Gold AP Black out dates/options

[jerseyduke]

I have a gold DVC AP (it became active April 2016, expiring 2017)

Due to the calendar I am contemplating a quick New Years Trip (but the dates are blacked out).

What are my options? Obviously I can buy a ticket to cover the dates. Can I upgrade the AP? Anything else?

 

[erionm]

You can upgrade from the Gold to Platinum Pass for $100 plus tax (based on current pricing).

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yes, you could upgrade the pass. That or buy a ticket to use on the dates blacked out.

 

[jerseyduke]

Thanks,
Upgrading the pass for 100 is what I would do (not buying a 3 or 4 day ticket), I just did not know if I could upgrade a pass that is already 'in use'.

Thank you, and happy Halloween!

 

[erionm]

I just did not know if I could upgrade a pass that is already 'in use'.

You can upgrade during the year, but you can't downgrade until renewal time. Also, your expiration date will remain unchanged after the upgrade.

 

[Brian Noble]

...and they do not pro-rate. You pay the full difference no matter how much time you have left on your pass.

 

[drusba]

...and they do not pro-rate. You pay the full difference no matter how much time you have left on your pass.

That was about my question, so thanks for the answer before even asking it. I can understand the no pro rating, because the only reason you would upgrade is to get black-out dates to which the extra $100 applies.

 

[vnovabri]

I actually bought gold passes last spring and we are booked to go to WDW for New Years and we plan to upgrade....unfortunately we cannot book our fast passes because of the black outs and the only way to upgrade the AP is to do it at the parks. Since we dont live in Florida it looks like no fast passes can be booked until we arrive on the 30th. Something to keep in mind! Its 2016 and we cant upgrade over the phone or online, amazing...

 

[DenLo]

I actually bought gold passes last spring and we are booked to go to WDW for New Years and we plan to upgrade....unfortunately we cannot book our fast passes because of the black outs and the only way to upgrade the AP is to do it at the parks. Since we dont live in Florida it looks like no fast passes can be booked until we arrive on the 30th. Something to keep in mind! Its 2016 and we cant upgrade over the phone or online, amazing...

That is something they need to consider fixing IMO.

 

[ScubaCat]

I actually bought gold passes last spring and we are booked to go to WDW for New Years and we plan to upgrade....unfortunately we cannot book our fast passes because of the black outs and the only way to upgrade the AP is to do it at the parks. Since we dont live in Florida it looks like no fast passes can be booked until we arrive on the 30th. Something to keep in mind! Its 2016 and we cant upgrade over the phone or online, amazing...

@jerseyduke What a PITA. Yet another middle finger to their customers who spend the most money. We're doing NYE as well, and I just bought the platinum ones outright because every time I try and do an upgrade there's SOME sort of issue. Even if it goes smoothly, they'll just have one window open and make me stand in a line of 4 people for 30 minutes in 100 degree humidity. Even if we ended up cancelling NYE, I'd rather spend the $100 to avoid even the possibility of that hassle.

Here's the only workaround I can think of - buy a multi-day ticket from Parksavers (best deal; I'd get the 7 for the price of 4) and add it to your account. That'll let you book the fastpasses now because you'll then have a valid admission for NYE. Then at a future date you can either upgrade that to an annual pass or simply use the days. As long as you don't redeem the first day at a park, the ticket will remain valid until you're ready to use it.

One small caveat -- When you upgrade your AP to the platinum, MAKE SURE they prioritize your annual pass so that it gets used FIRST. You'd think that would be automatic, but of course even that has to be complicated.

Good luck!

 

[Anal Annie]

That is something they need to consider fixing IMO.

The current need to have advanced tix of some sort in order to book FP+ is a real pain. They really should come up with another plan. A lot of people don't plan to purchase their tix until they arrive so that rule shuts them out of FP+. Our last AP's expired in July and we had a trip booked for Sept. so we needed new tix in July that would be valid for our dates. I ended up ordering the parksavers 7 days for the price of 4 days tix in order to have something valid to use as we wanted to change our renewal date from July to Sept. Then we upgraded after we got there. But it's definitely something they should be able to figure out another way to do. This is a planning nightmare (although just one of many).

 

[Brian Noble]

A lot of people don't plan to purchase their tix until they arrive so that rule shuts them out of FP+

Disney has no interest in this. They are on record, as far back as 2003, as wanting people to pre-purchase as much as they can.
http://www.laughingplace.com/w/legacy/news-id507040.asp/

From that article:

Research shows that guests drop things from their itinerary once they arrive instead of adding experiences to their vacation. Because of this, it is important to Disney that guests purchase their experiences from home.​

 

[vnovabri]

Disney has no interest in this. They are on record, as far back as 2003, as wanting people to pre-purchase as much as they can.
http://www.laughingplace.com/w/legacy/news-id507040.asp/

From that article:

Research shows that guests drop things from their itinerary once they arrive instead of adding experiences to their vacation. Because of this, it is important to Disney that guests purchase their experiences from home.​

Except I cant upgrade my AP from home...

 

[Brian Noble]

Understood. My comment was not directed at you. It was directed at Annie.

You might get around this by buying a new MYW ticket, using if for your FP+, but prioritizing it below your existing AP for admission. Then, when renewal comes up in 2017, you should be able to apply that ticket to it. I don't know if that also has to be in person or not, though...

 

[CarolMN]

.....(snip).........You might get around this by buying a new MYW ticket, using if for your FP+, but prioritizing it below your existing AP for admission. Then, when renewal comes up in 2017, you should be able to apply that ticket to it. I don't know if that also has to be in person or not, though...

IT does have to be done in person.

 

[lauch]

We had to go down to DW a few weeks ago and upgrade our passes in order to make FP reservations for our Dec trip. Oh well....kids were out of school because of the hurricane and we got an extra trip to the world this year. I tried to figure out a way around it, but was unsuccessful. Still had a blast!