Has anyone recently upgraded AP for DVC discount?

[Mickey_Maniac]

Where is GS at DTD located? We are going in June and will probably try upgrading at the MK GS. If we canot for some reason, I will head over to DTD to see what can be done there.

By the way, I followed BeachClubVillas' example and just sent off an email to DVC MS to see what thier opinion is. As soon as I hear back, I will post thier reply.

 

[parrotheadlois]

We purchased our APs in Nov and we were there in Feb and we got $5 back. We went to the guest services at DTD and they were completely knowledgeable. One woman was there who upgraded at one of the parks and got $80 back (they gave here the discount on the Ap not she did not have to upgrade to the PAP) So they sort of back rated her pass. The people who I guess showed up the day I was there were argueing with the CM because they wanted the $80 back on their APs too. The CM explained that the CM that helped their friend the day before made a mistake and she was not about to repeat it and get in trouble herself. So they agreed and were not given any $$ back but got a free upgrade. I was following them and upgraded and got the $5 on each pass back.

The lesson learned here? Be appreciative when a Cast member is even upgrading the pass for free because yelling at them for not breaking the rules gets you nothing. The lost their $5 for being jerks LOL.

We'll be doing this too when we go in July, where is guest services at DTD?? Thanks..

 

[CarolA]

The Guest Services in DTD is behind the Christmas shop across from the Wolfgang PUcks fast food place. (At least that is what I recall)

 

[kathleena]

If you upgrade an AP to a PAP, what happens when you go to renew? Do you have to renew as a PAP? Or could you step back down to an AP?

You have to renew as a PAP. I asked the question just a couple of weeks ago, so didn't upgrade.

 

[bjakmom]

patpat15 - I ended up going back where I began - to MGM guest services - that's where the young CM finally figured it all out for me !!

 

[Patpat15]

Thanks. This is all pretty scary though. Why are there so many different stories about who could and couldn't upgrade. I wish we could all get DVC to take care of this once and for all. I'd hate to try all different guest relations booths until someone will upgrade it. Seems like a waste of time on vacation but I really want the upgrade.

 

[Patpat15]

In order to do the upgrade and get the discount what did they use as verification for the DVC member?

Did the room key work, with the phrase "DVC Member" on it or did they need the actual DVC card. My wife is the only one with the DVC card, that is why I am asking. I never got one althought I do all of the bookings and am on the list.

 

[bjakmom]

They did ask for my DVC card and they even asked for my driver's license (I don't have a picture license, so I gave them my passport) once I started insisting that they contact the woman at MK GS that had told me the upgrade could be done. It was a waste of my vacation time - fortunately DH and I were not touring 'commando', just spending a few days with DS and his buddy (who we rarely saw) for his 16th b'day. I really didn't think they were trying 'not' to do the upgrade, I just thought that they were uninformed and once it became apparent that they 'knew' they were 'right' I moved on and tried to find someone with a more open mind to help me - hopefully they have done more of these upgrades by now - if you get a CM who doesn't seem to know that it can be done - keep asking for someone higher-up the chain until you find the person who knows what you're talking about. I have 2 more trips planned this year and plan on doing PI and the water parks, so having the PAP will save me my old 'pluses' for another trip - so all in all, it was worth the effort for me.

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

Patpat, I believe they are going to need to see the actual DVC card. People who rent points from a DVC member get a room card that states DVC member even though they are not (at least we did on our first time at OKW), so that is not sufficient proof.

 

[mickeysgal]

The Guest Services in DTD is behind the Christmas shop across from the Wolfgang PUcks fast food place. (At least that is what I recall)

No, Downtown Disney Guest Services is not behind the Christmas Store. It is behind the Mickey Sports Store (can't remember the exact name). It is across the bathrooms - which are located between the Sports store and Once Upon a Toy. Its a small office...but if you walk toward the bathrooms between the Sports Store and Once Upon a Toy, you're sure to see it.

Sounds like this is where you stand the "best" chance of getting this upgrade done as they appear to be the most informed. As an extra precaution, I think I'll email MS...get their word in writing and take this with me when we do our upgrade.

 

[TNMomof3]

I upgraded mine in January at the Magic Kingdom. At first they said they didn't do that. This was the first week the MYW tickets were in effect, and there was a lot of new stuff. I insisted that they did do it, and that I knew people who'd had it done. They called a supervisor over, and she seemed to know all about it and had it done quickly complete with refund.

My family came down a day later for the marathon, and we took their APs to Epcot to upgrade. The guy there was having NO part of it, even after asking a supervisor. This was even after I showed him the receipt where I'd done it the day before. He told me I'd just gotten lucky by them making a mistake. Even though I was short on time, I hauled my butt over to Magic Kingdom and had their three APs upgraded in no time flat.

Now I'm just hoping that we'll get a chance to use them. It's killing me that I have these PAPs burning a hole in my pocket.

 

[goldilocks_63]

Wish me luck.

Goldi

 

[Mandabella]

Wish me luck.

Goldi

Pixie Dust for you!

I'm hoping by the time I get down there in 66 days, this will won't be an issue!

 

[DisZip]

We will be down in WDW the third week of April and plan to upgrade our AP's (activated in Dec 04) to the PAP and maybe get some money back.

After reading this thread and the problems people have been having, I e-mailed MS to see what their "official line" was.

The reply was that yes, you can still upgrade an AP purchased before the discount to a PAP with the discount applied. They did not explicitly say that we will get a partial refund, but they did confirm the prices of the AP without discount and PAP with discount that I had were correct (showing the AP to be more expensive that the PAP with discount).

I plan to print out the e-mail and take it with me in April, in case I run into any problems at Guest Services.

 

[CarolA]

DisZip,

I hate to ask, but could you go to USER CP and remove the code from your signatures. You may not be aware of it, but this is what we see...
Script language='Javascript'>var rndNum = Math.floor(Math.random() * 10000);eval("var CDTDate" + rndNum + " = 'April 16, 2005 6:30:00 PM EST';");document.writeln("<form name='CDTform" + rndNum + "' action='javascript:void(0);'>");document.writeln('<font size=2 color=darkblue>2nd Trip - BCV 1BR</font><br>');document.writeln("<input type=text value='' size=40

But there are a lot more lines of this!

Thanks!

 

[Patpat15]

What is the email address of member services, I want to do the same thing in case they give me a problem.

Thanks

 

[robmary]

Hope someone will explain this better to me. Ok, we have AP's that we got in June of 2004. If I am understanding correctly from most of you, we can turn them in at a guest services at WDW and tell them we want to upgrade them to PAP's for there remaining time. Because of what we paid last year versus the new DVC discounted cost of a PAP we could do this for nothing or get $5 back on each AP. Is that correct? Also, I noticed one person said if you upgrade to the PAP you must then renew it to be a PAP again. Is that correct? I could not find anywhere in the Disney info that it said you must renew a PAP to be a new PAP and not an AP. Anyway, if you go longer than 30 days before renewing you would be starting over again and then you could get the regular DVC discounted AP, but it would be nice to be able to renew a PAP to an AP if you wanted to.

Thanks to all who help answering these questions.

 

[DisZip]

What is the email address of member services, I want to do the same thing in case they give me a problem.

Thanks

I just filled in the form on the dvcmember.com web site, under the "Contact Us" tab. I believe you can also contact them directly at members@disneyvacationclub.com.

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

We will be down in WDW the third week of April and plan to upgrade our AP's (activated in Dec 04) to the PAP and maybe get some money back.

After reading this thread and the problems people have been having, I e-mailed MS to see what their "official line" was.

The reply was that yes, you can still upgrade an AP purchased before the discount to a PAP with the discount applied. They did not explicitly say that we will get a partial refund, but they did confirm the prices of the AP without discount and PAP with discount that I had were correct (showing the AP to be more expensive that the PAP with discount).

I plan to print out the e-mail and take it with me in April, in case I run into any problems at Guest Services.

Not surprisingly, I got a different answer from DVC MS. The reply I got was:

****
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Member Services. Only the Theme Park Guest Relations can advise you on upgrading your pass. They would have to scan your existing pass and then could advise on the cost of upgrading (if any). We hope you have a nice day!
****

Oh well, guess we just have to wait until we get there and see what happens...

 

[GoldenOldie]

...Also, I noticed one person said if you upgrade to the PAP you must then renew it to be a PAP again. Is that correct? I could not find anywhere in the Disney info that it said you must renew a PAP to be a new PAP and not an AP. Anyway, if you go longer than 30 days before renewing you would be starting over again and then you could get the regular DVC discounted AP, but it would be nice to be able to renew a PAP to an AP if you wanted to...

You can renew any pass to any other pass at the time of renewal. You can go from AP to PAP, PAP to AP, SP to AP, AP to SP, SP to PAP, PAP to SP, etc. You are not required to renew to the same category of your expiring pass. You will get the renewal rate on any of these transactions.