DVC and Annual Passes and Fastpass+

[coruth4]

I am new to DVC and I will be purchasing an Annual Pass at the end of the year. My question is when should I purchase it?
I have a trip planned for the end of January 2016 and one the beginning of December 2016. I was planning on purchasing Annual Passes in January 2016 so that I can use them on both trips. But I am confused/concerned about how that will affect booking Fastpass+. Is the 60 day window simply based on having an on property reservation or having park tickets?
If I buy the Annual Pass in January I will miss my 60 day booking window for January 2016 trip.
What is my best option? Thank you!

 

[nalajms]

Buy them 61 days prior to the start of your Jan 2016 trip. Book FP 60 days out. Activate AP on your Jan 2016 trip. AP will expire Jan 2017.

Booking FP+ does not require you to activate the AP, just linking them to MDE.

 

[automaticsoap]

Is the 60 day window simply based on having an on property reservation or having park tickets?

Both. If you have an AP, you'll be able to book FP+ 30 days out -- regardless if you have an on-property reservation. If you have both an AP and resort reservation linked in MDE, you'll be able to book FP+ 60 days out. If you have only a resort reservation and no park ticket, you won't be able to book FP+ ahead of time.

 

[davidl81]

You can buy your AP whenever you want. Just activate it the first day of your trip. You will have one year from when you activate it for it to expire. Once you buy it you can book fp 30 days out without a resort reservation, or 60 days out if you have a resort reservation on site.

 

[ziravan]

Wait until 61 days out to buy. I've had two different CMs hint in recent days that a ticket deal might be forthcoming....

 

[coruth4]

Thanks for all the input! If I buy now and activate on my first trip - is that considered a "voucher"?
Thank you again!

 

[stormer]

You may want to give yourself a few extra days, not exactly 61, just in case anything goes wrong. I bought mine and had a hard time linking them to my reservation. They kept saying they were linked to someone else. I had to call to have it fixed. The CM was very nice, but said even she didn't understand what happened. She fixed them after a while.