP pass per AP/PAP purchased.

For those who are interested, there is a very good explanation of the ins and outs of Upgrading WDW tickets here.

Best wishes -

Thanks Carol, that brings up a question. Since the plus options are judged as having no value, could one buy a plus pass, use the plusses then turn in the pass for full credit on an AP or PAP? I know it sounds sneaky, that's because it is. I don't buy plus passes, but it just caught my eye.

 

[Rash]

The 5-Day PHP (no plus) were purchased through AAA in Dec 2003 for about $200. I have two days left on each pass (three of them). We're going back to WDW in Feb 2005 for 5 days. If I were to buy PHP again, I would buy 5 day again since the per day cost is less than the 4 day. The cost is now $232.

Now, with the upcoming DVC, an AP will be approx. $300. If I get at least a $68 credit for those two days, it seem like it 's worth buying the AP, correct? (assuming I use it for at least 2 more days after our Feb trip since that's what we'd have left on our new 5 day PHP).

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Dean
Thanks Carol, that brings up a question. Since the plus options are judged as having no value, could one buy a plus pass, use the plusses then turn in the pass for full credit on an AP or PAP? I know it sounds sneaky, that's because it is. I don't buy plus passes, but it just caught my eye.

In this case, I only know for sure that if you use any of the plus options and want to upgrade (within 7 days of the first use), you can only upgrade to a PAP and the start of the PAP year would be backdated to the day the first plus option was used.

I'm not sure about your other question - if you could use the plus options and then sometime after 7 days, get a dollar credit equal to the full purchase price of the PHP to apply to the purchase of a new AP or PAP. It would seem to be within the rules as I understand them. Doesn't really seem to be feasible option unless you are a local (or your Orlando stays are at least 8 days) and you only want to visit a waterpark/PI a few times per year (less than 4).

Anyone who is really curious about this could probably PM GoldenOldie and get a reliable answer - she's the resident DIS guru on tickets. She mostly hangs out on the Theme Parks board. I'm really not interested enough to do that, LOL (we either buy plain PH or APs) and I don't think you are, either. It is an interesting question, though - I've occasionally wondered about it as well.

Best wishes -

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Rash
The 5-Day PHP (no plus) were purchased through AAA in Dec 2003 for about $200. I have two days left on each pass (three of them). We're going back to WDW in Feb 2005 for 5 days. If I were to buy PHP again, I would buy 5 day again since the per day cost is less than the 4 day. The cost is now $232.

Now, with the upcoming DVC, an AP will be approx. $300. If I get at least a $68 credit for those two days, it seem like it 's worth buying the AP, correct? (assuming I use it for at least 2 more days after our Feb trip since that's what we'd have left on our new 5 day PHP).

You can only apply the remaining value of one pass for each AP you purchase (so I will assume you are thinking about getting 3 APs).

IIRC, buying through AAA is like buying through TDS. It appears to me that you would get a dollar credit of approximately 2/5 of the original price or about $80. I say about, because I am not entirely sure how the sales tax is handled. I am reasonably sure that you don't get any credit for the sales tax you paid (unless you are upgrading within the 7 day period).

PHP generally means Park Hopper Plus and PH is the abbreviation generally used for the plain (no plus option) pass. It sounds like you bought (and are considering buying) the PH passes. If so, I agree with your logic that the AP is a better value for you as long as you will go into the parks at least 7 days before the year is up and don't plan to visit PI or one of the waterparks.

Best wishes -

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Rash
The 5-Day PHP (no plus) were purchased through AAA in Dec 2003 for about $200. I have two days left on each pass (three of them). We're going back to WDW in Feb 2005 for 5 days. If I were to buy PHP again, I would buy 5 day again since the per day cost is less than the 4 day. The cost is now $232.

Now, with the upcoming DVC, an AP will be approx. $300. If I get at least a $68 credit for those two days, it seem like it 's worth buying the AP, correct? (assuming I use it for at least 2 more days after our Feb trip since that's what we'd have left on our new 5 day PHP).

Or you could buy new AP and keep the PH for later. What's best depends on your trips over the next 10 years or so. But trading them in for 3 new AP is a reasonable option as you'd only lose the difference of 2 days with a couple of price increases.

As for tax, it's a wash as you'd only pay tax for the new purchase on the difference in the prices.

 

[Rash]

Thanks all for the advice.

 

[Rash]

One more question - do I have to wait until I get to WDW to recieve the credit for the remaining days and buy new tix, or can I do it in advance by phone?

 

[RobDoc]

If you want to credit the unused days, it will have to be done at Guest Services. They can't verify the remaining days on a pass over the phone, it has to be run thru a card reader to get the info encoded on the pass.

Enjoy!

 

[Rash]

Can that be done at check-in at the hotel or does it have to be at the park?

 

[tjkraz]

Only at the Guest Services window at the parks or Downtown Disney.

 

[Rash]

Thanks Doc and tjkraz.

 

[lsutigger2]

Just a wee bit of additional info:
A couple of years I had two PHP passes from a previous trip that I wanted to get a credit on and purchase AP's (not a PAP) and the Guest Services person won't let me. I would have had to be buying a PAP. The PHP's had a couple of park days and several of the pluses on them. So we ended up getting AP's and using the pluses for visiting the water parks. We don't do the water parks every trip so it's worked out okay for us. I really didn't want to get PAP's at the time.

 

[Rash]

Only at the Guest Services window at the parks or Downtown Disney.

On another thread, someone mentioned that there is a Guest Services at each resort. If that's true, can they scan and credit my PH tix there?

 

[tjkraz]

On another thread, someone mentioned that there is a Guest Services at each resort. If that's true, can they scan and credit my PH tix there?

Unless Disney makes changes with the new MYW tickets, no, only Guest Services can issue APs.

And make sure you go to Guest Services, NOT the standard ticket lines. When we visited in December we needed an AP for our 3yo son. All of the ticket windows had lines 20+ people deep. The one Guest Services line only had 4 people ahead of us.

At Epcot and MGM they have dedicted Guest Services lines. MK just has one line for Guest Services AND all other ticket purchases. Avoid MK if you can. The International Gateway at Epcot is one of the best locations to use, and the Downtown Disney location can be good, too. I'm not sure about the Animal Kingdom.

A couple of years I had two PHP passes from a previous trip that I wanted to get a credit on and purchase AP's (not a PAP) and the Guest Services person won't let me. I would have had to be buying a PAP.

I'm not entirely certain that the CM you spoke to was correct. I know that if you try to upgrade within 7 days of the first use of the PHP (which would allow you to get FULL credit for the original purchase price of the ticket) you could only upgrade to a PAP if you had used any of the plusses.

But, for a pro-rated upgrade (i.e. giving credit for 2 remaining days of 7) I didn't think that you were obligated to go with the PAP. They would not assign any value to remaining Plusses, but I thought you could still use it toward the standard AP.

Anyone confirm?