Disney Store changing Park Hoppers

[Rneighh]

I just bought my Park Hoppers at the local Disney Store for our trip next week. The manager told me those were her last park hoppers and they are changing the passes on Feb. 4. She said they will have them sitting out in the stores. When you purchase them they are activated much like a gift card. It does not change how they work but I bet they will look different. I wonder why they are making the change.

Renee

 

[justhat]

This is just a guess, but having them sitting out like gift cards at Blockbuster may increase purchases. Though many people buy their passes at Disney Stores, many others have no idea you can get them there and think you have to wait until you're actually in DisneyWorld. Also, it's possible that if you see them on a rack in your local Disney Store, you might think to yourself "Cool, I can buy tickets to Disney World, let's take a family trip there!" even though you may not have been planning a trip at all. Getting them out and visible can only help promote people to go there.

 

[yesdisneyfool]

Am I to guess that when you get to the register, you tell what you want (4 day, 5 day, AP etc) and they will encode accordingly.

Good Luck to us all.

 

[Rneighh]

It would be great if they could activate the APs right in the store. I should have asked if they were going to include APs.

Renee

 

[ivanova]

why would you want an AP activiated in the store instead of the 1st day that you use it in WDW???

 

[Rneighh]

Less hassle. I have read that some people were given a hassle at the resort with just a voucher -- guess I will find out on my upcoming trip. But I would not want to buy it until right before I left.

Renee

 

[PennConn]

Can you get Unlimited Park Hoppers at the Disney Store? (I'm just trying to figure out how to get the advance purchase discount on the UPH)

 

[Mamu]

The Disney Store in Natick Mass is a promotional store and the new cards are already there.

They are out on display. They are just like the gift cards that you purchase in the supermarket. They swipe them through the computer, then your DC card. On the AP you are given 2 receipts. One is your purchase receipt the other is coded with the Pass#. You need both to activate the AP at Guest relations.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by PennConn
Can you get Unlimited Park Hoppers at the Disney Store? (I'm just trying to figure out how to get the advance purchase discount on the UPH)

UPH are tied to a particular resort stay. They will not be available for purchase at TDS. You can only get the advance purchase discount on UPH tickets if you buy them from Disney as part of a room/ticket package.

 

[Barringer75]

Just visited my local TDS yesterday to ask about purchasing AP and she told me that I would get ACTIVATED pass, not a voucher anymore. I do not want to activate my pass in NJ and waste days!! Where in WDW can I get AP with DC discount when I get there in June?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Where in WDW can I get AP with DC discount when I get there in June?

At the ticket windows at any park, DD guest relations or at the Disney store at the airport.

 

[puffkin]

Just wondering...

If you can buy an activated AP at the Disney Store now, do they do the fingerscan there or would you have to get that done at wdw?

 

[justhat]

Even if you buy it activated in WDW you still have to do the finger scan thing the first time you use it at the turnstiles.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

What is the finger scan? I am thinking about getting an AP this year only if the resort rate discounts would work out for us. But I have never had an AP, so I don't know.

 

[justhat]

The first time you use your AP at any park, you insert your fingers into a little box and the scanner 'remembers' your fingers. The bone structure, shape, size, I'm not sure exactly what, but something that identifies that it is in fact you. Then you do this each time you enter a park so that they can be sure it's you using your AP. Often though, the scanner can't read that it's you so be sure to have an ID with you. This happened almost everytime I used it over NYE. Sometimes when there was a big line and all the APs wouldn't read they just let us all go through, but other times they asked to see ID or something like that.

 

[Mamu]

The new AP purchased at Disney Stores are a plastic card 6x2 1/2 inches. They are called an exchange certificate.

There isn't any date printed on the back. The exchange certificate is not a ticket, it still needs to be validated at Disney. When you redeem your certificate you will get a dated pass. I do not know if they date the ticket from the day you purchase it or on the date you redeem it.

 

[erikthewise]

Activating an AP voucher can sometimes be a major hassle.

You'd think that a voucher for an AP would be a simple exchange. But when we activated our APs at the International gate at Epcot, the CM became very concerned that the two adult vouchers had different prices. I explained that one was purchased before the price increase, the other after. He explained that he would have to do some fancy accounting. Then he stamped our vouchers VOID, and began his arcane ritual which took about 15 minutes. They had to open another line to handle the people in line behind us. It would have been easier to just buy new APs at the park! And in the future that's just what we'll do.

 

[nowellsl]

They're out at my Disney Store, but they didn't have park hopper passes, just annual passes and seasonal passes.

 

[erikthewise]

Activating an AP voucher can sometimes be a major hassle.

You'd think that a voucher for an AP would be a simple exchange. But when we activated our APs at the International gate at Epcot, the CM became very concerned that the two adult vouchers had different prices. I explained that one was purchased before the price increase, the other after. He explained that he would have to do some fancy accounting. Then he stamped our vouchers VOID, and began his arcane ritual which took about 15 minutes. They had to open another line to handle the people in line behind us. It would have been easier to just buy new APs! And in the future that's just what we'll do.

 

[eeyore0062]

Yes, the park hoppers at TDS are changing next month, and more options will be available. There will still be the 4 and 5 day Hoppers, but 5,6 and 7 day Hopper plus passes will be also be available, as well as Annual Passes. They will be displayed on a special display, along with Birnbaum's books and other Disney trip type items. You choose which you want, take it to the register to pay, and they activate it through the register--- unless the tickets are activated, they are no good, with the exception of the AP's which will be handled as explained previously.

Hope this helps!