DVC AP discount convert to Premium..help please!

[trampslady]

So, we currently have normal DVC-discounted annual passes at WDW that expire February 2012. We have a Deluxe Disneyland pass that will expire in September.

Just found out our timeshare request for California came through for Christmas, and we would like to visit Disneyland during the week between Christmas and New Years, which will require a new ticket purchase.

Can someone advise what will happen if we want to upgrade our WDW AP to the Premium at that time--last week of December? We will be within 60 days of renewal on our DVC AP, but I'm not sure if that's relevant. Obviously, we wouldn't want to upgrade just to have two months left. But, we own at both California and Beach Club, so having the Premium would make sense for next year.

Any advise or experience?

 

[rlovew]

You can upgrade at that time (I am fairly certian you only get the amount you paid toward the upgraded pass (you will lose you discount as there is not a DVC discount on the premium pass). It will only be valid for 60 days and you will be paying for the entire year.

You may be able to just buy a new pass and have overlapping passes during the time until your old pass expires but I am not really sure about that.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

You can upgrade at that time (I am fairly certian you only get the amount you paid toward the upgraded pass (you will lose you discount as there is not a DVC discount on the premium pass). It will only be valid for 60 days and you will be paying for the entire year.

You may be able to just buy a new pass and have overlapping passes during the time until your old pass expires but I am not really sure about that.

I agree that the OP probably will not get enough benefits to make upgrading the WDW to a Premier while at DL. Depending on your planned trips, you may want to get a Premium AP for your DL trip, then upgrade it to Premier.

Weirdly enough, you can also get the Premier good at both WDW and DL while your WDW AP is still valid. Might make sense if you plan to use the additional benefits (water parks, Disney Quest or 20% merchandise discount if still offered). --Suzanne

 

[trampslady]

After thinking through my situation, I think my only option would be to buy a DL Annual Pass in December, wait until our WDW AP expires in Febuary, and then upgrade to a Premier, which will then expire in December 2012. At least we will still enjoy the use of our WDW AP thru February--the three extra months I worked so hard to get with the promo last year. And, I won't waste $91 per ticket for a one-day pass to DL in December.

 

[cseca]

Sorry I can't answer your specific question but I can tell you that if you want to upgrade your WDW AP to a Premier pass at DL you will have to:
1. Go to the turnstile and tell the CM there that you need to get your WDW AP pass upgraded to premier.
2. The turnstile CM will then get his/her supervisor who will try to somehow get you in without a valid pass.
3. Depending on the supervisor, you might have to wait on a manager who will be able to get you in.
4. Then you will walk into DL and be directed towards the AP office. The manager/supervisor would've alerted them of your arrival so they know that you're coming.
5. Once you get there it might take awhile for the process to complete. Some CMs are not trained yet, so they might call another CM or two.
6. You're finally a Premier Pass holder!!!

I'm not saying this to make fun of the CMs or anything. But just know that the process takes a bit of time. Don't expect to get in and out quickly.
I venture a guess it took us about 45 min from the time we talked to a CM about upgrading our pass to actually receiving our pass. They don't do many upgrades from WDW to PP at DL. So they're still confused.

Also, if you have a PP issued at DL and you want to use it at WDW. You have to go to the park's Guest Services first to get your passes activated.

Good luck on your decision!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

After thinking through my situation, I think my only option would be to buy a DL Annual Pass in December, wait until our WDW AP expires in Febuary, and then upgrade to a Premier, which will then expire in December 2012. At least we will still enjoy the use of our WDW AP thru February--the three extra months I worked so hard to get with the promo last year. And, I won't waste $91 per ticket for a one-day pass to DL in December.

If you are only going to spend $91 at DL, the Premier AP makes no sense. If you have a DVC AP, the highest cost would be $537. Why spend $185 to save $91 (or probably $101 or more, since this is the cost of an adult PH at DL)? Although you will get discounts at DL with the Premier AP (5% more on dining than DVC members) and 20% on merchandise, you really have to spend a lot to make up this difference ($1680 on dining to break even) or $420 to break even on merchandise (assuming you could not buy the same thing at WDW where you already have a discount). -- Suzanne

 

[aan1701]

Also, if you have a PP issued at DL and you want to use it at WDW. You have to go to the park's Guest Services first to get your passes activated.

Good luck on your decision!

Just a FYI, the above was not true in my case. I had my upgrade done at DL in March of last year, when I went in Oct I just walked up to the turnstile at DHS and put my Premier in, worked no problem. No need to go to Guest services.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Just a FYI, the above was not true in my case. I had my upgrade done at DL in March of last year, when I went in Oct I just walked up to the turnstile at DHS and put my Premier in, worked no problem. No need to go to Guest services.

We also upgraded our DL AP to a Premier at DL and had to go to Guest Services at Epcot before the turnstiles would accept our AP. So I guess, it may depend. -- Suzanne

 

[trampslady]

Sorry if I wasn't clear initially. We actually visit both DL and WDW regularly, and we've enjoyed having the Deluxe Passport at DL for the first time this year. I can see us visiting Disneyland more often in the summer if we had a Premier. And, we always have two-five trips to WDW annually--at least being five days or longer.

I think the Christmas thing just works out to be a poor case of timing. The DL pass expires in September, the WDW pass expires in February. I think I will purchase the DL Premium Passport in December to use while we are there, keep our WDW AP to enjoy in January and February. Then, in February, we will most likely upgrade our DL Passport to the Premier to enjoy the remainder of the year.

I'm just going to be sure and not go to Disneyland the week between Christmas and New Years until later in the week to ensure the longest date on our pass into next year.

 

[Ford66]

Does anyone know how much credit you get on upgrading a renewed regular pass to a premier pass? Do you get credit for the full DVC annual pass price or the renewal DVC annual pass price?

My WDW-AP expires in September. Was thinking about renewing for a trip in October. Then going to Disneyland in January. If I upgrade to premier then, how much will it cost?

 

[erionm]

Does anyone know how much credit you get on upgrading a renewed regular pass to a premier pass? Do you get credit for the full DVC annual pass price or the renewal DVC annual pass price?

My WDW-AP expires in September. Was thinking about renewing for a trip in October. Then going to Disneyland in January. If I upgrade to premier then, how much will it cost?

I believe you would get credit for the amount of the renewal.

FYI. If you upgrade your AP to a Premier Passport, the expiration date will be based on the AP not when you upgrade to the Premier Passport.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Here's the deal. You pay the difference between the DVC Discounted AP and the Premier AP, Full Difference, NOT prorated. But it will still expire when your DVC AP does.

I did it because it was worth it, but if it's late in the year with your DVC AP then it's a bad deal.

My Premier has always worked at WDW... DL is the issue. It took FOUR trips to their AP processing center for them to properly attach a photo. And the gate CMs treat you like a criminal if there's not a photo... (Well, they aren't really friendly if there is a photo, but..)

 

[HtomSirveaux]

Here's the deal. You pay the difference between the DVC Discounted AP and the Premier AP, Full Difference, NOT prorated. But it will still expire when your DVC AP does.

Unless you luck out like I did and DAK Guest Relations "screws up" and makes the Premier Pass for a full year from upgrade date, making it expire in 6/2012 instead of the expected 9/2011, thereby "forcing" us to take another trip...

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Unless you luck out like I did and DAK Guest Relations "screws up" and makes the Premier Pass for a full year from upgrade date, making it expire in 6/2012 instead of the expected 9/2011, thereby "forcing" us to take another trip...

Yes, but this is not the norm so the OP should not assume they will screw up. I have not heard of anyone else with this "screw up"