Help - buying a blackout day ticket?

[maberlyne]

My bf and I are heading to the parks tomorrow, yay! But we need some help. He has a deluxe AP and this is the first time we'll be there during a blackout day (Sat.).

Now, I'm assuming we buy the blackout day tickets at the ticket windows. Can we buy them the day before so we don't waste time the morning of? You know, precious morning hours and all . They are $30, right?

And then... do they give you a little paper ticket or what? If so, is that what we'll use that day for fastpasses? Just curious! Thanks so much for any help you can give us!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

You have to buy them on the blackout day in the ticket kiosks. They are now $40 instead of $30. With the discounts and everything, you may want to consider upgrading his AP once you get inside the park. You are able to have the $40 blackout day credited to the upgrade if you do it the same day or you can just upgrade the pass the day before.

And yes, they'll give you a paper ticket to use for the rides and what not.

 

[DangerMouse]

I believe you can also purchase the block out day ticket from Guest Services to the left of the DL turnstiles

And a little trick that we learned in April on a block out day, we were able to get double fastpasses by using both our AP's and the paper block-out pass. Don't know if this works all the time, but it sure worked for us!

 

[mAlien13]

I believe you can also purchase the block out day ticket from Guest Services to the left of the DL turnstiles

And a little trick that we learned in April on a block out day, we were able to get double fastpasses by using both our AP's and the paper block-out pass. Don't know if this works all the time, but it sure worked for us!

Hmmm...that is a tasty little trick we will have to try on Thanksgiving!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

And a little trick that we learned in April on a block out day, we were able to get double fastpasses by using both our AP's and the paper block-out pass. Don't know if this works all the time, but it sure worked for us!

We did the same thing! Only we had upgraded our hoppers to AP's on a block out day. So they gave us tickets to get in and out of the park, on top of our AP's. They all worked for FP, really nice!

 

[DoomBugger]

Dangermouse, I like the FP theorum! We never go on blockout days but this December 27th we will go because that is my ladies B-day and she wants to go and that is a blockout day. We went last years but for the first time in my life the park was by 10:00AM filled to capacity. We didn't go in so this year she wants to do it, she thinks going on her B-day will be a special experience, we'll see!

 

[aprincess@mail.com]

buy your blockout ticket at Guest Services, that way you dont have to wait in the long lines.

 

[maberlyne]

Cool, thanks for all the advice!!! Now we know!

That stinks that they increased the price, geez! We would have considered upgrading the pass, but this is our last trip before it expires, so I dunno if it's worth it.

I thought I saw some link or something on the actual DL website talking about upgrading and renewing for some deal... anyone know? Or maybe it just referred to a credit (or being cheaper overall).

 

[bumbershoot]

I thought I saw some link or something on the actual DL website talking about upgrading and renewing for some deal... anyone know? Or maybe it just referred to a credit (or being cheaper overall).

yes yes yes! There's info on the AP site about renewing and upgrading.

Yes!

Of course, you'd still need to be willing to pay the big ol' chunk of change for the Premium tomorrow....

If you are visiting the Disneyland® Resort the day you upgrade your Annual Passport:

* If you purchase a Blockout day ticket and decide to upgrade your Annual Passport later that same day, you may apply the price of the blockout day ticket towards the price of the upgrade.
* If you paid for parking in the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure on the same day that you are upgrading to a Premium Annual Passport or are adding the parking option to your current Annual Passport, present your paid parking ticket while upgrading and you will be reimbursed for the cost of parking.

And here's a special tip — if your Annual Passport expires in 30 days or less, you can renew and upgrade your Annual Passport at the same time and immediately begin enjoying the benefits of your upgraded Annual Passport — both for the remainder of your current Annual Passport and for one full-year following the expiration date on your current Annual Passport.

Dude! Is that thrilling, or what?

Hubby is currently trying to get us down there for a trip inside a month before renewal, so I can upgrade to Premium (they aren't likely to upgrade, but I take solo trips and there's the ladies only trip).

 

[maberlyne]

Bumbershoot - yes, that is exactly what I saw!!! But the way I was reading it, I was thinking you would pay to upgrade, then pay to renew... so it didn't seem like a good deal! But duh, I guess my reading comprehension just sucked at that time!

So I guess if I did that, we would just pay the price for Premium, and it would count for the end of this AP and for a full year? We were on the fence about renewing before expiration anyway, just to save $20, when we didn't think we would go back till probably Oct at least. Hm, might be worth it.

So if we did that, we go to the Bank on Main St, where we got the original APs? Or can we go to guest services for that? So many questions! Thank you all for your vast knowledge!!

 

[bumbershoot]

If you are within 30 days of expiration, it will work to just pay the premium cost (I don't know if you'll get any sort of renewal discount).

From how I read it, you buy the blockout pass (ticket booth or guest services over to the right of DCA's entrance) and if you paid to park you bring that receipt in as well, and both of those will be applied to the cost.

The issue of when our next trip will be in plaguing us too. Especially for my son and husband. I'm likely to just run away on hubby's weekend, assuming there's fun money around, but the two of them aren't as crazy about the place as I am, so they might just wait until our next trip to get "new" APs.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Something to consider when dealing with blackout tickets and APs. A deluxe AP is $259. and the premium AP is $379. When you pay $40 for a blackout day, you've really paid $299 for the deluxe AP. At this point you may want to consider upgrading to the premium because of the increased discounts.

The other huge advantage to a premium is the flexibility. My first AP was deluxe. I looked at the blackout dates and thought I'd never go during those periods, so why spend the extra money? Well, I ended up going on one blackout day, but there were other possible trips that I couldn't/didn't make because of blackout dates. Throw in the increased discounts that the premium gives you and I "lost" money because I was trying to save money on the deluxe.

If you truly can plan your visits around blackout dates, than a deluxe may work out just fine, but if one visit can't be planned around a blackout day, than the premium really is the way to go.

 

[MatterhornMiss]

Wow, $40 for the blackout day! When I had my AP, I think it was only $25. But then again, my first PAP back in 2002 cost well under $300. Ah, the joys of inflation.