Disney Gold Pass AP

[Greg36]

Just wondering if anyone knows when the Disney Gold Pass AP expires after purchase. We currently have the Platinum Plus discounted APs and will have these until Nov 2018. After these expire, we probably won't go back to Disney until summer 2019 or maybe even fall 2019. So I don't plan on renewing our current AP, but I do think we will buy Gold passes when we do eventually go back. I am guessing ticket prices will be headed much higher before 2019 so I was thinking it might be a decent idea to purchase Gold passes now and just activate them when we go in 2019. I am guessing they must expire but I was unable to find any indication of this on the Disney site. Thanks.

 

[iwannbindisnee]

Just wondering if anyone knows when the Disney Gold Pass AP expires after purchase. We currently have the Platinum Plus discounted APs and will have these until Nov 2018. After these expire, we probably won't go back to Disney until summer 2019 or maybe even fall 2019. So I don't plan on renewing our current AP, but I do think we will buy Gold passes when we do eventually go back. I am guessing ticket prices will be headed much higher before 2019 so I was thinking it might be a decent idea to purchase Gold passes now and just activate them when we go in 2019. I am guessing they must expire but I was unable to find any indication of this on the Disney site. Thanks.

I think it would be 12 months from the date you activate it, but let me check any wording on our Gold AP...

 

[Greg36]

I think it would be 12 months from the date you activate it, but let me check any wording on our Gold AP...

Thanks for the info. I just actually called them and they told me the voucher would be good for 18 months after purchase. Thanks again for the response.

 

[iwannbindisnee]

Just wondering if anyone knows when the Disney Gold Pass AP expires after purchase. We currently have the Platinum Plus discounted APs and will have these until Nov 2018. After these expire, we probably won't go back to Disney until summer 2019 or maybe even fall 2019. So I don't plan on renewing our current AP, but I do think we will buy Gold passes when we do eventually go back. I am guessing ticket prices will be headed much higher before 2019 so I was thinking it might be a decent idea to purchase Gold passes now and just activate them when we go in 2019. I am guessing they must expire but I was unable to find any indication of this on the Disney site. Thanks.

Sorry, could not find any wording as to if you buy current Gold AP being offered it will be OK to activate in 2019.. The card I have currently for my AP shows the general dates 2017-2018.

 

[wnielsen1]

I don't believe APs are following the new terms on MYW tickets in regards to expiration. If it was me, I would buy them now and hold them.

 

[Greg36]

I don't believe APs are following the new terms on MYW tickets in regards to expiration. If it was me, I would buy them now and hold them.

Interesting, thanks for the info. I called member services at DVC and spoke with a CM. She was not sure so she put me on hold for about 20 minutes. She said she wanted to make sure she gave me the right info so she was checking. I have no idea who she was checking with but she came back and told me the voucher would be good for 18 months from purchase. It would have to be activated into an AP within those 18 months. I actually sent Disney an e-mail as well asking for their input so I will report back if they tell me something different. I have found that sometimes you get different answers from different people. Thanks again.

 

[erionm]

If you go to the Annual Pass purchase page on disneyworld.com, there is no language that states you have x amount of time to redeem for the actual pass.

The recent promotion for a Platinum Plus Pass for the price of the Gold Pass did have an activation time limit. AFAIK, new passes purchased at regular member pricing don't have a activation time limit.

 

[Greg36]

Just called Disney World and spoke with someone from 'ticketing' who also told me he believed the DVC Gold Pass voucher had an 18 month expiration. He came up with that time limit on his own so I am thinking there is a limit and after that limit you could be on the hook to pay the cost difference.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Of all the answers that is one I find difficult to believe. At the moment I can't recall any DVC ticket/AP that is an expiration from date of purchase to activate. They've always been a set date such as Dec 31, 2018 etc.

 

[Judique]

Of all the answers that is one I find difficult to believe. At the moment I can't recall any DVC ticket/AP that is an expiration from date of purchase to activate. They've always been a set date such as Dec 31, 2018 etc.

I've got a couple of exchange certificates from 2015 in my MDE. They state expiry 2030. I bought them from Disney about the time magic your way went to expiring tickets.

 

[Greg36]

Of all the answers that is one I find difficult to believe. At the moment I can't recall any DVC ticket/AP that is an expiration from date of purchase to activate. They've always been a set date such as Dec 31, 2018 etc.

That is interesting. I don't know what to think. It seems pretty unlikely to me that two independent CM's, one at DVC and one at Disney World, would each incorrectly come up with an 18 month window. I agree with others though there is nothing indicating this expiration that I can find in writing and clearly the 2030 expiration date is noted in multiple places around the internet. I don't know, maybe there has been a recent change... Thanks anyway everyone for your input.

 

[CarolMN]

If I were in your position, I'd just go ahead and buy the APs now (assuming you have the money, of course). Worst case is that you have to pay the difference between the amount you pay now and the new price for the pass at the time of activation That means that prices go up, there really IS an activation limit and you are past it when you go to activate. The value of your purchase will always be at least the amount you paid for it.

FWIW, we just activated our annual passes this past December. I bought them online in 2016. Fine print was silent on expiration. (I still have the email with the confirmation letters and the fine print is exactly the same as it appears on the website). When I linked the order to MDE, it said they expired in 2030.

I think the CMs don't have the correct information.

OP - If you do decide to buy now, please let us know what MDE says about expiration after you link the tickets.

 

[Greg36]

For people who have been using the Gold Passes for awhile, do the blackout periods tend to change? I see where it looks like they target Easter and Christmas, but has anyone ever seen them target other times? I am wondering, for example, if Disney might decide to target a block of time they are expecting to be busy for another reason like the opening of Star Wars land. So if you bought a pass voucher now, could they curtail the dates available for a subsequent year when you went to activate that pass? I am guessing they could, given all the 'subject to' language in the contract. I suppose if they did this, one could always use the value of the vouchers to upgrade to a ticket with no black out dates... I definitely like the idea of locking in our passes, especially given the potential price increases, but I just feel like there are a lot of unknowns with all of this....

 

[jimim]

I just looked at my new ap certificates on the app. I didn’t activate them yet. Says expired 12/31/30.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

For people who have been using the Gold Passes for awhile, do the blackout periods tend to change? I see where it looks like they target Easter and Christmas, but has anyone ever seen them target other times? I am wondering, for example, if Disney might decide to target a block of time they are expecting to be busy for another reason like the opening of Star Wars land. So if you bought a pass voucher now, could they curtail the dates available for a subsequent year when you went to activate that pass? I am guessing they could, given all the 'subject to' language in the contract. I suppose if they did this, one could always use the value of the vouchers to upgrade to a ticket with no black out dates... I definitely like the idea of locking in our passes, especially given the potential price increases, but I just feel like there are a lot of unknowns with all of this....

Yes, they could change it but WDW hasn't done additional blackouts prior to openings in the past. As you mentioned, if they did, then you could either upgrade the pass to one without blackouts or wait to activate and use tickets for the trip that fell in the blackout time.

 

[Greg36]

I just looked at my new ap certificates on the app. I didn’t activate them yet. Says expired 12/31/30.

Thanks for the info. When did you buy them?

 

[jimim]

during the sale this past few months for DVC owners.

 

[Greg36]

I heard back from Disney via e-mail and I was told the certificates don't expire. I was also told that I would not have to pay any cost differences between when the certificate was purchased versus when it was activated (quotes below). This seems to be consistent with what others here were saying but was definitely different from what I was told on the phone. Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and information on this!

"...Regular Disney Vacation Club Annual Pass Certificates may be activated at anytime."... "Non-promotional Walt Disney World Annual Passholder products will be honored for the same or equivalent type of entitlement in the future for no-fee upon activation in person."...

 

[ErinC]

I heard back from Disney via e-mail and I was told the certificates don't expire. I was also told that I would not have to pay any cost differences between when the certificate was purchased versus when it was activated (quotes below). This seems to be consistent with what others here were saying but was definitely different from what I was told on the phone. Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and information on this!

"...Regular Disney Vacation Club Annual Pass Certificates may be activated at anytime."... "Non-promotional Walt Disney World Annual Passholder products will be honored for the same or equivalent type of entitlement in the future for no-fee upon activation in person."...

I'm pretty sure that is the correct info, but just to be on the safe side, I'd print that email out and keep it for future reference just in case.

 

[mustinjourney]

I bought extra platinum Dvc APs knowing full well I wouldn’t activate them in 2018. They all show expiration dates of 2030. I’ve heard from several insiders that APs are not linked like the MYW tix, so the whole 2018 expiration for platinum passes is unlikely to actually happen.

Worst case for me is that I end up with gold passes. Worth the risk for me.