Direct Purchasing Timeline - Annual Pass

[ShadowRegent]

We have an upcoming trip in April and have been considering a direct DVC purchase at some point in the future. Does anyone know how long it takes to be eligible for the DVC annual pass if we decided to pull the trigger? It would be a nice perk if we could upgrade our tickets to gold annual passes for minimal cost while we are there next month.

 

[Sandisw]

You would be eligible immediately for the perks once you agree to purchase.

 

[ShadowRegent]

Oh wow, so if we decided to do a tour while we were there and agreed to purchase then we could upgrade our tickets to an annual pass on the spot at the DVC rate? That's a better answer than I would have guessed! We had been taking a hard look at resale, but the savings on passes for a larger family are swaying us to at least consider a 100 point contract direct and adding a resale contract down the line. I know perks can change, but it only takes a couple of years to make up the difference in price.

 

[Sandisw]

Yes, and just be sure to mention that when you are with the guide too! Points are usually there within hours of agreeing to purchase. Since you will be onsite, you will be able to get everything signed when there!

And, you will be eligible for the gift cards for the adults, plus some extra FPs.

 

[clayfolks]

My sister in law went directly from signing DVC paperwork to HS for an upgrade to a gold annual pass. She was able to do it within minutes. I think they gave her a temporary membership card.

 

[Mumof4mice]

We have an upcoming trip in April and have been considering a direct DVC purchase at some point in the future. Does anyone know how long it takes to be eligible for the DVC annual pass if we decided to pull the trigger? It would be a nice perk if we could upgrade our tickets to gold annual passes for minimal cost while we are there next month.

Yes, the Gold AP eligibility is effective immediately after your DVC purchase.

We bought (and already started using) platinum APs, decided to add direct DVC points at the end of that trip, and guest services cheerfully downgraded our platinum APs to Gold and refunded the difference.

 

[Akck]

And remember, you’re entitled to all discounts associated with your blue card. When we signed our paperwork, our guide made sure we could access our blue cards online. He had us take a screen shot of it for easy access for any purchases that qualified. My wife vowed to make up the cost of direct purchase with her park purchases.

 

[E2ME2]

And remember, you’re entitled to all discounts associated with your blue card. When we signed our paperwork, our guide made sure we could access our blue cards online. He had us take a screen shot of it for easy access for any purchases that qualified. My wife vowed to make up the cost of direct purchase with her park purchases.

Has your wife been successful in racking up DVC Savings to offset the Direct Costs??
Please share any creative ways, as I also bought Direct.
Once you have the minimum points for the Blue Card, adding on via resale can then save additional dollars...

 

[Akck]

Has your wife been successful in racking up DVC Savings to offset the Direct Costs??
Please share any creative ways, as I also bought Direct.
Once you have the minimum points for the Blue Card, adding on via resale can then save additional dollars...

I think she “saved” $30-50 shopping just after we signed the paperwork. I “saved” around $1,000 with the purchase of gold APs just before the price increase, that will cover our next 2 trips. Of course, she plans to “save” more during those future trips.

In addition, I’ll be keeping a running tabulation on what we save on our stays. For our first DVC stay, we’ll save around $7,000 over the rack rate (discounts aren’t likely since the room type is no longer available for cash for that period). In one sense, it covers the premium we paid for direct over resale. The only question is would we have booked a value (unlikely), or a moderate (maybe), if it weren’t for owning DVC.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I expect the OP here is already aware, but if your upcoming trip is in April - the Gold Pass is actually blocked out for a couple weeks (around Easter) in April. Just make sure you don't go next month, buy DVC, buy the Gold Pass, but then can't use it due to the dates!

Best of luck if you go through with your purchases!

 

[Sandisw]

I expect the OP here is already aware, but if your upcoming trip is in April - the Gold Pass is actually blocked out for a couple weeks (around Easter) in April. Just make sure you don't go next month, buy DVC, buy the Gold Pass, but then can't use it due to the dates!

Best of luck if you go through with your purchases!

Good point. Or, wait to upgrade the ticket bought on the last day of your visit to the Gold AP, If any of those days are blacked out!

 

[ShadowRegent]

Good point. Or, wait to upgrade the ticket bought on the last day of your visit to the Gold AP, If any of those days are blacked out!

I knew there were blackout days in April, but are you saying that you can upgrade tickets used during the blackout dates to a Gold annual pass and those restrictions only apply from that moment forward? That's quite a generous policy!

 

[Sandisw]

I knew there were blackout days in April, but are you saying that you can upgrade tickets used during the blackout dates to a Gold annual pass and those restrictions only apply from that moment forward? That's quite a generous policy!

Yes, right now, Disney seems to be allowing this to happen!